i dont think there is alot of value other than cosmetics to the ss or 442. i would pay more for a 442 or h/o in good condition just for paint scheme. Its a shame they made such good looking cars without the power. Buick seemed to be the only one that put any power in these cars. As far as older mucle cars..... everyone is a victim of the barret jackson fad. I go to little town car shows and farmers are showing up with real z/28s, stingrays, ss chevelles, and whatever else. No ss 396 chevelle is worth 70000$. Even in the rust belt you can find original examples in any town.
SS,442 why so much?
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cut123,
I actually agree with you. Even the old classics should not be worth what the auctions value them at. Your right about them being everywhere as well. I can literally drive within 10 miles any direction of my house and can take you to a garage with a nice old classic in it. I am within 3 miles of 4 very nice professionally restored GTO Judges.
I actually agree with you. Even the old classics should not be worth what the auctions value them at. Your right about them being everywhere as well. I can literally drive within 10 miles any direction of my house and can take you to a garage with a nice old classic in it. I am within 3 miles of 4 very nice professionally restored GTO Judges.
CHRIS.O said:
there is a town in northern indiana called delphi. little farmer town they have a cruise in every friday. you can go there an see any mucle car or classic you want about. 59 caddys, split windows, himi roadrunner, and these people drive them. I love it.
i wanted an ss because of the styling, wheels, suspension, rearend (i managed to find a POSI one). Just little things that make the car better IMO. I do like the montes with one piece headlights (LS).
Chris, Cut, As mentioned there is a lot more than cosmetics over a standard G. Using the 442 for example;
The body vin. A real 442 is recognized by many lenders & NADA or Kelly Blue Book as in like condition worth more and will lend more against it than a standard Cutty. It also stands a much greater chance of appreciating and providing at least some additional return on investments that you make into the car.
The 442 specific transmission tag IE numbers matching factory improved modified transmission, shift points, valve body, line pressure, torque converter etc.
Motor vin IE numbers matching plus many small improvements that provided some additional horsepower torque & range.
The 8.5 rear! Performance 3.73 gearing not available on regular models and sometimes posi which regular Gs almost never had. These typically bring 700 to $800 used in need of a refresh rebuild because they dramatically extend the limit of the rear. You can't buy a new replacement 8.5 but you can get the gears and a posi but lots of coin.
Quick ratio steering
Stiffer springs
442 specific paint, striping, trim, interior badging etc plus like in the case of the 87 the 120 mph speedo. Ever price painting and striping a car?
Larger 15x7 instead of 14x6 442 specific chrome wheels
442 specific dual exhaust
Thats off the top of head I know there is more.
On top of that there is features that are standard on the 442 that were optional on regular Gs some of which are not common. Items like thicker stiffer front sway plus a rear sway bar both of which provide better handling and a firmer solider feel & ride. Additional structural bracing. Bucket seats, console with shifter, rally guage pack with tach oil pressure water temp instead of a strip and idiot lights. Ever price just the parts to build your own with speedo tach etc? Again this is not an all inclusive list and much more than just cosmetics. Try to find purchase and install these items to build up a regular cutty to equal or improve upon the 442 and you will spend way more than the price spread without factoring your or in many cases a shops time.
The body vin. A real 442 is recognized by many lenders & NADA or Kelly Blue Book as in like condition worth more and will lend more against it than a standard Cutty. It also stands a much greater chance of appreciating and providing at least some additional return on investments that you make into the car.
The 442 specific transmission tag IE numbers matching factory improved modified transmission, shift points, valve body, line pressure, torque converter etc.
Motor vin IE numbers matching plus many small improvements that provided some additional horsepower torque & range.
The 8.5 rear! Performance 3.73 gearing not available on regular models and sometimes posi which regular Gs almost never had. These typically bring 700 to $800 used in need of a refresh rebuild because they dramatically extend the limit of the rear. You can't buy a new replacement 8.5 but you can get the gears and a posi but lots of coin.
Quick ratio steering
Stiffer springs
442 specific paint, striping, trim, interior badging etc plus like in the case of the 87 the 120 mph speedo. Ever price painting and striping a car?
Larger 15x7 instead of 14x6 442 specific chrome wheels
442 specific dual exhaust
Thats off the top of head I know there is more.
