Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Interesting auction… I thought overall Oldsmobiles’ did well. The 1970 red & white W30 ragtop auto put up a strong number at 220K with commission. A nice car but not a concours 100 point level car, although a great color combo. The blue 4spd car did not have definitive paperwork that I saw, and NOM hurt its valuation with collectors.

The 1966 L69 put up strong numbers for a non W-car. But it was a beautiful automobile w/interesting color!

Overall both auctions were fun with plenty to see and do! RM

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

The '71 orange/black W30 coupe that went through on Friday at BJ was very, very nice. I think it went for $75,000.

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

What was there on the blue BJ 442 convertible to prove that it was indeed a 4 speed or W30 optioned Oldsmobile?

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Stefano</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What was there on the blue BJ 442 convertible to prove that it was indeed a 4 speed or W30 optioned Oldsmobile?
</div></div>

Stefano...Nothing that I saw! RM

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

I like to use the phrase with my 70 w-30 convertible. It is one of 300 remaining of 96 built. I was told that blue car had a broadcast card but didn't talk to the owner or see the documentation.

Lee

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

You guys do know that a certain parts vendor chased down the original MFG of the broad cast cards a while back. He secured original dated GM broad cast cards in bulk.

Started selling them on eBay blank, a few years ago.

Moral of the story. It takes more than just a broadcast card to authenticate special cars.

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Thanks Stefano…Unfortunately since the prices of the W30 ragtops climbed into the stratosphere within the last decade, the number of counterfeits followed suit.

Today, I would be very skeptical of a W-30 unless it was a Canadian sold car or has bulletproof documentation including an original window sticker and complete owner history. Almost every W30… I see for sale today, also includes a broadcast card. Sadly since the cards have been reproduced they are next to worthless to prove out authenticity.

It surely does make it very difficult for the Oldsmobile community to sift through the well done clones! RM

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

I would agree except there is now even people that can create aged window stickers. Very few buyers kept the window stickers. Totally buyer beware. There are also a few of the old timers that know many of the cars from years ago before they were cloned. A buyer just bought the green 4 speed that Bruce B was selling. I can take that car back to Keith Kibbie 20+ years ago and it still has some original paint too and a broadcast card. Lee

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

A '71 W30 Rag advertised as Bitter sweet color, actually looked like Sienna, popped up on eBay a few weeks ago with a great story, non descript pics and a buy it now of $65k.

It sold real fast. Spoke to the buyer, told me he got a nice W30 clone which needed a bunch of work , just to make it driveable.

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Always check with Paul M. on a 71 rag. He knows the 71s better than anyone. Lee

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Thanks for letting the Buick guy hang out with ya'll. Saw lots of nice Olds, including at pavilions. Kinda of off topic but where did the Olds microfiche go ? Sloan has 1/2 of 70, 72+ for Buick. '71 are still unaccounted for [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/frown.gif[/img].

DL

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

I heard my car made it into Muscle Car Review. I need to get a copy today.

Lee

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: dl7265</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks for letting the Buick guy hang out with ya'll. Saw lots of nice Olds, including at pavilions. Kinda of off topic but where did the Olds microfiche go ? Sloan has 1/2 of 70, 72+ for Buick. '71 are still unaccounted for [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/frown.gif[/img].

DL </div></div>

Too bad we weren't able to meet up Don!

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: LeeP</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I heard my car made it into Muscle Car Review. I need to get a copy today.

Lee </div></div>
Congrats ! I'll have to find a copy!

DL

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: LeeP</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I heard my car made it into Muscle Car Review. I need to get a copy today.

Lee </div></div>
Yes it did Lee. Yours and my '71 W30 again! Congrats , and get out there and buy a copy!
Ed

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Got a copy Ed. Don's car should have been in that magazine. There sure were a lot of Oldsmobiles in that issue.

Lee

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Xplantdad</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: dl7265</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks for letting the Buick guy hang out with ya'll. Saw lots of nice Olds, including at pavilions. Kinda of off topic but where did the Olds microfiche go ? Sloan has 1/2 of 70, 72+ for Buick. '71 are still unaccounted for [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/frown.gif[/img].

