W-30 455 V8 Project: 1970 Oldsmobile 442

In the 1960s muscle car wars, General Motors had the market covered in spades. Pontiac had the GTO, Chevrolet had the Chevelle SS 396, Buick had the Gran Sport, and Oldsmobile had the 442. The latter’s numbers stood for a four-barrel carburetor, four-speed manual transmission, and a dual exhaust. The seller has a rough 442 from 1970 with the W-30 package (455 V8) and could be one of 3,100 built that year. Though it runs, a restoration will be an involved and costly undertaking. From Middlefield, Connecticut, this project or donor is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $14,500 OBO. A nod goes to “Zen” for the tip.

The 442 was in the Oldsmobile lineup from 1964 to 1987 (with a gap between 1981 and 1984). The 1970 editions may have been the most potent, as GM had dropped its cap on engine displacement to 400 cubic inches in mid-size cars. The W-30 brought 370 horses and 500 lb⋅ft of torque to the party. The seller says this rough Cutlass derivative is a real W-30, but verification was done through his own efforts and not factory paperwork.

Of the 3,100 W-30s built in 1970, 2,574 were 2-door hardtops like this one (the rest convertibles and pillared coupes). This vehicle is described as a barn find with 90,000 miles. From the amount of rust and general deterioration inside and out, it’s been idle for some time. The 455 is period-correct with some original parts. It has an M-21 manual transmission, which is numbers-matching.

The seller can’t bear to part it out even though some of the pieces might bring decent cash. If the buyer wants to restore or dismantle it, that task is up to him or her. The wheel wells under the hood are painted red (original), but the color of some of the engine bits is red rather than Oldsmobile gold. The gold paint is an older repaint, and the original white stripes are hiding beneath. Besides what you see here, the seller also has a bunch of spares that fit this Oldsmobile – but they’re not part of the sale price.