SS,442 why so much?

[Fader]

I was just thinking the other day....Why are 442s selling for so cheap? My main guess is the economy & the fact it seems people are dumping projects, not buying them....I suppose they are still selling for more than a Salon with the same trim pkg...I bought my 85' 442 without a motor, so I knew I wasn't paying extra in my case...The reasons I drove across several states to buy a 442 versus just snagging a baseline Cutlass locally were....#1 the body & frame were rust free,#2 I liked all the extra features, the 8.5" rearend, the Better 200-4R, Quick Ratio Steering, F41 Suspension, AC clutch Kick out on the gas pedal, & I like the Salon Interior & the 442 Only Paint Scheme, #3 the price was right @ $1000..... & #4 there were only 3000 produced & I would guess less than 2/3s still around.....oh yeah, #5...I would paid almost that much for a rust free Cutlass body with t.tops.....

I love the 442s & I've haven't drove mine yet....I can totally see why they would warrant extra cost versus a standard Cutty.....I could start on the Monte's but my lunchtime is over & there isn't as many points for those...Although I do love them too

 

[MR442]

I was just thinking the other day....Why are 442s selling for so cheap? My main guess is the economy & the fact it seems people are dumping projects, not buying them....I suppose they are still selling for more than a Salon with the same trim pkg...I bought my 85' 442 without a motor, so I knew I wasn't paying extra in my case...The reasons I drove across several states to buy a 442 versus just snagging a baseline Cutlass locally were....#1 the body & frame were rust free,#2 I liked all the extra features, the 8.5" rearend, the Better 200-4R, Quick Ratio Steering, F41 Suspension, AC clutch Kick out on the gas pedal, & I like the Salon Interior & the 442 Only Paint Scheme, #3 the price was right @ $1000..... & #4 there were only 3000 produced & I would guess less than 2/3s still around.....oh yeah, #5...I would paid almost that much for a rust free Cutlass body with t.tops.....

I love the 442s & I've haven't drove mine yet....I can totally see why they would warrant extra cost versus a standard Cutty.....I could start on the Monte's but my lunchtime is over & there isn't as many points for those...Although I do love them too

Cheap? A rust free 442 with under 100000 MIles is $8500 in my neck of woods.

 

[87z16]

ok just to let you people know. aerocoupes have NOTHING special done to them ecept the back window and trunk.
the mirrors were available on ALL montes from 86-88. the only real diff between the models is the suspension and 305 HO engine of a whopping 180hp. my friends cuz ordered an LS in 87 with the SS suspension(f41) but the spring rates were different and got the non ho engine what was that like 170 hp??

if u ask me save the money with the SS and buy the CL CS LS models and use the money saved with your upgrades. you will have to update the suspension anyway as well as upgrading the engine and transmission.

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

ok just to let you people know. aerocoupes have NOTHING special done to them ecept the back window and trunk.
the mirrors were available on ALL montes from 86-88. the only real diff between the models is the suspension and 305 HO engine of a whopping 180hp. my friends cuz ordered an LS in 87 with the SS suspension(f41) but the spring rates were different and got the non ho engine what was that like 170 hp??

if u ask me save the money with the SS and buy the CL CS LS models and use the money saved with your upgrades. you will have to update the suspension anyway as well as upgrading the engine and transmission.

The HO 305, the L69 was rated 180-190 HP by car mags, but many feel it is a pretty conservative rating and that they are probably 200 HP. At any rate they have a 9.5 to 1 CR which is pretty good for an 80s engine and why they respond well to upgrades. L69s are known to be able to make up to 295 HP with just bolt ons and stock heads.

The non HOs, the LG4s either have 140 or 160 HP, early LG4s had an 8.5 to 1 CR while later ones have 9 to 1 which adds the extra 20 HP.

L69s besides having a higher CR, also had hotter cams, bigger valves, higher performance Qjet, higher stall TCs, and hotter 200-4Rs, and 3.73 gears.

 

[-83MONTESS-]

IMO the main reason people buy Monte SS's is for looks. Thats the reason I bought mine, I already had plans of what I was gonna do powertrain wise so I couldnt care less if it had the original "numbers matching" 305. All that 305 did was keep the 400's seat warm til I got it. Now if I had a GN or H/O I would be more hesitant to rip it apart. I would probly take the original powerplant out and store it and put something with actual power (excluding the GN) in it to have fun with.

