1972 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS 442 CONVERTIBLE W-30 - A/C - TILT COLUMN - P. WINDOWS

1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass/442 Convertible

If you have been looking for that classic muscle car investment then thisrareClassic Convertible just may have your name on it! These 1970's muscle cars have incredible investment potential, and have been referred to as rolling bank accounts. Remember, when the top goes down the price goes up!

I purchased this nice drop top from an older woman who had owned it with her husband for over 20 years. The husband took a lot of pride in this car and completed the restoration a little over 7 years ago, so I was told. They had many years with the car and felt it was time to move on. They had their fun with it, and desired to take their grandkids on a wonderful Disney vacation.The carwas garage kept during the prior ownership, and it has always been inside during my time with this silver beauty.

The numbers matching motor is gone, but in its place is an incredible, rebuilt rocket 455..The block is a a 396021F (68-72) block and is stamped 30Mxxxxxx meaning that it was a 1970 motor (pre-smog era, and high HP) and also that it was a Lansing built motor. The rotating assembly includes the desirable nodular iron crank. The head castings are'Ka' which are w-30 replacement heads, and have the larger valves and better port design.

The motor,which is mated to a Turbo 400 automatic trans,has recently been removed, andhad most of its gaskets replaced as well as a Double-Roller timing set, new fuel, oil, and water pumps.There is a comp cam in place, but when called, Comp had little information to give me other than it was a hydraulic flat tappet cam, on a 108 LSA. The two main numbers on the cam are 268 and 270.To finish it off, it was painted in high gloss Oldsmobile blue before being reinstalled. It is, in my opinion, a really nice running motor, and you can hear the cam at idle. Also on the car, is an HEI distributor with an electric choke, which is a nice feature.

It has gone through athorough frame-on restoration about 7 years ago and was just recently freshened. When I made the purchase this was a very clean car with no visible rust. At some point the rear quarters were replaced with full quarter panels.I suspect that the trunk lid was also replaced within the last decade as it is in fantastic condition. I was told this car had never been in any accidents, and everywhere I inspected I saw no signs of this car ever being damaged.

With each passing year, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find aPewter442 with blackstripes in a convertible. Everyone who knows these cars know this color and interior combination is one of the most popular and most desirable.

The ram air hood really makes this car stand out, and there were a bunch of other exterior upgrades to help bring this car current. There was a brand new set of 442 emblems installed as well as brand new 442 grilles and marker lights.All new weather-stripping was a must as well asa new 442 rear bumper with exhaust cutouts and chrome trumpet exhaust tips. No expense was spared to really make this car look spectacular. I would say the convertible top on this car, which features a glass back window,is in near show-quality condition and looks excellent! The top frame has been gone through & painted, and all the pads, cables, etc, have all been replaced and really bring it all together.

The engine accessories werenicely detailed and the engine bay has just about every possible original factory part in place including the stove pipe coming from the manifold to the air cleaner. Most of the brackets/pulleys have all been media blasted and painted. This is a very highly optioned Oldsmobile with Power Steering, Power Windows, Tilt Steering Wheel, and a retro style AM/FM cassette Radio. All the power windows work, but I have to admit that the rear windows are slow and could probably use some grease in the tracks. The factory air conditioning appears to be all hooked up the way it came from the factory, but it will needto beserviced by a professional for itto blow ice cold.

Under the car, the frame appears to be in very good condition. Two sections of floor pan have been welded in at some point. The driver side floor has had the front and rear floor section replaced, and the passenger side has had the front floor replaced. The driveshaft has been recently balanced and had 2 new U joints installed.

There is a newer alternator in place in the engine bay. The set of four wheel well opening moldings are all new and replaced some older factory ones that had seen some miles. The dual exhaust system was just installed brand new this past week with the rumble of flowmaster mufflersand the infamous chrome trumpet exhaust tips running out the rear.This car soundsawesome to say the least.

I tried to place all of the original factory decals in the correct locations in the engine compartment, and under the trunk lid.

According to the OldsFaqs websiteonly 1,025 of the Cutlass Supreme/442 convertible models were made with an automatic transmission in 1972. They said whether this model is a real 442 or a converted Cutlass Supreme it is still considered to be like a real 442 if it is converted properly. If it were a real W-30 it would have an X in the vehicle identification number. This particular car was simply made to look like a W-30 model. The fender wells were only red on the very first '10' 1972 W-30's that rolled off the assembly line in December of 1971, so I left the original black fender wells on this car.

I'll give a little background on the 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, Cutlass S,and 442 models. Prior to the 1972 model year the vehicle identification numbers in all 442's started out with 344. That was the way to determine whether that specific car was ordered from the dealershipas a true442. This is easily verified by the OldsFaqs website that anyone can look up online. The 442 could be ordered as a separate model up until 1971. Oldsmobile decided to make the 442 an ordered option starting in 1972.

The OldsFaqs website made the statement that there is no such thing as a fake 442 in 1972. All 1972 442 convertible models started life as a Cutlass Supreme, since the 442 was an ordered appearance / handling option. Whether the car was factory ordered as a 442, or dealer installed, or a private owner installed all the 442 options, they are all considered Cutlass Supreme or Cutlass S bodies. This is why all 1972 442 convertibles have 'Cutlass Supreme' on the glove box door, and all 442 hardtops have just plain 'Cutlass' on the glove box door.

There is a 10-bolt rear-end with boxed control arms and a rear sway bar in place. The original trunk floor is in nice original condition and was coated with A/C Delco black and aquaspatter spray for the trunkto stay in nice condition for many years to come.

The chrome would be rated as very nicedrivers quality condition or better. The original dash pad is in very nice shape with nocracks. The retro-styled AM/FM cassette deck that is in place may or may not be hooked up but there are no speakers in the car that I can tell, so there is no sound.

The Nada Classic Car Price Guide currently has the 1972 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible with the Rocket455/V8 L-75 option and air conditioning listed at $76,440 in high condition, which theyconsider an excellent overall vehicle that was completely restored, or an original vehicle showing very minimal wear. Note: This value does not represent a 100 point show car or a #1 vehicle. Those vehicles can reach much higher prices.

$50,960 in average condition, which theyconsider in good overall condition that could be an older restoration or a well maintained original vehicle that is completely operable. The exterior paint, trim, and mechanics are presentable and serviceable inside and out.They say an average condition car is considered a20-Footer!

Nada hasthe lowest condition value at $31,980 being considered a deteriorated restoration or a very poor restoration, but mostly usable "As-Is!" The lowest value does not represent a parts car, but would be considered as the price for a car needing a complete restoration.

This Oldsmobile is an investment that I believe will continue to rise as these cars haveshown toconsistently escalate in value. Here is a prime opportunity to acquire your dream car at a nominal price. I tried to list everything I know about this car when writing this description.If you feel I may have left anything out please ask as many questions as you like.

This Silver Bullet is being offered for the very first time on a 7 day "No Reserve" auction and will sell to the highest bidder on Wednesday evening at about 9pm Eastern time, 8pm Central time, and 6pm Pacific time. There are plenty of local car shows to attend this upcomingseason so don't miss out!! Good Luck and Happy Bidding!!!