Hello again. I posted some pictures of my convertible a few months back when I first introduced myself to the Forum. Since then, I have been learning from fellow members the ins and outs of owning a Cutlass or 442. I have also been acquiring hard to find parts from fellow members to which I am deeply thankful.

I bought my first Oldsmobile just a few short months ago, November of 2012, and since then I have owned two Cutlass Supremes, a 442 clone, and a 442 convertible. I guess you can say I have been bitten by the Oldsmobile bug.

The car I bought in December is a real 442 convertible. And I believe it could be considered a barn find since many of the barn finds I am reading about in the major publications sound very much like my story.

The car was located well off the beaten path, in a small barn behind a mobile home in rural Alabama. The previous owner had owned the car for some twenty-five plus years after acquiring it from his brother, who had owned it since the late seventies. The car had been sitting for quite some time and the owner thought it best to sell the car, rather than to let it sit any longer. And good thing. The car smelled of mouse urine and I cleaned out a ton of mouse feces. Fortunately only the rear seat belts were damaged. Thanks to some folks here I was able to locate matching seat belts, along with a few other parts I was sure I would never be able to find. Thanks guys.

The car is complete, but far from being all original. Wrong motor, wrong pattern on the interior, after market sport mirrors, and probably a few other things as well. I reckon the original motor was pulled either due to neglect, abuse, or gas milage reasons. The previous owner told me his bother changed the motor out in the seventies, but he didn't remember what the reason was. Anyway, it has an Olds 350 in it now. Bummer!

I thought the car looked nice and I was extremely curious why the car hadn't sold. I actually asked the owner to tell me what others were saying about the car. The story I got from the owner was the purist were showing up and basically beating him down on the condition of the car. So he finally lowered the price. Thankfully, he lowered it even more, allowing me the opportunity to buy a car that would normally be unobtainable to me.

My plans for now are simple, drive the car while I locate a few body panels and a good 455. I'll also fix a few small cancer issues while I am looking for parts. And finally, I'll build a good driver.

Thanks for allowing me to share this story and a few recent pictures, as well as a few I posted in earlier threads.

 

Most of the stuff I am seeing on the car indicate it was fixed up in the late seventies to early eighties. The story from the previous owner points to the late seventies.

The sport mirrors, the door lock *****, and the Sears air shocks are things I saw as a kid growing up some forty years ago.

The attached pics are from when I picked the car up from the previous owners home. And of the Sears air shocks I removed from the car.

 

Thanks for sharing your story! Very cool car! One of my favorites.
The car looks to be in really good shape....keep posting on your progress. Would you put a 455 from 70 back into car? Does it still have the T400 tranny?

Ted

 

Great find and story.

 

x2 Thanks for sharing.

 

I am looking for a running, driving, low milage 1969-70 Olds with a 455 and 400 transmission. I need both the motor and the transmission. Just a note, I can not buy one now. I'm broke. I recently saw a full size Oldsmobile in North Carolina with exactly what I need, and for a meager $1500.00. Unfortunately the timing was off and the distance was a little too far.

The 442 is a twenty footer with just a touch of cancer around the rear wheel wells, and under the front window on the cowl, and in the bottom of the front fenders. All of it will be easy to fix. Trunk and floors are solid. I got lucky!

Thanks for the positive replies

 

Welcome. Nice find!