Unrestored Survivor W-30 63,665 Original Miles Window Sticker Dealer Invoice

Hello friends, we're excited, and honored to be assisting the current owner of this 1970 Olds 442 W-30 survivor find the next caretaker of this prominent piece of muscle car history. A few of you may notice this special car is being relisted, because the buyer was denied financing 100% of this car (I can't make this stuff up). Please, please, please make sure you have your loan secured (if needed), prior to purchasing this car.

As a seller on eBay for over 24 years, I've maintained 100% positive feedback since 1998. These sales include dozens of high quality collector vehicles, along with high-end Americana collectibles. Please take a peek at my feedback, the positive comments written by buyers of high ticket cars & collectibles, and don't hesitate to reach out for references. My classic car listings on eBay are designed to make a buyer as comfortable as possible with a sight-unseen purchase and leave no stone unturned.

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Please note that this transaction will be conducted with the current caretaker of the W-30. Please message me directly and I can get you in contact with the owner to complete the sale of this incredible car. Alright, friends, now’s the time to grab your favorite beverage, relax, and read the story of this remarkable W-machine. If you’d rather listen, please scroll down to the video entitled “The Story” and you can listen to the audio of what’s written below.

The Short Story…

For folks seeking the abbreviated story, we’re presenting possibly the most original, documented, and decorated ’70 442 W-30 cars known. With just 63,665 original miles, mostly original paint, full dealership documentation, a complete born-with drivetrain, the most desired options, and jaw-dropping vintage video & photo documentation of this warrior in action, this W-machine has the complete package. It’s a customer ordered car featuring a 3.91 Anti-Spin rear, close-ratio M21 4-speed, and wears its mostly original special order Nugget Gold paint with pride. Most importantly, though, it has THE STORY of all stories to back it up. Please continue reading for what may be the most incredible story of a W-30 survivor, and significant piece of muscle car history. They’re only unrestored one time, friends…

The Whole Story…

By the beginning of the 1970 model year in fall 1969, the muscle car wars, and their performance, was reaching their pinnacle. GM recently lifted their 400 cubic inch maximum in mid-sized bodies, which allowed for the now legendary big cube A-body monsters like the LS6 454, Stage 1 455, 455 HO, and arguably the most fabled of them all: the W-30 455.

With a fun marketing campaign with characters like Dr. Oldsmobile, it didn’t take long for word to hit the street about fire-breathing 442 known as the W-30. For a young racing enthusiast like Bob Kabel, Oldsmobile’s new W-30 442 was just what the doctor ordered…

In 1968, Bob’s father wrapped up the sale of his Kabel Olds dealership to Birginal Motors in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Located across the street from eachother, selling to Birginal was the logical choice to keep all the GM brands under one roof. Part of the sale included an agreement that members of the Kabel family could purchase cars from Birginal at cost. Growing up at an Oldsmobile dealership, Bob was aware of the mighty 455 now powering the 442 for 1970. In September 1969, Bob stopped down to Birginal Motors to place his order for a new 442. In addition to the 442 option, Bob inquired about the W-30 option he’d read about. At $321 (about $2,500 today), Bob knew the option was far more valuable than the vastly underrated 5 additional horsepower in the brochure. The salesman said the W-30 was indeed available, and their meeting continued with Bob further customizing his 442 exactly the way he wanted it:

· Special order Nugget Gold paint (notice the - - paint color on the cowl tag) and black interior

· 4-speed close ratio Muncie transmission

· 3.91:1 Anti-Spin rear

· No power steering

· A bench seat (Bob says “For the ladies…”)

· Power windows (For Bob’s dog)

Notice that Bob didn’t order gauges, as he liked mounting his own for greater accuracy. It’s also interesting that Bob received a small credit for wanting the bench seat, as bucket seats were standard equipment in a 442. There’s something incredibly cool about seeing that bench seat with the Hurst shifter mounted on the transmission tunnel.

