On the home stretch of the restoration. Need three items NOS GM: top radiator hose, 8 track front plate and mufflers.
A picture of the most important muffler that shows the numbers from below is attached. The car still had the original mufflers. I believe the w-30 had unique mufflers. Lucky me. Thanks

Lee

1970 442
1971 442
1970 vista cruiser

 

Lee, contact Gardner exhaust, they may be able to have Walker or someone else duplicate these mufflers for you.

http://www.gardnerexhaust.com/

 

did thanks, they just said out of luck buddy but said I could buy a concourse exhaust system from them. I already have nos head pipes and tail pipes, just need the muffler which I am guessing will be almost impossible to find...........Lee

 

That is the problem in dealing with them. They will not sell the parts of a system, just a whole system.

 

Its not exactly what you are looking for but Fusick says that their's have all the correct stampings. This is what they have listed.

MOLDED HEATER AND RADIATOR HOSES:

389066

390923

405031

406382

415451

551137

393664

390921

402153

410668 Radiator Hose (upper) 1973-77 All 27.50

 

Sometimes they say exact and are not. I could do a whole discussion of reproduction vs NOS, restore vs overrestore and it would be helpful only to an owner like me that is only doing one car ever and on a budget. If I was one of those rich collectors it would just be another car in my collection. They typically right the checks and pick the car up when it is finished.

I was fortunate to have mostly NOS parts purchased in the 1980s. Also my car was California rust free and complete when I got it in 1977. This is probably the reason the car will be so nice. I have held my standard to not install anything that would bother me in the future. The steering wheel is a great example. No points off for reproduction but way too much grain. So I had to search far and wide for the correct steering wheel. Anyway Fusick does a great job for the hobby and I have placed an order with him. There is only a few items that I need to have my car right to me. You have to satisfy yourself and nobody else when you have a hobby. When a few things are pointed out on my car I will have the thick skin to handle it.

Lee

 

Unless I could verify a production date, I would never install an NOS radiator hose (or any other rubber part) unless the engine was never going to be started. Do you really want an age-rotted hose to explode all over your detailed engine? Use the Fusick repro parts. They pass muster at OCA meets.

On your mufflers: 402618 doesn't even show up in the 1974 parts book. Odds are they were discontinued or superseded long before then, which would be unusual since it still lists the 1966-67 442 mufflers as available.

Per 1974 parts book you need 1241056 RH and 1394175 LH for 4400 series w/ OAI. Note that OAI could be had without W30. These mufflers should be fairly easy to find as they were used on many different A-body engine and exhaust configurations.

1971 4400 OAI mufflers have their own unique part number 1236982 which is also used on 1970 W31/Rallye 350 and all 1972 OAI cars whether equipped with W30 or not.

 

The "new" hoses you buy are stamped with ink. The all-original 70 350 that I just sold,had the original factory hoses on it,and the numbers were actually imbedded into the rubber,not ink.

 

As many would agree the difference between a good car and a great car. Thanks Brian.

Lee

 

A couple comments:

1/ If I remember correctly, the assembly manual shows that the muffler installed on the assembly line was part of an assembly which also included the tailpipe and trumpet tip. That might be what that 402618 part number refers to (I don't have an assembly manual in front of me right now). Conversely, I would expect the 1974 parts catalog to list the muffler and tailpipe as separate items, each with their own part number.

2/ Typically, when a parts catalog states "w/ OAI" it is referring specifically to the W-30 or W-31 option and would not inclulde W-25 cars (or Rallye 350s or Pace cars). For example, the cam listings might refer to the W-30 cam as "4400 w/ OAI" instead of "w/ W30." There's a lot of similar ambiguities in the parts catalogs. That's why the assembly manuals are usually the best source for part numbers.

 

The facts are that I bought the car with 71,000 miles on it and seven years old. This could mean that those are not the original mufflers. Not likely that an owner would replace mufflers with gm brand. Back in those days we went to a muffler shop. If I could use a muffler that was more easily available I would be very happy. Lee

 

The 2618 and 2619 were just confirmed correct. The 1971 book already shows the superseded number but that is the muffler I need to be correct.

Lee

 

I was able to find the NOS radiator hose. Still need the muffler. Thanks Lee

 

I've wondered about the mufflers 402618 and 402619. For one thing, the left hand side seems to measure 2.25" and the right side 2.5". I bought a pair from our Oldsmobile dealership here in 1968 in the hope I could capture the sound one day. My father owned a Chevrolet dealership, and as bossman's son, I got to drive Chevelles, but they never sounded with the metallic gurgling the Oldsmobiles had. What made the 442s sound different over the years from start to around 1973? Was it more the cam and heads than anything else?

I, too would like to buy a pair. Do some aftermarket replacements duplicate the design, with the baffles and placement of the meshes? Rex

 

nobody makes the correct size and shape reproduction muffler. I have contacted all the suppliers and that is the best they are willing to do. Lee

 

That's not unusual on an Olds. They did that with a lot of factory DE installations. I guess reason was so they could use the RH pipe for both single and dual exhaust cars as single exhaust would by necessity have to be a larger pipe to scavenge properly.

I'm not sure what created that unique Oldsmobile noise. We had a 53 and a 60 when I was growing up, and even with the early Rocket engines and single exhaust those had that unique sound.

 

I had an olds guy comment on my nos pipe being smaller diameter. He told me they used the more restrictive pipe so the pre-heat system to the air cleaner would work better

 

Hey Lee, perhaps a long shot, but did you try Waldron's Exhaust? They do some special exhaust systems for Poncho's & others.
Waldron's Antique Exhaust Inc


208 W Main St, Centreville, MI 49032 » Map (269) 467-7185

Best of luck with that Stellar Machine, Brett