The seller says that this 1975 Oldsmobile 442 has been in storage for the last few years and it sure looks good other than some faded paint. This one has a surprise under the hood, too. The seller has it listed here on craigslist in West Covina, California and they’re asking $9,900 for this sweet green mean machine. Thanks to Pat L. for sending in this tip!
Not everyone is interested in the third-generation Olds 442 but I guess that’s the case with every vehicle ever made. This is the era when I started driving – even though I was only 12 or 13 at the time – so cars from this era are stuck in my memory bank and I think they’re great. Needless to say, we never had a car as cool as a 1975 Olds 442 when I was a kid.
You can see the paint issues but I don’t see a flaw on the body of this ’75 Olds 442 other than that unless I missed it/them. I’m not sure what the story is on what looks like taped-off darker green painted areas but being from the Midwest, I always think of rust before almost anything else, even food. This is a third-generation Oldsmobile 442 and a fourth-generation Oldsmobile Cutlass. The 442 began as an option for the Olds Cutlass and then it became its own model in 1968. A few years later it went back to being an option package again in this era.
There are no fuzzy dice (thankfully) but that steering wheel cover makes up for it. Luckily it’s removable and for the most part, the interior looks pretty good. The seller mentions that this car needs paint and interior work but I don’t see any glaring issues inside. There’s some deterioration on the back corner of the driver’s seat but other than that they look good to me front and back.
This is the big engine, although by 1975 the 455 cubic-inch V8 only had 190 horsepower, about half of what it had a handful of years prior to this. The seller says that it runs and drives great and it looks like a fantastic car to me, one of those drive-while-you-pick-away-at-the-restoration types of cars. Have any of you owned a 442 of this era?
I like this color combination a lot. I think a few years from now this will look like a good investment. You can drive and enjoy while preparing to do the resto work. Be relatively easy to push the hp numbers without showing your hand. Dang it, now I’m looking at how much room I have in the garage. Lol. The dead wookiee steering wheel cover would have to go though.
That steering wheel cover just sold me in the car! How can you not like it!
Seriously this is a great color combo and only wish it was a 4 speed car.
You’ll have to swap out the pistons to get the compression up to pre-smogged -out levels. Also put on a decent intake, Edelbrock Performer maybe. But keep the carb!
No A/C belt and maybe you can trade that steering wheel cover for one. Yes the 4-sp would be a rare one if it had that option.
If it is relatively rust-free, it seems like a pretty good buy. Those seats look like they my be swivel. Was this an option on these cars? I bet if you used a cut and buff on the paint, it would look better. If I was in the market, I would take a hard look at this one.
Those do appear to be the swivel bucket seats.
Be careful about mentioning that fabulous steering wheel cover however, the seller clearly warns that “Low offers and irrelevant questions and or comments will certainly be ignored.”
I had a black 1975 Chevy Laguna S3 at that time. It had a 400 4 bbl, not sure the HP rating on that engine but it did ok comparatively speaking. It had the swivel high backed bucket seats in a black and white hounds tooth pattern. Loved those seats but the latch broke a few years in. Fortunately they fit so snuggly in the cabin they didn’t rotate much we driving!
yep, i had a brown[dark gold?] and white striped 74 with swivel bucket seats
it seems as if maybe rust was repaired around that rear window surround, hopefully it was all taken care of
I have a steering wheel cover like that in my low rider.
I’ve always liked this body style but as we all know the motor was detuned due to government regulations and the insurance companies goal to stop paying out for high horsepower muscle cars that were being wrecked!! It would be easy however to breathe some horses back into that motor though!! How many rabbits did they kill to put the fur on the steering wheel???
The rust on the rear drivers quarter is concerning, I wonder if it is run off from under the vinyl roof. This was real common on these, rust would form and stain the paint.
The steering wheel and other aspects of this one are a cause for concern. What other issues are there that may be hidden?
Though detuned, the 455 of that year had the hardened valve seats since gasoline became “unleaded only”, also that year. These were good-looking cars if somewhat smogged down. If I had the scratch and the room, I’d be interested.
Love, love, love it these years! Sure to draw attention every where it goes…
I would convert this to right hand drive just to be different
1/2 the HP? part of that was merely classifying HP from gross to net around 1973. Some small things can be done for more HP like timing, better exhaust, rearranging some of the poorly operating smog device’s. Sure compression can be raised but then comes where to find high octane gas for that?
You can run up to 10.5:1 pistons on 93 octane. The harder part is compensating for the extra 500# these cars had over their ’68-’72 siblings.
“The shaggy wheel cover gives the driver secured confidence commanding the big Olds Rocket 455.” That’s a tough sales pitch!
Compared to these monstrous bumpers, not sure why the ’76 chevette’s bumpers are slimmer & stick out less – unless they really can’t take a 5mph hit?
Beware of the tape at the bottom of the B pillar. That’s is a well-known rust area on these cars. That is the only thing that would scare me away. I love the color.
In 1975 I found this color combination to be less than majorly appealing. Today, amid a sea of greys, blacks, and whites, it looks pretty good.
I remember when the 73 4-4-2 hit the showrooms and I thought it was one terrific looking car, this is a bit toned down compared to the 73, but still a very interesting platform for some decent upgrades.
I had a 1976 442. It was red and white stripes with a 350. It was too big for me to drive and I bought a 280Z. I have driven smaller cars ever sense.
I would actually like to own this car,but being on the west coast, and me in Ohio would cost a lot to ship…dang it.
Best friend in high school had a “74” black/burgundy stripes. 455 ran good but was no match for my warmed 302 Maverick. Loved the swivel bucket seats.
Always been a Ford / import guy. But the colonade GMs are an exception to that rule. Very cool. Wish I had a case of those wheel covers
“The “4-4-2” name (pronounced “Four-four-two”) derives from the original car’s four-barrel carburetor, four-speed manual transmission, and dual exhausts ”