The Backstory

I decided to set up a blog so people (mostly my dad) can see how work goes on the 442.  By way of background, 3 years ago I bought a 1969 Oldsmobile 442 convertible from a guy outside of Enterprise, Alabama.  Or really, I bought most of a 1969 Oldsmobile 442 convertible.  It was already largely disassembled, with the components in boxes inside the car.  The guy I bought it from restored Camaros as a profession, and said he got the 442 in trade along with a Camaro and just wasn't interested in dealing with it.  So my Dad and I borrowed my father-in-law's truck (thanks Gerry), loaded the 442 onto a trailer and brought it back to St Pete. 

Once I got it home and started tearing it apart, I found it to be in much worse shape than I had expected.  I have decided that this car spent probably decades in a junkyard somewhere in Georgia.  It was full of clay, rifle shells, mud dauber nests and pecan shells.  Generations of mice had been living in the upholstery, and their waste had corroded through the trunk floor.  I am 99% sure that the firewall came from 2 different cars, and the passenger side quarterpanel seems to be riveted on.  Honestly, I got discouraged with the state of the car, and then a lot of other stuff happened including 2 children and a move, so I've basically let it sit in the garage for the past 3 years.  Finally I decided it was time to either get to work on it or to let it go.  I cleaned up the garage and took a good look at what I have.  It would probably be more prudent to just let this car go and find one in better shape to work on, but I have a hard time letting a real 442 go to the junkyard.  It has the potential, so I am going to see if I can't bring this beast back from the dead.  Hopefully I will remember to update this blog as I go.