1966 Oldsmobile 442

Introduction

With the GTO receiving GM corporate sanction, Oldsmobile followed suit with a big-engine 442. The B09 option was renamed 442 and the price was lowered to $190.45 for F-85s and $156.02 for Cutlasses. The new 400 CID (6.6 litre) engine became standard, and the definition of "442" was restated as 400 cubic inches, 4 barrel carburettor (a 515 cfm Rochester 4-Jet), 2 exhausts.

Output for the big engine rose to 345 hp (257 kW) and 440 lb·ft (597 N·m). The standard transmission became a three-speed manual with the four-speed as an option, and Oldsmobile's two-speed Jetaway automatic transmission was added as an alternative. The '65 was the first 442 to use a Hurst shifter, which was included when the HD 3 speed manual transmission was ordered.

Technically, pre-1968 Olds 442s weren’t an actual model, but rather “442″ was an option package available for the Oldsmobile Cutlass. The standard L78 400 cid engine incorporated a single 4bbl carburetor and was rated at 350 hp. The favored set-up for muscle car buyers was the upgraded L69, which was a one-year-only configuration that featured a hotter cam and a triple 2bbl carb “tri-power” arrangement, which helped increase the power rating by another 10 horses. Quarter-mile runs were as quick as 14.8 seconds.

The heavy duty 3 speed was a mid year introduction and used a floor shifter, unlike the early 3 speed that used a column shifter. Other touches added to the '65 were chrome body side scoops adorned with 442 badging, chambered dual exhaust pipes, chrome single snout air cleaner, and 442 badging on the dash. Late in the year option N98 was added, which were chrome reversed 14 × 6 in (360 × 150 mm) wheels. It also offered standard bucket seats when optioned on the Cutlass and a 6,000 rpm tachometer, mounted in the console, more as decoration than for usefulness. The console was optional, which made the tach optional. Retractable front seat belts were optional.

The turning radius was 41feet. Modern Rod tested a 1965 F85 442 with the four-speed manual, slicks, and headers and obtained a quarter mile acceleration of 13.78 seconds at 102.73 mph (165 km/h); Car Life's automatic '65 ran the quarter mile in 15.5 seconds at 89 mph (143 km/h), with a 0 to 60 time of 7.8 seconds. Offered in four body styles, sales rose to 25,003, including 3,468 convertibles. Car and Driver tested a 1965 442 and did 0–60mph in 5.5 seconds.The 1966 442 shared a modest facelift with other Cutlasses. Its major news was the addition of two new optional engines: the L69, with three two-barrel Rochester 2GC carburettors on a progressive linkage, rated at 360 hp (268 kW) and 440 lb·ft (597 N·m) of torque, which was priced at US$264.54, and the rare W30.

The standard engine, now dubbed L78, was rated at 350 hp (261 kW)/440 ft·lb with a single four-barrel carburettor. The W30 engine added an outside-air induction system (admitting cool air to the carburettors via tubing from the front bumper) and a hotter cam, rated – or, more likely, underrated – the same as the L69. The battery was relocated to the trunk to make room for the air hoses, which prevented the package from being ordered on convertible models. Only 54 W30s were built by the factory, although an additional 97 were produced for dealer installation. Hurst shifters were now standard equipment with floor-mounted manual transmissions including the optional heavy-duty three-speed, M-20 wide-ratio four-speed or M-21 close-ratio four-speed.

The standard transmission was a three-speed manual with column shift and the two-speed Jetaway automatic with switch-pitch torque converter was optional.The standard 350-horsepower 400 engine could be ordered with any of the four transmissions, while only manual transmissions could be ordered with the L69 three two-barrel option. Inside, a revised instrument panel featured two round pods for the speedometer and other instruments, replacing the horizontal sweep speedometer of 1964–65 models, but the rest of the basic dashboard designed was unchanged. F-85 models had base interiors with bench seats and rubber floor mats while the more lavish Cutlass versions came with full carpeting and featured Strato bucket seats of a new design with higher and thinner seat backs, or a no-cost bench seat option. Head rests were a $52 option.

Car Life tested an L69 442 with four-speed transmission and obtained a 0–60 time of 6.3 seconds and a quarter mile of 14.8 seconds at 97 mph (156 km/h). Motor Trend's similar test car ran 0–60 in 7.2 seconds, with a quarter mile time of 15.2 seconds at 96.6 mph (155.5 km/h). Production slumped to 21,997. The 442 still constituted only about 10 percent of Cutlass sales, whereas Pontiac's GTO represented nearly a third of all Tempests sold. Rarest of the rare was the W-30 version of the tri-power motor, which also incorporated an air induction system via tubing from the front bumper. There were only 54 factory-released copies of the W-30, although another 97 were dealer-modified installations. Finding a W-30 442 today is next to impossible, but lacking that, the “regular” tri-power L69’s are most desired by collectors.