Happy Trails

I've been pestering my dad to get his 1972 442 W30 car up and running again for the past few years. He bought it new, and it was the first car he purchased. I'm also told they let him drive it off the delivery truck so he could put the first mile on it.

The car has been sitting in his garage for over 30 years, but my persistence paid off this past winter and he agreed to get it up and running again. The exterior and interior of the car were still in excellent shape, but when my dad was younger he swapped out a few of the parts, and he wanted to return it to how it came from the factory. He's a very smart guy (I'm biased, of course), but he was wise beyond his years because all the parts he took off the car he saved in the trunk. In addition to many small parts, he kept the original carburetor, exhaust manifolds, and valve covers in the trunk.

I really wanted my two teenage boys to be involved with the project so they could have this amazing experience and always have this memory to go back to years from now. My dad agreed that we all could work on the car together, and my boys have had a blast working on the car with their grandpa. The only negative thing so far, and it is minor, is they have learned that their grandpa sometimes uses "colorful" language when he is working on cars. Reminds me of the old days when I would help him fix things (generally things with engines).

In addition to putting the original parts back on, some of the more important tasks were:
- The radiator had to be sent out to be professionally serviced
- The original carburetor was sent out to be professionally serviced
- The original gas tank still had 6 gallons of gas in it, which ruined the tank and sending unit, so they had to be replaced
- The exhaust pipes and mufflers had to be replaced

I live a few hours away so we can only help my dad on weekends. My dad has spent many hours cleaning and working on the car in our absence. It really shows with how clean things look comparing some before and after pictures.

Last weekend (11/01/2015) we added fluids and fired up the car for the first time in over 30 years. It was pretty amazing when the car fired up and ran smoothly after less than 30 seconds of cranking.

Winter is fast approaching so we need to take a break until the spring. Dad says we need to do a brake job and put some new tires on before we can drive the car, but we are all looking forward to enjoying the car next summer.

I'll post a few before and after pictures for some visual aids. I took hundreds of pictures and videos, but most prominently include my kids or my dad. I also took a video of the startup and I can post a couple minutes of that if that is possible.

I love the look of the 1972 442 (again, biased) and I'd like to get one of my own, or something very similar, but 1972 442s seem to be relatively rare, at least in our neck of the woods. This project has further motivated me to look harder and see what's out there. I'm curious to learn what I could buy as a base car and restomod it to replicate the look of my dad's car. The three most important visual elements to replicate for me are the hood, grill, and the rear bumper/lights. I just love that look and will be doing some research to determine what it would take to replicate that. I'm hoping I can use the existing resources on this site to learn more and further assist me in getting a plan in place.

Happy Trails

Here are some before pictures...

Happy Trails

Here are some after pictures...

stevengerard

looks great, you should save the original OAI foam, can't find that aroound anymore

jozw30

Nice to see another 72 4-speed.

Great job cleaning it up!

So did they relocate the washer bottle to the left side when the dealer added the radiator overflow bottle?

oldsmobiledave

Welcome from a fellow 1972 W-30 4 speed owner.


Can you update your profile to include your location.


Also can you share some more details on the car... options & production date.


I was surprised to see that it is a manual steering car. We know it has manual disc brakes since it is a 4 speed.


Dave

oldcutlass

Cool story and the car is in great shape. Welcome to the site and thanks for sharing.

Carshinebob

Welcome. What a car. What a story. Three generations of lucky guys get to be associated with such a rare car. enjoy. ~BOB

btw

Welcome to CO! That's a great story and a legendary car!

scrappie

That is an awesome car.

Happy Trails

The overflow was a recent addition to keep the coolant off the garage floor. It, of course, could be removed to put it back the original way, but this seems more practical. On his car, to the best of my knowledge, the washer bottle was always in it's current location.

Happy Trails

We live in Minnesota.

My dad has a document with that information, but I don't remember the details. If I recall correctly there are a handful of options, but I think one option was "floor mats", so it seems to me a lot of things were à la carte back then.

I think my folks just recently found an old picture of them when they took delivery of the car. I didn't see it yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing that.

Yeah, my dad didn't add many or perhaps any options that are standard today. It doesn't have: PS, PB, power anything really, AC, etc. It doesn't even have an FM radio.

I am surprised the steering wheel isn't a bit bigger. My dad stopped driving the car around the time my grandpa (his dad) gave him his 1962 Chevy Bel Air. That was one of the first cars I got to drive, and I really liked it. It had the 236 I6 engine with no PS, PB, or AC, (no power anything), but the steering wheel was huge so it was easy to steer. I've not driven the 442, but the steering wheel seems undersized from my experiences with the 1962 Chevy. That is another car I'd like to own, but finding one in decent shape and with the I6 engine is difficult. It seems many people put a 350 in.