In early November, Bob got the call that his 442 arrived. He and his wife took delivery together and celebrated with some photos with the car at the dealership. Once home, Bob got to work ordering go-fast goodies from J.C. Penney. By April, 1970, his W-30 was track-bound with a set of slicks on aftermarket Keystone wheels, headers, traction bars, intake, Holley 3 barrel carb, add-on gauge cluster (still under the dash), and Bob’s preferred Stewart Warner tach (its imprint still resides on the left side of the dash).

Some of Bob’s favorite tracks included International Raceways in Kaukauna, WI, and Amber-Green Dragways in Eau Claire, WI. Prior to ordering his W-30, Bob raced a ’57 Oldsmobile, as well as a ’66 442, and Bob was a phenomenal shifter. Bob says his ’66 was quite a car, but his W-30 was in another league. Right out of the gate, Bob started breaking records with the ’70. The stacks of perfectly preserved time slips document its legacy well, and the mighty W-machine regularly dipped into the 12’s with just the day two bolt-ons mentioned earlier. One jaw-dropping slip from Amber-Green shows a 12.25 ET at 112 mph, and Bob swears the ’70 also ran a 12.08 there. Incredible, just incredible times! Nothing pays homage to the engineers at Oldsmobile like moving a 4,000 lb. car 1,320 feet in just over 12 seconds flat. Even 52 years later, there aren’t many new vehicles, in any price range, that run 12-second quarter miles.

What makes these ¼ mile passes even more historically incredible is that Bob captured many of his runs on film! In his free time, Bob enjoyed goofing around with his Super 8 camera, and thought it’d be fun to have his wife and friends take video of the W-30 on race day. He even added a temporary dash mount for in-car footage while he raced! At the time, Bob was just capturing memories with close friends, and filming some of those record-breaking runs. In hindsight, though, what we have is possibly the most thorough vintage video collection of a non-sponsored race car known to exist. With the help of Bob, the current owner had the Super 8 films cleaned and edited into a 30 minute DVD, further cementing the Nugget Gold W-30’s place in muscle car lore. Lastly, when you’re looking through the Documentation photos below, take a peek at the photo of the driver’s side a-pillar with the worn paint from the guys pushing the W-30 at the track. THIS is what owning a survivor is all about.

After approximately three seasons of record-breaking track duty, Bob felt like he’d taken his 442 as far as it would go in nearly stock form, and the decision was made to race a different car. Whether at the track, or on a Saturday night pizza & beer run, his potent 442 only lost a few races, and is still well known throughout northern Wisconsin. The powerful W-machine was treated to a champion’s retirement in Bob’s attached garage up in Wisconsin’s northwoods, but still called upon to work occasionally. Bob installed a set of highway gears in the rear, as well as a trailer hitch. When his truck wasn’t available, Bob sometimes used the ’70 to tow his ’66 442 to a local track! Like many cars that get driven, there have been a couple bruises along the way as well. Take a look at the photos showing a police report for a March, 1973 accident involving the W-30 in Milwaukee. The car was rear-ended at a stoplight, requiring a new rear bumper, and some quarter panel & decklid repair.

By the early 2000’s mileage on the W-30 had reached the upper 50,000’s. Bob points out that the car was flat-towed to the track on weekends, possibly making actual running/driving mileage much lower than what the odometer states. By 2006, Bob wasn’t driving his Olds much anymore, and a close friend in southern Wisconsin kept bugging him about selling the 442. After much thought, Bob thought the car was going to a good home, and a deal was struck. It’s important to note that just the owner’s manual in the glove box was included with the sale. Within a short period of time, Bob’s close friend saw dollar signs, and decided to sell the W-30 for a hefty profit. Likely wanting to decrease the chances of anyone ever contacting Bob and finding out the ridiculously low sum he paid for the car, the Protect-O-Plate (with Bob’s name and address) for the car mysteriously disappeared prior to the sale. It seemed the W-30’s storied history might be lost forever…

Between 2006 and 2013, the W-30 was owned by Bob’s “friend”, who sold the car to a dealership in Florida. From there, the car found its way into a collection owned by another dealer up in Massachusetts. During this seven year period of time, several repairs were made to areas on the car that were starting to blossom in common A-body areas, like the lower fenders and around the rear quarter lips. It appears that the work performed at this time was below the factory side stripes, as a faint mask line can be seen on the front fenders, just below where the stripe goes up over the wheel well. The W27 rear axle cover was also added during this period, and isn’t original to the car. Many folks would never notice where any of these repairs were made, but they’re a part of the W-30’s story, and should be mentioned. We’ve tried to include photos at multiple angles and heights to show these areas, while also showing off how much of the car remains untouched.

