Our 1971 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible has been kept warm and dry and well maintained from new. While never a ground up restoration, it has benefited from a new mechanical rebuild of all factory numbers matching components in 2009. The raw power this car brings when applying the gas is hard to believe! It leaps forward with abrupt performance and the torque of the big block 455 c.i.d. engine is immediately apparent. It is no wonder why every muscle car lover in the world has nothing but respect for what the 442 is capable of.

With a special high torque 455 c.i.d. V-8 engine and four-speed Hurst shifter, the eyes of the muscle car world were transfixed on the 442. It represented a powerhouse car laden with options from its special performance package to its heavy duty rally suspension. But it still had the size and accomplished stature of the Oldsmobile marque and was a stable and powerful beast with room for the whole family. What it may have lacked in handling it made up for in straight line performance. In the Road and Track testing it was capable of taking on the quarter mile at 15.2 seconds and reaching 99 mph, with 0-60 mph in just 8.9 seconds. You could order one with either manual or automatic transmission and the automatic featured the popular optional Hurst “his and hers” shifter.

The high output 455 V-8 had a compression ratio of 8.5:1 and produced 270 HP and an awesome 370ft/lb. of torque, driven through rear end gearing of 3.23:1. In all only 1,304 convertibles were built for 1971 making them an almost instant collectible.