1967 Olds 4-4-2 W30 Built to Do Battle

Oldsmobile’s 4-4-2 doesn’t roll off the tongue easily like GTO or SS, but it always was a decent seller, and its performance always compared favorably with the GTO’s. Plus, the 4-4-2 always had a rear sway bar, giving it the reputation as the handler in a segment that didn’t place emphasis on street moves. Among the first generation of 4-4-2s, the 1967 with the W30 package is among the greatest, and now you have an opportunity to win this one from Dream Giveaway presented here by Muscle Car Campy.

In case a little history is in order, the W30 package was first introduced in 1966 late in the model year, somewhat as a skunkworks drag racing special. Based on the L69 4-4-2 package with three two-barrel carbs, Oldsmobile blueprinted the 400 and, while at it, added a bigger cam and springs (0.474 inches of lift, 0.308 degrees of duration, and 82 degrees of overlap), moved the battery to the trunk, and added a pair of nifty scoops in slots of the lower part of the bumper connected by hoses that led to a special air cleaner. Only 54 were built, but Oldsmobile offered a kit from the parts department so those who missed the boat could update their engine to do battle on the dragstrip.

Nineteen sixty-seven found Oldsmobile dealing with a silly General Motors edict that prohibited multiple carburetion on anything other than the Corvette. The upside to this was a new Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel that got the job done. Also new was the introduction of the TH400 three-speed automatic for A-bodies, meaning those inclined to bracket racing now had a competitive automatic — a sore spot for GM performance cars until now. The W30 also was now a full-fledged option on the order form, rather than some subtle word-of-mouth engine for racers. Nonetheless, it was a package for the racing-inclined. Cam specs were the same, as was the air induction system, though now the scoops were surrounding the parking lights. New was something that would become a W30 trademark: red plastic fender wells.

Oldsmobile built 504 4-4-2s in 1967 with the W30 package and, of those, only 129 were the Sports Coupe (with the B-pillar) like this one. The story goes that this particular car was ordered by one Dick Haas, a GM engineer who worked at GM’s proving ground in Milford, Michigan. He permitted the facility to use his car for testing for 90 days, which meant he could receive a deeper discount than what his employee status normally would allow. Haas even competed in C/SA at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, though the ETs he pulled have been lost to posterity.

Haas no longer owns the Olds, but you sure can — visit the Dream Giveaway website to purchase tickets for this 32,000-mile racer. Make sure to use the promo code CL2023D2. Equipped with standard bucket seats, U21 Rocket Rally Pac, column-shifted TH400, W30 package, and not much else, this Olds seems to have been built for one thing. 

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