if you buy a 442 or a H/O and do a 'motor and trans swap' its not a 442 or a H/O anymore ... that's stupid. Now you've taken a 442 or a H/O out of the registry and most likely for good. If you want to build a car you should just get a Brougham. 442's and H/O's are the future collectible Oldsmobile of their kind - but performing a motor / trans swap on them basically guarantees that by the time you are done having fun it won't be worth more than $2,500 - $5,000 whereas if you had just restored them to original showroom condition it would be like a $10,000 car or better... Whats the point of having a car that says '442' on the side if it doesn't have the original 442 engine in it... although I can see the 5 speed swap - maybe.
Which would you choose?
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pencero said:
It's not stupid as long as you keep it Olds. Put a Chevy in it and then yes, I think that's pretty stupid.
What do you mean 'out of the registry'? You do know that an engine can simply be pulled and you can reinstall the original engine if you should ever come upon a situation where you would actually want to do that...
No Supreme's or Salons?
Again, you can easily swap the original engine back in whenever you want and who gives a hoot on what the car is actually worth unless you're planning on selling it and are looking for top dollar.
The point would be to actually be able to drive Old's cool looking flagship model that actually does justice to the name '442'.
Dude you have a seriously weird perspective on things. You're saying swapping out the lame stock 307 for another SBO will ruin the car and make it not a 442 ( or H/O ) but swapping in a manual trans in place of the stock automatic is perfectly fine? :? What would 'ruin the value' of the car more; swapping in an Olds 350/403 that bolts right in with NO modifications or doing all the crap needed to do a proper manual conversion?
Yeah, I have an 85 442 and it has an OLDS 350 in it. I can assure everyone that my car is still a 442! Though it may not be 'worth' the same as if it were bone stock, it is a MUCH better car to drive around now and I didn't butcher anything up getting it to were it is now either. If I wanted to put it back to stock again I could but that will never happen so I don't worry about it....
I see your point but it's not the engine that dictates what a car is. honestly I would have to put a larger engine it to make it a 442. I'm sorry but to me a 307 hardly makes me think 442. I am leaving towards the 442 because it already has a new engine and trans.
If you have the 442 engine in the garage that's a different story b/c you're preserving the engine instead of putting miles on it. That's what a true enthusiast who wants to drive his car should do. I'm talking about people who are just destroying 442's / HO' s. What a waste. Those cars will increase in value. I only recommended the Brougham because it's a Cutlass that often gets scrapped b/c of the vinyl top situation. If a guy wants to play Captain Save-a-car, a Brougham is a much better choice b/c it typically sells for under $2,000 due to the vinyl top which is not even a full days work / $500 to eliminate when a guy finally gets it together. If a guy 'wants to do a motor/trans swap' and 'save a car' he could just buy a v6 Brougham for <$1,000 or less wtf... leave the 442's & H/O's to the guys with high skill levels and stop trashing them guys that sh*t is lame.
the 442 is black there is another one that is grey that just popped up.
the 442 doesn't have the original motor so your rant on thrashing 442s is not valid here.
the 442 doesn't have the original motor so your rant on thrashing 442s is not valid here.
Everything I have done to my car I can unbolt and return to original. I have all the OE parts in stock, but I don't expect to return them to the car. The guy that gets it from me in 40 yrs can do that 😀pencero said:
BTW I would buy the 442, as I didn't like the silver H/Os all that much. But that's because of the red interior.
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