shakeyhands73442

I have a numbers matching 73 442 350/t350. I'm not building a strip car or nothing just want a good street car, not sure which heads would be the best for me. I was also told 455 heads would fit???





also had a guy offer to trade me an 86 buick century and a 94 thunderbird for my 442

shakeyhands73442

hey i have a 73 442 runs and drives good, i traded my 99 aurora 2 weeks ago for it. It has the numbers matching 350/t350, i dont want a strip car just a good street car,i heard by changing my heads it would do alot, i also heard that 455 heads would fit? im not sure. how rare is this car? thanks


also yesterday i had a guy offer to trade an 86 buick century and a 93 ford thunderbird for my 442... i said no lol

J-(Chicago)

If you use the #2-#7 heads, you would be at roughly 9.2:1 compression. Probably a little less.

The 73 pistons with your #8 heads and newer thicker gaskets would be about 8:1 compression.

Either one would be fine for a driver car, but if you wanted to upgrade to a bigger camshaft, you would need the extra compression.

macrover

Welcome to the board! I see you're in Gatesville, a couple of hours away from here (Dallas/Fort Worth area). Howdy neighbor!

Nice looking car, the '73's are sweet! They're a rare sight to see.

Thanks for sharing the photos, they're like candy around here so keep'em coming!

So what other specific details about the car can you share with us? Did you get any original or factory paperwork/documentation with the car?

What color is the car? I can't tell for sure but it looks to be in a primer stage. Are you doing some bodywork or painting?

shakeyhands73442

no, i dont have doc. and it is primered, yea i used to live in desoto, like the small town life lol. it has small cancer spots in quarter panels i want to fix. i need a glovebox door and front seats need recovered, i think its to quiet and would like it louder lol

shakeyhands73442

could the build sheet be hid in the car

macrover

Ahh, desoto...that's a little closer, about 45 mins from me. lol

As you'll discover, the '73's are notorious for cancer in the quarter panels. Mind you, the '73-'77 era is cancer prone in various areas on these car so don't let that scare you. the severity of the cancer can make or break a deal, if a person is looking to venture into these years.

Depending on where your car was built, the build sheet could or could not be in a few places in the car or possibly above the gas tank.

If you were to find a copy, it would confirm which options are/were installed on the car. Including the 442 package.

What are your plans for the car? Is it going to be a daily driver...are you going to modify it...are you going to do a partial restoration...are you going for a full blown "factory original" restoration...etc..

What's the fifth and seventh letters in your VIN?

shakeyhands73442

i know the plant was arlington, i plan on making it a daily driver u have a pretty nice 73 also. so the build sheet could be on the gas tank?

macrover

Thanks, my '73 is far from being a driver. It needs a ton of work (including an engine and transmission) but this '73 project is further down the line.

An Arlington build, you might find a copy under the carpet, behind an interior trim panel, under/above the headliner, or maybe underneath one of the rear seat sections.

If the tank has never been removed, there could be one on the tank. You may be able to see a piece of the sheet sticking out between the tank and bottom side if the trunk pan.

I thought I'd find one underneath the rear seats or the rear quarter trim panel but no luck. Maybe there's one on the tank...last time I checked I didn't see anything sticking out but that doesn't mean there's nothing there. I'll drop the tank someday and rule that location out and possibly end my search for one.

There's a chance you may not find any so be prepared.

Danny Boy

Welcome and nice car! We love pictures!

Once you start sinking money into the car you may change your mind about making it a daily driver. I think about 9500 442s were made in 1973...I guess the question is, how many are left?

