1969 442 what to do

[mcj]

Hello, I am new to this and this forum and I need to make a big decision by monday and I am looking for help, I was offered a 1969 olds 442 for 7000.00 and have tried to research the car as much as possible, and have a few questions? the car is totally rust free, it was originally crimson red with an off white interior, the color was changed to black approx. 8 yrs ago and paint is poor, interior is all original but the front seat cover needs to be replaced, the carpet and all the trim is in good condition, the rear tray shelf will need to be replaced, it has an automatic on the column, air cond,pwr seat,pwr windows, the engine appears to be the correct 400/325 and the trans is the turbo 400, the numbers indicate they are the originals, it has a 323 open rear axle, I was able to locate a sheet of paper that gave me all the options in codes and went online to understand them, all the chrome seems to be very good condition, and everything seems to be there, the car drove nice, but I am no mechanic. it does not look like the car was ever damaged or any body work was ever done to the car, being from the midwest I was surprised there was no rust at all, underneath, in the trunk, under the hood, my intentions are to buy it and have the car completely restored and would really appreciate any input as to value. thanks in advance for any help. mcj

[joe_padavano]

Assuming the car is really as rust-free as it appears, $7K sounds like a good deal. I assume you've verified that the VIN starts with 344... to prove it really is a 442. The numbers-matching engine and trans are certainly a bonus. Given the repaint, I would be most concerned about rust that had been patched. Look carefully at the seams at the bottom of the rear fenders behind the wheel opening. The inner and outer panels should come together at a pinchweld that is factory spot welded. If a patch panel has been installed this seam will usually be covered by the new metal, which often has a somewhat ragged edge to it. Similarly look for a patch panel at the bottom of the front fenders behind the wheel openings. The factory fender contour is folded under the bottom of the fender and has two indents where the bolts hold the bottom of the fender to the cowl. Finally, look carefully for rust under and adjacent to the chrome trim around the windshield and back window. These areas commonly rust on the A-body cars and can be expensive to fix correctly. Everything else you've mentioned is minor and if the body is truely rust-free, then this sounds like a good deal. Just keep in mind that to have a quality repaint done by a reputable shop will cost several thousand dollars (as opposed to Maaco or Earl Schibe).

[mcj]

I appreciate your input, I am no expert on anything like this, that is why I am being so cautious, I have looked this car over numerous times, inside the trunk, is spotlessn there does not appear to be any places that metal or body filler was ever used the seams of all the panels, trunk lid, doors hood all looked good, I took a very small thin magnet to this car and it stuck everywhere i put it, around the wheel lips the back fenders the front fenders everywhere. the vinyl top was removed when it was painted and i checked where the top went around the back window and found nothing. the owner of the car showed me this paper that had all the options on it and the number to the engine, trans, and rear axle I had to clean a bunch of grease off the back area of the engine but i found the code and it matched, the sheet also showed all the options that came in the 442 pkg, the only thing I found odd was the column shift and no console with a bench seat, the vin is 34487. when I crawled under the car the only thing I saw was metal, I was so surprised not to see any rust, the metal was not even flakey, only the bolts were rusty looking, the owner also said the only things ever replaced that he knew of was the orig alternator, which was in the trunk in a box, the battery and that was long gone, and the 4 original shocks, and they were also in the trunk in a box. My intentions with this car are to have it restored back to original and give it to my wife as a present, her first car was a 1987 442 that she ordered brand new, and she has always liked the 1969.

again I appreciate the input and I think I am going to go ahead and buy this car.

[joe_padavano]

Don't worry about the bench and column shift; both were factory available on a 69 442. The base 442 configuration was a 3 speed manual floor shift and bucket seats (but no console). If you ordered an automatic you got the column shifter - the AT floor shift and console was additional cost. Also, the bench seat was actually a credit option - something like a $35 credit over the buckets. I once saw a 68 442 Sport Coupe (with posts) with the three speed and bench seat and no other options. That must have been the least expensive 442 one could have ordered that year.