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I'm going to try to document my restoration of my first car. I bought this car form the original owner, I think his name was Gary? Pruitt in Charleston SC. It was the summer of 1976 and a friend of mine had a 71' 442 that I lusted after. I was working in a warehouse with my friend and we were talking about 442s one day and one of the delivery drivers said he had spotted one sitting in a front yard with a for sale sign on it. I had been going to car lots and test driving old muscle cars, driving my Father crazy bugging him to co-sign for me. When I went to see this car, I fell in love. I went home and begged and pleaded to no avail, my father didn't want me driving all that horsepower. He did agree to look at it with me, he admitted that he could see why I wanted the car. BUT, he thought I'd kill myself driving it. I went out and found a couple of 4 speed models that I tried to convince him to help me buy. He finally decided the 70 w-30 was safer than a 4 speed and more insurable. I drove the car off the front lawn in mid August 1976. I HAD A 442 and A w-30!
I drove the car during my high school years and when I went in the Navy. The fuel line cracked in the summer of 1980, causing an engine compartment fire. The insurance company wanted to total the car and scrap it. I refused and kept the car and a payoff from the insurance company. I married soon after and didn't have money or time to work on the car, it turned out to be a good thing. After 21 years of trying to fix stupid, I divorced her! She couldn't touch the car.
I had left the car to be stored by a friend, but it turned out it wasn't well taken care of and had the hood stolen and had been put in the back yard and covered with a tarp. But the hood had been damaged in an accident, so who ever got it will be dealing with cracks. LOL
Now 36 years later I'm restoring the car. It will be a MAJOR restoration. I'm not looking for concourse or replicating what came off the assembly line. This is my 442, it's not my fathers Oldsmobile! It was born to run and will again!
Attached are pictures of what remains, many parts are in the trunk. I have the original engine with F heads disassembled, there is a 71 w-30 engine with H heads I installed from a 71 w-30 I had to sell when I went to college.
The picture on my signature is the car and I in September of 1977.
Does anyone have a recommendation on a shop to do the media blasting on the frame, body, and restoring the body sheet metal and paint that is near Cleveland OH?
This won't be quick or easy, but I'm not smart enough to realize if something is impossible! LOL
Thanks,
Ben
I also have a 70 442 that is numbers matching and will be the next project!
ben, great story and a cool car to restore! you will find ALL the answers here that you will need for ANY level of restoration you want. I have learned way more than I intended on my restoration lol. there are a bunch of guys that know these cars inside and out and top to bottom. they can even tell you what color certain washers are if that's your thing. plus they love to help other 442 nuts. best of luck on your car!!
Charlie,,,
p.s good idea to keep the pics coming or the natives get restless....joking............................ not really
Great story - welcome to the site!
Looks like a big project but I did not see too much collision or rust damage. This one is really worthy of a resto.
You WILL find just about all the info you will need here. Use the search feature and you might be surprised at what all you can find.
Make sure you get the GM chassis and body and assy manuals if you have not already.
Keep this thread updated (with pics, too) and share the excitement!
Way to go!!!
First of all welcome aboard and we are started at one time, so be afraid to ask anything you are not sure about. A matching numbers '70 W-30 is a good one!!! Please keep us informed of the progress.
Welcome aboard. Great story on that car. X2 on statements above. There are some great advisers here to help along the way. Pics are required so keep us posted!
You got a decent project car there with great history and very desirable colors. Take your time and enjoy the process. Expect to spend way more than you think though, that's for sure.
interestingly it has a replacement passenger side fender from '71
looks like you have the original screen for the hood, that's worth something. you can sell that the H-heads/engine from the 71 W30 and make a good deal of money towards the restoration.
The right fender was replaced due to an accident. A car cut across my lane during a turn coming from the opposite direction. There were cars and trucks blocking the views of my self and the guy who cut across my lane. I locked the wheels up trying to stop. The right fender and hood got damaged. The hood was sent to a corvette place, that never fixed it right. The hood was stolen during storage, and I hope who ever ended up with it has to continue to deal with the cracking! LOL
Progress is being made! I just got the car back from dipping. I used 122 Auto Restorations in Wauchula, FL. Doug did a great job and I can't believe the results. We have moved to Southwest Florida and I have the cars in a rented shop to do the work. She is now a silver bullet! This is an amazing journey and I'm thankful I'm able to restore this car. I replaced the trunk floor on the 1970 Cutlass and have the confidence to work on this project. On another note I may have found my 1971 442 w-30!
Last edited by 70 w-30; March 11th, 2018 at 07:43 PM.
Amazing what the dipping can do. What was it dipped in, how long did it take, how many parts and how much was cost? Was it treated after dipping to prevent flash rust?
Thx
Amazing what the dipping can do. What was it dipped in, how long did it take, how many parts and how much was cost? Was it treated after dipping to prevent flash rust?
Thx
The solution was proprietary to the shop. You can call them. There were 2 stages, one stripped it and the other de-rusted it. I sent the frame, body, hood, fenders, 4 dashes, and a couple of trunk floors. It was around 4k. Not cheap but worth it. I now have very clean metal to weld. I told them not to treat it because I was going to prime the parts on receipt. Everything is in primer now.
Ben it looks like you are making great progress. BTW - your new wife is a keeper, one of the nicest people I have met in a long time. Also to let you buy all my parts and my old car - she truly does support your dreams
June 8th, 2013, 07:37 PM
She couldn't touch the car. 
It was born to run and will again!
