1965 Oldsmobile 442

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1965 Oldsmobile 442 2-door Hardtop

1965 OLDSMOBILE 442 BACKGROUND
When the Classic Muscle Car Era took off in 1964 with the Pontiac GTO, Oldsmobile was the second GM division to jump in to the fray. By then, the formula was already established. Take a mid-sized car (in Olds’ case that was the Cutlass), shoehorn in the biggest engine you can (Oldsmobile’s new 400 V8), and sprinkle in some heavy duty brakes and suspension for good measure (which came from Olds’ parts bin of Police Packages). Doll it up with special trim, upgraded interior, a model-specific hood, fancy wheels and a cool name and you’ve got a muscle car. In Oldsmobile’s case, their new muscle car was called the 4-4-2, which was supposed to denote a 4-barrel carburetor, 4-speed transmission and dual exhaust. Of course, most were ordered with automatics, so the marketing people quickly changed the meaning of the middle “4” to “400 engine”. Soon Chevrolet and even Buick would have their own entries into the muscle car market and it was getting crowded, as both Ford and Mopar were launching muscle cars of their own. By 1965, the Oldsmobile 442 had carved out a market niche as ‘the gentleman’s muscle car’. Not necessarily the fastest, but more upscale and refined than the Chevelle SS’s and Plymouth Road Runners of the world. Over the coming years, the Olds 442 would settle even more into this upscale muscle car role, sharing that market with the Buick Grand Sport.

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1965 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible

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1965 Oldsmobile 442 SPECIFICATIONS