Gary's 442
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Well, I just had to have another one …
You see, during the late 1970’s, I owned several Oldsmobile 4-4-2’s of different years and
different colors and styles. In early 2001, I picked up a 1999 Ford Mustang Cobra
convertible and the thrill of performance was back after a 20+ year absence. The Cobra
was immaculate with very low mileage. After a couple of years of just admiring it, and two
consecutive years of driving it 98 and 104 miles between annual inspections, I began to
frequent local car shows and cruise-in circuits. While the Cobra was nice and got a lot of
compliments, I began to have a hankering for the “Olds” days, when my 4-4-2’s routinely
defeated other brands in street races all around Fredericksburg and Stafford (yes, I am a
native).
So, in 2006, I began my search. My wife and I agreed on a budget, and the quest was on. I
began to get real aggressive during the summer of 2007, and after looking into over 100
cars, I set my sights on 1972 4-4-2 located just outside of Detroit, MI. I had found the car
on the Internet and contacted the owner. We talked a number of times and it seemed like
the car was exactly what I was looking for. It was restored in 1992 and had been
maintained in a heated building since then. I asked the owner to take pictures of certain
areas of the car that would show me the true condition of the car. These pictures were of
certain trouble spots that are typical for these cars. That evening, the pictures showed up
in e-mail and they indicated this car was in fine condition and I was sold.
The car was listed on an Internet auction site, and the owner had told me what minimum
acceptable price that he would accept. I won the auction, but at a price $1,000 less than
his stated minimum. I called him and told him the auction was over, and that I had won the
auction, although at a price lower than he wanted. I asked if he could accept the price that I
had won the auction with, and after a long pause, he said, “Well, when are you going to
come pick up your car?” I was thrilled – I had landed my 4-4-2!
The next challenge was getting her home. She was about 550 miles away, and I did not
have a trailer. I contact several shipping companies and their prices ranged from $600 to
$1,000, on an open trailer, and about two weeks to finally arrive in Virginia. That wouldn’t
do. I then asked the owner if he thought the car could be driven to Virginia. He said, “Well,
if you asked me if I would put my wife and kids in the car and send them to Virginia,
probably not. Would I get in it and drive it to Virginia? Yeah, no problem.” Having had a
few of these cars in my life, I took that as an acceptable risk, and made plans to go to
Detroit.
The following Saturday morning, I left Reagan National Airport at 6:30am on a flight to
Detroit. The car owner lived about 5 miles from the airport, so when I landed, I called him
and let him know that I had arrived so that he could pick me up. As I waited on the curb,
this bright red 4-4-2 with massive dual hood scoops crested a small rise in the roadway
and headed into the airport terminal. You could hear the rumble of the 455 engine over all
of the other noise at the airport. WOW!!! This was going to be a great day! I jumped in the
car, introduced myself in person, and we headed off to the owner’s house.
When we arrived back at the owner’s house, I was able to then go over the car closely. I
was very happy with what I found, but had a long trip ahead of me. The outside of the car
was comparable to the pictures. The engine bay, interior and underside of the car were
better than the pictures. We took care of the formalities and loaded the trunk nearly full with
spare parts and pieces. We shook hands, and at 10:15am, I hit the road headed to
Virginia.
After a passing a couple of exits and a short run on the interstate, the car felt good – for a
thirty seven year old car. Steering and braking generally responded in the manner that I
intended, but after driving the Mustang, steering and braking were not as precise as I had
become accustomed to. I stopped and loaded up on fuel – for me and the 4-4-2 and
headed out of Michigan. A fuel stop in Ohio and a fuel stop in Pennsylvania and the trip
continued uneventfully. Just a little while outside of Pittsburgh, the engine temperature
started to rise. The needle moved from 190 degrees, to 200, to 210 degrees. I was
starting to get worried when I saw a sign indicating that I had reached the peak of some
mountain that I had been climbing for the last few miles at 1,700 feet! Wow! I had been
climbing a mountain and didn’t even know it. I guess the 455 engine was working a little
harder, but I never noticed it in the throttle. As I descended the other side of the “mountain,”
the temperature returned to a happy 180 degrees.
As I headed through Maryland and into Virginia, the traffic got heavier and the number of
heads that were turning my way increased dramatically. I continued around the beltway
and headed south on I-95, reaching Exit 143 at about 7:45pm. I rolled into the weekly
Saturday evening cruise-in at Bruster’s at 7:50pm. What a rush! My dream car was home,
and with the exception of a few bugs in the grille, in great shape! I have to admit – it was a
tense 10 hours, but getting the car home was quite a thrill.
That was 10 months ago, and I am still very happy to have a nice Olds 4-4-2 in the garage,
and I am pleased to share it and its stories at local car shows and cruise-ins. And who
knows, there might be another 4-4-2 in my future. Gotta find more storage space first!
