Rear-wheel driven, carbureted, V8-powered muscle cars made one last appearance at General Motors in the 1980s. Chevy had the Monte Carlo SS, Buick had the Grand National (although a V6), and Oldsmobile would bring back the 442 for a three-year run. They weren’t as spritely as before, but the 442 for 1985-87 could hold its own by the standards of the day. Based on the Cutlass Supreme, this 442 is from the last year offered and runs good but needs new paint. The seller has been doing some work on it in Grants Pass, Oregon and the car is available here on craigslist for $6,500 (double that if you wait for him to repaint it). Thanks to our pal Pat L. for another interesting tip!
In the 1980s, the Olds Cutlass was the hottest thing going. They were a huge hit with buyers, having plenty of room, a comfortable ride, reasonable performance, nice surroundings and handsome styling. Which led Oldsmobile to again tap its mid-size car to carry the 442 mantle during the waning years of the aging RWD platform. While for the first two years the 442 would be based on the upscale Cutlass Salon, the regular Cutlass Supreme for 1987 was the basis for the $2,577 extra charge 442 goodies. 4,208 copies of the 442 would be built that year – and then the era was over.
The 442, also known as option package W42, got the buyer a high-output, 180 horsepower version of GM’s 307 cubic inch V8, Rochester Quadrajet carburetor, 4-speed automatic transmission, dual-outlet exhausts, a 3.73:1 rear-axle ratio, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a full array of gauges, a performance-tuned suspension, and wide tires on special rims. All of this come with the seller’s ’87 442, except one of the wheels is missing so an alternative set of rims and tires are on the car. Before the seller acquired the Olds from the original owner, it had not been used often, but was started regularly to help keep things in check.
We’re told this car runs well and the seller has performed several services in the past few months, including changing all the fluids, installing new u-joints, and a defogger switch on the dash. The factory air conditioning unit still works but needs a shot or two of freon and the seller has two cans of R-12 to go with the car. The mileage is said to be 53,000, but the odometer reads 64,000 as the seller replaced the instrument cluster because the original had broken needles and surface rust. Apparently, the car sat outside for more than a dozen years and moisture worked its way into the dashboard (we wonder where else, too).
The Medium Grey Metallic paint is the Achilles heel of this car. While it’s worn out and needs a respray, the rest of the body looks to be in good shape with no visible rust, dents or dings. The seller is an auto painter by trade and if he were to keep the car, he’d repaint it black because it would look better that way to him. In doing so, the asking price would essentially double. Also included in the sale is a new 442 decal kit to apply after the respray and some chrome trim and the right half of the grille that needs replacing.
Work has been done to the interior to make it look nice today. The seller replaced the headliner and sun visors along with the carpeting. The door panels and dash pad are original and look to be in excellent condition. The car came with virtually every option you could order except for T-tops. These later 442s are more affordable today than the ones that started the ball rolling in the 1960s. In Excellent condition, Hagerty targets them at $20,000 and no more than $30,000 for the nicest one on the planet. So, with new paint and the correct wheels, this car could be a nice one to show off, and potentially more affordable than the Hurst/Olds of 1983-84 with the quirky Lightning Rod shifters.
I almost considered buying one of these before I bought my 1988 Monte Carlo SS in 1991. But my experience with the Olds 307 boat anchor made my choic easier. While the 305 Chevy engine is no performer, it never gave me the oil burning issues of the 307. Our 87 Caprice wagon had a 307, er, oil burner. I bought it used in 1992, and after me complaining enough, the dealer installed a new long block. GM was replacing 307s in the 1990s like they did Vega engines in the 70s. Total garbage. At least this one is all stock with that chrome air cleaner lid. Personally, I’d like to buy this, fix whatever this guy did not and drive it. Paint costs $600 a gallon and more today and with the way idiots drive today going 97 mph to get to Starbucks on time, is it really worth it? Reasonable asking price.
GM, excellent analogy of today’s drivers and their all-important destinations!
I was kind of admiring the idea of a car like this (in my price range, nice styling, V8, rwd) and then I read George’s comment about the 307! Our smog rules in California means you’re stuck with that boat anchor!! I learn things from you guys on here almost every day.
