vette442

I drove a very nice and highly original example of one of the "dealer built" '72 H/O hardtops about 12 years ago in NorCal. It didn't have the W45 on the tag, but it was born as an 11/11 paint code, U code 455, Dual Gate, and had the correct half vinyl top, reflective stripes, blacked out taillights/grilles, etc. It was extremely correct and I'm the first person to nitpick. There were probably some fairly strict guidelines on how these additional cars were to be assembled if done by dealers.
Terry

performance motors

Did it have the w30 options like this one. I'm wondering if the dealer would take it that far for $695.00? Everything on this car is w30. except the vin!

Allan R

The engine it was born with is an L75 250 HP. Sure you can make all the changes you said at the dealer. That doesn't change the fact it was born with an L75 instead of an L77. Would a dealer take it that far? Personally I doubt it. Those cars sold pretty well without any problems. IMO the first owner may have thought it was the only way to get W30 performance and HO looks in a sold out market. Olds dealers had no trouble selling limited production HOs in 72 so my money is on someone buying the car and wanting the HO look with W30 performance as an add on.

performance motors

I'm just hoping I can come up w some sort of docs. besides the dealer invoice. Either way, I believe this is a very rare car! I'm going to call the dealer in the mornin just to see what they say.

*ssholesGarage

my two cents: i tend to think that the factory couldnt guarantee that the dealer would install any of the H/O package, so no X in the vin and no W45 on trim tag.

Allan R

From what I have seen researching this, there were a fixed number of HO's produced. That means Fisher would have received orders for those specific bodies - it was Fisher who put the W45 or W46 on the cowl tag - not Lansing. IMO not having an X in the VIN is not the deciding factor here.

From Hurst Production by the numbers the following quote suggests that HO production was augmented by clone HO's even back in the day:
IMHO this is what the car in question falls under.

Vega

This is why i love clones lol. Performance is what made the cars rare and desireable in the first place. Better performance at a lower price? Yes sir, sign me up haha

Kinda off topic but relevent-ish. Anyway, as far as this car goes, it has every bit of equipment for a W30, and the popular conclusion is that it was installed at the dealership, which in my opinion is 100% just as good as "factory" (otherwise Stage 1 Buicks are irrelevent, etc, etc). All of the equipment is there, i think its annoying that not having the impressions of certain letters and numbers can ruin all that when the really important thing should be the equipment. After all, those letters and numbers are there to identify that very equipment. If youve identified it without those special letters and numbers that should be good enough

Just one guys opinion. Not lookin for an argument but wanted to add my 2 cents cause ive seen this a lot and it gets under my skin sometimes

m455sx

my SX came from there and i contacted them 6 months ago and they have records from way back then.

performance motors

Valley olds in Roanoke, VA.? I called them last week and they said their records only went back a year or so. I talked to a receptionist and she talked to a mgr. and called me back. If it was, do you remember who you talked to and what kind of info did you recieve. Any help would b awesome!!!!!!

m455sx

Yes my SX was purchased from there, i spoke to a salemen that put me in touch with a manager. I ask him to see if any records or paperwork was stored and he said they only keep records for 5 years and then they dispose of them.

performance motors

I thought u said they do have records going back that far?