I got to go with to the DMV when my grandpa transferred the title to my dad. The lady at the DMV asked my grandpa how much was the sale price. He turns to my dad and says, "A dollar?" My dad said that sounded fine and we took it home. My dad drove that 1962 Chevy as his daily driver until the mid/late 1990s when the frame was shot after too many Minnesota winters. Minnesota uses a lot of salt on the roads in the winter. My dad got a 1998 Dodge truck around that time, and recently continued the tradition by giving me his old truck when he bought his new truck last year. I already had a 1999 Chevy truck so I alternate between the two trucks as my daily drivers. My plan is to give one truck to each son when they are ready, which is getting to be pretty soon since my oldest boy can start driving in January.

Joffroi

Thats an awesome car with an awesome story. Thanks for sharing

steverw

Welcome to the site, and wow that car looks great. Your dad really kept it in nice shape. Good luck with the work and have fun with dad and the boys.

64Rocket

That car is awesome. The before pic is fantastic after sitting for 30 years. The after pic's are even better. What an awesome family project, great job.

Gene

oldsmobiledave

Just a friendly FYI power assist brakes were not available on a 4 speed W-30 & a/c was not available on ANY 1972 W-30. Their absence is normal on your Dad's car.


Post some more pics of the car when you have a chance.

Happy Trails

Sorry it's been so long. My dad and I have been very busy this summer and this past weekend is the first time we've had a chance to do anything with the car since we stopped last fall.

Yesterday was a big milestone day because we finally drove the car out of the garage into the sunlight for the first time. He surprised me when he asked me if I wanted to go for a short ride with him. My dad purchased new Polyglas tires but he hasn't had them mounted yet. The old tires held up fine for a 10 mile trip. That was a great experience. The last time I rode in that car I was a very young kid (maybe around 6). I'd never rode in the front before, so that was new for me. The car was very smooth and went down the road just perfectly. It felt like it had a lot of power but dad didn't push it too hard due to the old tires. He did goose it a little in 4th gear and it pulled away pretty good. It's pretty obvious 4th isn't an overdrive gear. I was expecting it to be louder and a harsher ride, but it was very smooth and not loud at all. It seems like it will make a nice cruising car.

I thought you would be someone that would appreciate some more pictures. Again, we didn't touch the paint or interior. Awhile back he was talking about upgrading the exhaust, which is why he didn't put the trumpet tips back on. Now he's thinking about keeping this exhaust for awhile so it sounds like we will put the trumpet tips back on.

Here are some pictures with the car out in the sun for the first time in many years.

don71

Nice car, thanks for adding more pics.

oldcutlass

Beautiful, love the color.

Stefano

Kool W-Machine!

70-442-W30

Interesting to read through the history of this and happy to hear you have some helpers. He must have cleaned it thoroughly before garaging it because that doesn't look like it was too bad of a job cleaning it all up. Congrats!

oldsmobiledave

Awesome car. Thanks for sharing the update photos. That is a car to be proud of.


Get some trumpets fitted to those tail pipes & call it done.

Joffroi

gorgeous car! That color is just beautiful.

Happy Trails

My dad's the type of guy that will take the wheels off his truck when he washes it to make sure it is clean. And I mean that literally.

He gave me his 1998 Dodge Ram truck a couple years back when he bought a new one. The transmission went out on it about a year after he gave it to me. It had about 250K miles so not too unexpected. I brought it to a busy well known transmission shop to get the transmission rebuilt. When it was ready the owner of the transmission shop called me and told me that was the cleanest/nicest truck of that era that he had ever seen in his life. The truck still looks pretty much brand new because he took such good care of it.

Heck, his lawn tractor is 30 years old but looks brand new and cuts grass every week in the summer. He's one of those guys that takes care of everything he has to 110%.

ELY442

That's a sweet looking car. You even have a rear defroster.

Happy Trails

Thank you. I totally agree with you. I hope he does just start driving it and enjoying it again after all these years. In the past he's talked about hiring out a frame-off restoration, but I personally hope he doesn't go down that road. For me the car is his car and any imperfection isn't really an imperfection but just the natural progression the car has made as he's owned it.

He's a perfectionist, and I know he's going to have a hard time seeing past any flaws he can see. I do hope that he can just drive it and enjoy it for what it is as it is.

Happy Trails

Of course it has the rear defroster. Don't all cars in Minnesota have a rear defroster? It isn't unusual to start getting frost on the windows in September and we can get frost into May. Can't plant the garden until June up here.

