Rare L88 427 Corvette vs Olds 442 W30 - 1/4 Mile Drag Race - Old School - Road Test TV ® 

Considering weight, aerodynamics and rated HP, that Olds was pretty impressive.

I had a 442,I also worked at Olds Experimental. Yes the W30 was fast, no it didn't have 300 hp - it had much more. Not many real W30's out there. What a great package that was. My 442 (not W30) beat Mopars, GTOs, Vettes - only ever beat once - by another 442, the one that won the Winter Nationals. Long time ago.

WOW the value of these two cars and they are still willing to put them on the strip...simply beautiful.

442 gave that Vette all he can handle! Great race ,2 great cars!

No matter how you look at it, that was a drag race ! Two great gladiators fighting it out, very cool, Thanks.

That was one HELL of a burnout by the Corvette!

442s were some of the baddest, most underrated muscle cars in history

Used to go riding around with a car dealer buddy in his '69 427 4 speed black .Vette. He bought this beauty for about $2500. During the so called gas crisis of the '70's, no one wanted them. He'd go around hunting for anyone and didn't lose, except to a Z1 900. Thru he gears or top end, this thing pulled. Handled , stopped and looked excellent. Wish i had a time machine.

the 442 was quicker than I thought.

Love to see these old monsters still on the road, so many are long gone.

The Corvette engine is most likely stock. The 427 L88 was severely underrated. It was a high compression solid lifter cam factory race engine.

closer than I thought it would be!

Unless you're in a 427 Cobra, don't mess with the L-88. The Olds held it's own, but without the 1.5 compression ratio allowance, it wouldn't be close. The Vette was very likely bone stock.

God this makes me really hate new cars even more...

Win or lose, nothing sounds as good as a cammy Olds 455. Good stuff

I didn't think the olds would beat the vette, I used to drive 427 vette, stick shift and when you slammed gears in that thing, it would not stay on the road, it would bounce from side to side, had a damn lot of fun with that car, in actuality they say 425 HP because of standards back then but they really had 480 HP.

Something about those Olds 442💪

Look at the suspension and the front lifting due to the acceleration... dang

11 sec run on Goodyear Wide Oval tires. Both of these cars are badass. Look at the Vettes MPH with 456 gears.123 MPH. Wow just wow..

Back in 1969 a train pulled into the train station for the night. One of the cargo items was a 1969 Vet with an L88. The next day all that was left was the body. The L88 and the muncie 4spd were gone.

Both those cars are amazing and haven't been stock in a long time!

Orderd a new 72 cutlass S w/ the 455 engine, Ram Air hood, W6 suspension, in Little Rock, Ark. White w/ black hood stripes. It was my dream car.Got married, my wife had two kids, and traded it in for a 76 Olds station wagon Hope it survived!

The Olds did well against the L88 powered Vette. I'd like to see what a 1970 W30 would have done. 😉

Those cars were made to DRIVE!!! Really fun to watch. For a couple of full framed heavyweights, they did great! 👍

Old school all day!!!! It don't get any better than that period!!

Modern machining and blueprinting along with modern ring packages, modern tires and track conditions all can make a huge difference. A lot of additional power can also be found thru dyno tuning.

That 442 has definitely had work done to it.

Damn that was close good race for that corvette was pulling some power getting light on the front end man oh man

Interesting that no water in burn out box. Heard those tires are just like slicks. Incredible.

You don't see these cars out on the prowl anymore. In 87, I was a senior in high school in Indy. Our parking lot was full of them.

That 442 put out the torque and power. Horse power no,problem one mean. Machine. Also really nice interior.

My very first car was a 1979 442. The lightest tap on the gas would still jerk your neck backwards. My brother would always complain about his neck after we took a drive somewhere.😂😂😂 Loved that car.

Wow, a real L88 and he's out there flogging it. Great to see. People think these cars aren't stock...they ARE. They've been blueprinted and tuned perfectly. This is what they were truly capable of, once you took the slop of manufacturing tolerances out of them. Folks don't understand how much that affects actual showroom cars that are basically just slapped together. Make the deck height perfect. Head CC at the minimum spec. Cam at perfect high end of the spec. Crank indexed to high end of spec. And so on. Once in awhile you'd get an engine that had all that from the factory, and that would be the "guy whose identical car was just faster than everyone else's" But it was just luck that his motor came together like that. Most didn't, so the actual power levels of production cars really varied a good bit. You could take 3 absolutely identical cars off the showroom floor and one would be significantly faster than the other 2, and none of them would run exactly the same. Blueprinting eliminates the manufacturing slop, and that's what you see here. Tuning eliminates the factory's "make it so the average person can drive it" and that's also what you see here.

I agree. Most of the awesome cars on these "Pure Stock Drag" videos have obviously had some tuning done to the motors, exhaust, gearing, suspension, etc. They are still great fun to watch on Polyglas-GT, Wide-O oval, and Red Line tires (!) and I'm glad their owners enjoy running them! One of my buddies just bought a very nice, 1965 Olds 442 with factory 400 V8 and Jetaway 2-speed Auto trans. with 3.23 rear gears. That thing will still snap your neck off with 440 ft.lbs of torque. Yeah, newer muscle like my SRT8 Charger are fun, but these old cars are just "Alive" with motor and you feel it in your gut. People who have never experienced it (the torque hit), just don't know.......

