Hey all,
new to this site... My favorite muscle cars of all time are 1968 Olds 442 convertible and 1969 GTO convertible.

I will be retiring soon and am pondering the idea of getting a 68 Olds 442 convertible to drive on the weekends and occasionally tinker with.

My first choice would be the GTO, but it's not in the budget, unfortunately, and it's too hard to find one with factory AC, which I require because I will be moving to Palm Springs, CA, which is a desert climate.

anyway... i'm reading up as much as I an on the 68 442 convertible... actually i'd be happy with a non-442 cutlass if it had the right options...

Best,

Tom.

 

Oh yeah.. almost forgot to mention that when I was 17, my grandparents retired and gave me their car: a 1967 Cutlass. It was a light tan color with white hardtop. Tan interior. Bench seat and automatic on the column, so not the greatest car, but for a 17 year old, it was AWESOME.

I think that's what started my love for Oldsmobiles.

 

Welcome to the site. We have classifieds for both buying and selling cars, you might check and post a cars wanted ad.

 

Exactly what is the budget? A '68 442 convertible with functioning air conditioning is not exactly going to be cheap, even in comparison to a GTO. That's like saying a Rolls-Royce is a little too expensive, so you'll settle for a Bentley.

Why do you think a GTO would be more than a 442, anyway?

Many people dismiss the price guides, and that's fine, but according to the Old Cars Price Guide, a '69 GTO in "car show" but not showroom condition has an average value of about $24,000 while showroom condition is valued at about $38,000. The values for a '68 442 in similar conditions are $27,000 and $41,000, respectively. People will disagree with these values all day, and that's fine, but the point is that the OCPG, at least, puts an overall higher, not lower, value on a '68 442 over a '69 GTO.

But in any case, either will be darned expensive.

 

Welcome and good luck with your search. I will throw this out there for you. If you find a nice car that doesn't have a/c, why not add it. (Vintage Air for example) Might help with your search and make it easier.

 

I've been looking at prices for both cars for several years now.. It seems to me that the market for GTO's has always been hotter than 442's... Maybe it's the fact that the GTO is what started the muscle car craze back in 64 or maybe because 442's were always the understated "gentleman's muscle car".

The same amount of money will get you a much nicer example of the 442 than the GTO, with more options.

Both of these cars stir something in me... always have. Not sure what my budget will be.. $25K maybe.. I'm not sure yet.

 

You might check out oldsmobilecentral.com, also. There are a lot of Cutlasses for sale there.

 

I won't really be in the market until next summer at the earliest, but have been looking to get some knowledge for some time. Thanks for the link.