QMaster

Beautiful car and a nice story!

Phantom197

Great looking car

Rocketowner

The paint might could be made to shine better ,with the right combination of polishes and wax,but other than that,leave it like it is. "They're only Original Once". Larry

Happy Trails

I think the paint is my dad's main area of concern. To me it doesn't look like it has a clear coat layer at all. It doesn't shine like new car paint does. I have an old truck where the clear coat has worn or peeled off in some areas and the paint difference without the clear coat is striking.

He told me when he hand buffed it a little bit of very fine paint powder was left on his cloth. That doesn't seem good, but he didn't seem overly concerned about it when he mentioned it.

The paint on the car has protected it all these years, but I'll be pleasantly surprised if he can find something that will make it shine better than it does now.

442fanatic

Very Sharp car! I enjoyed the read and history on the car. It is awesome that you all can enjoy it together from your sons, to yourself, and your Dad, Think of the drives with you all in there or car shows and the memories.
I am in the midst of making my 3 ring binder detailing the history of families 442, and a section for the restoration pictures.

I agree with the others, it appears from the pictures there are no major flaws. Dents, rust, etc...

In regards to the paint, being it is original, wouldn't the paint me a laquor based paint, and probably didn't receive a clear coat over from the factory? Base Coat/clear coat is the newer way of painting compared to the days of the 60s and 70s.
Mine looks way better than I remember too now done. But back in my youth people did weekend waxing on their cars. You don't see that these days, and with clear coat isn't really needed aside from the cheap add on one can select at the car washes, or the car wash soap with wax in it, you can get at the auto stores.

Have you all gone to car shows this year with the car?

Happy Trails

I'm guessing you are correct in that the paint technology from the 70s to now is a lot different. The original paint is great, but it doesn't pop and shine like today's paint.

We haven't went to a car show yet. We were crazy busy this summer and just got back to the car last weekend. The plan is to start going to car shows, and I'm hoping we can get to one this year. Unfortunately, I'm also starting another big project at home. I have a large pole barn garage that I'm going to replace with a bigger stick build garage (better and easier climate control). I spoke with the contractor yesterday and the demo guy is going to start soon so I need to get everything out of there so he can tear it down and tear out the old slab. They are hoping to be totally done with the new garage by 12/1. I'm heating the garage so I'm on the lookout for a potential Olds project for my boys and I this winter; and my dad too if he has time to help occasionally, but he has his own winter projects.

Once both my boys are driving I'll need another daily driver, so I'm looking for another summer-only daily driver that looks similar to my dad's car. I only drive about 2,500 miles from May-Oct so I don't think it will matter too much if I use an old Olds motor, but I really like the LS engines so we might do an LS swap. It will depend on the project car we can find as to what engine route we go.

As far as car shows go I think we'll be limited to MN, WI, IA, and maybe SD. I don't think my dad would want to drive further than that, but once he retires I can see him buying a trailer and hauling the car further distances. I'm really looking forward to being at the shows with him. The car means a lot to him, and I'm certain he'd love to talk about cars with like-minded folks.

kjr442

I love this car and the great family history behind it.

83hurstguy

Lacquer can actually be shinier than base/clear. Lacquer oxidizes over time, and when you polish it, the color will rub off on the towel or polishing pad. If you know what you are doing, you can effectively machine polish it, but you have to be very careful.

I highly recommend you read this article... Meguiars #7 is an outstanding product for lacquer paint.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...ge-paints.html

I attached some pics of a friend's 1963 Avanti that was in storage from 1976 until 2 years ago... it is completely unrestored and has 47k miles. He machine polished it, and we have been maintaining it with Meguiars #7 and Blackfire carnauba paste wax. I attached a few pictures for reference, it looks pretty good for a factory paint job.

Unrestored survivors, especially in great shape, are hot items right now...

Happy Trails

Wow! That Auto Geek article is a long one, but really interesting, and the results are pretty amazing. The pictures you provided are pretty incredible too. I know there is no way my dad would go the mechanical route, but it was eye opening to see what is possible with the right products.

That mirror shine on the Avanti is incredible. It would be neat to see the before pictures to really give it perspective. Thanks for passing along the information and pictures.

83hurstguy

You're welcome. With a DA polisher (Flex or Porter Cable 7424XP) it's pretty hard to do any damage, and the results can be outstanding. It's not a super cheap investment, but it's cheaper than a repaint. Too bad you aren't local or we could help.

Unfortunately, I don't have any up close pics of the Avanti as it came out of storage. Think everyone was too excited to start cleaning it up, haha.