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My grandmother is 98 years old and as long as I can remember, she's owned a silver '69 442. In fact she bought is new, drove it to her job as at a DMV office in a small Oklahoma town. After work she'd drive it 10 miles (have pavement/half dusty gravel) to her small ranch and park in the barn. Repeat from 1969 until the mid 80's at which time she parked the car for good.
Well last week I convinced her to sell it to me.
I'm a car guy but have always messed with 69-70 Mustangs...although I was a GM dealership mechanic in my mid 20's (circa 1985). I'm not too knowledgeable in the Olds world but I'm learning fast.
So to the car: As mentioned, one owner (granny) with original paint and never wrecked. Odometer show 69K and I can guarantee without a doubt that's an accurate number. Not only is drivetrain numbers matching ...but the valve covers and carb have never been off the car. To me the car seems a bit of an oddball with it's bench seat and column shifter but perhaps not. The silver paint wasn't the most resistant to UV and the car is not without a few small blemishes.
Spent it's life in Central Oklahoma until my dad (granny's son) moved it to Dallas/Fort Worth in the late 80's when granny had to move to dad's for health reasons. At that point the car was parked in dad's garage where it hibernated for 30 plus years. Over those years, it collected an impressive layer of dust not to mention a few cardboard boxes. It also fused it's rear brake shoes to the drums, leaked the air from tires and relieved itself of several quarts of trans fluid. However...it did run well when parked so I have hopes that I can get it fired up in the next couple weeks.
I'll try to remember to snap photos as I go. I's already received good advice from the crew on this forum and will certainly be raising my hand with questions as I dig into things.
My gameplan is to wake the engine up (all things fuel, prelube, etc) and then focus on the brakes. I don't plan on many aesthetics (or very few at least) as I am of the opinion this car needs to be preserved rather than "restored"...in all it's patina.
That is so nice! And it's wonderful that Grandma finally let you buy it from her! I'm glad you want to preserve it as much as you can. This site is great in helping you to do that. Here, it's like having a mechanic on duty without having to pay the piper for it! The bench seat and automatic on the column is not unusual - I have a '68 4-4-2 convertible that is built the same way. As time progresses, give us some more pictures and feel free to ask away if you have questions as this site is very friendly and you will get qualified answers. Enjoy!
Randy C.
'68 4-4-2 convertible
'69 4-4-2 convertible
Hi Randy, you may be surprised at how easy she starts! I inherited a 72 cutlass that had been garaged for 20+ years and only driven once every 3-4 months for 10 yrs prior to that. The gas had been drained and battery removed when it was parked. A mechanic friend spent a couple of days working on breaking the drums loose. Put gas in it and a hot battery, a shot of gas in the carb, started right up. Put all new drums on it, replaced all the hoses and drive her at least a few blocks twice a week or so. She runs great. I am just telling you this to give you some encouragement. The interior of mine and the vinyl top was redone but the rest is all original. Congrats on your car!
Sweet, and Welcome again Deb. There are more than a few of us here in The Lonestar State. I bought a one owner 69 442 that had sat for 34 yrs and still had a full radiator and green antifreeze!
One Thanksgiving day after, being back home and bored, in Amarillo about 10 yrs ago now, i went for a ride in the country, some of my old stomping grounds, and found it sitting.
It's still out in the shop in a million pieces. I think it had 60 something on it too. After I trailered it back home (8hrs without a trailer) The next day I spent about 3 hrs
on it and Varoom! You should have seen the mice nests, I couldn't believe it, ha. I had the bright idea to do a frame off, and I knew a guy.....
The knowledge on this board can only be expressed as professional. Some truth decay sneaks in once in a while but gets squashed with good conversation about the subject in question.
I will be along for the journey, and again, congrats on a great car! Shoot us a pic of Granny with the car...
Wow it's a "time Capsule". I live here in Rowlett, Dallas suburb. Those Olds motors are almost bullet proof, should not have too many issues especially the way it was stored. My 64 F-85 was stored over 30 years outside covered ( that didn't fare near as well) as your 69 before I bought it from granny in Ohio and shipped it to Dallas 8 years ago, 55K miles on the odometer. Before it was totally tore down I was extremely curious to see if the engine would start. So I did all the things necessary to fire that baby up and low and behold when it started, it sounded like a bunch of marbles rattling in coffee can. Once the lifters filled with oil, the motor become extremely quiet! keep us posted on your progress there's a lot of Club members here on this site that live in the DFW area plus the local North Texas Olds Club.
I just finished getting a 71 442 conv back on the road that had been parked since 1985, and not ran since 87. Pulled the gas tank, drained the gas, blew out the fuel lines, changed the rubber hoses so it was ready for fuel. All the brake lines were clogged with dried brake fluid / rust. Removed every line to clean out. After getting the brakes squared away, moved on to the engine. Changed the 35 yr old oil, pulled the distributor, and primed the motor / lifters to be sure all points were getting oil. Tried starting it, but the carb leaked so bad, so I had that resealed, Changed the rear end grease ( it looked like black clay ), changed the trans grease ( 4 speed car ), and once we got the carb back on it, it fired up and ran like a swiss watch. Ran a little warm at first, but it seemed like everything was ok.
Just proceed with caution, and I am sure you will be driving that car soon.
Congrats, and good luck, and continue to keep everyone updated. These guys are fantastic.
May 13th, 2020 | 09:01 AM
I bought a one owner 69 442 that had sat for 34 yrs and still had a full radiator and green antifreeze!
