Curbside Classic: 1968 Olsmobile 442
The Pontiac GTO generally gets bragging rights as the commencement of its kind: the classic intermediate-sized Detroit muscle auto. It first appeared in 1964, and beautiful much defined the category. But the Olds 442 also first saw the light of day in '64, as a special functioning package available connected the F-85. The main differences between them: 59 cubic inches, 15 horsepower and levelheaded dollop of marketing savvy. The last one made all the difference: the Goat outsold the 442 by over cardinal to same in '64. Chalk it equal to John Z. DeLorean and the Mad Workforce.
Here's the only 1964 442 advertizement I could come up with. Pretty singular too, showing a quaternion threshold, in police force trim back. The 442 package was available on all '64 F85s omit wagons. But production figures show that a of import aggregate of seven or Ashcan School of the four doors were ever built, out of a total of some 3k 442s that year. And its confutable if any of them were cop cars. Possibly they weren't overly hot on the four-speed stick. Oh well. Just if you come crossways a four door '64 442, don't sell it chintzy; who knows what that would be worth today.
That ad does arrive clear what 442 stood for in 1964: 4-bbl carb; 4-on-the-floor; and dual exhausts.
Here's few '64 GTO ads. Makes the 442 ad look like something from the forties. Never underestimation the power of (good) advertizement. Pontiac sold over 32k GTOs in '64 alone, and that was just the beginning.
Olds eventually changed agencies or demanded a new campaign, but it took few years, and in the glory years of the 1970 W-30 455 CID 442, Olds' 442 publicizing featuring the diabolical Dr. Oldsmobile was pretty forefront, if non even ahead of its time (here's a story happening Dr. O). But it was too late; the 442 never sold as well as the GTO or the Chevy SS396 Malibu, although the margin was narrowed considerably. In 1968, Pontiac affected 87k Goats, Chevy sold 67k SS396s, and Olds delivered a respectable 35k 442s. The corporate laggard was the Buick GS (20k), which was late to the performance party.
The 1968 GM intermediates were all-new, and the coupes rode on a shorter 112″ wheelbase. That gave them a distinctly Thomas More close-coupled look, and they were arguably the handsomest of the whole genre, perhaps ever. And the Olds version was the second best looking of the bunch, after the unusually clean '68 GTO with its pioneering body-dark-coloured nose. Unfortunately, the vinyl roof on this one rather mars the unexcelled feature of these cars: the C-pillar which creates a around-the-clock plane and solid persistence of the lower and pep pill body halves. This was pioneered (in the US) past the '66 Toronado, and the Cutlas/442 show it off precise well indeed, when there's No vinyl roof to interfere, that is.
Enough styling nitpicking. Performance was the 442's visiting card, and it delivered that, in varying degrees. The '64 secondhand a 310 hp high output 330 CID version of Olds' newborn "small block" engine, which actually was just a short dump/short separatri version of the fantabulous big 425 CID locomotive. That's because the corporate edict of no "immense" motors in the intermediates. DeLorean managed to swipe the GTO by that surreptitiously. Once the GTO's success was obvious, GM raised the throttl to 400 CID.
The '65 through '67s 442s used a littler bore variant of the Olds 425, resulting in 400 CID. This engine had a counterfeit crackpot, and was an ideal basis for further performance mods. But in 1968, Olds upped the big motor to 455 cubes, via an increment in stroke. For any rationality, the 400 now shared the 455's cast crank, merely with a substantially small bore to keep it at 400 CID. The result is what has to be ace of the the nigh undersquare modern North American nation V8s: 3.87″ bore, 4.25″ stroke. Not nonpareil for maximum top-end performance, but undersquare engines tend to accept a fabulously rich torsion curve down low.
Since this is an reflex, it probably has the mild-Cam 325 HP version anyway, anything but a wild and snorting performance motor. The manual of arms transmission engine was rated at 350 hp, and 360 HP hi-po version was ex gratia. The combining therein car is actually nonsuch for how this car is misused: a regular driver by a young law student.
If that 400 engine looks small, it's because IT is, sort of. The gargantuan Olds was a unmistakably pack locomotive engine, and not really a "big obstruct". Except for having a taller deck to make room for the longer solidus, information technology was otherwise essentially identical to the smaller 330/350 CID motors. Olds engines always enjoyed a good rep, especially for the quality of their blocks, which had a much high Ni content than the Harass engines. Well, at least through 1970; after that nickel for the castings became a dupe of G's nickel and diming.
The 442 had its mean solar day in the sun in 1970, when the 455 finally found its way into the engine compartment, and Dr. Oldsmobile was pushy the W30 hi-po version, (under)rated at 370 HP to stay within GM's 10 lbs. per hp edict. Additional performance packages were available above that even up. By 1971, down compression for unspaced started the long decline. The 442 name was (ab)used aside Olds for decades, even some four cylinder version of the Space Four. Lets non even go there, at to the lowest degree non nowadays.
IT's refreshing to political campaign crosswise cars like this being used as daily drivers. I've seen what seems to be an increase in time of origin sixties performance iron around town near campus, in varying states of condition from decent to rough. Stay tempered.
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Source: https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/09/curbside-classic-1968-olsmobile-442/
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