1967 Olds. 442 Jim F.

It’s a small world….Jim and I could have crossed paths before in Southern California. When he was in Santa Maria, CA trading in his ’64 Chevy Impala SS for a new 1967 Olds 442 Sport Coupe, I owned a Signal Oil gas station in Perris, CA. I had a ’57 VW that I was racing and terrorizing the street with at the time and we cruised to Newport Beach, Malibu and Sunset Strip occasionally so we may have seen each other….maybe not. Jim was visiting his parents while on leave from the Army when he purchased his Olds and after his visit he was on the road driving his newly purchased toy to Augusts, GA where he was stationed at Ft. Gordon. Jim has kept the Olds these 43 years and now drives it around Stafford and environs. I think the first time I saw Jim and his Olds was at a Bruster’s cruise in Stafford, VA.

Jim says he used the Olds as a daily driver until 1990 when it became a “special” car. Now he puts 1500 miles a year cruising around mostly local areas, giving people something to wave at or supporting charities by attending local car shows. There were only 5,215 of the ’67 Sport Coupes made and just a few in Jim’s original paint color of champagne with a black vinyl top. Jim changed the color in the 80’s to its current medium blue metallic color and lost the vinyl top. Before he had it painted he moved the radio antenna from its original location in front to its current location on the right rear quarter panel.

In an effort to address an overheating problem with the original 400 inch motor and a vibration he couldn’t get rid of in the drive train, in 1987 he changed the motor to a 455 Olds and the 4 spd to a TH 400 trans, problems solved! He also changed the stock rear to a 12 bolt Chevy unit with a 3:36 posi. He then added power steering and changed the original front drum brakes to disc stoppers from a ’71 Cutlass. Jim installed a set of 14 inch SSI wheels with BF Goodrich tires, including the spare in 2005. Then in 2007 the Olds was treated to a frame on restoration by Dwayne Morrow of Stafford. In 2008 he upgraded the intake with an Edelbrock Performer unit topped with an Edelbrock 600 cfm carb. The original points distributor was changed to an HEI unit from a ’75 Olds. Jim has kept most of the original parts so the car can be reverted back to its original condition if he wants to. As with most of us during this challenging economy any new modifications are being put on hold but Jim says that his next adventure with the motor will be a different timing chain and bump stick, to match the intake’s potential.

Some of these pictures were taken by Jim’s partner in crime, Maria. Maria owns and runs an auto related business, she makes show boards. Since she is the photographer she can really stage the cars correctly for the most impact on the boards. If you are in the market for a show board you need to take a look at what Maria makes. Most Friday and Saturday evenings you can see Jim & Maria setting behind their Olds at Virginia Barbeque in Fredericksburg, VA on Friday and Bruster’s Ice Cream in N. Stafford, VA on Saturday….drop by and say Hi….they both love to talk about our hobby.