The Olds 4-4-2 (or 442) was introduced in 1964 as a mid-size performance car and became a series of its own in 1968. It reverted to option status in 1972 and buyers got it by specifying the W-29 option on the order sheet. 9,845 copies were built, but the numbers dropped considerably to 772 automobiles with the W-30 455 cubic inch V8. The seller’s car would fall into that category – if the real deal – and it’s been sitting for 10 years. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this Olds is available here on eBay for the Buy It Now price of $13,500 (or you can submit an offer).
In the last year of the second generation of the 442, the majority of the cars purchased came with a 350 V8. Just seven percent of the muscle machines had the 455 which had been detuned with an 8.5:1 compression ratio. But the motors had a high-performance aluminum intake manifold paired with a 4-barrel, Rochester Quadrajet carburetor. This gave it a horsepower rating of 300 (SAE net) at 410 lb.-ft of torque. The seller’s car appears to be one of the 659 W-30 442s built in 1972 that wasn’t a convertible.
This ’72 Olds 442 looks like a project that may have never gotten off the ground. We’re told it was parked a decade ago and was running at the time. We’re told the motor (original?) and the transmission are both intact, the latter likely being a TH-400 automatic. The trunk is loaded with parts, including hardware for factory air conditioning that was working at one point.
We don’t know if the car was stored indoors or outside but there is some rust to deal with. The passenger side floor pan and rocker panel have corrosion, as does the driver’s side front fender, and you’ll likely find more elsewhere. The faded paint is original as is the interior, which may be presentable other than the carpeting, once cleaned up. The photos provided don’t help a lot to sort out the full status of the project, but with low production numbers like the ones here, you won’t find these cars every day.
The fifth character of the VIN is a “U”, not an “X”. That shows that this car came from the factory with the L75 455 4bbl and TH400. It is NOT a W-30.
I’ll also note that the ebay ad does not claim that the car is a W-30. U-code 1972 cars are relatively rare in any case.
Oh my, I hope that no one ever relies on these Barn Finds authors when making a decision to buy one the cars they have written about…that’s enough of a difference in value to really get someone in trouble.
This car is worth about $5-6K in this condition…a numbers-matching W-30 in the same condition is worth about $50-60K. That’s scary. Not all prospective purchasers are that savvy and, god forbid, they take what they read here as gospel.
You might want to research that a bit. Value guides I checked have the difference between a regular 442 455 and a W-30 at around $8000 on the low end and around $20K on the top end. Even if they’re wrong, they’re not *that* wrong.
And any fool who buys a car based solely on what the Barn Finds writers say deserves what he/she gets. These folks are here for our entertainment, not for us to rely on.
From my limited experience this is a rare oversight by author Russ… the very limited production of w-30 models should’ve tipped Russ’ spider senses here with this Oldsmobile.
highly unlikely a real buyer is going to rush and drop 50k extra because of a barnfind article slip-up.
An Oldsmobile 4-4-2 was an awesome car in its day. My dream cars were a Pontiac Lemans or Cutlass fully equipped. The 4-4-2 combined the mid size advantages of room and comfort in a practical outer shell with a handling package and stronger engine options that made control safer. Sadly, time has not been good to the car for sale. Air conditioning in pieces in the trunk. Engine that hasn’t run for a decade. Would cost too much for my budget to pay the asking price then spend big money to make the car great again.
My 72 4-4-2 Convertible was a True 4-4-2 ordered from the factory by a friend’s grandfather for her mother who HATED the shifting and only drove it for 6 years and parked it. I paid $500.00 for it in 1983 and spent over $8000.00 have the motor rebuilt ( it had a oil leak , new clutch and top was rotted ~ they obviously had NO Idea what they had after that I had it repainted to original color adding metal flake and about 4 layers of clear coat and had the underside sprayed with the rubberized bed liner used in pickups ( known as rhino liner etc)
finished in 1989 I drove it to a friend’s party in Grand Prairie Texas and Never Saw it again in one piece 🤬 it was stolen and wrecked in South Oak Cliff ( south Dallas ) The DPD recovered what was left after the wreck and whoever stole it and torched it after the wreck…needless to say there was nothing left to salvage after the wreck & fire . I would love have another and it was definitely a W30