Maccabeus

Well, I'm new to the olds club. I just bought a '72 Cutlass. The car's good except that it is missing the front parts and the emblems. The guy who sold it to me told me that the car was a 442, but he took out that engine and put in a 350. Said the engine was rare and he wanted to keep it. Since I am new I don't know what the difference is between a cutlass and a 442, and since the car doesn't have any of the emblems, I'm a bit confused. Can anyone please tell the what the differences are?

joe_padavano

First, the Cutlass, F-85, and 442 are all the same basic car. The differences are in the equipment. For the 1968-1971 model years, the 442 was a unique model and had it's own unique VIN designation. Starting in 1972 the 442 was reduced to an option package on one of four Cutlass models. There was no separate 442 VIN, so it is difficult to document a real 1972 442. 1972 was also the first year that Olds put an engine code in the VIN, so the fifth character of the VIN will tell you what engine was factory installed. The letters H, K, J, or M indicate that the original engine was a 350. The letters T, U, V, W, or X indicate a 455.

The X actually designates a W-30. Since this motor was only available in a 442 (or Hurst/Olds) that is the only time you can prove that a 1972 is a 442 (or H/O). The 1972 442 package was mainly a suspension upgrade and appearance mod (442 grilles and emblems) and was available with any Cutlass engine that year, including the 350 2bbl single exhaust.

Coltonis

I could be wrong here, but I was under the impression that the bumper would still have the exhaust notches even in 72... Can someone verify? Anyways if what i just said is indeed true, check the bumper.. if it has notches for the exhaust pipes to come through I would say its most likely an original 442(This is not conclusive, just a hint). Worst case scenario, someone bought a 442 bumper and put it on your cutlass for you! A Cutlass would completely lack the notches in the bumper.

A good pic of a the notches:
http://www.pjsautoworld.com/1970cars...tlass442-5.JPG

joe_padavano

Not always true. The notched rear bumper was only used on the big block cars. In 72 the 442 package was available with several 350 motors and all of those got the straight bumper, even with dual exhaust. The only small block A-body to ever get the notched bumper from the factory was the 70 Rallye 350.

Maccabeus

So the 442 just had two engine options? The 350 and 455?

rocket69

1969 was the last year the 400 was offered, so for '72s, pretty much.

joe_padavano

In 1972 the only engines available in ANY Oldsmobile were either the 350 or the 455. Each had several versions (2bbl, 4bbl, single exhaust, dual exhaust). This will be designated by the fifth character of the VIN. Also in 1972, the 442 was simply an appearance and suspension package available on four Cutlass models and ANY engine available in these models could be had with the 442. In prior years when the 442 was a separate model (or when the option package really meant something) the engine choices were limited to the 330 (1964), the 400 (65-69), or the 455 (70-71).

Maccabeus

Well, I just got the vin # from my car. Apparently it had an original 350 engine. The vin # is 3G87H2R126550 If anyone can please tell me anything about my car trough the vin number, like original color and interior, it woudl be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Jokers69

you need to go to the trim tag for that info

joe_padavano

The VIN decoder is here:

http://members.aol.com/drewinva/olds/vin/

The VIN decodes as follows:

3 = Oldsmobile division
G = Cutlass
87 = Holiday Coupe (Oldspeak for 2 dr HT)
H = 350 2bbl
2 = 1972 model year
R = Arlington, TX assembly line
126550 = sequential build number

That's all the info contained in the VIN.

The W29 442 option WAS available on this car, so it is possible that this was a 442 - check for the boxed lower control arms and rear stabilizer bar. As for the seller telling you he took out the engine and put in a 350, he's full of horse manure. This car was born with a 350 2bbl single exhaust motor.

Maccabeus

Thanks for the decoding. Really helped. The original color is not in the vin #?

Maccabeus

Where can I find the trim tag by the way?

kevinkpk

Look under the hood on the firewall.

joe_padavano

As I noted:

kevinkpk

No, the tag as noted, is, should be on the firewall. That will have upper/lower body trim,color ect. VIN will tell you what it is, body style, where it was built and thats about it, of interests.

Sam Barrett

Try this link they have some very detailed info on what make a '72 a 442. http://442.com/ There are only certain models that could become a 442. It is an appearance and handling option for that year labeled W29. It can have any engine.

joe_padavano

That's pretty much what I said in Posts #2, #4, and #7 above. Also, to once again remind everyone, the FAQ at 442.com originated as excerpts from posts on the old Chubecto Oldsmobile email list server in the 1990s. It was not edited for correctness and should be viewed about like Wikipedia. There are a number of known errors in that FAQ and unfortunately attempts to contact the site owner to correct them have gone unanswered.

Oldsguy

And, faq/tech sections on some sites (perhaps ours) may have been cut and pasted from there.
I think we older guys (over 35) display more distrust of information from the web. As someone once said "just because it is on the web does not make it true".

joe_padavano

But THIS is on the web. Does that mean that it's not true? So then, everything on the web IS true? But then...