“I have one of the cleanest all original Oldsmobile 442s I have seen in a long time,” so opines the seller of this 1987 edition of Oldsmobile’s famous muscle car. Well, you have to admire certainty! That said, and this 26K-mile example does look great; why don’t we take a gander here and see if we agree with this enthusiastic assessment. Found in Boulder City, Nevada, by T.J., this end-of-the-line Olds’ muscle mobile is listed here on Facebook Marketplace for $37,500.
So, what’s in a number? Originally, 442 stood for four-barrel carburetor, four-speed transmission, and dual (two) exhaust. Some will say the definition changed in ’65 with the upgrade to a 400 CI engine, now replacing the first “four”. By 1987, we could still wrangle a 442 composition by virtue of the four-barrel Quadrajet carburetor, four-speed automatic transmission, and dual-outlet exhaust. OK, that fits, I guess. Available only as a two-door coupe and based on the Cutlass Supreme, the 442 sold moderately well, with 4,200 finding first-time homes. And 1987 would be the end of the run; GM was in the process of phasing out their rear wheel drive G-body cars. The 442 designation would return later on a four-cylinder, FWD Calais, but it was nothing more than a poor deployment of a historic and esteemed designation.
What you see here is pretty typical for an ’87 442. All were finished in a two-tone paint scheme, with the primary (upper) color in gray, black, dark blue, or burgundy, while the portion below the belt line was finished in silver. We’ve covered quite a few of these here on BF, and this gray/silver composition seems to be the most common. Stated is, “Always garaged and well taken care of. Never painted on and no issues.” So, this 442 has been properly stored/parked and is still wearing its original duds – no surprise as it presents like new. Of note is the power sunroof; the seller claims that this 442 is one of only 200 so equipped. Hemmings counters with an estimate closer to 500, however.
The bucket seat interior is as nice as the exterior. It’s upholstered in the typical cloth fabric that GM employed in this era, and it shows no signs of physical or weather-related (sun) wear. Nice to see is the full complement of engine gauges. The seller states that the A/C blows cold and the power radio antenna is the only non-working feature of this car.
A 442 is all about the engine, and in this case, it’s a 170 net HP, 307 CI V8 engine (30 HP more than the standard 307) driving a four-speed automatic transmission, which spins a 3.73:1 final drive (pretty steep for ’87!). There’s no description of running and/or driving characteristics, though there’s no reason to suspect an issue.
About halfway through the listing, the seller tells us, “I have only had about a month. Couple weeks after I got home, an opportunity to now buy my holy grail car has come up, and unfortunately, I can not afford to keep them both.” So, a flip? Kinda seems that way, but I guess that doesn’t matter. What does matter is the price, $37,500. I’m not feelin’ that at all, how about you?
$37.5 – maybe if I were addled with mind-altering substances…
Low miles, real nice condition it appears. Last of the good Dr Olds coupes w rwd heritage. 👍🏁
There is so much competition at or below that price, $37,500, it’s hard to see many people willing to open their wallets that wide.
Steve R