The Massachusetts collector, an avid GM muscle car enthusiast, made some attempts to learn the story of his W-30 and worked his way back to Bob’s “friend”, who purchased the car in 2006. After much badgering, the collector FINALLY got the “friend” to quickly say “Bob Kabel owned the car”, before hanging up and refusing to talk further. That was the only clue the collector needed. After doing some searching, and making spelling adjustments to Bob’s name, a Google search popped up with a phone number and address in Rhinelander, WI. Bob still lived in the same house he owned when he ordered his famed 442 in 1969, and after several attempts to reach out, Bob took the man’s call. Over time, Bob opened up a bit, and shared the story of the purchase of the car with the collector. The two remained friendly, and Bob felt better knowing the car was being well cared for.

Fast forward to 2013, when the current owner in the Milwaukee, WI area saw a ’70 W-30 available for sale in Massachusetts. A lifelong Oldsmobile collector and restorer, his memory recalled seeing the survivor for sale several years earlier in Florida, too. This time, though, the seller had additional information in the description about the W-machine being from Wisconsin. Struck by such a low mileage survivor W-30 being from his home state, the current owner inquired. After a bit of deliberation (there was no home state discount on the price), the decision was made to bring this incredibly special 442 back home to Wisconsin.

The current owner (really a caretaker), immediately knew the car was special. Most notably, even low mileage muscle cars from Wisconsin, don’t have undercarriages THIS clean. He knew this car had been loved since day 1 to stay this nice. After several phone calls went unreturned, Bob finally caved, and also took this call. There was an immediate connection between Bob and Jason. They both love Oldsmobiles, so that part was easy. However, the two connected with a love of the Wisconsin northwoods, as well as with an appreciation for history. As their conversations grew, a friendship developed, and Bob really opened up. Soon, Jason discovered that Bob still had all of his dealership documentation for the W-30 tucked away in a scrapbook, photos of the car when new and at the track, and as Bob said, “a bunch of old videos of the car on those old Super 8 reels.”

In the current caretaker’s words, and in Paul Harvey fashion, let’s let him tell the rest of the story:

“When I met Bob about nine years ago, I learned he’s a scrap booker, so I was able to check out the original window sticker, original sales invoice, and many receipts, such as when he had the Olds undercoated for $25.

Bob had all his trophies won with the W-30 hanging on his wall. The car was a still a part of him. I was able to make his day by bringing the car up to him for a drive, and a short video of that ride is linked below. Since then, I have been able to share Bob's story with Hemmings Muscle Machines, feature the car at the invite-only Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals show in Chicago, and trailer the car "up north” to Bob’s part of the world for the annual Northwoods car show each year. Bob has now become part of our family, regardless of where the car ends up. And yes, Bob is aware, and okay with, the sale of his W-30.

The Olds is an absolute legend in northern Wisconsin. If I drive it around, people always ask if that is Bob's car. It starts right up, drives, shifts, and does everything it should as it did back in 1970. Everything on the car still works as it should, and even the power windows still work flawlessly. One unique thing about this W-30 is the driver-side valve cover has a Canadian decal. For those who don't know, Canadian cars received a decal on the valve cover, and Bob tells me it was there from day one. My thought was because it was in a northern sales zone, perhaps the car it received the decal? Anyway, it's old and authentic, and one of those dealer anomalies we continue to read about.

