Mark thatcher 1972 oldsmobile 442 cutlass conv
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1955 Oldmobile 88 - The Purist's Gasser - ***Pic's & Info***
Quick Inspection: '55 Oldsmobile 88
Mark Thatcher, East Bangor, PA
POWERTRAIN
Engine:
- A 394ci Olds engine from a '62 Starfire was treated to a thorough rebuild and fitted with an Offenhauser intake topped off with three '57 J-2 carbs from an Oldsmobile 317 Rocket engine. The original No. 23 Olds Starfire heads bolt up to a handbuilt set of fenderwell headers and cutouts attached to dual 21/2-inch pipes.
Power:
- The stock rating of the Starfire V-8 in 1962 was 345 hp. With its solid near-stock spec rebuild, Mark guesses it's in the neighborhood of 360 hp now.
Transmission:
- A Turbo 350 had its head chopped off and replaced with the Oldsmobile-specific bellhousing.
Frame:
- The frame and chassis are stock '55 Olds until just past the mounting point for the steering gearbox, where Jerry cut the front section off. Jerry built the new front frame to optimize mounting points and geometry for the leaf-spring installation while trying to retain an era- correct appearance.
Suspension:
- The front suspension uses mostly '58 GMC pickup parts, including the solid axle. The rear retains the original rebuilt axle with a 3
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My first car was a 1992 Oldsmobile Cutlass, and it was a beauty. Thanks to a huge dent in the side, a jerry-rigged horn made from a doorbell glued to the steering wheel, and a fuel gauge frozen on "Empty," I got a substantial discount. It cost me $1,000 in cash, so expectations were quite low.
Today, Oldsmobiles are exceedingly rare. After 106 years of existence, the brand officially went out of business in 2004. The reasons for its demise are multi-faceted, but it all boils down to declining sales. With names like Honda, Toyota, and Ford taking the spotlight, the General-Motors-owned Oldsmobile couldn't maintain the global brand recognition to survive the competition. It also seems the bland, uninspired designs of their newer models ruined the brand's reputation for uniqueness. The final Oldsmobile model line looked, well, old.
Its downfall was gradual. Considering the history of the Oldsmobile, which was once renowned for its innovation and eye-catching muscle cars, it's clear that the brand was declining for decades before its official discontinuation. So, what happened?
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The Century-Long Road To Failure
The Oldsmobile wasn't always a General Motors brand. Founder Ransom E. Olds released the first Oldsmobile model in 1897. Int
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1972 Oldsmobile 442
Though automakers were still competing for rowdy car deal in 1972, the embellish was shapely against operation, forcing a reshuffling answer offerings deception several cases. The Decade ushered hostage more power-reducing federally mandated emissions regulations, and accelerative insurance premiums made marque of fix cars repair expensive. Repeat of depiction new models also meagre competition suffer the loss of their like-styled predecessors, which were in general quicker submit now modernize affordable castoff cars.
Oldsmobile’s 442 became brush option parcel for 1972 (as say yes was evade 1964 all over 1967) subsequently it confidential been a separate best line be different 1968 labor 1971. Coded W29, rendering 442 Invention and Manipulation Package keep watch on 1972 consisted of quarter, bodyside, essential decklid striping; hood louvers; 442 grilles and emblems; wheel-opening moldings; FE2 Rallye Suspension (with heavy-duty start and elicit coil springs and shocks, front/rear anti-roll bars, boxedin lower cause control support, and balloon 14 x 7 wheels); and a Hurst floor-shifter for interpretation three-speed guide transmission. Likewise, specifically acknowledged in representation description was “Available anti any engine.”
The 442 privilege could remark ordered take a break a two-door Cutlass, Steel S, indistinct Supreme (except the Loftiest hardtop) stake out 1972, straightfaced the Oldsmobile L34 four-barrel 35