Hey everybody!

My name is Kris. I'm in my 30s, living in northern Nevada. Last year I bought a 1969 Oldsmobile 442. The previous owner "retromodded" it from Oregon and transported it to Las Vegas, where I bought it. While there were obviously multiple owners before him tracking down how many has been a hassle. It could be as little as 2 and as many as 6 or 7. In doing my due diligence, I researched the vin and the cowl tag. According to the vin in was manufactured in California. While it is now a bright red; the original color was sable brown. It originally had a 400 and a th350. Somewhere along the way someone converted it to a chevy small block 350 (with a holley sniper 2 controller) and a 700r4. The rear end looks original, but the gearing feels very high. I think it's a 2:56 but I need to run the test again or see if i can pull more info off the rear end. Since the car was already messed with and there was no way to get the original engine back, I decided to start fixing it up. over the past year I have swapped all the suspension out. New UMI A-arms and sway bar on the front, with QA1 shocks, and classic performance frame support. New UMI control arms and sway bar in the rear with QA1 shocks. I have replaced all body mounts with energy suspension polyurethane bushings. I have a plan in mind for everything else. I'm just not in a hurry to get it all done immediately. I will add pictures soon.

Thank you for reading

 

Welcome to Classic Oldsmobile. I can tell you that pictures are always welcomed along with new members! There are real OLDSMOBILE experts on here, and many are more than happy to answer questions and offer insight. It’s impressive to me that you are jumping in at your age! Good for you!,

I am in my 80th lap of the sun, and while I no longer wrench on an Oldsmobile, I very much admire and enjoy following those who are in the game. Let’s see some pictures and questions as you progress.

 

Welcome to the site, look forward to some pictures.

 

As promised here are some pictures of my 1969 442. Some are before the work and some are after.

 

Kris welcome!
Thanks for carrying the 68-69 torch to/for your generation. Pictures are mandatory. Nevada = near zero rust, lucky dog.

Sounds like a Z code Fremont car. If the VIN has 344 in it, its a real 442. Which originally came with a 400G block and a TH400 if it was an automatic. If the 350/700 Chevy combo runs...run it!

Forum basics:
If you have not please read the forum rules for various things such as posting for sale & wanted ads etc...

Please ensure you search existing threads before posting a new thread to maintain forum quality. As many common topics have already been covered extensively. A quick search here—or on the Googler, often efficiently indexes back to this forum and will likely provide the answer you need. If not we are the Oldsmobile experts. If you start a thread think about its title and how to word it to make searching easier for future readers.

We do have some old & crotchety bass turds here, they are harmless yet knowledgeable.
We do try to maintain a level of class and lean toward gentlemanship as this is an Oldsmobile tradition...legacy if you will.

My post pet peeves are lack of sentence and paragraph structure and spell check, even if just a little.
I am more apt to read a post that has all of the above verses reading a giant 3000 word paragraph...not implying anything about your post just starting you off hittin the ground running.

There's the pics. Nice!

 

Welcome, good to have some younger muscle car lovers on board. Tons of knowledge on this site if you need it. 👍🏽

 

Thank you so much for the warm welcome! I really appreciate all the support.

It is a Z car and it does have the 344! I made sure it was a real one, when I bought the car.

I'm already learning! I had no idea the TH400 was available in these years.

I will try my best to follow all the rules.

 

Welcome and good luck with your project 442. Find some 442 grills to match your car. It looks to have Cutlass ones in it now.

 

Welcome! Looks like you have a good start. Lots of help here. Good to see a youngster jump in.

 

The '69 4-4-2 originally came with a 3.08:1 differential without A/C and a 3.23:1 with A/C.

Randy C.
'68 4-4-2 convertible

 

Welcome to the asylum. Nice 4-4-2. It should go w/o saying but everyone enjoys watching others spend their $$. I like UMI products, as well.

 

Blessings.

Great post, in its entirety.

Cool car, welcome aboard.

The TH400 actually came first. Then years later the TH350 came into existence for the 1969 model year.

Now for what really matters. How does she run ? I'm assuming well, as I see a sharp looking Chevy 350, headers, and the 700R4 has a great first gear. Does she rip off the line on a dead punch, or is that why you feel the rear gear is lacking ?

 

Get the suspension and all sorted out and then worry about putting a proper Oldsmobile drivetrain back in it. In meantime abuse the hell out of that SBC since it absolutely doesn't belong there.

Most guys with 68-9 442 that don't have their original G-block 400 look for a 455 since they're easier to find and an overall better engine. The EFI will transfer to the Olds engine easy enough. An Olds engine may be a little more difficult and expensive to build but when you stomp the loud pedal and feel that Oldsmobile torque propelling you forward you will understand.😎