 

[G-Body_Vet]

Other than a few hot factory parts and blacked out trim, you're buying a vin number and a potential future investment. I've really liked the SS's I've owned although they have the worst g-body doors in my opinion. They all seem to crack by the mirrors. When my high mileage Aero got totaled back in 2000, I still got $3500 for the car, parted it out, and even sold the back window for another $800.

The most solid g's I've had were my '85 442, '83 Regal and now my '78 GP. I personally like the 78-80 H/O's & 442's better than the 83-84's H/O's. A hood scoop, lightning rods and some stickers don't impress me enough for the going price these days. I like the slant-back salon 442's just because their an oddity. Same with the Century Turbo, and 78-80 Turbo Regal. the drive trains were crap but I love the styling and uniqueness about them.

If I were to invest in something of the upper echelon, it would have to be mint and strictly for collecting. I like to tinker so I'd rather have toys I can play with.

 

[Randy_W]

I was just thinking the other day....Why are 442s selling for so cheap? My main guess is the economy & the fact it seems people are dumping projects, not buying them....I suppose they are still selling for more than a Salon with the same trim pkg...I bought my 85' 442 without a motor, so I knew I wasn't paying extra in my case...The reasons I drove across several states to buy a 442 versus just snagging a baseline Cutlass locally were....#1 the body & frame were rust free,#2 I liked all the extra features, the 8.5" rearend, the Better 200-4R, Quick Ratio Steering, F41 Suspension, AC clutch Kick out on the gas pedal, & I like the Salon Interior & the 442 Only Paint Scheme, #3 the price was right @ $1000..... & #4 there were only 3000 produced & I would guess less than 2/3s still around.....oh yeah, #5...I would paid almost that much for a rust free Cutlass body with t.tops.....

I love the 442s & I've haven't drove mine yet....I can totally see why they would warrant extra cost versus a standard Cutty.....I could start on the Monte's but my lunchtime is over & there isn't as many points for those...Although I do love them too

Cheap? A rust free 442 with under 100000 MIles is $8500 in my neck of woods.

You can have just such a car in my neck of the woods for $6500! viewtopic.php?f=31&t=33539

 

[Fader]

I was just thinking the other day....Why are 442s selling for so cheap? My main guess is the economy & the fact it seems people are dumping projects, not buying them....I suppose they are still selling for more than a Salon with the same trim pkg...I bought my 85' 442 without a motor, so I knew I wasn't paying extra in my case...The reasons I drove across several states to buy a 442 versus just snagging a baseline Cutlass locally were....#1 the body & frame were rust free,#2 I liked all the extra features, the 8.5" rearend, the Better 200-4R, Quick Ratio Steering, F41 Suspension, AC clutch Kick out on the gas pedal, & I like the Salon Interior & the 442 Only Paint Scheme, #3 the price was right @ $1000..... & #4 there were only 3000 produced & I would guess less than 2/3s still around.....oh yeah, #5...I would paid almost that much for a rust free Cutlass body with t.tops.....

I love the 442s & I've haven't drove mine yet....I can totally see why they would warrant extra cost versus a standard Cutty.....I could start on the Monte's but my lunchtime is over & there isn't as many points for those...Although I do love them too

Cheap? A rust free 442 with under 100000 MIles is $8500 in my neck of woods.

You can have just such a car in my neck of the woods for $6500! viewtopic.php?f=31&t=33539

There ya go....a $2000. Discount........that's a heck of a deal & its kind of in your neck of the woods...lol

 

[CYBORG-GN]

Just in my opinion, I hope there are more original engines in your G-bodies their as practically every G-body here in Ottawa Ontario is molested/modified and any originality is long gone. Shure they did not have alot of power but I am more interested in a stock G-body any day versus something that is modified that you can gaurantee had the sh_t driven out of it. Taking a rough educated guess around here maybe 20% of the G-bodies still are in their original state when they came off the showroom floors.

 

[Chris Van]

Just in my opinion, I hope there are more original engines in your G-bodies their as practically every G-body here in Ottawa Ontario is molested/modified and any originality is long gone. Shure they did not have alot of power but I am more interested in a stock G-body any day versus something that is modified that you can gaurantee had the sh_t driven out of it. Taking a rough educated guess around here maybe 20% of the G-bodies still are in their original state when they came off the showroom floors.

To each his own I guess.
That's what's cool about the hot rodding world and doing things yourself. You can build (or restore) your car exactly how YOU want it to be.