The CC Effect™ is at work, at the Cohort. We were discussing the ’64 4-4-2 in the ’65 Malibu SS sedan post yesterday, and this pops up, posted by John Lloyd. Could it be one of the ten 1964 F-85 four door sedans that was built with the “B09 Police Apprehender Pursuit” option?
Th 4-4-2 option was created in response to Pontiac’s GTO option package. Unlike the GTO, the Olds 4-4-2 was not in violation of GM’s internal policy of a maximum displacement of 330 cubic inches in the mid-sized cars. And like the 1961 Chevrolet SS package, it was available on any body style except the wagons. Oldsmobile archives indicate that some 10 four door sedans were built with the B09 package.
I’m a bit busy this morning, so here’s the details of what that entailed, from Wikipedia;
it used the four-barrel carbureted 330 CID (5.4 L) V8 with heavy-duty valve gear, and a hotter camshaft, raising rated (SAE gross) output to 310 hp (231.3 kW) at 5200 rpm. Torque remained 355 lb⋅ft (481 N⋅m), although the torque peak rose from 2800 rpm to 3600 rpm. Also included was a stiffened frame, adjustable pinion angle by way of added holes in the frame mounts for the rear upper control arms, Muncie four-speed manual transmission, a heavy duty drive shaft connected to a 3.36:1 rear end, oversized brakes (155.6 vs 118sq.in lining area) and the heavy-duty police-package suspension, with heavy duty wheels, higher-rate coil springs front and rear, heavy-duty shock absorbers, a larger front anti-roll bar, an additional rear anti-roll bar bolted to a fully boxed lower control arm, and dual snorkel air cleaner.
Motor Trend tested an early 64 4-4-2 with a 3:55 rear axle (standard ratio was 3.36:1) and found that the 3,440-lb (1,560 kg) car would run 0–60 mph (0–96 km/h) in 7.5 seconds, the standing quarter mile in 15.5 seconds at 90 mph (140 km/h), and reached a top speed of 116 mph (185.6 km/h). A total of 2,999 were sold.
OK, the odds are stacked against this sedan being one of them, as there’s no evidence any survived. But it came in handy anyway.
Even if it isn’t it still looks like a nice old Oldsmobile that should be saved and driven…
Using body filler like this is a crime, fortunately the cops are now chasing the culprit.
It has dog dish hub caps; even the one in the ad has full wheel covers!
The missing bumper, perhaps off for rechroming, and the body repairs in other than the usual rustout areas would suggest that this Olds has a future. I hope so.
I think the only tell for a 442 was the little teeny fender emblem ahead of the wheel that was easy to mistake for a marker light if you don’t know what you are looking for. And, of course, this car has some body scrapes there so we have no idea if that emblem was ever there.
64 F-85 V8 sedans are not exactly common, but they were a lot more common than 4-4-2s, especially the 4 door kind.
Well, as I’ve posted in another article here, there “may” have been a handful of 4 doors built early in the year, but seem to have all gone to the Lansing Police Dept, and no records seem to exist as to their whereabouts.
A peak inside this sedan would tell what kind of transmission it had, a Jetaway or…….a 4 speed. I believe 4 speeds were available on pretty much any Cutlass in 64, but that of course didn’t mean it was a 442.
So did the F-85 442-style police cars use the 4 speed manual too? I don’t know when cop cars started to become exclusively automatic but they have been around here since I was a kid in the mid-70s.
You can just make out the blurry gleam of the auto shift lever just above the dash
The “supposed” police cars were advertised as having 4 speeds. I guess we’ll never know.
I remember driving and working in Lansing (very infrequently) and seeing Oldsmobile four door sedan police cars. Of course Lansing had Olds cop cars. And a brief look on the net will produce images of various years of them. I can not think of any other time I’ve been aware of an Olds patrol car. So, yes, maybe this was one from Lansing? And a ’64 makes me speculate that if Oldsmobile wanted some pre-introduction experience with the then upcoming 4-4-2 mechanicals a few Lansing partol cars would make an ideal test program.
