85 442 white with 79r interior and 120mph speedo options

[Oldsmobile85]

My 86 was the black cherry color ext with the maroon velour, absolutely loved the color combo on it. I wasn't expecting the vinyl interior in this car when going to look at it, I thought someone redid the interior on it because the velour faded like my 86 interior did. I've never seen another vinyl interior in a 85-87 442 until i searched it online & came up with some other 79r interior pictures. I Didn't really like it much at first because I loved the velour in my 86 but its slowly growing on me... I do notice a difference in the way this 85 shifts alot harder than my 86 did, I can remember my dad telling me alot of people complained about the harsh shift of the 85's trans & that gm changed something in the 86's to soften the shifts up some for a smoother ride. Not sure if that's true or not (my dad was an oldsmobile/cadillac technician then service manager for 25 years, we only bought g bodys or we'd be disowned as his kids) my brother bought the monte carlo ss's, I bought the 442's & my mom & dad had the regals & t-types. We lost my dad a few years ago and with him the knowledge he had of these cars and of gm in general. I appreciate all the effort you guys put in on this site to get the correct info out there! "69hurstolds" thank you!

 

[69hurstolds]

Your family had quite the experience with Olds. Nothing wrong with that. You're absolutely right about the transmission. 83-85 VIN 9 Oldses had the OZ code transmission which absolutely hammered the 1-2 gear and was very firm on the 2-3. On the right surface, you could get a 2nd gear chirp, even with a limited slip. After the clutches wear down some, it calms down a bit, but still not mushy. Yep, some people complained about the harsh shifts, but I sure don't. Some woman traded in her 83 H/O for that very reason as it was sitting in the used car lot of the Olds dealer I bought mine from wondering why it was so new but on the used car lot. Because of these types of "complaints", as the story goes, the 86 and 87 442 shift calibrations were softened up a bit. Still a little firm, but nowhere near the kick the OZ transmissions had.