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My wife and I are the owners of a 1969 Oldsmobile Holiday Coupe 442. We purchased it in 2017 at an auction and we have spent a good part of the last 19-1/2 months improving an already beautiful car.
Hopefully this summer will yield more drive time and less wrench time than the past and the changes we have made will make a great car even more enjoyable. Living in Upstate New York means not having a long season to enjoy the toys, so you have to make the best of it when you can.
Our other cars are a 2008 Corvette Z51 coupe and a 2015 Camaro 2SS coupe.
Thanks for the opportunity to post on Classic Oldsmobile and safe driving to all.
Welcome to the best Olds site there is! A beautiful car you have and, as with you, I like the C6 Corvettes the best! If you have questions regarding your 4-4-2, ask them here. There is a tremendous amount of solid, professional knowledge here and the best part is, it's free!
Randy C.
'68 4-4-2 convertible (Best In Class at the 2011 OCA Nationals in Reno NV)
'69 4-4-2 convertible (a great driver!)
Welcome to the CO forum. Lots of excellent Oldsmobile information here. Best Olds forum around. Nice car you have and would like to see more pictures and info about it. Lived in Western Upstate (Chili/Rochester) area from 72 to 82 and thats where I got bit by a 67 Marina Blue/White 4 speed two top roadster. That started three more vettes in Cinncinati and Cleveland. Now have a 66 Cutlass. I really enjoy my Olds. Welcome.
To all who have replied and admired the car, Thank you.
The roof is a replacement Parchment White vinyl as originally ordered from the factory in Sept. 1968. The interior is blue. It was heavily optioned when ordered and stickered just under $4800. It is a nice car. Built at Fremont, CA and delivered to Boulder, CO. From the history I have been able to piece together, it resided in Colorado, Arizona and Texas for the majority of its life and was sold to a couple in Wisconsin in 2006. It had been sold by that couple and stored in Illinois for an unknown period of time. I am trying to get the barn smell out of it. LOL.
I immediately started repairs on the car upon delivery. The rear axle had been swapped out for a 1970 model in the past and needed a rebuild. That was done in Sept. of 2017. Last winter I took the dash apart to fix a lot of little things and replace the front speaker. I also replaced/refurbished the entire suspension (Eaton-Detroit springs, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, 1-1/4" & 1' Addco anti-sway bars, all new bushings, grade 8 hardware and new Moog upper and lower ball joints. Added additional sound proofing under the carpet and uncovered the original build sheet. It kinda looks like a Dead Sea Scroll but is pretty much intact.
This past winter, I installed a Borgeson (600 series Delphi 12.7:1) steering box, new pump, pulley, hoses and rag joint coupler. I just finished a conversion to 4 wheel 11" power disc brakes and all stainless steel brake lines. I have also done some additional little things to return the car to a stock appearance. I had previously gone through the entire 4 wheel power drum brake system and installed new cylinders (wheel & master), new hardware, new adjusters, shoes, hoses and drums, but the car was way too heavy for 4 wheel drum brakes. If the cheapest piece of iron on the road now can stop in less than half the distance I could with drum brakes, I figured it was only a matter of time before someone caused me to bend some 50 year old sheet metal. That prompted the change to 4 wheel disc. The car is entirely different and much more enjoyable with the steering and brake upgrades.
With these recent changes I have a lot of items up for sale including all the nearly new brake equipment, factory anti-sway bars, booster, master cylinder, complete front assemblies with steering arms, new hubs and spindles, complete rear brake assemblies, the original front hubs, steering box, etc. The brake items have less than 200 miles on them.
Also to answer other questions, my wife and I live in Rochester (Greece), NY. Lovely Western New York.
Spring is almost here. A few more snow storms and I think we will have Winter beat. Ha.
Welcome and thank you for sharing the story behind your car.
Glad you went through with the 4 wheel discs. I lost my 4 wheel drum 69 Cutlass to a Plymouth Navigator during a morning commute. Even just disc in the front makes a big difference. Out of curiosity, is the emergency brake an internal drum version or the lever on the back of the caliper?
The steering box sounds really great. I put it in both my Camaro's. It's nice to have the responsiveness for driving. It's what these marvelous machines are made for.
Welcome and thank you for sharing the story behind your car.
Glad you went through with the 4 wheel discs. I lost my 4 wheel drum 69 Cutlass to a Plymouth Navigator during a morning commute. Even just disc in the front makes a big difference. Out of curiosity, is the emergency brake an internal drum version or the lever on the back of the caliper?
The steering box sounds really great. I put it in both my Camaro's. It's nice to have the responsiveness for driving. It's what these marvelous machines are made for.
Sorry for the delay in response, I just received the notification of a post.
The parking brake assemblies are the lever actuated ones that work off the caliper assembly versus the top hat style internal (Mini) drums brakes on many other vehicles. The change to 4 wheel discs was a major upgrade in braking power, stability and ease of mind compared to the old 4 wheel power drums. The steering box upgrade was a marvelous change. Very responsive and the car doesn't drift all over your lane while driving and holding the wheel rock solid. Since then, there has been major surgery to repair the heater controls and the "clicker" switches for the heat/defrost and AC controls, a correct clutch assembly for the radiator cooling fan and a correct 18" 7 blade fan, new fan shroud, chrome valve covers, new OEM style exhaust system and much more. It is an old Oldsmobile, so the work is never done. LOL. More updates this coming winter. COVID-19 kind of squashed all the car shows and the majority of the cruise-ins. A few going on weekly, but they are few and far between. Heres to a better year in 2021.
Stay safe and cruise when you can.
TR
Last edited by t574513r; Jul 25, 2020 at 12:46 PM.
Thanks.
I forgot that I recently installed a reproduction coolant recovery tank kit. It didn't fit exactly as original but it is in and seems to be working as designed. Still more work to do over the cold season in New York State. I have 2 slow rear quarter power windows I need to address. Major undertaking to get those out. I did lube things up in the Spring, but the motors seems to be getting weak on each side. Like I said, it is 51 years old (to be 52 in September 2020) and it needs TLC. Something a series of previous owners did not believe in. Getting more like a new car every day. Cha Ching.
TR