I’ve restored a number of 442s, with an eye for how the factory did things. One reason I love survivor cars is because I can see the inconsistencies and imperfections from the factory. Notice the photos of how crooked the original stripes are on the car. In fact, the passenger-side rear quarter panel has the worst factory applied set of stripes I have ever seen—the stripes were quickly applied with a stencil, and in many short segments. Early photos of the 442 show that the stripes have been that way for over 50 years. In the same respect, take time to look at the hood stripes. THIS is how the factory painted their stripes and SO MANY restorers get this detail wrong. Here they are, just how the factory painted them. Notice the hood scoop photos, too. The factory never did a great job painting the black portion of the OAI hood, and you can see where a portion is still white. The great part about the car is that it is virtually unrestored: the engine block has never been removed from the car, retaining its original block, transmission, and carburetor. The original rear is in the car but, due to traction bars previously being welded on, the code is unavailable. The 442 still has the famous 4-speed-only cam lope, and has not lost a beat in performance.

This is a rare opportunity to own the pinnacle of Oldsmobile performance with a backstory that is second to none, including original paperwork, vintage pictures, and a video collection I had made from Bob's old 8mm videos. Who would have thought to take a video recorder and place it on the dash of a 1970 442? It's a wild ride I've had with this very special Olds, and if a new caretaker is found, I will consider it not so much a loss, but rather, a gain of a friendship that will stick with me forever.”

The Bottom Line

This W-30 time capsule starts right up, runs, accelerates, and shifts like a 63,000 mile car should. The drivetrain is its born-with assembly line engine, transmission, and rear. The alternator has been replaced at some point, and according to the receipts, it looks like Bob had issues with the original alternator early in the car’s life. To the best of our knowledge, all other important W-30 specific components are original to the car, and please see the Documentation photos for photos of many of those pieces.

This car stands tall, folks, and is a testament to the peak of performance for this era of muscle car history. Even with just over 63,000 original miles, please remember that this is a 50+ year old unrestored vehicle. The chrome and trim will have some light scratches and wear. As gorgeous as the glass is in this car, it may have some light scratches in areas. However, THIS is what owning a survivor is all about. The story of this car is in the worn paint on the driver’s a-pillar from pushing it in the pits, the impression on the dash where Bob’s tach was mounted, the factory Canadian-built sticker on the valve cover that no one would replace during a restoration, the wear on the fenders from Bob and his buddies leaning over the engine to make tweaks on race day, and all the documentation you’d ever want to back up the story of this significant car. THIS is the W-30 to put in your collection if authenticity, history, and the story matter.

Sale Terms and Conditions

Please let the 325+ photos and nearly an hour of incredible video documentation of this W-30 survivor make you comfortable with a purchase. However, don’t hesitate to call me with a specific question. If I can't answer the question, we can get in touch with the current owner, OR we'll reach out to Bob! Please remember that your purchase is a COMMITMENT TO BUY this vehicle. Because opinions of vintage vehicles can vary, please have the vehicle inspected or inspect the car in person PRIOR to purchase. Any inspection fees are the responsibility of the bidder. I cannot stress enough that I am asking bidders to follow through on their commitment if you purchase.

A $500 non-refundable deposit and communication from the high bidder is due immediately at purchase. The deposit can be paid via Paypal or cash, and I will pay any Paypal fees. The balance is due in full within 7 days of the listing’s end and will be completed directly with the owner of the vehicle, and the vehicle is located in OAK CREEK, WI 53154.

Because of its age and mileage, this vehicle is sold strictly as-is-as shown, with no warranties expressed or implied. If you haven't owned a classic car, please remember that this isn't a 2022 Toyota Tundra. Older vehicles, even those with low miles, require an increased level of maintenance and attention.

As stated above, shipping charges are buyer's responsibility. We will assist a buyer with shipping the car anywhere in the United States from zip code 53154, but will not be responsible in any way for claims arising from shipping damage. We assume no responsibility for damages incurred after the vehicle leaves our possession. We are not affiliated with any shipping carrier. Any claims or other communication regarding shipment of vehicles will be between you and the shipper, not with the seller.

Video Documentation