The 1968 Oldsmobile 442 / A 1960's Muscle Car

Oldsmobile may not be the first name that comes to mind when thinking "muscle cars". Oldsmobile did however make a fine contribution to the late 1960's muscle car era with it's 442 model.

The 1968 Oldsmobile 442 was a muscle car of the late 1960's.  The Oldsmobile 442 was first introduced as an option package for the F-85 Cutlass and the more luxurious Cutlass models sold in the United States beginning with the 1964 model year. The name "442" tells us that the engine has the configuration of a four-barrel carburetor, a four-speed manual transmission, and dual exhaust pipes.

The First Muscle Car

So which automobile was the first American muscle car? There are more than one answer to that question.  There are some that say that Oldsmobile won this distinction when they put a Rocket V-8 engine into their 1949 Olds 88 and Super 88 models. There's a lot to this claim since the Olds Rocket V-8 engine was considered by most at that time as being the performance leader.

After a lot of performance success during the early to mid 1950's, Oldsmobile returned to the muscle car field in 1964 after Pontiac unveiled their  GTO, the muscle car designed by GM's John Delorean.

The Pontiac GTO gave the Oldsmobile team the inspiration to come out with their 4-4-2 performance package. As mentioned above, the 442 signified a four-barrel carburetor, a four-speed manual transmission, and dual exhaust pipes.

The Oldsmobile 442 W-30

The car featured in this article is a 1968 Oldsmobile 442 W-30. This was a year in the middle to late part of the American muscle car era. This was a great looking car with raw power. The Oldsmobile 442  muscle car debuted before emission and safety standards changed the performance landscape and was first offered as a performance package for police cars.

1968 was also a milestone year where the Oldsmobile 442 became it’s own distinct model and no longer just an option. In 1968 Oldsmobile also joined forces with Hurst Performance Research Corporation to produce the Hurst/Olds shifter. The 1968 Oldsmobile 442′s were built on GM’s new for 1968 A-Body platforms.

1968 Oldsmobile 442 Specifications

The 1968 Oldsmobile 442 had a 400 cubic inch V-8 engine.The W-30 version delivered 360 horsepower.

Out of the five available engine options for 1968, the Olds 442 W-30 was the second highest in horsepower with the 455 cubic inch limited edition Hurst Olds versions claiming 390 horsepower. The 442 had a rating of Zero to 60 miles per hour in 6.5 seconds, and through the quarter mile in 14.1 seconds at 103 miles per hour.




In all, there were four transmissions available on Oldsmobile 442′s in 1968. These included a Four Speed manual Wide Ratio, a Three Speed Turbo-Hydra-Matic, a Four Speed manual Close Ratio, and a Heavy Duty Three Speed.

Suspension on the Olds 442 included both front and rear anti-roll bars that were stiffer than the standard suspensions.

Dimensions included a 112.0 inch wheelbase, an overall length of 204.2 inches, and a curb weight averaging about 3,560 lbs.
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Standard equipment on the 1968 442 included heavy duty springs, stabilizer bars, special shock absorbers and wheels.

There were a total of 33,607 Olds 442′s produced in 1968. This was up from the 24,800 produced in 1967.

As noted above, a lot changed in 1971 and the 442 began to go downhill that year.when the US government made new emissions laws. On top of that General Motors made the decree that all of its cars must run on unleaded fuel, meaning that the compression of the 442's engine had to be dropped.

See these additional articles on Muscle Car Journal...

The 1969 Dodge Charger 426 

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The 2011 SMS Bondurant Chevy Camaro 

1969 Ford Torino GT Muscle Car

A good reference for classic Oldsmobile Muscle Cars includes... Oldsmobile Muscle Cars by authors William G. Holder and Phillip Kunz.

The 1968 Oldsmobile 442 Muscle Car Values

The Oldsmobile 442 from the late 1960′s is a popular classic muscle car plus a valuable collector car as well. The Oldsmobile 442 is one of the great muscle cars from the greatest era of automobiles.
These were Lansing’s last “golden age” muscle cars.

As mentioned earlier, the 1968 Olds 442′s became their own model in line in 1968 after being an option package for the Cutlass making the 1968 models milestone cars.

Because of the many different modified Olds 442 muscle cars on the road today,  you'll likely see a wide range of asking prices for those models for sale. As of this writing you'll find restored late 1960's Olds 442's in the mid $20,000 range up to the $40,000 range.

(Article and photos copyright Muscle Car Journal)