DL </div></div>

Too bad we weren't able to meet up Don! </div></div>I know Bruce! , I may have a car out there for you to inspect/photograph though

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Let me know...I can help!

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

I have returned to California after attending the Detroit Autorama with my car. My car will be home next week. The people of Michigan were friendly, partied like rock stars, loved their hockey team and cars. I was able to meet many nice people from the forums. Found an original owner 1970 w-30 convertible 4 speed guy and an original owner 1970 Black w-31 car too. They both beat me in the number of years they owned their cars by a few years. Still 33 years is a pretty good run with my car.

The response to my car was great. I met GM executives and people that built the cars for Oldsmobile in the 1970s. The most common comment is why are the fenderwells red plastic. I had a ball at the show. The Kryta brothers James and John can restore cars like nobody else and I got to be next to the green 1972 w-30 4 speed 2011 Autorama champion and a crazy great black GTO convertible belonging to John. I think the old bucket of bolts held her own and the three of us presented some of the finest restored cars around.

The Ansen Sprint wheels were received mixed by the crowd. Many didn't like the aluminum wheels in general, but when they understood that my car was presented day two as it spent its whole life they seemed to understand. The in the know loved the Ansen wheels and the vintage H60X14 series Goodyear Polyglas tires. When I told them I owned the tires for 35+ years and they were original they seemed to get it. The car looked great with the wide tire stance on the rear and taller tires on the front. Poverty caps were only used to get my car to the tire shop for the slotted wheels. I have been unable to post pictures on this site so if anyone got a shot of my car with the wheels please post here.

Thanks for the hospitality especially to the folks at Inline Tube that helped make a long trip to take my car back where it was born a great experience. I will now retire the car from the show circuit but feel I have shared a cool piece of Oldsmobile history with the people that enjoy muscle cars to this day. Lee

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Hey Lee...if you have pics...send them my way. I will post them for you! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Here are Lee's pics of his beautiful Convertible 442! I remember those Hansel license plate frames. I was at that dealership about twice a week [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif[/img]

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Those wheels ended up on the right car!


Jason

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Thanks for selling them to me Jason.

Lee

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Lee,

The car looks fabulous! Congratulations on the award as well. I know you are anxious to get her home. That's probably the longest time it's spent away in 33 years .


DL

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Very cool ride; really takes you back to the 70's when every Cutlass and 442 had a set of mags on it.

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

-----Pretty much exactly the same wheel/tire combo I talked my brother into for his 70 W/30. Unfortunatly he chose dark green with black gut and dark green vinyl top. Nice car-bad combo IMO.....Bill S

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

The lights in the convention center make my car look green but it is Galleon Gold, much nicer than the pictures make it look.

Lee

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

That's one of the prettiest hoods on earth........

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Here is a youtube video of the setup of the car. Lots of work and you can see all that Inline Tube did to help me have a successful show. I am the guy with his hands in his pockets in the shots. Haha.........Lee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3-ab...5LSGSVJY6T8uqL

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Oh yeah......that gave me my fix today.... again, beautiful car Lee..... still shaking my head over your purchase price in 1978.

Paul

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Very nice Lee!

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Very nice. I really enjoyed seeing your car.

http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/x...y/c915570a.jpg

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Hi Lee-thanks for all your hospitality at the Muscle Car Nationals. It was great meeting you in person and seeing your beautiful car. It was a fun afternoon seeing so many cool cars on display. However, your W-30 stole the show IMHO. My brother Jim and the rest of my Oldsmobile gang had a great time also. I am glad you got to see Ed and Phil. They are definitely two of the old timers in the Olds hobby.

My friend Steve really enjoyed hearing about the history of your car. It was also very interesting for me to hear about the original point area on the rear 442 bumpers.

Anyway, thanks again &amp; I hope to see you next year. It sounds like the 1969 H/O convertible in going to be unveiled at the November 2012 show. I also hope James Kryta from Inline Tube has an Oldsmobile surprise for us in the future as well! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif[/img]

Take care! John

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

John: Nice meeting you too. It has been a blast sharing this car with people that love these cars like you and others that had never knew or appreciated the roll Oldsmobile played during the muscle car era. The best part is knowing that I have been a good caretaker of this car for the last 35 years. I knew Level One Restoration had to restore my car and also knew that it needed to be out in public for others to enjoy. Heck even Charlie L. knows me and my car which is pretty cool. Lee

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Lee, car looks great with the wheels.. How did you restore them to get the correct machine finish shine/look?

