For Fan Car Friday this week we bring you our French friend Didier and his gorgeous 70 Oldsmobile 442.  Fan Car Friday is a segment where we want to share with the world the automobiles that our fans have. We have absolutely no affiliation/relationship with the cars, the build or the owners. This post was made with written consent from the owner.

“I found it after searching in Utah in February of this year, she was repatriated to Los Angeles for 3 weeks of restoration (upholstery, steering, shock absorbers, brakes brakes, leaks, adjustments, etc.), containerized at the customs port, she crossed the Panama Canal towards the port of Le Havre (France) and I made her expert in the French customs office. It took more than 2 months to get the registration documents and put the French plates, she has her FFVE certificate of vintage car.

It is a convertible with a V8 of 455 ci with carburetor 4 bodies, (7.5 liters of displacement) of 375 CV of origin, inside white leather, dashboard wood. An Oldsmobile 442 W 30 Convertible 1970 … One of the rarest models of muscle cars of the late 60s.

I am a professional photographer, it is mainly to make my photos with the bride and groom but I am part of 2 associations of collection vehicles, including one mainly of American cars.”

The Oldsmobile 4-4-2 (also known as the 442) is a muscle car produced by Oldsmobile between the 1964 and 1980 model years. Introduced as an option package for US-sold F-85 and Cutlass models, it became a model in its own right from 1968 to 1971, spawned the Hurst/Olds in 1968, then reverted to an option through the mid-1970s. The name was revived in the 1980s on the rear-wheel drive Cutlass Supreme and early 1990s as an option package for the new front-wheel drive Cutlass Calais.

The “4-4-2” name (pronounced “Four-four-two”) derives from the original car’s four-barrel carburetor, four-speed manual transmission, and dual exhausts (Some maintain that the ‘2’ indicated positive traction rear differential). It was originally written “4-4-2” (with badging showing hyphens between the numerals) and remained hyphenated throughout Oldsmobile’s use of the designation. Beginning in 1965, the 4-4-2s standard transmission was a 3 speed manual along with optional 2 speed automatic and 4 speed manual, but were still badged as “4-4-2″s. By 1968 badging was shortened to simply “442”, but Oldsmobile brochures and internal documents continued to use the “4-4-2” model designation.

1970 was the pinnacle of performance from Oldsmobile. In order to keep up in the horsepower arms-race, General Motors dropped the cap on engine size in 1970, and Oldsmobile responded by making the Olds 455 V8 the standard 4-4-2 engine. Output was 365 hp (272 kW) and 500 lb·ft (680 N·m), with a 370 hp (276 kW) variant available with the W30 option.

The revised body style and increased performance resulted in the 4-4-2 being awarded pace car duties at the Indianapolis 500 race in 1970. Those seeking to experience the ultimate in performance from Lansing could order a “W-Machine” version of the 4-4-2, dubbed the W-30 package. The 4-4-2 W-30 added a fiberglass hood (option W25) with functional air scoops and low-restriction air cleaner, aluminum intake manifold, special camshaft, cylinder heads, distributor, and carburetor. Two W-30 equipped 4-4-2 Vista Cruisers were produced by special order. Rear shoulder seat belts were optional at $23.

Motor Trend tested a 4-4-2 W-30 with a 4-speed manual transmission and 3.91:1 rear gears, clocking a quarter mile time of 14.2 seconds @ 102 mph (164 km/h). However, Motor Trend noted that Oldsmobile engineers had earlier posted a best of 13.7 seconds on the same test car with a fresh tune.

New options for the 1970 4-4-2 included GM’s variable-ratio power steering (option N47), a console-mounted Hurst Dual/Gate shifter for use with the Turbo Hydra-matic transmission, and aluminum differential housing and cover (option W27). All Oldsmobile V8s received new Positive Valve Rotators for the 1970s to increase engine valve life.

1970 model year spotting tips: vertical bars in silver grille, rectangular parking lights in front bumper, vertical tail lights.

A 1970 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 was featured in the chase scene of the movie Demolition Man starring Sylvester Stallone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_442

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