Cutlass 442s were low on compression in 1972 the best 442 was 1970 for high output motors. Night and day with compression, coming from a guy who has a 1971 cutlass 442.

L88, the baddest engine built besides the ZL1. My dad had a 67 L88 Vette and won the 69 Summer Nationals at Norwalk.

them 4:10s are working for the olds. impressive run.

"On your mark" "Get set" "Gooooooo" I think the 442 had the vette right up to the middle of the race and then the vette must've pulled away afterwards.

I drove 442 in 1966!! Comfort, luxury and unlimited top end!

Blame the politicians for ruining American cars and America in general

The comments from people that did not come from the 60-70-80's street racing era is kinda funny. A stock L88 1969 Corvette with a 4:56 rear end can run those numbers at Michigan. Those drivers are both very good. My L88 stock closed chamber 427 was 12.9:1 compression with 230lbs average of tested pressure across all cylinders. Two were 225lbs and one was 234 lbs when cranked. Obviously it needs a blueprint. I had a W30 Olds 442, 455 cubic inch. I still have a set of Venolia pistons for it. It never ran the numbers that this one in the video is running but it was OK. 13's, the same numbers that my 1970 1/2 Z28 LT1 would crank out like a tractor. Nothing feels like an L88 427 for me though. I still have that car. It is not an Original L88 1967 Corvette. It is a 427 Corvette that I took the Original engine out and put in a 1967 Closed Chamber L88 engine for SCCA auto cross racing because the rules said I had to run an engine that came in my body style. Fun car. Good video

72 Olds 442 with a turbo400 most likely ok that I would believe. Now the 4.10 gear being stock,if you say so. Before even commenting further I'm going to do some research. I'm not positive right now but if memory serves me correct the tallest/lowest gear optioned on automatic transmission cars was 3.40 . Not that you couldn't do it,that's the problem. The factory didnt offer that ratio on automatic equipped cars from GM,only on the stick cars. Its like all the 100% matching # cars that are every where in the thousands of for sale. I was a mechanic all over the west coast for probably most if the early 70"S into the 80'S removing all manner of broken parts on all different makes and of every stock lo po vehicle to the most wicked hot rod factory cars along with thousands of other mechanics of all skill levels and many with 0 levels of anything. Like it is in any skilled trade. So that's what I think about factory original matching # he haw stuff you see today. Gotta love Barret Jackson, pioneer in the art of the decline in average kids ever owning a real classic csr from the hot rod days I caught the very end of. My first 67 camaro I bought in reno nevada in 1980 for 500bucks in running condition. I had owned several other different types of muscle cars prior to this camaro,so it wasn't my first. Kept that one the longest though. Don't know why, it just turned out that way. Scariest one I owned possibly a Mach1 Mustang 4.10gear,locker 428 cobra jet 4sp very dangerous even if you were paying attention that car was a butterfly effect to the whole body sometimes. Got rid of it one day just because of shit that would happen that shouldn't. Like blowing through a very familiar neighborhood and hitting some water were someone was watering the grass and left it on. Thats always fun and exciting. Not to mention saving the csr and not getting killed to. Girlfriends would leave you forever in a histerical crying event exiting at mom and dads. Don't miss that car at all. Never broke it to bad either. Just like that camaro. Owned a 70 firebird formula 400 too,very good car. Also on the danger be careful list of toys. Lotta my friend's died in them. They say I was a lucky survivor of that era. Today I wonder about that . Still have a 76 kz900 kawasaki. 3rd one I have owned. Except thats not really a hot rod is it? Probably what Jackson Varmint would say. Unless he owned it.Im done

AWESOME!!! NO COMPUTERS. NO TWIN CLUTCH TRANNY. JUST PURE OLD HORSEPOWER.

I doubt either of those cars were stock. I can't believe a stock L88 is hitting 123mph or the Olds hitting 115.

That L88 427 Corvette fills me with intrigue.

All of us old guys can only wish these two gems could pull those numbers stock. They couldn't. Nice video however!

My uncles friends brothers cousins father had a 442 from Mississippi and it ran 14's all day and it was orange.

I just checked my old Chilton's which covers fro 1966 thru 1973 American Cars and the highest horse power Olds 455 in 1972 was 300 hp. However, that was a net HP rating in 72.

A L88 vette..in silver too! It must be worth close to million dollars!

There's no way the Olds 455 was only 300 hp...I'll guarantee it was a lot more than that...

Guy in the Olds was sleeping at the light but damn I love those cars!

0:33 I don't care which year it was planned and constructed but its still one of the most beautiful cars ever designed and created!

Love them olds!!!!!!

