1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

Hello All,


Some pictures of Vernon Smith’s 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop 4spd car at the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance in Michigan last July 2010. Level One Restoration did such a fantastic job on this car …I can’t say enough well about those guys. I have seen this auto on several occasions now …pictures do not even come close to capturing it. I love all of the 1970 GM Muscle Cars but the 442 W-30s just have a beauty and elegance that is all their own! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

RM


http://www.levelonerestoration.com/imageview.aspx?id=3

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

Is that the same car that was once in the Buddy Holt collection?

However, I have to disagree that the '70 4-4-2 is the stand-out among GM's offerings - the GTO has it all. In fact, I think all of GM's '70 offerings were a great improvement over the previous year's . . . except the GTO, which was spectacular to begin with.

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

Those are fighting words to some of us 69 guys!

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 442w30</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I have to disagree that the '70 4-4-2 is the stand-out among GM's offerings - the GTO has it all. </div></div>


Hey Old Stick,

Your moniker is a bit deceiving for a Pontiac guy. Not sure I would agree with your assessment of the 1970 GTOs. I think they were a bit behind the pack by 1970. With a top offering of the RAIV 400 engine they really were not in the same league as the big cube motors of the other GM divisions. I also can’t get past the stickers on the 1970 Judges. It always looked a bit cheesy to me…a bit of a clown car [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/crazy.gif[/img] in comparison to the painted on stripes on the 442 W-30s and Chevelle Super Sports. RM

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

Great looking car. Is it documented? As far as Olds vs Pontiac I think it's a close call either way. It's true the Olds has bigger cubes but I think the ra4 would dyno more hp. I know it sounds better hands down.

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

Hey Guy's, Thanks for the nice words about the W30. We also just finished a 70 Judge R/A IV Convertible for Vernon. The W30 is numbers matching and documented. We are currently working on a 70 W30 4spd Convertible that is documented with a W27 rear end. It is also numbers matching and a rust free California car. Look for this one in 2011.

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

Amazing, I sold an auto W30 rag with W27 a few years ago but the W27 wasn't documented. Rare, rare, rare piece. What color is it? Also wondering which Judge that is. Good stuff.

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RM Schimel</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Hey Old Stick,
</div></div>

Old Stick? What's that mean, Daddy-O?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Your moniker is a bit deceiving for a Pontiac guy.
</div></div>

My handle merely reflects the car I own.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Not sure I would agree with your assessment of the 1970 GTOs. I think they were a bit behind the pack by 1970. With a top offering of the RAIV 400 engine they really were not in the same league as the big cube motors of the other GM divisions.
</div></div>

Your initial post mentioned &quot;the 442 W-30s just have a beauty and elegance that is all their own!&quot; yet now you are judging by another yardstick?

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

The W30 is Galleon Gold /White interior and top, but with black stripes. Cool story the original owner ordered it stripe delete and when it came in it was a hard top with stripes. He refused to take delivery and they re ordered it and when it finally showed up it had stripes but everything else was correct so he took it. The paper work shows stripe delete but we have pictures of the car near new with stripes so it will get them. The Judge convertible is the Black one that Legendary had. We totally went through it using a ton of NOS and original parts. Check it out. http://www.levelonerestoration.com/

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

Please keep the 442 information coming, I love those cars.

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

Hi Guys,

I have been way from this site for ages but this thread is great and interesting reading. Man those Level One restorations look absolutely incredible. I remember seeing the Peter Klute black Judge at an auction several years ago and it was super nice then so it has got to be stunning now. The black &amp; white 1970 W-30 looks just beautiful. Was the 1970 W-30 convertible his car also at one time? I spoke with Lee Pearl the owner of the gold W-30 convertible a couple years ago. He was a big Olds collector. At that time he was selling a 1970 W-30 convertible four-speed car that was fully documented but it was still in need of a restoration from what I remember. Not sure if this is the same car or not?


