1967 Oldsmobile 442 - Reader Ride

By: David Dann & Dave Morley - Words & Photos

Date: 03.05.2020

David Dann's 1967 Oldsmobile 442

I’ve always enjoyed oddball things… When my friends rode Japanese motorcycles, I preferred Spanish.

So, there’s your explanation for why an Oldsmobile! It fits the bill nicely, it’s not a Chevrolet or a Ford, it’s not even a Buick or Pontiac.

I had recently sold a 1964 Cadillac convertible and decided I needed a smaller (!) and faster car. Looking around on the internet it soon became obvious that any muscle car in a convertible was big dollars, put in the exchange rate and shipping etc… Well, a Chevrolet such as a Chevelle or a Pontiac GTO was going to be out of my price range.

And so we’re back to the love of the unusual. I started looking at Oldsmobiles and found them to be within my budget.

After numerous phone calls to the owner, and the promise that there was no rust, we did a deal and the great car was on its way to Melbourne.

It was bright red and had a less than desirable black roof (at least to me). It did have a 455 engine rather than the stock 400. I always knew I was going to paint it anyway, so the red didn’t bother me.

Before stripping the car down I took it out to Calder to run it at a street meet and it delighted me with a 12.9-second quarter mile. I was smitten by now.

But the red had to go.

None of these were an option so off came the red…and out came the rust that the previous owner swore on the lives of his kids was not there.

Luckily I stumbled upon a great body and paint man by the name of Jason and he bare-metaled the entire car and welded in a couple of patch panels. He did the most beautiful job.

A 9-inch Ford rear end with 3.7 gears, 31 spline axles and later model brakes were fitted along with a new Turbo 400 transmission and TCE torque converter.

Then came the engine. The 455 found a set of aluminium heads bolted onto it.

A new set of pistons, rods, and everything else you would expect in a fresh build. Sitting atop this new powerhouse is a Pro Systems double pumper carburetor.

At the car’s first outing it pulled an 11.70 in the quarter mile. To say I was happy would be an understatement.

I had a chrome moly roll cage fabricated for it that can be bolted in and just as easily taken out. This car represented a dream come true.

Now, however, a change of direction has come over me and the car is to be sold. We’ve had nearly 15 years together and now it’s time to say goodbye.

Onwards and upward… off to the next adventure.

Look for this car on tradeuniquecars.com.au

Valuation guide: Not enough data for a one-off like this. Stockers sell for $50k-plus.

Unique Cars magazine Value Guides

Sell your car for free right here