Oldsmobile 442 from 1964-1972: The muscle car era

Welcome to Auto Chatter. Todays episode is about the first few generations of the Oldsmobile 442 and Hurst/Olds versions from the 1960's and early 70's. These "gentleman Hotrods" were Oldsmobile's contribution to the musclecar craze of the era. I hope you enjoy it, and if theres a high enough demand, we can explore the later year model 442's as well! Thank you for giving this a watch!

[@OLDS98]

Thank you for the mention at the end of the video. It is appreciated. I heard that comment about the Oldsmobiles sitting up in front of the senior citizen's center. That was not all Oldsmobile. It was the 1990's Cieras. I got your joke. You did an excellent job with the video. You should do a part two and going into the late 1970's versions even the one with the awkward styling. You should cover the 1980's 442 because of Hurst/Olds and the 442 with the high out put 307 V8. That have gained traction. There was the front wheel drive Calais 442 too. People are discovering those now as I have seen videos on You Tube about them. You earned a A+ for this video. You really covered the beginning well into the early 70's quite well. I will leave you with these videos: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2Ktkn5orrGUj5I and kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYK9h2mnZZWmi8U and kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2mYmYSpqdStgNk and kzbin.info/www/bejne/b2OqqGZ3rcSdY7c and kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJvNg3Sjm8ZgqZY

[@autochatter]

Thank you! Yeah a part two would be fun. I actually have a commercial for the Calias 442 towards the end.

[@OLDS98]

@@autochatter You are most welcome. Yes indeed a part 1973-1991 would be nice. You did a great job indeed. I will leave you with these videos: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX69naGsh552atU and Oldsmobile was looking into bring back performance Oldsmobiles in 2000: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jl6UfJuQd5WMrck

[@autochatter]

@@OLDS98 Thank you again!

[@averyparticularsetofskills]

Yup Chatter, 2 is a MUST ❗✌

[@ericbritton9346]

Oldsmobile would have went out with a bang in 2004 if the Cutlass 442 was made alongside the Chevy Chevelle and Pontiac GTO.

[@trainglen22]

I also remember an Oldsmobile Cutlass called the Rally 350. The 442 were among my favorite cars from the late 1960's.

[@autochatter]

Yeah..I mention and show a Rallye 350 in the vid..One year only trim in yellow.

[@h.paulsprojects3061]

Yes, more 442 story!!

[@MotorMaster_Stunticon]

Great chatter. Thanks for shining light on these lesser talked-about Oldsmobiles.

[@autochatter]

Thanks Rob! I would have thought of all the Oldsmobiles, the 442 would have been a prominent one!

[@madmex2k]

I had a 1971(Galleon Gold?) 442 with the 455 in it. This car, like a few others I bought as a teenager and in my early 20s, was passed down through my family. This one starting with my Brother-in-Law to my brother, then eventually to me. I bought it in 1982 for 500 dollars. It had been front end wrecked and repaired, the orginal engine died in the crash, so another 455 was salvaged and installed from a 70s model Vista Cruiser Wagon. It was a runner for sure. I rebuilt a lot of the interior and the TH400 transmission eventually, as it had suffered abuse from before the crash. We put a shift kit in it, and a torque converter from a TH350, giving it sort of a stall speed to launch from. With a Sun Tach installed in the dash blank where the clock should go, I would power bake it and launch it between 2500-3000 rpms. I had to replace a few motor mounts doing this, hence using the shade tree mechanics trick of chaining the engine to the right side of the frame to stop the motor twist on alunching. It ain't stupid if it works. I also believe it had the 3.91 rear end. Definitely loved this car so much as a young kid, and lucky to have had it. I even bought a 1986 Cutlass with a 307 in it, which was a decent car as well. Have never been on this channel before, and I like what I see.

[@autochatter]

Hey I appreciate that! This one has not recieved the views I was hoping for, but im working on the sequel now against my better judgement LOL .Its all the later ones with a 442 or Hurst/Olds Badge on it. Even the FWD things we got towards the end.

[@myleslong5584]

Similar story…got my ‘69,repaired with a 350 replacement engine for $900 in Fall of ‘83. Had 3:23 limited slip cos it was well optioned with A/C,power antenna,trunk,disc brakes…all bells. Blessed with a ‘71 Ninety-Eight which became donor so,she got her big block back. Wasn’t the prettiest 4-4-2,had some rust around lower fenders and passenger door required extra effort to close but,it was fun and ran respectably well. Pulled a 14.25 on street tires with lowered pressure. After 14 years and 80,000 miles of indescribably fun burnouts and four-barrel kickdowns (plus two kids) it was time to let her go. 😢 Only performance-type car I ever owned and as they say,better to have love and lost than to have never loved at all. I really loved that car.

[@tomtbi]

Love me a 442!!... I have built several 442 Model Kits-(64,66,67,69,70,71,72 and 85)....

[@autochatter]

I had a feeling you have constructed quite a few!

