First, I'll start off with a few insignificant factoids. I am a member of OCA, and I've lived in Michigan for most of my life. Although my first love is directed towards the Pontiac GTO, my links to Oldsmobile are familial. I have many first and second-tier relatives who worked for Oldsmobile in the Lansing home plant during the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s. As a youth living in the Lansing area, I recall a grade school field trip to the Olds assembly plant. This would have been in the 1965 to '66 time period. Two memories from that visit that stand out are -- the cool trams that carted us around the plant tour, and the long line of engines hanging on hooks, traveling on an overhead conveyor.

I don't currently own an Olds product, but my fleet leans heavily toward the GM make. My first car, purchased in 1977, was and still is a 1974 Pontiac Ventura. I bought a '67 GTO in 1979. I sold that goat in '82 and purchased my current GTO later that same year. So, if some of my posts carry a faint waft of Pontiac, forgive me.

I purchased my first new vehicle as a 1997 Ford Ranger Splash. At the time, I lived in St. Paul, MN, and I was able to arrange to follow my new truck down the assembly line as it was being born in Ford's Twin Cities Ranger plant. That truck has served me well for the last 14 years and 100,000+ miles. I also own a 1987 Buick Regal Grand National that my youngest brother purchased as a new car in 1988. I bought the black Buick from him in 1991. The GN now has a whopping 21,000 miles and still rolls on its original Eagle GT tires.

I am an automotive illustrator by trade. I am also an author. I self-published a book on GTO/GT-37 identification codes, numbers and options in 2004. If you're interested, go to my website at whitehouse-graphics.com to view my American Muscle Car illustrations (I offer an illustration of the '68 Hurst/Olds) for sale and to see details on the GTO numbers book.

My current project, and the reason I'm haunting this forum, is a companion book patterned after the GTO illustrated identification guide. This new offering will cover the 442, W-machines and Hurst/Olds offerings from 1964 through 1987. I've been researching and compiling, living and breathing Rockets for the last year. I've only worked my way through 1975, so I have at least another year of work, research and discovery ahead of me before the new project reaches completion. I am anticipating the hard research work to be ahead of me on this book. Finding information on the '64 through '72 A-bodies was fairly easy; '73 through '87 will be much tougher.

Besides owning, maintaining and, best of all, driving American muscle cars, I also dabble in restoration. I've performed most of the mechanical restoration work on both of my old Pontiacs. I don't do body or paint work, but I do most of the wrenching and detail work myself. I've also worked on Corvettes, a '68 Hemi Road Runner and an '88 Monte Carlo SS.

I hope to share some of my newly gained knowledge of many things 442/Hurst, and that I can find answers to many questions of my own here on the Oldsmobile forums.

Eric

 

Welcome to CO Eric. Don't you really think that owning an Oldsmobile would enrich your experience and knowledge base as an enhancement to your skills for writing your book?

 

Excellent. Oldsworld needs a comprehensive and accurate book like that. Cars & Parts magazine published one several years back, and while it's good, it could use more detail.

There are people here who can help you.

You ever run into anyone who says Pontiac never made a T-37/ GT37? or worse says "What the hell is that?"

 

Welcome aboard

I beleive you've come to the right spot.
BTW, There are several guys here with Goats.

 

I would love to own a 442 or maybe even an H/O. Right now, however, I am finding it very difficult to remain in possession of the collector cars I do have, event though they have all been paid for decades ago.

My new book is not so much a written document as it is a collection of facts and figures with some illustrations. It is a gathering of codes, part numbers, production figures and prices. Owning an Olds will not help my efforts in covering 23 years of Olds muscle. It might help my psyche though.

 

Oh yea, there are always those numbskulls out there. Or someone who says that his dad bought a new 442 in '64 that had an automatic trans, and to prove it, he's still got the car. The one of none syndrome.