442 1968

Hello ! Need help for decoding the paint tag on my 1968 442 Canadian , can't understand the color code (***) ?

69HO43

Not sure, but I'm banking on the center being brown.

hurst68olds

940 = "black" bucket seats
A = "ebony black" paint
S = "jade gold" paint
S = "jade gold" paint

not sure if this is a two-tone paint car, or if one of the paint codes is for wheels/stripes/other ???

joe_padavano

D55 = console
M20 = wide ratio Muncie four speed
S68 = 1968 model year
34487 = Oldsmobile (3) 442 (44) Holiday Coupe (87)
OS = Oshawa assembly plant
28328 BODY = Fisher Body sequence number
TR 940 = black bucket seat interior
2-5-4 = built second shift (2) May (5) 4th (4) 1968
*** PAINT = Black (A) stripe, Jade Gold (S) lower and upper body color
Note that all 442s came with the RPO Y70 pinstripe as standard equipment unless the W36 stripe was ordered. The Black paint callout is for the Y70 stripe color.

442 1968

Thank you very much Joe !!!! I am very happy , now I have to decide if I put it back green or my favorite color red Burgundy .

Vintage Chief

I looked up the *** paint code(s) last night and arrived at Black (A) stripe, Jade Gold (S) lower and upper body color, but wasn't sure I was correct.

I'm confused. Is the car currently green?

joe_padavano

Since this is an Oshawa car, you can get the build sheet info from GM Vintage Vehicle Services (for a fee, of course).

joe_padavano

I'm ASSuming it's the blue 68 with mandatory ersatz W36 stripe in the OP's user image.

Vintage Chief

My bad. I see....Jade Gold is more or less a green hue.

Vintage Chief

You're very likely correct. You know what happens w/ me when I ASSume something.

Vintage Chief

Found one (1968 Jade Gold). Really, really a deep metallic green. Very nice depth to that color. I'd have called it green for sure.

joe_padavano

You posted that photo just to pull my chain, right.

Vintage Chief

😉😉😉😉😁😁😁😁

442 1968

Yes , I think , I removed the left plastic pillar inside and was green , so I think it was green , but my problem was the "A" at first of the paint number that why I was confus !!!!!

joe_padavano

Yeah, Oshawa trim tags frequently listed the paint code for the stripe in addition to the usual lower and upper body colors.

EDIT: I've just spent a while on Google Images trying to find a photo of the correct Y70 side stripe. Good luck with that. The couple of cars that DIDN'T have incorrectly-applied W36 stripes either didn't have the Y70 stripe put back on after repaint or had incorrectly-applied pinstripes. My first 442 was a 68 that I got in 1974 with original paint and the Y70 stripe intact.

69HO43

You mean this stripe?

joe_padavano

Yeah, I saw that photo. The varying gap between the pinstripe and the chrome suggested to me that is not original. Out of curiosity, how many W36 photos on Google Images did you go through before hitting on that one?

v8al

I did an image search on: 1968 442 original paint

69HO43

46. Thereabouts. Saw some real doozies on some of the W36 stripe applications, too.

joe_padavano

And how many faux W36 cars came up in that search?
Like this one:




In any case, the fact that your two photos are very different should tell you something.

joe_padavano

joe_padavano

Here's a pretty good application of the Y70 stripe. The car is allegedly unrestored. I have no opinion one way or the other on that, but it does appear to be pretty correct in all aspects.

no1oldsfan

Sorry to be twelve but that made me laugh 😂