Great recording!!! I love it!!!! Thank you:-)

I had a '72 442 looked just like it. 'Hugger orange'. Had Protecto-Plate. Had the cut-out bumper - which is very rare. Blew it up drag racing - sold it for 400 bucks back in the day.

I had a 71 Cutlass SX with the 455. It was cammed, long tube headers, edelbrock intake and Holley carb. I know what a cammed 455 sounds like. On its best day it was high 13’s in So FL (sea level). While I love that 442, it’s not stock.

Ok...that damn Olds had a hell of a lot more than 300 horses. Yes it had torque, but, it still had more than 300 horses.

I used to drag race my 71 small block Corvette and I always loved the way the back end would squat down at launch. Those are both truly bad ass rides!

Great to watch these cars. The balls these guys have to run flat out on these types of tires is insane. Have you ever ripped a vette with wide oval or F70 might as well be driving with bubble gum. amazing!

My 67 L88 Corvette did a bunch of 12:00 passes at 4000msl. Could not get into the 11's but I was shifting at 6500 rpms. 4.11 and close ration 4sp. I bet if I put in a wide ratio Muncie I would get it.

Both cars are incredibly quick!!

Love the idle sound ; modified cam & advanced ignitiion timing ....before VVT.

Both beautiful cars... I'll take the Vette

123 MPH trap speed for the Vette is all you need to know here...wow.

Those Oldsmobile had some serious torque

Love that c3 showing that the hp is all at the rear tires

I had a 1970 W30, paint code delete, Sebring Yellow with black stripes. I ran a lot of Big Block Vettes, never lost once. It was way underrated in the HP dept!!!

Pretty dam good time for a car that was heavier and 130 horsepower less than a Corvette.👍 🇨🇦

The Olds gave him a race. I believe those were factory rated at 375 hp but in reality pushed better than 400 hp with 500 foot pounds of torque. Knowing how to throttle it before punching it was the key factor. If that was a 427 Chevelle the Olds would've smoked it.

Nothing is stock in this video, impressive nonetheless.

Newer cars may have better performance but boy do those 60s & 70s cars look good

Rare cars to be dragging. Good for them!

Factory ratings for GT cars from this era were underrated, sometimes greatly underrated. That 442 actually had a good bit more horsepower and torque, but so did that 427 'Vette. They were ALL underrated for insurance purposes, which I'm sure that you have heard of. Nice race. The 442 got the jump, but the Vette's weight transfer put it's power to the rear wheels better. Great video! Thanks!

That l88 is FAST 😳

Awesome drag race very close too

little faster than I honestly thought they would be . that's good lol

I owned a 72 Cutlas. I can tell you that 442 is under rated by a good 150 hp. There's no way possible that a 4k lbs car with 300 hp would run low 12s. It was closer to 500, but they put 300 for insurance and fed requirements.

I think what a lot of guys are missing is the AT/410's against 4speed/456's. the olds will take the hole every time with even starts. But by the 60' mark it's all over !!! When that Muncie hits third just say goodbye.

WOW.. the W30 got the jump but the L88 came up and won..!! The L88 should have around 550 HP?

I had one of those olds back in 72 or 73. Don't remember. I think mine was a 68. It had the 455, fiberglass hood and other stuff. Blew it up when I overreved racing some guy in a Chevy. Didn't realize what had happened until the engine started making funny noises. I was used to higher reving Chevy motors. Nuff said. 🤗

No Way that 442 is even close to stock. No Way!

Man... That silver Vette looked mean when he did that burn out!

That olds suprised the hell out of me.#Badass

corvettes first gear was so short, I thought it lost

The 442 is quite modified. The Vette is probably close to stock, with a few minor mods. Both are freakin awesome.

I don't know shit about cars but, that was awesome...

Had 2 442 in the past a 68 and 69 they were vers good and strong cars Nice exhaust rumble

Imagine that Corvette could have done a little better with an auto trans. My hat's off to him banging gears like that

Used to own a 72 W30 with the 350 rocket. Only mod was replacing carb with a quadrajet and not only could I reduce rear tires to black clouds, but beat everything I ever came up against, including a couple old Vettes.

There's no way these cars driven right off the lot were this fast in the late 60s/early 70s. After refreshing them, tuning and tweaking them with our current knowledge I think they are much quicker.

both of those cars have been breathed on

It’s too crazy how a 69 vette still could smoke modern muscle, america was doin somethin right!

Im sure the 442 was putting out more than 300 hp to run a 12.

Looks like the Olds ruled the 1/8 mile but the 'Vette had longer legs at speed

In 1967, I test drove all the fast cars-but in the end, bought the 4-4-2 because of the exhaust sound (like an inboard boat)

The GOOD old days, I miss my 340 Challenger. Giant killer.

Wow !! Bad start and still pulls an 11 !! Amazing what you can do with these old BB now days..

Those Stingrays are awesome looking cars. Gotta have side pipes.

I'd say the Olds has a few more than 300 ponies. Maybe it has an L-88 too.

Roughly 3/10ths of better RT by the Vette was the only difference in the Olds not winning that race, incredible...