MikeNKalibs6t7Coupe

I found this and figured there would be interest in such a car no way am I affiliated

http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1468044489.html

Iroc57

1 fo 5 and on CL no less, that is amazing The seller couldn't even take the time for a free pic on this bargain

capevettes

Paul Borowski

"1 of 5", yeah right....

....there is only ONE left in the world out of the original 43 and it's in Bowling Green, KY in the Corvette Museum.

joewill

Wonder what the title says...

63Nova

No pics, no vin, no info, on craigslist.....seems legit.

Alan 71

I've already sent him a check for twice the asking price so no one steals it away from me!
The wheels alone are worth his asking price.
Regards,
Alan

Can anyone send me a picture of those wheels so I'll know if I got what I paid for?

eagle275

what happened to the other origional 42 1983's? Just curious.

HamadUP

Destroyed, just like any auto factory's test mule.

81pilot

Not always the case. It just means at the time it was put there that was the thought, that it was the last. My Father in Law has the lone remaining 68 442/ 455CI 425 HP Front Wheel drive car. period. But ask Olds (specifically the 442 nuts) and they will say all 6 that were produced were wrecked trying to run Nascar trials with a front wheel drive and destroyed. He bought it new in 68 in Cali. Been under a cover in his garage and not started for 20 years. So all I am saying this car could be a lost remnant. Don't be so quick to assume that what you have seen is all there is, they do pop up from beneath tarps from time to time. (been trying to talk him out of that car for years...I think I will inherit it someday)

LT1 Hunter

Can you send us a pic/ Sounds like a neat piece. Thanks

81pilot

Hahaha, if I could get to it! :O) Actually the 68 442 is not one of the cooler 442's made, althogh it has the hurst colors which were rare that year, but it looks like a 68 442 with some miles, the front wheel drive and 455 is the big thing, but you can't see it. (especially with all of the junk stacked around it.)

vette442

Wow, I'm gonna throw this out to a couple guys I know who worked in Olds Engineering in Lansing from 1968-72 and see what I can find out. In my 20 years as an Olds fanatic I've never heard of these particular prototypes - I'd love to hear more. They've provided details on a few mystery prototypes and debunked a few rumors as well. The '68 442s are VERY cool, by the way.... I'll pass along whatever I find out.

Terry

81pilot

Fantastic!! ABout 10 years ago I tracked down a guy who was an engineer at olds back then and we chatted, but my FIL did not want his name involved. The story is that he was in the Navy and bought the car from the show room floor only to have the owner come in and blow a gasket as it was not for sale (technically) but he had paid for it and had the bill of sale, and said sue me...but they had no grounds. He drove it a lot till around 20 years ago then parked it. It has the Toronado front drive train and a 455. Most if not all production 442's in 68 had the 400. From what I was told, 2 were sold to the public and the rest of the 6 were totalled. I was given an unbeleivable amount that it was worth, but he just smiled. It sits in his garage, neglected, but not abused, has around 60K on the clock, and ran great when parked. I would appreciate any info you can fine, maybe some hard facts will get him to do someting even if it is to sell it back to GM (which was suggested by the first guy I talked with) I would rather see it be restored and stuck in a museum, than surrounded by junk in his garage!! Let me know what you find!! Thanks!!!!

Z51T56C4

Are you 100% POSITIVE this fellow is lying? If not, don't be an ***!

larryg3

bobbarry

Not 100% positive, but as a transplant from the Olds, and specifically the Toronado world, it sounds a lot more improbable than an '83 Vette showing up on Craigslist.

The only known factory engineering in '68 that would be anything close to what you describe was the Hurst/Olds prototypes, which did use the Toro-spec 455. There *was* the Hurst Hairy Olds (H/O) from '66/'67 that used a blown 455/TH425 transaxle front AND rear, but nothing resembling a production vehicle for sale.

There were no factory GM NASCAR programs, especially not for Olds, until the 70's, and front-wheel drive was not seriously entertained by any racing-teams as an advantage in NASCAR, so the whole concept sounds off-kilter.

There is a lot of first-hand engineering knowledge from that time shared over on the various Olds forums (aluminum experimental and Can-Am engines, DOHC 455's, etc), but never a peep about something like this.

So while it's not impossible, short of some pictures and shots of the factory tags and casting-numbers designating it as a genuine experimental product, I'd guess it's either an amalgamation of misunderstandings about what exactly it is or it is a non-factory product.

I'm always willing to be proven wrong, with evidence in picture-form, but I'm more skeptical than not on this one.

81pilot

This is funny. My Father in Law has owned the car since new it is in his garage, it came brand new like it sits, I have driven it many times before it was parked. He even had an old 68 Toronado for years and years in case he needed parts, he finally had it hauled off. Man the next time I am down there next month or so I will shoot some pice of it and the drive train. I don't really care what that other clown says, I had a conversation years ago with a guy from Olds who put his hands on them off the line. But my FIL is loaded and the money does not interest him. I don't care about skeptics....facts are facts. My wife drove it to high school some in the early eighties. It had 500 miles on it and a new factory title when he drove it off the floor. NO misunderstanding at all, its just something that you and others had no knowledge of, so I am called a liar, why would I say anything about a 442 on a Vette forum?? If I were to make something up it would have been something more thought provoking than that car, I think its ugly! I'm an old FORD guy, and know that FORD made a lot of P.O. cars that still pop up from time to time, and I am sure GM did the same. I guess I should learn this forum is not a place to question logic, the MC forums are more forgiving. But for you and the *** in the other post, I will move some clutter and shoot some pics of the car and drive train on my next visit, I will not post the VIN, he wont let me, but I will get it and run it and see where it leads. Are the casting numbers and motor VIN in the same place on the old cars as a Vette? If so I will see what I can find. But in truth I don't need to prove anything, but I will just to silence the naysayers.

81pilot

I get the same reaction every time I bring it up. I should stop talking about it. My FIL knows what its worth, but has no intention right now of getting rid of it, he is 72 years old, has plenty of money, quite a packrat, but hes getting old so maybe he will soon. If it didn't exist why would I spend countless hours tracking down info on it for him years back? I just thought car guys here would think its cool , I do even though its fugly. I have a stock 2053CC V-twin motorcycle, I wonder if the same guy will tell me that does not exist. I am fairly new here and don't need that guy defining my reputation, so I guess as soon as I can I will get some pics.......... geeez I shoulda remained silent.:O)

bobbarry

That's true; you don't have to prove anything. But this being the internet, where anybody can say anything (and many times people have), most everybody has learned to take unusual claims with a grain of salt.

I know that there would be many people interested in the history and background of your father-in-law's car as you describe it, but because it is such an unusual claim, you ought not be surprised if you find a great deal of skepticism without some type of evidence. I'm always interested when the unwritten chapters of automotive history come to light, and a factory-built 442 with a front-wheel drive Toronado drivetrain intended for homologation for NASCAR racing would be a completely new and fascinating chapter.

The VIN-derivative on an Olds motor is located on a ledge located on the side of the block, just under the #1 spark-plug toward the front on the driver's side. The VIN (without the serial production number) is on the dash, and there is a body-plate on the firewall that probably won't match the series-number in the VIN (a known discrepancy).

Pictures of how Olds would have tied the rear mount for the front-suspension torsion-bars into the A-body perimeter frame, and how they adapted the leaf-spring mounts for the rear I-beam axle to the frame, would be very interesting.