1968 Oldsmobile 442
Restorations Projects
First I want to say I did not do the restoration of this car. The work in this thread was done from another great Oldsmobile fan that I bought this car from. I don't want to take any credit for his work.
Second, the car is done. I just wanted to post pictures of the restoration process online to share and keep as a backup. Maybe it can help others down the road if they are also restore a 68 442.
THE CAR:
Cowl Tag
D55 M40V 29
68 34487 05(S)312747
940. 2-1-5. CGG
VIN
3448781111438
3=Olds
44=442 V8
87=2dr Holiday Coupe
8= 1968
1= Oshawa
11438=Production number
Options
Since it is Canadian built, the original option information can be retrieved.
Vehicle: 1968 Oldsmobile 442.
Trim: 940 - Black Buckets
Paint: G- Willow Gold Metallic
Stripe: C - Provincial White.
Production Plant: Oshawa Ontario Canada
Production Date: January 10, 1968
Shipping Date: January 11, 1968
Model Number: 34487 - 442 - 2dr holiday coupe
Engine: 400 CID 325 HP 4bbl Rocket V8
Engine Number: 8243162
Dealer: Ross Wemp Motors Ltd., Rexdale Ont
Number Produced for sale in Canada (same model number only) 1,070
RPO Code Description
AS1 - SEAT BELTS: FRONT SHOULDER HARNESS
A81 - HEAD RESTRAINT - SEATBACK
B32 - MATS: FRONT FLOOR
B33 - MATS: REAR FLOOR
D55 - FRONT COMPARTMENT FLOOR CONSOLE
J52 - BRAKES: FRONT DISC
M40 - TRANSMISSION: 3-SPEED AUTOMATIC (THM 400)
N34 - STEERING WHEEL: CUSTOM SPORT
N40 - POWER STEERING
PW8 - TIRE: F70-14-4 PR - RED STRIPE
U29 - LAMP: COURTESY, INSTRUMENT PANEL
U63 - RADIO: AM PUSHBUTTON
U80 - AUXILIARY SPEAKER REAR
Z49 - MANDATORY CANADIAN BASE EQUIPMENT MODIFICATIONS
Owner History
The Original Owner
Original owner bought the car when he was 18. He then sold it to his dad in 1970. The original motor seized in 1971 due to the oil pump. GM replaced the entire engine on warranty. The replacement engine was not stamped. The dad owned the car until 1978 until he sold it to a colleague. It was driven until 1989 where it was parked. The colleagues daughter sold it to an Oldsmobile enthusiast in 2012, Ted, who did the restoration shown in this thread. I was then lucky enough to buy it from him, because I was looking for a good driver, 68 442, that was willow gold (just loved the strange old color), black interior, with buckets.
The car's nickname was "the sleeper".
Restoration pictures to come....
Some of the pictures of the condition before most of the work was started on the restoration. Needless to say, it had some rust damage.
Build sheet
Some pictures of the work that was done....
Lots and lots of metal work
New trunk floor pans
Brakes redone.
The replacement 400 engine was taken out to be replaced for a 455 from a 1972 Olds.
Original carb
New gas tank
Start numbers
New paint, back to the original willow gold.
Trim being put back on.
Redone interior seats.
The final product. New bumpers were purchased and installed.
I've always loved the poverty caps so I'm trying those on now.
If the previous owner (Ted) ends up reading this, I want to thank him again for saving another fantastic Oldsmobile.
Dude, sweet story and nice ride. Looking forward to helping tune it up soon. I like the dog dishes, but I really think you should put some red line tires on it. ;)
83hurstguy wrote:Dude, sweet story and nice ride. Looking forward to helping tune it up soon. I like the dog dishes, but I really think you should put some red line tires on it. ;)
Thanks! I want to (and so did the previous owner), especially since the car originally came with them. But they priced out at a hefty penny! Maybe down the road I can get those slapped on.
My friend with the '69 H/O is a rep for Kelsey, he sells them at a discount. Still not cheap, but it's about the only break on Goodyear red lines you can get...
Just for fun, happen to know what the price would be per tire with the discount?
I finally decided to take my car a step closer to what it looked like out of the factory and add the rarely seen GT stripe the the cowl tag said it came with.
