1985 Oldsmobile 442
Personal story and photograph submitted by owner Steve Apking
for participation in the the 2008 GM Century Cruise
My real passion for GM vehicles started after high school when I worked as a technician in an Olds/Cadillac dealership. I’m the type of guy who’s interested in how things work. I’ve been known to take things apart and put them back together again just for the fun of it. As that service technician, some thirty years ago, I was privileged to work on some real beauties. Though I worked mostly on late 1970 model Olds and Cadillacs, my real interest was in the muscle cars. I especially liked the Olds 442, but thought it only a dream that I might own one someday.
Jump ahead now: after marriage and a thirty year GM career, twenty of which was at Oldsmobile, I can finally say that I own two Olds 442s. One is a Saturn Gold 1971 W30, the other a Medium Gray 1985. Both are great driving machines, but currently my '85 is the car of choice as I’ve done more restorative work on it. The '71 is still in need of more work and time is slim these days.
My passion for this Olds drove me to find others with the same interest. I found a local chapter of the Oldsmobile Club of America and joined. In fact, I’m now the president of that local chapter, the Motor City Rockets. Because of that involvement, I took the 85 to a national Olds meet in 2007 and won a 1st place in my class. And by the way, this year, our local chapter is hosting the 2008 Oldsmobile Club of America national meet at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn.
You can’t know or understand the pride I feel when I drive this car. The looks and admiration I get from others attest to the fact that they appreciate the classic that it is. Even when I work on it I get excited about putting it back to its original state. Only another car nut can appreciate the purr of that V8 or that slight lope in the idle because of the camshaft’s overlap. But the best part comes when I punch the throttle and hear the wonderful deep tone of those dual exhausts.
This baby is genuine Oldsmobile with the 1980’s vintage Rocket V8, which was one of the last that came out of a wonderful power plant. When Oldsmobile was involved in NHRA for 14 years, this model was their official car for 1985. Warren Johnson even campaigned a “G” body Pro Stock Hurst Olds during those years.
When I was younger I would modify my cars somewhat. Now I’ve come to appreciate the engineering that went into these babies, especially after working with some of the engineers that designed these wonderful Oldsmobiles. I’ve come to understand the rationale of the engineers and why they did what they did to a certain engine or transmission or audio systems.
These Oldsmobiles are just one part of GM’s legacy and I feel proud that I’m able to keep a little bit of that alive. So if you see a fine Olds 442 of Medium Gray color and 1985 vintage cruising around, look closely at the driver. He’ll be the one with a big smile on his face, thinking he’s cool because he’s got a great car and he’d be right!
GM’s Century Cruise pays tribute to GM’s past and the passion owners have for their vehicles. On Saturday, August 16, 2008 this vehicle and more than 100 other classic GM vehicles will cruise from the GM Global Headquarters at the Renaissance Center up Woodward Avenue to the heart of the Woodward Dream Cruise in Royal Oak and the surrounding suburbs. One of these vehicles will be crowned “top cruiser” based on a text voting campaign.
Next GM Century Cruise Participant
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