Whenever the Oldsmobile 442 is mentioned, most people probably conjure up an image in their heads of the first-generation Oldsmobile 442 – likely in “Hurst Olds” guise with the iconic gold and white paint scheme. But while this is by far and away the most valuable and well-known Oldsmobile 442, the nameplate existed in one form or another from the mid-1960s all the way until the early 1990s.
One of these less-loved Oldsmobile 442 models, a third-generation, 1987 model year example, will soon be auctioned off by Mecum. While the third-generation 442 is not nearly as sought after as the original, this is still one very cool piece of Oldsmobile history, if you ask us. With a black and gold paint scheme, gold wheels and a high-output version of General Motors‘ 307 cubic-inch (5.0L) V8 engine, the third-gen 442 managed to retain at least some of the swagger of the iconic first-generation model.
This is also a wonderful example of the third-generation Oldsmobile 442. With just 77,000 original miles, an all original exterior and interior, perfectly straight body and glistening chrome trim, one would be hard-pressed to find a better 1987 Oldsmobile 442 than this available for sale.
Despite this being an near-perfect example of a relatively rare muscle coupe, the collector car market hasn’t quite caught on to these 442s yet. According to Hagerty’s online valuation tool, the average 1987 Oldsmobile 442 is only worth about $13,500. That said, concourse-quality models can fetch over $40,000. We wouldn’t quite place this particular car in the concourse category due to some minor signs of wear and tear under the hood and other small imperfections, but it could easily be made into a concourse-quality car with some very simple restorative work and a good detail.
Check out the listing here for this less celebrated piece of Oldsmobile muscle car history.
Comments
The Calais 442 and Achieva W41 were faster but I get this is the last of the classic style 442 with some modern conveniences.
The end of the mid-sized rwd GM cars. I believe the Cutlass of the mid-80s was best selling car for couple years?. Another GM mistake when they went fwd with the line-up.
The rwd Cutlass was GM’s best selling rwd car for the entire decade and it was only available for 7 years.
77,000 miles might hurt it
The Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 was a nice car as was the Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and Pontiac Grand Prix both “ Aero Back” which was used in NASCAR, but the 1987 Buick Grand National simply stole the show that year
We must have very different definitions of “mint” and “all original”. Where’s the silver paint on the lower half of the body? I’m assuming complete repaint. Why are the bumpers chrome when they should be silver like the lower body? Why does it have gold painted wheels with stainless trim rings and bezels when the wheels should be fully-chromed with gold paint in the spokes? Why does it have rocker panel moldings? Where’s the dual snorkel air cleaner base? Why is there a repop ’70s vintage sticker on the lid? Why is there gold paint on an engine that should be black? Is that an original Edelbrock carburetor on an adapter plate and cobbled together fuel line? Who tacked on the rear deck spoiler? Why does it have a tan interior with bench seats? IS THIS EVEN A REAL 442????? I DOUBT IT.
Agree, basically looks like a regular Cutlass with some (wrong) wheels, stickers and a chrome air cleaner lid. The chrome “Oldsmobile” badge on the trunk is also wrong. Nothing wrong with putting this stuff on a car as long as you state that it’s not a real 442.
Good for you sir; I am the original owner of an ’87 442. What they show is not a 442 in any way at all. Your analysis is correct.
A couple other things I just noticed… That’s an aftermarket chrome air cleaner lid, and there is no left tailpipe…
It might be me..The car looks odd….Dosen’t look like a real 442 from that year…..
I love it I own one of this back then so tell the price please
It’s more likely a Cutlass Brougham or Salon that someone is trying to be slick and pass off as a 442. I see nothing in those pics that makes it come anywhere close to being a factory 442. If I were trying to sell a real 442 of that model and it was missing obvious 442 parts, I would buy the missing parts or list the missing parts so there couldn’t be any misunderstandings as to why this car looks like Cooter, Pookie and LeRoy just slapped it together thinking nobody would notice the bootleg 442. More like a 4-4-SHOE!
American cars from the 70’s and 80’s were junk. I would not touch this with a ten foot pole.
I thought the 442 stood for 400 cu. in., 4-barrel carburetor and (2) dual exhaust. I’ve owned an 86 Cutlass Supreme and aside from the fact it was only 305 cu. inches, I loved the car. The styling of the 86, an 87 year model and the ride as well as handling was great. Wish I still had it too. One more thing….I thought the 442 didn’t come out until 1988.
Your definition of 442 is correct for ’65-’69 model years, and unless you’re in Canada, you had an Oldsmobile 307, not a Chevy 305.
I thought the 442 stood for 400 cu. in., 4-barrel carburetor and (2) dual exhaust. I’ve owned an 86 Cutlass Supreme and aside from the fact it was only 305 cu. inches, I loved the car. The styling of the 86, an 87 year model and the ride as well as handling was great. Wish I still had it too. One more thing….I thought the Olds 442 didn’t come out until 1988.
Originally from 1964 through 1970, 442 stood for: 4 Barrell carb, 4 speed trans, dual exhaust. This car has an Olds 307 4 Barrell, single exhaust. The “442” was just a decal badging package after 1971.