One way to make it louder is to take a hack saw and cut off everything from the catalytic converter back.

shakeyhands73442

i just dont want to pull it to not find it lol....no cats just mufflers lol im thinkin about runnin straights

macrover

If you don't remove anything, you'll never know....

shakeyhands73442

yea true ill check when my wife gets back from town, hey if mine is a true w-29 will the cowl tag say so

shakeyhands73442

true and i'd rather pull the tank and not find it then never know, wanna sell your glove box door? lol if possible i would like to run up there sometime with my grandfather, he has a 78 calais

macrover

Ahh man, c'mon...I need my glove box door to keep my work gloves safe and secure. lol

Seriously though, are you just needing the door? I may have one I removed from a parts car a couple years ago. Do you care about the color?

As far as your cowl tag goes, there's no W-29 on the tag. A build sheet is the proof to declare true or false. Granted you could thoroughly inspect the car and look for the telltale signs of the "W-29" parts being unaltered or if they've been collectively tampered with in some form or fashion. If unaltered, you could feel a little better knowing it's closer to a true 442.

However, a build sheet would be the confirmation you'd want to have to clear any and all doubts.

Post some more photos when you can and some of the other resident experts will chime in and help you with your questions. Have you checked out the '73-'77 Forum? You should join if you haven't done so already. Tell them I sent you. There are a few '73 442 owners over there as well. Also, register your car on the '73-'77 Registry, it's a free database of '73-'77 cars.

If you decide to come up this way, let me know.

shakeyhands73442

ok thanks man, I dont care the color, wouldnt want ur work gloves to get stolen lol ok ill check and see. how do u know if its a cutlass or a cutlass "s"

macrover

How considerate of you to spare my gloves.

A quick and true identifier (for the 2dr coupes) are the bigger rear quarter windows and the "fastback" body/roof line. So in essence, the "442" is a Cutlass S with the W-29 package.

shakeyhands73442

Im bout to put an accel electronic conversion kit on it, accel plugs and wires, and accel coil... its runnin rough. i dont think the points are workin good so instead of constantly replacing it i am gonna try this kit ive heard alot of good and bad so hopefully things will go good

shakeyhands73442

i just talked to my grandpa and he said he is needing the trim on the outside of his doors, and plastic around the rear inside windows

macrover

Whatever you do, keep any and all parts you remove or find in the car, even if it doesn't look like an original part (if there something to be save, of course). You may need them at some point or if you ever decide to sell the car, the new owner would probably like to hear that you have the "original" parts or the parts that were with the car when you got it.

Some parts were/are one year only and hard to come by.

Hmm, can you elaborate on running "rough"? How so?

shakeyhands73442

rough idle, not very hot spark, runs kinda sluggish, i pulled the plugs a couple of days ago and they were black

OLD SKL 69

Welcome to CO! Always liked the 73-77's.

64Rocket

BB Olds heads do fit, but not worth the effort in your case. Your best bet is the find 5, 6 or 7 small block Olds heads. Have 2.0 intake valves, 1.62 exhaust valves, 3 angle valve job, I would mill .025 off the heads.
Be sure to check your push rod length and convert to adjustable rockers.

Gene

joe_padavano

Changing the heads to earlier heads with smaller chambers will increase compression, but that change alone will not make a significant difference in your car. You need to upgrade exhaust, intake, and ignition in addition to compression. Yes, the big block Olds heads bolt on, but they have the same large chambers that your current heads have, so there's no CR benefit. In addition, the larger ports of the BBO heads will mismatch with your current intake. You need to get a Performer RPM and port match that intake to match the BBO heads for that swap to be worthwhile. In addition, you would want to change the pistons to increase the CR.

Bottom line is that there is no single magic bolt-on that will give you an extra hundred HP (well, except for nitrous...) but rather a lot of little improvements that must work together.

joe_padavano

I merged your two threads because they were the same question. Also, I'm sure you're aware that once you change the heads, the car is no longer "numbers matching"...

jfb

1 more note buddy much much earlier small block heads might need hardened valve seats for unleaded also installed, definitely something to think about beforehand. by the way consider a hei distributor and keep the old one and get it curved right.

shakeyhands73442

ive heard alot about curving ur dist. or having it curved or recurved what does this mean