I'd grab the 442 for parts if it were available to me. The rearend is worth at least half the price of the car, plus the buckets, console and some parts that are 442 specific would make it a great parts car. As far as resto goes, be sure the frame is not shot and that it does not have extensive rot in it. I have a disturbing amount of money into my Cutlass so far, but it's not something I built for profit. I estimate I will have over $15,000 into it by the end of the summer, and that is from a free car that I have owned for 14 years and had beaten to death delivering pizza. I did almost all of my own work and got many bargains. By far the most costly things I have done is the paint and body at about $3500 ( all done by me- including 14 patch panels) and the engine swap which includes the engine, trans, exhaust, some suspension, cooling system etc and that was about $5,000 when every little thing is added up. In the end, no car is cheap to do right, and few cars are profitable when finished. That's why this hobby should be about fun, like it used to be before the days of exorbanant prices driven by TV shows and auction houses. G bodies are the last of the everyman cars that were built in the same vein as the old Chevelles, GTO's and the like. Enjoy them while they're cheap, because soon they won't be and there will be little more than used up econoboxes left to tinker with.
