What do ya' do when Gillie comes to 442?

[Mikem8560]

Looks like you folks had. Good time!
What is the meaning of 442?

[DonV]

"What is the meaning of 442?"

You don't want to know.

[Blue_Heron]

Originally Posted by Mikem8560

What is the meaning of 442?

The 442 was the muscle car member of the Oldsmobile Cutlass family. My dad told me 442 stood for 4 on the floor, 4 barrel carb, and 2 (duel) exhaust, but he may have been making it up.

As for Area 442, it's meaning only becomes clear when you've made the pilgrimage.

Ken,
Thanks to you and Patti for putting it together. It was good to see the regular crew from the mini season gathering and to put faces to a few more names. Julie and I both enjoyed the visit. And it was cool to see your 27 and the race boat. Man that thing looks even longer and skinnier than it does in the pictures.
Dave

[77SceptreOB]

Originally Posted by Blue_Heron

The 442 was the muscle car member of the Oldsmobile Cutlass family. My dad told me 442 stood for 4 on the floor, 4 barrel carb, and 2 (duel) exhaust, but he may have been making it up.

Very good! That is correct! I used to have one with a 455 ci V8. Still drank less gas than my carbed Yamaha 225....LOL!

[Islandtrader]

Originally Posted by Blue_Heron

The 442 was the muscle car member of the Oldsmobile Cutlass family. My dad told me 442 stood for 4 on the floor, 4 barrel carb, and 2 (duel) exhaust, but he may have been making it up.

He told you the truth...it was in all there early advertising.

[Fr. Frank]

If you look at the advertising for a 1966 Olds 442 (my very first car), for only that one year it stood for 400 cubic inches, 4 barrel carb, and dual exhaust. My 442 in fact came equipped from the factory with a Powerglide 2 spd automatic, which I changed to a M22 4-spd I took out of a Firebird.

The very next year, 1967, and from then until 1969, the advertising for the 1967 442 advertised it as 4 bbl, 4 spd, dual exhaust, although it retained the 400 ci "Rocket" big-block motor, (which it would keep through 1969). A frequent motor swap was to the 425 ci oversquare "tall deck", because of the very desirable forged steel crank and balancer, and availability of an Offenhauser 6-pack setup for that motor.

The 442 kept the 400 ci motor until 1970, when the 442 came equipped with a 455 ci big-block, 4 bbl Holly double-pumper or big ThermoQuad, 4-speed tranny, and dual exhaust, except for the "W33" Hurst Edition 442 which came with a TH350 auto tranny with dual-gate shifter and factory F60-15 tires.

The real 442 always had a motor whose first numeral was 4, a carburetor with 4 barrels, and dual exhaust. They did not always have 4 speed transmissions, even though most people thought otherwise.