Gear heads, need advice

[JACKSONFREAK]

Rich.. i dont even have it yet.. But if i do get one. Ill at leaat let ya sit in it..
or maybe just drive it to work someday and show it off.
Gil

[LouSiffer]

I had a 72 442. Fun car, but down on factory power compared to the previous years.

You won't need a lead additive or octane booster as the compression was low enough, plus, I think the car was geared for unleaded IIRC.

I love the Olds motors. You can put headers on them and still have easy access to the plugs as the plugs are above the exhaust ports. There is plenty of room to R&R the starter with headers. Only catch is that some of the 72's had the brake proportioning valve on the side of the frame and it was in the way of the header tube. I don't know why it was only some. Regardless, just heat and tweak the tube and its no problem.

The Olds motors have a tendency to suck the oil pan dry and the return is a little slow causing engine failure. This limited their RPM's to around 6000-6200. I put a stroker kit and oil restrictors in mine with a ton of other goodies from Mondello ( which, if you are a gear head, check out his Olds website for info!!). It brought it up to 492 Cu In IIRC and I could shift at close to 7000 grand with no problems.-Lou

[Rich#6]

For myself I would go for one that is not mint or rare, so you can I could change shit out to improve HP but not hurt the value. In 72 they may have dropped HP in some models ( I think they actually started lying) but when it comes to body styles there was some good ones. 72 is my favorite year for the GTO. Gotto love that 455 big block.

maybe just drive it to work someday and show it off

I have car snobbs at work. I will have to have you over for a BBQ you can show my wife she loves mucle cars as much as me.

[Firebird V]

Barret jackson Auctions bring in insane bucks for cars of that era.

[SEEGERMANY]

I'm gonna buy the gas station located right around the corner from your house!

[straycat]

I had a 67 442 British racing green/black vinyl top, 4 speed, 400 cu in/4 barell carb.
Olds rally wheels and red stripe Goodyear rubber.
Am/Fm radio with 8 track tape player.
The Hurst Olds only came in black and gold or white and gold.
The Hurst Olds had the his/hers shifter tied to an automatic trans.

[mccullpl]

I've been in to Olds' for years...I have a 72 Cutlass convertible, and a 68 442 W-30. Great cars! Anyway, the 4 barrel/4 speed/2 (dual) exhaust was only true for the 64's. In 65 and up, you could get an auto, but it came with a 400 instead of a 330, so you could say it was 400/4 barrel/2 exhaust. 70 brought the 455, so 442 didn't really mean anything anymore. 71 and up are designed with hardened valve seats, so you can run unleaded. Actually the older cars don't really need any lead additive either, because Oldsmobiles had a lot of nickel in the iron. Chevy's had issues with that...Good luck! I know the prices have been going through the roof on these old cars, but with $3 gas, and a slow economy, those prices have probably softened.

Pat