On top of that there is features that are standard on the 442 that were optional on regular Gs some of which are not common. Items like thicker stiffer front sway plus a rear sway bar both of which provide better handling and a firmer solider feel & ride. Additional structural bracing. Bucket seats, console with shifter, rally guage pack with tach oil pressure water temp instead of a strip and idiot lights. Ever price just the parts to build your own with speedo tach etc? Again this is not an all inclusive list and much more than just cosmetics. Try to find purchase and install these items to build up a regular cutty to equal or improve upon the 442 and you will spend way more than the price spread without factoring your or in many cases a shops time.
Two G-bodies that have been left out of the disscussion, and one is the most rare of the group. The '80 GP SJ and '80 Grand Am, they both had the same suspension and drivetrain and there were only 1647 '80 Grand Am's built. I ordered one new, by far the best handling of the group if equipped with the same tires. They had fat sway bars, special springs that lowered the the front 1" and the rear 1.5", Bilstien shocks, etc.... They had a W72 301 that had 170 h.p. vs 140 for the L37, 2.93 posi rear, 14 x 7 Rally wheels. Low restriction dual outlet exhaust, Buckets, console and gauges, and better shifting t-350c vs the 200c in lesser models. They were well ahead of the H/O, 442, SS Monte and GN. They were one year only models as well.
There were SS El Cominos with F-41 Suspension but the engines were optional, though you could get a 350 the first couple of years.
There were SS El Cominos with F-41 Suspension but the engines were optional, though you could get a 350 the first couple of years.
Vern covered everything except the dual snorkel air cleaner with chrome lid. Hotter cam, valve springs and real balancer round out the 307's improvements in the H/O and 442's. I wish I bought a 84 H/O, would have needed a decent shift kit/ cooler and a mild Olds 403 to make very fun car. My 88 CSC's 2004r shifted at 3000 rpm, I kid you not. A 442 goverened trans would have been perfect with 4800 rpm shift points. Plus my lousy 2.56's in the weak 7.5" rear, lucky it hasn't blown with slicks. I had to buy better gears, better converter etc, all things the 442's all had. My car is a soft mess suspension wise too. Plus I have found more garage kept 442's around here, mine needs paint and looks like *ss. Kicking myself now, my car is worth practically nothing in compaision.
CHRIS.O said:
My answer to that is because there's so much more that contributes to the 'coolness' of an SS/442 over the standard models than just the engine. For some, it's just the looks alone, but there are plenty of other 'hidden' performance enhancements that these cars had that are nice to have like better transmission and stronger rear ( with better gears ), tire size etc.
I think the upgraded engines these cars had are probabaly on the bottom of the list of things that make people want to pay more for one. The extra money you pay for one of these cars is more for all the other cool stuff since as you said, most just swap in a bigger engine anyhow. It doesn't kill the value of your car by just a simple engine swap unless someone decides to butcher it all up ( I'm gonna put in a Chevy 383 in my 83 Hurst Olds! ). You can always reinstall the original engine too.
i can't front..i'm buying a MC SS when I get my bonus next month..they're all over Craigslist here in Atlanta..dope ones too..it's just the look that always got me..and growing up with them all over columbus along with the regals and cutlasses, they're just the cars that stuck with me. the regal i have now was my granny's so i've been riding in a g-body since 87 when i was 11-12 yrs old.
No, it came in other cars as well, but it's the better of the two O.D. trans that were around at the time.
The SS had the aero nose and mirrors, and rear window if you got an aerocoupe, rally gauges w/speedo up to 125MPH, later years had the 7.625" rear w/3:73 gear ratio, H.O. 305, sport suspension package, and Super Sport badging/decals.[/quote]
The aero as you call it mirrors were on all Monte Carlo's from 86-88 standard models and SS
All 78-85 Monte Carlo's had the other style of mirror.
The SS had the aero nose and mirrors, and rear window if you got an aerocoupe, rally gauges w/speedo up to 125MPH, later years had the 7.625" rear w/3:73 gear ratio, H.O. 305, sport suspension package, and Super Sport badging/decals.[/quote]
The aero as you call it mirrors were on all Monte Carlo's from 86-88 standard models and SS
All 78-85 Monte Carlo's had the other style of mirror.
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