Here is a little bit about my 442 that I have owned for 25 years. I am the second owner; my father in law was the first.
The 442 was purchased new in the state of Oregon as a family car then spent time in Colorado and Wisconsin before ending up in Illinois. My wife was brought home from the hospital in this car and even though our children were not brought home in it, it was at the hospital when they were born.
There are lots of stories and pictures around that I will try and dig up. This car has lead a rough life of over 200,000 miles many at the hands of 4 teenage boys. It has been wrecked 3 times once by a 78 Z28 doing donuts nearby, it has been stuck in mud above the rockers after sliding off the road and has been impounded by the police. All of this was years ago when boys could be boys without losing their toys.
Here is a picture of it traveling from Colorado to Wisconsin in 1967.
[IMG]http://And here it is today with a 400, M-21 4 speed, 3;91 posi.
http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae129/R442/442/DSCF6541.jpg[/IMG]
And here it is today with a 400, M-21 4 speed, 3;91 posi.
http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae129/R442/442/DSCF6541.jpg[/IMG]
I have had the 442 since I was 20 and it has always been a low budget driver going through several used engines and rear ends along the way. It has always been and will always be Oldsmobile powered. It may not be the fastest or cheapest way to go but I wouldn?t have it any other way.
Three years ago at the age of 42 I decided that it was time to try drag racing with it. The first time out was with a tired 455 that was on its last leg. I was only able to get a best time of 15.8 but I was hooked. I am by no means a drag racer only having been down the track a total of 8 times but I am having a blast doing it and plan to continue to do this and hopefully make it to Drag Week in the future.
The following winter I was able to get the original 400 rebuilt properly. All other rebuilds were done cheap and easy with new bearings and rings, no machine work at all. The new rebuild included hot tanking, line boring, .040 cylinder bore, new pistons , lifters, roller rockers, timing chain, everything and the entire rotating assemble was balanced.
Here it is in the car with a Torker intake, VooDoo cam, Hooker headers, 3? dual exhaust and new for this year a 100HP power shot system with a NOS controller.
This was to be my dream engine. That summer I was only able to get to the track once and it was a very busy day only making 2 passes. My best pass that time was 14.8, my goal with the 442 is low 13's , a 12.9 would make me a very happy man. I think trying to go any faster than that with the original motor and 4 speed we be to much money.
The dream engine ended after 3,000 miles at the drag strip in Union Grove.
Everything was good throughout the run with the exception of a missed gear. When I turned onto the return road I heard a very bad sound coming from the lower end of the motor. To the best of our knowledge (the machine shop and myself) I sucked air into the oil system while slowing down after the run. I think its time for a deep sump pan.
It now sits in my garage waiting for the engine to come back out and find out exactly what happened. This project will be slow going at first, it was unplanned which means unfunded and I also need to get a few other winterization things done before I can tear into the engine rebuild. My best run that night was 14.4 with a missed shift. Like I said I'm still new at this. Hopefully next year I will make it to the track and start heading into the 13's.
Almost forgot to mention, I still have all of the original parts in case I lose my mind and decide to go back to stock some day.
I will keep you posted as things progress.
The 442 was purchased new in the state of Oregon as a family car then spent time in Colorado and Wisconsin before ending up in Illinois. My wife was brought home from the hospital in this car and even though our children were not brought home in it, it was at the hospital when they were born.
There are lots of stories and pictures around that I will try and dig up. This car has lead a rough life of over 200,000 miles many at the hands of 4 teenage boys. It has been wrecked 3 times once by a 78 Z28 doing donuts nearby, it has been stuck in mud above the rockers after sliding off the road and has been impounded by the police. All of this was years ago when boys could be boys without losing their toys.
Here is a picture of it traveling from Colorado to Wisconsin in 1967.
[IMG]http://And here it is today with a 400, M-21 4 speed, 3;91 posi.
http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae129/R442/442/DSCF6541.jpg[/IMG]
And here it is today with a 400, M-21 4 speed, 3;91 posi.
http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae129/R442/442/DSCF6541.jpg[/IMG]
I have had the 442 since I was 20 and it has always been a low budget driver going through several used engines and rear ends along the way. It has always been and will always be Oldsmobile powered. It may not be the fastest or cheapest way to go but I wouldn?t have it any other way.
Three years ago at the age of 42 I decided that it was time to try drag racing with it. The first time out was with a tired 455 that was on its last leg. I was only able to get a best time of 15.8 but I was hooked. I am by no means a drag racer only having been down the track a total of 8 times but I am having a blast doing it and plan to continue to do this and hopefully make it to Drag Week in the future.
The following winter I was able to get the original 400 rebuilt properly. All other rebuilds were done cheap and easy with new bearings and rings, no machine work at all. The new rebuild included hot tanking, line boring, .040 cylinder bore, new pistons , lifters, roller rockers, timing chain, everything and the entire rotating assemble was balanced.
Here it is in the car with a Torker intake, VooDoo cam, Hooker headers, 3? dual exhaust and new for this year a 100HP power shot system with a NOS controller.
This was to be my dream engine. That summer I was only able to get to the track once and it was a very busy day only making 2 passes. My best pass that time was 14.8, my goal with the 442 is low 13's , a 12.9 would make me a very happy man. I think trying to go any faster than that with the original motor and 4 speed we be to much money.
The dream engine ended after 3,000 miles at the drag strip in Union Grove.
Everything was good throughout the run with the exception of a missed gear. When I turned onto the return road I heard a very bad sound coming from the lower end of the motor. To the best of our knowledge (the machine shop and myself) I sucked air into the oil system while slowing down after the run. I think its time for a deep sump pan.
It now sits in my garage waiting for the engine to come back out and find out exactly what happened. This project will be slow going at first, it was unplanned which means unfunded and I also need to get a few other winterization things done before I can tear into the engine rebuild. My best run that night was 14.4 with a missed shift. Like I said I'm still new at this. Hopefully next year I will make it to the track and start heading into the 13's.
Almost forgot to mention, I still have all of the original parts in case I lose my mind and decide to go back to stock some day.
I will keep you posted as things progress.
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