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

I decided to restore the wheel instead of polishing them. They were put on an original type mill and turned down. What I learned was the early aluminum wheels have air bubbles in the aluminum. These actually show when you look close up at the wheels. They would need to be clear-coated to eliminate the flaws. Lessons learned when doing a restoration. Lee

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: LeeP</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I decided to restore the wheel instead of polishing them. They were put on an original type mill and turned down. What I learned was the early aluminum wheels have air bubbles in the aluminum. These actually show when you look close up at the wheels. They would need to be clear-coated to eliminate the flaws. Lessons learned when doing a restoration. Lee </div></div>

Lee, just about all the wheels back then had air bubbles. Poor quality aluminum. From what I have seen, probably the most quality wheel back then and the manufacturer who used the best aluminum was Appliance.

There was an article on Fenton and how they would just take scrap aluminum of any type and melt it down-did not care what it came from or what the original purpose was. There are probably a zillion types of aluminum, quality from poor to aerospace.

Today wheel manufacturers use only brand new aluminum and it is all of one type. lot more quality control today..one reason why today's aluminum wheels can buff out like chrome.

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

My car is going to be featured in Hemmings in the next few months, Restoration Feature in an issue on convertibles. I am pretty excited because my daughter was the person driving the car in the photo shoot. The story goes the car was always Rug's car (the original owner). When my daughter was born I put her in the car and said if she didn't cry the car was hers. She didn't cry and the car was renamed Maritte's car. 30 years later Hemmings came out and did a photo shoot with my 30 old daughter driving the car. I am pretty excited. Lee

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

Congrats Lee! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/headbang.gif[/img]

Re: 1970 Olds 442 W-30 convertible four-speed
 

After almost 35 years of ownership my wife and I have decided to sell our precious 1970 Oldsmobile 442. Many of you have seen the car or followed it's progress. For those of you that don't know the car it is a bullet proof documented 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed and currently the only one known of the 96 originals ordered with the aluminum w-27 rear end.

For those of you that don't know me, I am just a regular car guy that bought a 1971 Oldsmobile in high school and has owned many since. At one time I had my three W-30 4 speed convertibles with a combined purchase price for all three of under $5,000 dollars. Those were the days!!!!

I bought this very special car in 1978 and it was placed strategically in my garage for almost 30 of those years. During that time I collected many of the NOS parts used for the restoration. A few years ago we decided we needed to restore the car back to its original glory. We saved and were able to hire Gary Riley at Level One Restoration. You can see pictures of the restoration at levelonerestoration.com. Many extra details were also included in the restoration such as the original Hansel Oldsmobile license frames and paper plates and California new car sticker.

I felt it was important to share the car as much as I could afford so it went to 4 auto venues including SEMA Las Vegas, the Oldsmobile Nationals in Reno, Muscle Car Nationals in Chicago and the Detroit Autorama. At the Detroit Autorama it was shown day two trim with vintage Ansen Sprint aluminum slotted rims and vintage original Goodyear polyglass g-70x14 on the front and h60x14 on the rear.

My wife and I do not want to auction the car so it will be listed for sale on various sites. It is a car that represents well the period of time of the 70s performance era and Oldsmobiles high water mark for one of it's best cars. I was very lucky to buy it in 1978 and to this day appreciate Robert Kasley's (the original owners) vision when he order the car, W-30, 4 speed, 3:91 W-27, poverty caps, rally pack, 8 track, no console....just perfect! Even the gold color was representative of the era with three different golds available in 1970. Red and Black may be more desired and popular but gold clearly stated the 1970 era best. Thanks for all your support during the restoration. My price will also be in the area of a high water mark for this type of car but some very recent private sales have been clearly within this price range. I will always have my 1971 442 M-22 convertible so I will not be bailing out of the hobby.

Tomorrow I plan to post a for sale ad on this site. I hope when the dust settles people will feel we were good caretakers of the car. Thanks Lee and Sue Pearl