I wonder if this had inspired some car fans to create some “phantoms” 442 sedans and even station-wagons like some GTO fans do?
Yes, here’s a 66 Vista Cruiser that was turned into a 442 by adding a couple of badges. (In this photo, the badge is in the grille.)
The advert looks more like how the ’90s Impala SS was marketed (cop car underpinnings, now available on the civilian version) than typical 1960s muscle car advertising. Of course, this was from just before muscle cars became an established category.
Car must have been produced after April of 1964. Made only 3 months. Must have m20 muncie 4 speed , dual snorklel air cleaner, boxed lower control arms. 330 4v with 1 heads and rocker shafts. Of course dual exhaust.
The knowledgeable musclecar shopper back in the sixties who really wanted a better handling ride went with Oldsmobile for one simple addition: a rear anti-sway bar. AFAIK, no other manufacturer offered that feature, with the supposed rationale that it made the steering too ‘twitchy’ for the average driver.
All the “A” bodies could be ordered with a rear sway bar; probably a seven-dollar option at that time.
I bought a rear sway bar from the GM parts counter to fit my ’66 Biscayne; a friend followed suit. He told me that when his ’65 Impala burnt up, he put that bar on his ’67 Chevelle. Apparently the rear control arm spacing was the same from B-body to A-body.
The only Olds police car delivered in significant numbers in the 1960’s was probably the ’67 Delmont 88 B07 for the California Highway Patrol and agencies that buy whatever the CHP buys.
I remember those B07s from 67.
The 442 in the police car ad should be called a 4420.
4 barrel carb
4 on the floor
Dual exhaust
No door mounted rear view mirror.
In 1964 the outside rear view mirror was a $4.21 option under RPO D32. They were not federally required until later.
The emblem in the grille and the emblem behind the tire on the fender are the same as the ad. It is an automatic though you can see the top of the shifter. Cool survivor if it’s real.
Love it. I have a 1987. 442 with T tops and Aurora front end. Built Lansing Michigan 1100 only made
Was the “except station wagons” thing arbitrary, or was there some real, technical reason?
My guess would be that the different bumpers and underpinnings of wagons at the rear end would preclude dual exhausts, kind of making this a “441” instead of “442”. Dual exhaust was not offered as an option on any Olds wagon of this generation. Just as likely would be that Olds marketing guys figured that the interest in a performance package such as this by wagon buyers was just about nil.
Interesting, thanks! I was wondering if it was a “soft” unavailability (fairly common in those years at Chrysler, who could be talked/paid into building stuff not officially offered together if the parts were in the house and would fit) or a hard no—sounds like the latter in the case of the Olds.
I have one and ready to sell it.
You have a what?
i have a 4 door. 2,8k$ was a steal. i was in kenosha in front of the t-rex–anyone have any pictures because i drive my art work when i’m crawling down your block these days. there’s got to be a point–i added the passenger mirror because it’s safe, the leds because their efficient, the stereo because i’m language, the tint so you can see yourself, and the rims are in the future because i plan on being hot. single exhaust, 814m1598, 350trans. i’m guessing i’m a chop shop crawler but good news is a bitch, and i’m a gentleman and a scholar like i was raised up to be. that being said–there’s a reASON why the amg 2.0 pushing 188 per and costing 35 x as much sees rest when i prefer her driving her unless i’m driving. much love just the details of no mans land in ‘sconny. tony.
is there a newsmobile for mormons? i don’t know how the square root of my cars family tree could possibly be the linear non-square root of “z.” i get religious in the garage like a catholic raised jewish feminist loving everything santa ana touts but it’s own state. omega and ovals, seven seas 8 crux down south. heres months before it’s 12-31st aestetic existence. got to keep em guessing if i’m flying with one wing y’all can dig it.