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.
If it’s real, you can probably spend $80k restoring this and still get your money back. It’s probably priced right as crazy as that seems
Good writeup, Russ, but 455s in ’70 were painted blue, not “Oldsmobile gold.”
The red fender liners were also molded in color, not painted.
I believe the inner fenders were red plastic, to save weight.
Was the red plastic any lighter than the black plastic used in the non-W30 cars? Kidding aside you may be correct back in the mid ’60s when the W30 first appeared. Other cars then may have still had the steel inner fenders.
In 1970, all front inner fenders were made of plastic on the Cutlass, 442 and 442 W-30.
Sigma76 – Do you know when Olds moved to all plastic inner fenders on their A-bodies? Were they still steel in ’69?
Being sold by one of the foremost expert Olds guys on the planet, you can bet that this car is what it said to be, a four speed W30 – and with the original M21 you know that the car was born a four speed. Being one of only 1200-odd four speed Holiday coupe W30’s made in 1970,, it is certainly worth the effort of getting this Olds back on the road. Considering the value of the parts on the car, I’d dare say that the asking price is reasonable all things considered.
Would be nice to know if the other W-30-specific parts like distributor, carb, and alternator are present (or available in the case of the carb) with appropriate date codes. It has the correct intake for a 4-speed car.
Appreciate what you see. Unicorn.
Looks like an insurmountable project to undertake. It’s probably priced close, maybe a bit high because it looks like it was beaten to death then parked. But here’s the rub for me.
Fixing a few things and minor rust areas qualify a car for “original”. But once you have to replace more than 50% of the car, I just can’t accept it as original. But again, that’s just me.
Will probably end up as a VIN swap to a cleaner ’70 body.
First thumbnail I thought no, but after seeing the red plastic fenders and numbers matching drivetrain, I’m thinking yes. If it is real, it needs restored.
I had a 1968 Oldsmobile, 442, even though it didn’t have the W30 badge on it. With ram air intakes under the front bumper, and a really rough sounding cam, and it was really fast. It had stamped intake, manifold 400 – 370. So I know this is true.
In 1970, the 455 engines were metallic blue. Red 455 engines were used in 68 and 69 delta 88’s and 98’s. Hard to imagine someone would paint the engine red in the car so check to see if it’s an earlier 455.
These are valuable when restored even if not numbers matching. Wish I could justify another olds in my line up. Best of success to the lucky winner
FYI, the red 455 engine was also in the 1968 Hurst Olds.
Breaks my heart to see a rare car in this condition. This is not a project for the faint of heart. Even in my youth, this would be a monumental task. I hope someone recuses this sled, before the hands of time erases it’s existence.
’70 is my favorite year for a 442. I’m right with what KHayes said above. It’s truly heartbreaking to see a 442 equipped like this, in this condition. I truly hope this gets saved. It may be a labor of love, you might not get your money back, but it would be so worth it.
There doesn’t appear to be anything body wise you keep, except the hood. Floors, trunk, fenders, quarters, and I don’t know what you find under the vinyl roof. If the motor is painted Red everywhere, than I would be suspect. Great that it has the air cleaner intact, hopefully the motor hasn’t been out it. Every interior piece appears to be trashed, like it was exposed to rain or snow. I would have to see it before I decide if it’s worth 14,500.00 or 5000.00 to part it out.
I guess I’m a weird person. I always thought these cars were UGLY. Compared to a 67 Corvette, 66 or 67 Chevelle, 69 Nova, 62 Impala or even 65 Impala, this car doesn’t hold a candle for looks. I have a good friend who has a car that looks JUST like this one but in better condition and I wouldn’t spend the money to make it look good. They picked it up several years ago for $3,000?? and haven’t touched it because of course it costs too much to have it redone.
It may be ugly but it’s a significant historical car built at a time when different performance divisions within GM were competing against each other in a battle of status. Lot of specialty and light weight parts all over it. I believe this was the pinnacle of the 442
Your name is yelling.
I rebuilt my mother’s 71 olds 98 with a 455 rocket motor that a mechanic said the 455 was ft pounds of torque from a 400ci motor. Her lead sled would boil the tires
so nice he documented the car. paperwork would be a +. real shame if this is what’s claimed it was left like this. this is every bit of 75k+ to restore. a labor of love. all done these will bring 6 figures if right. end of the day this is along long way from home.
It will get saved. Someone will frame-off this car. If it had the original engine, too, it would bring three or four times more. Done correctly, this is a 150-200K car. Non-numbers engine will bring that figure down but, still six figures.
That needs a lot of sheet metal. And a very large bank account. Good luck
Mmmmm. Can we say rode hard and put up wet? Can we say upside down boys and girls?
You can buy a nice one for 50k or so. You will have 75k in this heap, if you are lucky. Pass
When was the last time you saw a 1970 442 W-30 with manual trans in nice driver’s condition sell for $50k? Hint: You’d have to go back many years. But if you run across one, my advice would be to buy offer $10k more and buy it the same day.
Agreed, I’ve only ever seen two of these on the road, and the second one was only half visible, with its nose poking out of a billowing cloud of tire smoke. If I didn’t have so much going on, I’d start that ‘labor of love’ you spoke of Driveinstile ;)
And I’d bet good money that both were fake. I’ve only seen two authentic ones since 2000, (and they were owned by the same person), but triple as many fakes.
In consideration of time and money, you’d be far better off buying one already restored, or starting with one in much better condition.