Rare Oldsmobile 442 W-30 Convertible Muscle Car

At one point in the spring of 2016, prices on Oldsmobile 442 W-30 Convertible muscle cars shot up by 31 percent as the collector car market watched in fascination. It was a significant tribute to a muscle car which is one of the best buys in the market today.

The W-30 version of the Olds 442 is equivalent to a Buick Gran Sport Stage 1 or a Chevelle SS LS6. But experts say the Oldsmobile Rocket V8 455 W-30 motor had an edge on all the other GM power plants. While the 370 horsepower rating was kind of average for big block cars of that era, what is really salient about this car was the 500-foot-pounds of torque. This powerful 455 in the W-30 was unmatched by any other GM car in history. And you knew it when you laid into it. The long stroke of the W-30 455 brings it to peak power immediately.  

Crown Concepts, an interesting fabrication and machining facility in Tucson, Arizona, has a 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W-30 Convertible in their inventory this week. It is black with an ivory interior and a black top. It comes with air conditioning, power windows, a power top,  the W-27 axle cover and a factory 8-Track player. According to the VIN code it was built at the Lansing, Michigan plant. More photos and VIN code information can be found in the ad on the Crown Concepts website.

This is a significant find for any collector, but will have Oldsmobile muscle car guys salivating. You see, Oldsmobile collectors believe there were only 264 of these W-30 convertibles built in 1970. Of those, only 96 were thought to have been 4-speeds.  “This is one of the rarest muscle cars in existence,” one Oldsmobile collector told us. “It’s like what a 1971 Hemi Cuda Convertible is to a Mopar guy, or a Ram Air IV GTO convertible is to a Pontiac collector.”

Buyers back in the day could add the W-30 option package to the Oldsmobile 442. With the W-30 package, the 455 rates an additional five horsepower. Red painted fiberglass front inner fenderwells along with the fiberglass OAI hood were visual trademarks of the W-30 option. The package also included an aluminum intake manifold.

These premium quality muscle cars are often tucked inside a collection where the general public never gets a chance to see them. But Crown Concepts is offering this one right now, right here. Opportunities like this don’t come along everyday.