It only means 4 barrel, 4 speed, dual exhaust for 1964. The engine grew to 400, and an automatic became available in 1965, so it meant 400, 4 barrel, dual exhaust thru 1969. 1970 and 1971 were the same except growing further to 455. 1972 was when it became an appearance and suspension package with no specific engine requirement and no meaning. The 1985-1987 variety means 4 barrel, 4 speed automatic, (fake) dual exhaust.
Car is not a 442 whats the engine code? I’ll bet it’s a “Y” and not a “9”. All 442’s came silver 2-tone with matching painted numbers. Unless that car was a gm executive order is not real.
Actually, the 1987 4-4-2 came in silver, teal, burgandy or black. I would know, I bought a brand spanking new burgandy model off the show room floor. I still have the original brochure that shows the 4 colors.
This 4-4-2 is still in my family as my daughter now owns it.
Hurst Olds cars were mostly sliver. However, the 1983 Hurst Olds was black with a silver bottom.
The Hurst Olds was brought back for 1983 and 1984. The 4-4-2 was available from 1985-1987. That chrome air cleaner lid is original, not aftermarket. It even has a dual snorkel air cleaner. They did come with dual tail pipes, not full exhaust as it only had one catalytic converter. However, no one makes a replacement dual exhaust, single catalytic converter, for them that I know of. Therefore, it may only have one tailpipe now.
They came with rear air shocks, front and rear sway bars, level 3 suspension, posi- track 3:73 rear axle. Higher output 307 ci engine.
By all intent and purpose, this was a real 4-4-2 model, just not a fire breathing 400hp model from the 1960’s.
They came with chrome air cleaner lids, but the one on this car is not a GM part. The originals have a ridge around the top where it seats on the filter element. This one is smooth, like the Mr. Gasket lid I have on my Oldsmobile parts shelf in the basement. Where’s the second snorkel? It’s a stubby thing pointed at the heater core. I see none. As for the exhaust, a “mint, all-original” car wouldn’t have replacement parts, correct or otherwise. I have a complete stock-replacement Walker system for ’83-’87 H/O and 442 along with a Torq Tech Y-pipe system, also in my parts collection, so they do exist. I also noticed in the rear photi you can tell it has a 7.5″ rear end rather than the 8.5″ a 442 should have, so fake….
Now that I can see a larger picture of this car on my computer, it does appear something may be wrong. The rear axle from what i can see is exactly like the one under my car. I just went over and crawled under it to see. The 1987 model was slightly different than the 1986. It did not post in an earlier message, but 1987 did not have a posi. The 1985 and 1986 did. If they changed the axle series, that would account for it. However, my axle is quite round, only a little oval.
It does not have the silver paint on the bottom of the car as has been stated, but Kevin, you missed the H/O spoiler that is on the trunk. They didn’t come with those. That is from a 1983-1984 H/O. The Pontiac Firebird had a very similar spoiler to an H/O. Even enlarged I can’t tell if it is a Pontiac or H/O spoiler. There is a slight difference that i cannot see from the angle of the pictures.
The wheels are deceiving. The 4-4-2 had 15×7 SS-3 chrome and gold rims. These almost appear to have beauty rings on them. Again, i can’t totally make that out, but these appear to have an angle, like beauty rings.
Look very very closely at that two little tabs sticking down off the lower corners of the center section casting visible above the sway bar. On a G-body 8.5″ rear, they’re squared-off lugs with horizontal bottoms and vertical sides. On a 7.5″ rear, the outboard sides are vertical, but the “bottoms” are hollowed out, so the tabs come to points. I have a couple of each rear axle in a pile in the garage, if only I could post a picture. Also look closely at the centers of the wheels. The raised sections between the lug nuts and the part that the center cap snaps onto are painted. They would be chrome on 442 wheels. These are painted wheels off a mid-’70s Cutlass or early-’80s Delta 88. I mentioned the spoiler in my post yesterday at 9:59am.
I wish you could post a picture. The axle under mine is greasy so I can’t accurately make out the design of the bosses on the axle. They look pointed to me, but they look horizontal on bottom. Too much grim to identify it.
Sorry, I have not read all the posts so I did not see anything about the spoiler. I will go back and read that.
To me it looks like 14″ wheels on the car. They could be 15″. They just don’t look right.
The trim rings appear to have a lip around the inner diameter by the spokes. That feature is present on 15″ trim rings but not on 14″ trim rings. However, the A-body and B-body 15″x7″ wheels have 1/2″ more backspacing than the correct G-body wheels, so they look like they’re tucked in too far under the fenders.
Guys , there are at least two times more ‘69 Z28’s on the road today than Chevy ever built. Same goes for SS Chevelles & other GM muscle. Clones, tributes, recreations mean buyer beware!
I emailed Mecum about this. The VIN is 2G3GR11Y0H2324476. The 8th digit is Y for the regular 307, not 9 for the high-output 307, so it’s a Cutlass Supreme, not a 442.
The most ironic thing about this car being at Mecum Kissimmee is……there is a real deal ’87 442 at the same auction!
I agree with u guys plus I’m noticing that the engine block color ain’t correct either I own a original 30k 1987
In dark blue and my engine has and all Iv seen have been black not copper or gold like this one