Interesting discussion on the 1970 442 W-30s. As one who was always a staunch 1970 guy-I have really grown to love the 1971-1972 W-cars as much-if not more. I have known several serious Olds collectors over the years and they always preferred the 1971-2 cars. I think the 1971-2 cars are a bit more refined and the grills are more sophisticated and nicer looking. And had the emission thing not stuck GM, Oldsmobile was planning and scheduled to offer the various all aluminum four-valve hemi engines as top options on the W-machines. I spoke with Dale Smith on a couple of occasions and he said they also had aluminum hemi small blocks completely developed &amp; ready to go. I have several Olds parts catalogs where they even have the hemi engines part numbers listed, which I thought was cool. Also in 1971 the M-22 trans became the standard option, which was nice. But again it’s one of those great what if stories. But if things had worked out as planned—I doubt we would even give the 1970 W-30s a thought today!

Not sure I agree with the take on the 1970 Judges clown car thing—I guess it is one of those cars you either love or hate. But for me I will always love the 1970 Judges as I rode in a brand new Palladium Silver RAIV four-speed car that our next neighbor bought. It will always be a fond memory for me. I was probably only seven at the time so it had always stuck with me.

Anyway—great thread and I agree with Tom …keep the 442 stories coming! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/3gears.gif[/img]

Take Care!

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TimG</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Please keep the 442 information coming, I love those cars. </div></div>

Ya mean like this?

http://www.streetlegaltv.com/forum/o...10-a-5929.html

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

Thanks for link 442w30...it was a nicely written history. Sorry Tim--it has been a long day. I wrote Tom but meant Tim--I'm a bit dyslexic--it seems. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif[/img]

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

Just saw this on that street legal link. This is a very interesting story about the 1969 H/O by Motion. I remember when this Motion H/O was for sale in my OCA magazine many moons ago. I think he wanted around 40K at the time.

http://www.streetlegaltv.com/forum/m...9-a-5689.html#

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

I am happy to announce that Mr. Riley will be bringing the black RA IV GTO Judge to the MCACN show to be a part of our &quot;Class of 1970&quot; Invitational display.

This beauty joins several Hemi Cuda convertibles, a Hemi Challenger convertible, a GS Stage 1 convertible, a 442 W-30 convertible, an LS6 convertible, a RA III Judge convertible and that is just the converts! The hardtops are equally as impressive.

We are still searching for some Ford big block convertible representation and also a Cougar Eliminator.

Many thanks to all of the participants who have agreed to join us and show these historical automobiles.

Bashton
MCACN Managing Member

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

BTW: Welcome to the site, Mr. Riley!

Bashton
MCACN Managing Member

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

I know this may be a little off of topic here, but where are the blue/green body mount bushings coming from???

Are Olds A-bodies the only ones to use the color coded body mount bushings?
or... did Pontiac and Buick also use them?

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

Thanks Bob, I am looking forward to the show.

smoke' em II
Olds was not the only one to use colored body mount bushings.
I think all GM divisions used diffrent colors for identification purposes. Example any difference in thickness would require a diffrent color to help an assembly line worker know where to put a particular bushing. Some bushings had no coloring at all, a bunch of GTO's I have taken apart had chevrolet cast into the bushings that were used at the rear of the car. Also this information can be found in the chassis section of some shop manuals.

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Griley</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
smoke' em II
Olds was not the only one to use colored body mount bushings.
I think all GM divisions used diffrent colors for identification purposes. Example any difference in thickness would require a diffrent color to help an assembly line worker know where to put a particular bushing. Some bushings had no coloring at all, a bunch of GTO's I have taken apart had chevrolet cast into the bushings that were used at the rear of the car. Also this information can be found in the chassis section of some shop manuals. </div></div>

I understand the markings for assembly line identification and final inspection purposes. I have also seen GM P/N molded into these body mount bushings, color coded paint daubs, and color coded painted stripes. But... I have never seen a fully painted body mount bushing on a car during disassambly or for sale in a catalog?

The only place I have noticed the fully painted body mount bushings is recently on high end restorations of 442 W-30 cars???

Re: 1970 442 W-30 Ragtop in black
 

Will the Level One restored 1970 black &amp; white 4spd W-30 convertible be at the November MCACN show in Rosemont, Illinois? I am looking forward to attending this year and would love to see this particular car in person. I have heard a lot about it from numerous Oldsmobile enthusiasts and hope to see it on display. Also… I was curious what specific Oldsmobiles’ will be on display for the Hurst Performance Tribute? Thanks