Unfortunately, the 307 is a crap shoot. Some early production blocks, just like the 403, had the thicker walls and non-windowed main webs. But, most likely, those have been all hand-picked by Stock-class drag racers in the era as replacement blocks for their ‘oil burners’. An option in CA is to find a pre-75 Olds 350 and put the 307 intake on it, after Extrude-honing. Your I/M will see that smogger 307 intake and look no further.
I thought it was just poor maintenance by the previous owner with my oil burning 307. My 1989 Buick Estate would go through a quart of oil every 1000 miles. Didn’t keep that very long, wish I knew then that GM was replacing the engines.
Oh yeah, my 1987 Cutlass Supreme was beautiful, not a 442 but T-Tops and rally wheels and gauges, buckets, console. It looked the part! After a year I sanded it, primed, and shot a gallon of shimron silver with 2.5 times the amount of metallic glitter than the recipe called for. Sharpest one around, then came the oil burning, followed by the torque converter. Never kept a car any less time than that one, and it is why 34 years later I’ll never buy another GM anything. Talk about junk from the factory, this was it.
They were cool looking cars, still are as far as I’m concerned, Pontiac also had a faked out g body but were wise not to call it a GTO. I drove a Monte Carlo SS a few times back then and despite the throaty exhaust it was just a nice cruiser. I figure this 442 to be no different,,, only the turbo Buicks made a statement acceleration wise.
Of course, no one says it has to remain stock, maybe the EPA or CARB, but a 400 would fit right in there I think, or what else maybe.
That engine bay is big enough to put whatever you desire into it. Cummins turbo diesel, 500 cubic inch Cadillac engine, big block Chevy. To keep it simple the 403 Oldsmobile will bolt up to all of the brackets and accessories that are already there.
350 Rocket was a far sturdier engine. 330 Rocket was probably the sturdiest Olds engine. Most 403s has windowed mains and some had head gasket issues from the heat buildup between the conjoined cylinders.
You could shoot straight up to the 455 or 425. I had a 350 Rocket in mine from a 1970 donor Cutlass that had rusted out beyond saving. I drove it until there were so many cracks around the body mounts that it was no longer safe.
As Tom says, the Olds 350 V8 is an excellent choice. Depending on if smog and/or visual inspection is done in your area, you could have the 307 intake Extrude-honed for potentially better flow and still keep the visual correct. All Olds V8 blocks had an extremely high nickel content, which made the blocks much stronger than most everybody else’s, and also minimized cylinder wear. The 307, 330, 350 and 403 are all low-deck design, while both 400s, 425 and 455 are tall-deck. Motor mount locations are identical, so a swap would be easy, if smog/IM is not a concern. None have 4-bolt main caps, but these are all low-revving, torque-rich engines, so they aren’t needed. The 403 has a HUGE 4.351″ bore and can take the Edelbrock 455 heads if the Performer RPM or Victor intakes are used; they both have enough material above the intake ports to hog out to match the 455 heads.
She’s already been painted at least once. Such a shame to allow a cool car to get into the shape that this one was.
I’m very leery of any vehicle with undocumented miles (seller states 1 owner but title is still in original orders name, which means mileage shown on title is mileage when new) and the gauge cluster changed out.
There’s zero correlation between a half picture of the odometer ( taken in a junk yard?) and the vehicle for sale.
Smart play is to leave the car as-is in order to sell it as mileage claimed and to include a used cluster in the purchase.
My concern would be, if that is indeed the original guage cluster and it got to looking like that, what else has that moisture gotten into and potentially damaged?
In any case, the car is now GONE.
I’m an olds guy and loved the looks of the 87 442, nicer interior than the Buick Regal, but we test drive the 442 and it was the one we liked, especially my wife. But we went down the block to the Buick dealer and test drove a black turbo Regal. The Buick was so much faster we bought it even though it lacked decent gauges and an armrest like the 442.
Seeing that Firestone with 6.5 oz. of weight reminds me of the 721’s of the 80’s. They would throw the tread and tear up a car. At speed that 6.5 oz equals 50 pounds.