The owner of this 1969 Oldsmobile 442 has commenced the restoration process but has decided to part with the car before it is complete. With the ongoing popularity of the 442, there has been some interest shown in this car. At the time of writing, bidding has reached $5,600, but the reserve hasn’t been met. If you would like to take this 442 on and finish the restoration, you will find it located in Bartlett, Illinois, and listed for sale here on eBay.

The paint on the 442 is fresh, so it isn’t a big surprise to not be able to see any signs of rust or corrosion and see that the panels are nice and straight. It appears that most of the external trim items are present, and just haven’t been attached to the car at this stage. The soft-top looks like it might also be in pretty good condition, although the rear window does look a bit cloudy. Still, I can’t think of a better way to catch the UV rays in Summer than cruising around in this car with the top down.

For me, this is where things get a bit fuzzy with this car, so if I’m about to make a mistake, I hope that one of our Barn Finds readers will set me straight. The owner describes the 442 as all original but then states that there is a 455ci V8 under the hood. Now, I was pretty sure that in 1969 the 455 was only available in the Hurst/Olds, and wasn’t officially available in a 442 until 1970 when it became standard fitment. The only other thing that we know about the 442 is that it is fitted with an automatic transmission. It also looks like the 442 is fitted with power steering, power brakes, and air conditioning. Regardless of the state of the engine, everything under the hood is going to require some cleaning and detailing if it is going to meet the standard set by the outside of the car.

Once again, we look at a photo, and there’s not much that we can deduce from it. What we can see of the interior looks promising, but there is so little that we can actually see. It does appear that the car is fitted with a bench seat rather than buckets, and this would mean that the shifter for the transmission would be on the column. Apart from that, it really is a case of your guess being as good as mine.

With prices starting at around the $38,000 for a reasonable ’69 model 442 and heading up into the high $60,000 bracket, there is no questioning the fact that the 1969 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible is a popular car. This one has the potential to be a really nice one. Personally, I’d like to see the car when it’s finished to see how well it finally presents.