You see, during the late 1970’s, I owned several Oldsmobile 4-4-2’s of different years and
different colors and styles. In early 2001, I picked up a 1999 Ford Mustang Cobra
convertible and the thrill of performance was back after a 20+ year absence. The Cobra
was immaculate with very low mileage. After a couple of years of just admiring it, and two
consecutive years of driving it 98 and 104 miles between annual inspections, I began to
frequent local car shows and cruise-in circuits. While the Cobra was nice and got a lot of
compliments, I began to have a hankering for the “Olds” days, when my 4-4-2’s routinely
defeated other brands in street races all around Fredericksburg and Stafford (yes, I am a
native).
So, in 2006, I began my search. My wife and I agreed on a budget, and the quest was on. I
began to get real aggressive during the summer of 2007, and after looking into over 100
cars, I set my sights on 1972 4-4-2 located just outside of Detroit, MI. I had found the car
on the Internet and contacted the owner. We talked a number of times and it seemed like
the car was exactly what I was looking for. It was restored in 1992 and had been
maintained in a heated building since then. I asked the owner to take pictures of certain
areas of the car that would show me the true condition of the car. These pictures were of
certain trouble spots that are typical for these cars. That evening, the pictures showed up
in e-mail and they indicated this car was in fine condition and I was sold.
The car was listed on an Internet auction site, and the owner had told me what minimum
acceptable price that he would accept. I won the auction, but at a price $1,000 less than
his stated minimum. I called him and told him the auction was over, and that I had won the
auction, although at a price lower than he wanted. I asked if he could accept the price that I
had won the auction with, and after a long pause, he said, “Well, when are you going to
come pick up your car?” I was thrilled – I had landed my 4-4-2!
The next challenge was getting her home. She was about 550 miles away, and I did not
have a trailer. I contact several shipping companies and their prices ranged from $600 to
$1,000, on an open trailer, and about two weeks to finally arrive in Virginia. That wouldn’t
do. I then asked the owner if he thought the car could be driven to Virginia. He said, “Well,
if you asked me if I would put my wife and kids in the car and send them to Virginia,
probably not. Would I get in it and drive it to Virginia? Yeah, no problem.” Having had a
few of these cars in my life, I took that as an acceptable risk, and made plans to go to
Detroit.
The following Saturday morning, I left Reagan National Airport at 6:30am on a flight to
Detroit. The car owner lived about 5 miles from the airport, so when I landed, I called him
and let him know that I had arrived so that he could pick me up. As I waited on the curb,
this bright red 4-4-2 with massive dual hood scoops crested a small rise in the roadway
and headed into the airport terminal. You could hear the rumble of the 455 engine over all
of the other noise at the airport. WOW!!! This was going to be a great day! I jumped in the
car, introduced myself in person, and we headed off to the owner’s house.
When we arrived back at the owner’s house, I was able to then go over the car closely. I
was very happy with what I found, but had a long trip ahead of me. The outside of the car
was comparable to the pictures. The engine bay, interior and underside of the car were
better than the pictures. We took care of the formalities and loaded the trunk nearly full with
spare parts and pieces. We shook hands, and at 10:15am, I hit the road headed to
Virginia.
After a passing a couple of exits and a short run on the interstate, the car felt good – for a
thirty seven year old car. Steering and braking generally responded in the manner that I
intended, but after driving the Mustang, steering and braking were not as precise as I had
become accustomed to. I stopped and loaded up on fuel – for me and the 4-4-2 and
headed out of Michigan. A fuel stop in Ohio and a fuel stop in Pennsylvania and the trip
continued uneventfully. Just a little while outside of Pittsburgh, the engine temperature
started to rise. The needle moved from 190 degrees, to 200, to 210 degrees. I was
starting to get worried when I saw a sign indicating that I had reached the peak of some
mountain that I had been climbing for the last few miles at 1,700 feet! Wow! I had been
climbing a mountain and didn’t even know it. I guess the 455 engine was working a little
harder, but I never noticed it in the throttle. As I descended the other side of the “mountain,”
the temperature returned to a happy 180 degrees.
As I headed through Maryland and into Virginia, the traffic got heavier and the number of
heads that were turning my way increased dramatically. I continued around the beltway
and headed south on I-95, reaching Exit 143 at about 7:45pm. I rolled into the weekly
Saturday evening cruise-in at Bruster’s at 7:50pm. What a rush! My dream car was home,
and with the exception of a few bugs in the grille, in great shape! I have to admit – it was a
tense 10 hours, but getting the car home was quite a thrill.
That was 10 months ago, and I am still very happy to have a nice Olds 4-4-2 in the garage,
and I am pleased to share it and its stories at local car shows and cruise-ins. And who
knows, there might be another 4-4-2 in my future. Gotta find more storage space first!
