Am I the lone 74 442 guy?

[Ransom74]

Hi all, I have 2 74 442s ,one a U-code the other a M-code,I am also building
a 85 cutlass drag car w/455, I'm at ROP most of the time when I'm online,
but I will try to log-on here as much as posible. I've owned 24 olds over the years and I luv them all. after the 403 poped in the green m-code, I put the
350 back in but with a 200r4. I have 4:10 gears and I'm here to tell you all
that this is the funest combo I've put together. I will help anyone if I can, just pm me :)

[ragz442]

I would say 74's are not as common as the rest, check out the blue one in the registry......that car is sweeeeet. It was nice meeting you in Norwalk, welcome to the site.

[mdd71]

Wish my 74 was a 442. I have an immaculate factory car however, with a 455, stock duals and power everything. I purchased it from the original owner last year who had every record down to the sale mans card whom he purchased it from.

[zodiacblue442]

`74 442's are rare. I've only seen a couple. I've got a `73 442 and a `74 Supreme. Before I bought my `73 442, I was talking with a guy whom I thought wanted to sell his one owner U code `74 442. He said he wanted to sell it! It was white with black stripes, vinyl top, and interior. The car had just about every option including the vista vent. He kept screwing around on the price. I seriously wanted to buy it but every time I called to close the deal he'd raise the price another grand or two. I gave up after a few weeks of this b.s. About a year later a good friend of mine saw the same car pull into the parking lot of the local circle track race track. My buddy's got a `73 442 V code 455 w/ 4 speed so he talked to the guy. He was a young college kid (about 19 years old) who said he bought the car recently. He thought it was "neat" and was using it as a daily driver. Nice to see a younger guy into older GM muscle cars instead of new imports. He probably had NO idea about the car's rarity. I hope he didn't trash it. When I was trying to buy the car, it was gorgeous - always garaged and about 80K original miles.

Anyway, that's one of my `74 442 stories.
Welcome to the site and have fun with your cars.


Hi all, I have 2 74 442s ,one a U-code the other a M-code,I am also building
a 85 cutlass drag car w/455, I'm at ROP most of the time when I'm online,
but I will try to log-on here as much as posible. I've owned 24 olds over the years and I luv them all. after the 403 poped in the green m-code, I put the
350 back in but with a 200r4. I have 4:10 gears and I'm here to tell you all
that this is the funest combo I've put together. I will help anyone if I can, just pm me :)

[58thndy]

When the 74's came out, Smith Bros Oldsmobile in South Boston VA got a Zodiac Blue 455 car in early. I drooled over it for a couple months (it was a hard sell since that was in the OPEC embargo days) and by the time I had my old man talked into letting me get it as an early HS grad gift, they sold it. One of the ditziest girls in school got it as her Christmas gift. Meh- her daddy was a rich lawyer.

So then when I learned about the 1974 H/O project, I set my sights on owning one of them. By the time they hit the showrooms, my folks had decided that I could have the car, or I could go to Virginia Tech. Not both. So I caved in to their ideas about my future and went to Blacksburg. Came home a year later with my tail between my legs and went to the local tech college.

By then, Smith Bros had closed, I didn't like the single exhaust 75's, and there were no 74's to be had. So I kept driving the 66 442.

After I started making a little money, I started looking for a 74 again. Still slim pickin's- every one you found had been trashed, had rust issues, or had been restored wrong. Either way I had to totally restore it, and didn't want that. Finally found my unmolested 74 in 1996.

Now to find time to finish it. It was painted in 2004. Outside is finished except for grilles. Interior has to be cleaned good and reinstalled, along with weatherstrip and striping. Oh well- at least the paint will have cured properly.

RE: Smith Bros. For a small town dealership, they sold probably as many performance cars as any Olds dealer anywhere, and a whole lot more than most. There were always a bunch of hot Oldsmobiles running around SoBo. This little concrete block dealership sold two of the 172 4-speed 1965 Starfires.

[ragz442]

Hey Ransom [sorry I forgot your first name], is that a pic of your car in the Olds Powered Nats article in Hemming Muscle Machines Magazine pulling up to the staging lanes? I was looking at the spread again and thought they may be you, don't see many 74's. I wish I could have made it last ['07] year.

[bigredddaddy]

I've got a '74, but it has a '75 front end. It was wrecked when I bought it and I had a '75 that was in bad shape. There is a junk yard next town over that has a '74 442 but it's picked clean, the hood is bent in half and the interior is almost gone. They also have a '77 wagon, it would be cool if it wasn't being swallowed up by the mud!

[Ransom74]

ya ragz, thatz me. good to get a little ink : )
Joe