[@P_RO_]

The 455 was a torque monster with gobs of power from low RPM's that got you moving quickly if you didn't smoke the tires. The feel and sound of these old big-blocks is a treat to experience and unlike anything else. For awhile you could buy these at a reasonable price since everyone was focused on the Fords, Chevys, Mopars, and Pontiac's but that's changed all around and no classic muscle car is cheap anymore. I like the 71 styling but the older ones were faster. For the body, the rooflines of these is perfect to me and they also integrated the bumpers into the styling better than anyone else did; a very sleek car indeed. I don't think I've seen one on the roads around town here in a decade but there used to be a few daily drivers including a gold convertible with a white top which looked stunning. I do recall back in my mid-teens there was a Hurst 442 which was reputed to be the fourth or fifth fastest car in town but I never saw him run and he was stock while the faster cars were 'built'. Definitely not Oldsmobile's usual for the era but they proved they could do a muscle car as good as anyone else and woe to the hot-rodder who underestimated them.

[@autochatter]

I haven't seen any of these earlier Muscle car age 442s outside of car shows. I'm not sure which GM muscle in this class then I would have gravitated to..Probably a Chevelle or GTO, but the Hurst/Olds were cool too!

[@juelzm149]

Yes PLEASE do a part 2! Fantastic video! We had a regular Cutlass Supreme growing up and my dad (usually after washing the car) would tell me how they made a 442 version and he'd love to have one etc. Sort of standing there in the driveway staring as if it might morph into a 442 right then 😂

[@autochatter]

Thank you! Yeah, I guess that would be like having a 4 cylinder Mustang in the driveway, wishing it would become a GT. I'm on the fence starting a sequel today because the views so far have been.....meh. Thought this one would have done better.

[@myleslong5584]

Well researched and presented. Informative,interesting and fun tidbits like yearly production numbers and the two ‘66 Vista Cruisers being ordered with the L-69. Sentences are complete and narration is good,as well.

[@autochatter]

Thank you!

[@diddlybow3891]

I’ve got an uncle that had one of these back in the day. I remember riding in it when I was five or so back in about 1980. It was all ragged out, but I remember it was fast as hell. Good job on the video, cool car. 👍🏼

[@autochatter]

Thanks!

[@diddlybow3891]

I remember him having a bunch of random cars. He was a tow truck driver/mechanic and was always working on something. I remember him even having a couple of old De Soto’s. That would be a random car to do a video on. De Soto.

[@autochatter]

@diddlybow3891 Yeah maybe...This one is off to a slower start though....I don't see Desoto doing better LOL.

[@averyparticularsetofskills]

Cool Vid Chatter 🤙 Love the longer ones (twss) Awesome to see all the adverts too 👌 Cant wait for the next one

[@autochatter]

Thank you! I don't know why this one isn't getting more love. I thought a 60s muscle car era vid would have done better. TWWS 🤣

[@averyparticularsetofskills]

@@autochatter Chatter you know how the Algorithmic Insanity works, a good vid like this will gain traction faster than a G80 in the summertime...just watch

[@autochatter]

@@averyparticularsetofskills Does anyone really know how the algorithm works?

[@kevlarazalea]

oh heck yeah🎉

[@anthonyrivera4735]

When GM brought back the Pontiac GTO in 2004, they should've also have brought back the Chevy chevelle, Oldsmobile 442 and Buick GSX in 2004 also. I would love to see Chevy, Oldsmobile and Buick also have their own versions of the 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO. Perhaps it would've saved the Oldsmobile brand.

[@autochatter]

It didn't sell great as a GTO, so that Holden Prob would have done worse as a 442.

[@jasonsobol32]

You need to do the later generation 442s as well

[@autochatter]

It's on the agenda.

[@haggis525]

A good, solid chatter it was! I enjoyed it very much! Have you done the mid 1980's Buick Regal T types and Grand National? Far better choice, in my hare-brained opinion, than the 1980's 442's.... which were terribly disappointing. Like, comment, subscribe and hit the all notifications bell.... Y'all! Must get Auto Chatter to 10K subs....

[@autochatter]

Thank you! To answer your Buick question.....kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGe6m2yHgaqGiZIsi=xAtFq8nI2S2O_G0t

[@J_J_Ander]

How about the F150? If you did do one I can't find it.

[@autochatter]

Haven't done those yet..Or full size Chevy and Dodge trucks. I've done Rangers,S-10/LUV , Nissan trucks,and Toyota so far. Oh...Isuzu too and Suburbans.

[@doug6191]

Speaking of legendary cars that guys between 45-65 dream about... Have you already profiled the Dodge Dynasty and its Chrysler counterpart? 😂

[@autochatter]

Oh everyone had a poster of those in their bedroom! 😅 Nope..Haven't jumped into those yet. But with Versa currently outpacing the legendary 442's, maybe a Dynasty would be a smash.

[@doug6191]

@autochatter Don't lie... You had a Dynasty poster. Probably Dark Cherry in color. 🤤

[@autochatter]

​@doug6191 Well the secret is out. There's nothing sexier than a FWD ,automatic Domestic Sedan from the 80s! But I was thinking more Forest Green inside and out.

[@doug6191]

@@autochatter I had my Dynasty poster next to my Toyota Tercel poster, which was in jade green paint. Talk about head-turners... They were excellent, especially in Black Hawk or Red Hawk trim.

[@doug6191]

@autochatter I saw the view count was higher on the Versa. Kind of surprised, but yet...not. Obviously, with my Dynasty comments, I root for the underdogs that just quietly served their time on the road and faded into history unlamented by most.