BUILD THREAD 1986 Oldsmobile 442 Build

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RunAwayNJ

Master Mechanic
Oct 9, 2012
409
182
43
Ocean County, NJ
This 442 my wife and I purchased has a great backstory as we actually purchased it from a forum member QS442. We had been looking for one of these cars for a while - I had several Grand Prix's and Monte Carlos in the 80's and 90's, but never a 442 which I always wanted. Turns out my wife loves these cars too and always wanted one. We started looking online but could never find one even close to our price range. We started widening our search from NJ only to Maryland, Pennsylvania, and then Delaware in October 2012 right before Hurricane Sandy hit.

On the first search we did for Delaware our current car appeared. We also found another 442 in NJ. I spoke with both, and we decided to go the see the in Delaware first. On a whim we drove several hours down there (translation Hardees run!) and saw the car. The car was rough - it needed a lot of work - interior, brakes were shot, engine smoked, and there was a lot of surface rust. But we had a solid base for a car and with a few repairs, some major, it would be good. I liked the idea of taking something that was in deteriorated condition and brining it back to life. Plus this put it in our price range. QS was an honest seller and we agreed on a price and my wife and I bought the car on the spot. We drove back to NJ happy about our purchase and made arrangements to tow her back to NJ the next weekend and fix the mechanical issues right away.
 

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RunAwayNJ

Master Mechanic
Oct 9, 2012
409
182
43
Ocean County, NJ
Re: 1986 Oldsmobile 442 Build - BACK IN NJ

The weekend before Hurricane Sandy hit we towed the car back to NJ. First the car was dropped off at our mechanic to do some maintenance on the engine, fix the brakes, and give her a good once over. A few door hinges, door handles, latches, and more later the car was ready to go and I drove it home to my house to begin putting the interior back together.
 

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RunAwayNJ

Master Mechanic
Oct 9, 2012
409
182
43
Ocean County, NJ
Re: 1986 Oldsmobile 442 Build - INTERIOR PHASE 1

When we first brought the car home, we had to put the interior back together. We had all the pieces for the most part, but they were just not installed in the car. The front seats were also shot. We started by cleaning up the carpets and everything in the car. We cleaned up all the trim and touched up the paint where needed. Next up was reinstalling the headliner and repairing the electrical wiring. We put the original rear seat back in the car and decided to go with a black/grey look for the interior. Next we needed to get better front seats.
 

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RunAwayNJ

Master Mechanic
Oct 9, 2012
409
182
43
Ocean County, NJ
Re: 1986 Oldsmobile 442 Build - MORE INTERIOR

Next we removed the center console. It was cleaned and repainted. My wife painted the silver stripe on by hand. I also wired in lights behind the shift positions on the trim for night time use. We re-mounted the console and everything worked great.
 

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RunAwayNJ

Master Mechanic
Oct 9, 2012
409
182
43
Ocean County, NJ
Re: 1986 Oldsmobile 442 Build - STILL MORE INTERIOR

Next I purchased front seats and some more trim to complete the interior here on the forum from 88hurstolds (excellent seller by the way!!) and installed them as well. We now have a clean and fully functional interior! Below are some pictures of this phase.
 

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RunAwayNJ

Master Mechanic
Oct 9, 2012
409
182
43
Ocean County, NJ
Re: 1986 Oldsmobile 442 Build - GRANT STEERING WHEEL

The final touch to the interior (for now) was a Grant steering wheel. This was a very simple project and took less than an hour to complete. The wheel looks great in the car and I get many compliments at shows.
 

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RunAwayNJ

Master Mechanic
Oct 9, 2012
409
182
43
Ocean County, NJ
Re: 1986 Oldsmobile 442 Build - BODY WORK

Next step was the body work. This was all done in October and November 2012. The car needed a lot of attention. While the frame was perfect, the body had some surface rust, damage to the rear quarter, and a really bad bondo job that needed to be corrected on the roof. There was also a rust hole in the passenger side door. We ground everything out, welded in metal where it needed to be, and also put rust inhibitor on before we did any primer or paint. The roof was a challenge, and we could not tell why it was even done - there seems to be no damage that should have required that kind of work. At this point the car was primed and ready for the paint shop, although it will still be some time before that happens.
 

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RunAwayNJ

Master Mechanic
Oct 9, 2012
409
182
43
Ocean County, NJ
Re: 1986 Oldsmobile 442 Build - GOT SOME PRICING

Today was a day for getting pricing. I have a small budget by which to get the work done on ($4000), and I need to stick to it. I sold my Chrysler convertible to fund this project, so that's all I got. So here is where I stand with the pricing:

Paint and Body work:

local Maaco - $1017 (I'm scared, it's too low)
local super-awesome body-shop - $5000+ t&m (scared again - more than I have in my budget!!) They do good work, and have done my other cars.
Verdict - Need to get more estimates. My mechanic friend referred me to a different Maaco that actually does classic cars, I'll see what they have to say, an there are 3-4 other local body shops I'll stop at too.

Engine rebuild:

Rebuild existing 307, add headers - $1675 + headers (like $1800) (would be done by my mechanic friend)
Install custom built 350 - $2500 + headers (like $2800)
Verdict - My friend to do it for 1675!!!

There are a few other things it will need too going forward:

1. New fuel tank. I found some on Jegs, Summit, and Ebay. Existing one is leaking. It's a very slow leak, but a leak none the less.
2. The transmission is a sluggish shifting one. May need to investigate a rebuild there too. 1st to 2nd is rough, and the higher gears are a little better.

Well that's the most recent progress update for now. I'd like to know if you have any other suggestions. Thanks for reading!
 

gp02a0083

Master Mechanic
May 17, 2011
308
3
16
if you want to , send a PM to me and we can talk about the bodywork and stuff, i know a few shops in the area that can do good work. I can do a good amount but limited being i do not have a booth. I might have to ask your friend about a 350 olds as well, the other shops in freehold and sayerville want too much for a rebuilt engine. I would stay away from macco IMO. The prep and material that I've known that they use is poor quality. If you seen my car at the local shows I have DuPont paint on it, prep work is the key to any good paint job. otherwise head to the bathroom, take the money you have and flush it. basically if you want a long pasting paint job your gonna pay, or you do as much prep work as possible to cut down on cost. good luck!
 

RunAwayNJ

Master Mechanic
Oct 9, 2012
409
182
43
Ocean County, NJ
Started working on the trunk over the last two days. This is one area of the car that was really clean, and hardly any rust. We cleaned it out, prepped and primed it, and shot to coats of gloss black last night. This morning before work I shot two coats of clear coat. We will let that dry and I'll check it and take some pictures when I get home tonight.

The next step is to install the stereo, and build custom carpeted cabinets for the trunk. I'm looking to do something a little bit different back there and I have a few things in mind. I am going to make my templates out of cardboard first, and then transpose them over to the wood and cut it, then put the carpet on top. I also got LED blue lighting off Amazon on the cheap (well it's from China) and I'll install that as well. It's all a few weekends away from being done, but it is good to see progress again.

In the meantime, we've started ordering parts for the 307 rebuild and they are trickling in. Probably going to do that project toward the middle-end of August. The engine compartment will be cleaned and detailed while the motor is out as well. Once that big project is done, the next big job is the body work. We will need to prep for paint. Once the body work is entirely finished, the car will probably sit that way a bit until we save up some more money. Anyone want to buy some kids?
 
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