After passing hands from the original owner in the 1990’s, this 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W30 has been in storage up until recently. In running and driving condition this rare W30 model is certainly a worthy restoration candidate. The seller is looking to unload this Oldsmobile quick running a 5 day auction with no reserve! Bidding has currently reached $3,350 with a little over 4 days remaining. Find it here on eBay out of Sturtevant, Wisconsin. Thanks are in order for reader Bob J for the submission!
While this is a correct style 455 cubic inch V8, this is not the original engine that was with the car upon leaving the factory. The original drivetrain was stolen from this 442 when it was in storage and was with the original owner. Despite the fact that this is not the original drivetrain, the current engine is described as a “period correct” unit. Although the “Ga” cylinder heads are 1972 W30 cylinder heads. In good health, the current 455 is dingy, dirty, and oily. We would opt to restore this car, and yank the drivetrain to clean, freshen, and repaint it. Equipped with an automatic transmission, and air conditioning, this 370 horsepower/500 foot pounds of torque, beast must be a pleasure to get on the open road.
The interior shot looks much like an Oldsmobile brochure photo, revealing a reasonable condition interior. The driver seat has a rip, and the interior upholstery is faded, but otherwise the interior could be acceptable for a driver condition car. Again we would opt for a restoration on this one. The dash is in nice shape, though the chrome around the gauges is lightly worn. The carpet is present, and doesn’t look all that bad off from the photos. The dash itself held out better than the upholstery, still maintaining its darker blue appearance.
The body looks relatively solid for having spent a fair amount of its life in Detroit, Michigan. Also it would appear that one of the owners won the surface rust battle with loads of spray paint. Surface rust is at a minimum, and the majority of the panels look solid, and straight. Both rear quarters need attention, as the driver side is minimally rusty, and the passenger side has actually been cut out in a small, square like section. The hood is a NOS unit that has never been painted, but the rest of the body appears original to the car. The driver front fender shows very little blue remaining, due to one of the owners sanding the fender. It would seem the restoration for this W30 has been planned and stalled a few times, but perhaps you will be the one to return it to its former glory? The chrome isn’t too bad, though there is some minor pitting, but would be very suitable for a driver quality car. The vinyl top is still in place and thankfully there is no rust around any of the edges of the top.
Although perhaps not the prettiest 442 we have ever written about, we can see the beauty of this W30, and its potential to be an awesome muscle car once more. This Olds definitely needs someone with time, money, patience, and a keen eye for detail. Would you take on the opportunity to save this rare 442 W30?
I owned a 69 442 convertible in 1978. I would love to get this. I’ll be watching this auction!
There is potential in this car and so far the price is reasonable, had a coworker with one of these and it was one bad@ss car and road super nice.
Not having the 1970 “F” heads is a big deal. Also not having the w30 build card means this is just a plain 442 with a missing motor. Cool car but won’t bring the big bucks.
I would like so see the 68 Firebird parked in front of it!! I had a 67 442 I should have never sold!.. Luxury and performance. Nice. Worth restoring for sure IF it is truly a 442 W30, too bad the original drive train is gone. Looks like Ziebart bought this one some additional time against those nasty Michigan winters!
Uh yeah…here’s a thought. Fix any/all leaks…and just drive the hell out of it like it is.
Call me a skeptic please, but there seems to be more and more stories popping up about muscle cars with stolen this and that while in storage. I kept my numbers matching ’66 Chevy II SS L-79 in a $99.00 a month storage building space that a bicycle with a chain hooked to the door could have probably pulled open and nobody ever touched anything. Maybe times have changed that much for real.
Hood doesn’t look like it is original to the car.
It says right in the write up that it is an unpainted NOS unit
In my opinion a lot of these projects stall due to what I call the Mecum factor. Current owners just see dollar signs and really believe that a car like this is worth at least 60k restored. “Why should I sink my money into a restoration” I’ve heard more than a time or two. Sellers really think that a car like this will bring at least 50% of the restored value. At least this guy sounds realistic. Proper resto will likely exceed the auction value. A driver resto sounds fun !
No Hurst dual gate shifter on a W-30? I thought all W-30 automatics had the dual gate?
Wow this car has too many red flags to be a W 30. Thornton hood is not an original it’s a reproduction. He is using terms like NOS. To be confusing. No aluminum differential cover. I doubt someone stole it and replaced it with a standard one. Non dual gate shifter as another reader posted. Why would you sand the fenders and put the emblems back on? Just a 442 in my opinion.
I totally agree with you on the emblems issue Rich. Makes zero sense at all. And that hood is NOT NOS like you pointed out. Good catch on the non aluminum housing cover too.. I’m calling FAKE on this car
As an owner of an all original survivor W30 there are several suspicious things about this car. As stated, the hood is not NOS. The shifter is not correct. The tail lights are not correct, should not have the silver trim. There is a huge difference between the GA heads and correct F heads. All of the key aspects that make up the W package, engine, heads, carb, transmission, are gone. ( All W 30’s did not not have the aluminum diff cover though). All you are buying is the badging.
I have had this car about 12 years,was told previous owner removed all w-30 items. Hopefully will find build sheet. I am picking up an original ram air hood for it today!
They make a W30 conversion kit that would have the hood, rear wing, A W30 hood & sides stripe kit (to paint them on) and I believe the W30 emblems for the front fenders. I have seen them on Ebay for I think 2k to 2.5K ?
It would’ve come with an OW transmission also. I had a 70 cutlass convertible in high school and then I had bought a 1970 Cutlass SX. 455, 2 barrel , T-400 OW (same as came the W-30) and 3:23 posi gears if I remember correctly. How do I know about OW T-400 trans?? Well I had the transmission rebuilt after I bought the car and I installed the torque converter myself and the transmission. Well at 17 years old I hadn’t a clue the converter had to be spun on and I burnt up the trans. I paid $500 to rebuild the trans . I ended up getting rid of the car to a guy that has many many Oldsmobile’s but I held onto the t-400 because he didnt want to pay my $500 firm price. He hounded me for several months finally relenting and paying the $500. You won’t find those transmissions just laying around that’s for sure. Back then it was one heck of a valuable learning experience with transmissions! Haha