F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

<span style="font-weight: bold">1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed W-27 California car</span>. This is a know 100% documented (including pictures when it was new) and number matching 442 W-30 originally ordered with the W-27, possibly the only one of the 96 built. I have owned the car for 35 years and all of the old Oldsmobile guys know me and this car. Restored by Level One Restoration 2011. Pictures of the restoration and some of the documentation at www.levelonerestoration.com/ under Lee Pearl's W-30 and also under documented W-30 convertible 4 speeds.

Significant options: W-30, 3:91 W-27 all aluminum differential center section, rally pac, car ordered with poverty caps.

Car has been shown at 2011 SEMA, 2011 Oldsmobile Nationals (best of class), 2011 Muscle Car Nationals (best Oldsmobile) and 2011 Detroit Autorama.

significant discussion and pictures of the car on the Supercar Registry at:
https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbt...opics/500729/1
The restoration was also discussed in detail on the Classic Oldsmobile site. http://classicoldsmobile.com/forums/...pdate-lee.html

Expert References to Contact and discuss the car: Gary Riley (303) 590-4612 Level One Restoration Gary@levelonerestoration, Fred Mandrik (480) 557-6012 [email protected], Elliot Jaffe [email protected] (847) 997-2700. Charlie L has also seen this car. None of the references have any financial interest in this car and will be objective in their discussion.

<span style="font-weight: bold">$325,000 partial trades considered to $150,000. </span> Lee Pearl [email protected]

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Lee,
Has your car sold ?
What Fantastic paperwork! Most would be lucky to have half a torn buildsheet, or &quot; rumored to be authentic!&quot; This one definitely checks all the boxes. Could not ask for anything more.
Regards,
DL

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

The car has not sold. I figured it would take more than a week to get to word out to collectors and maybe even some museums. That documentation is only a part of what I have on the car. The most interesting document is the letter from the Credit Union that financed the car that they have it in their possession and he needs to come up with a bunch of money to get it out of jail. We know the story because it was then sold to the next owner and Rug never got it back. Lee

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

This is a very special Oldsmobile, on many levels. Good luck with the sale!

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Thanks Stefano: I appreciate the kind words. Lee

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Lee,
Did Hemmings tell you which issue your Car will be featured in ?

DL

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Photo shoot was in April.......has been next few month for a few months. I am really looking forward to the story because my daughter was the star, not me driving the car. I figure by the first of the year. I finally figured out how to add pictures. Here are a few unpublished shots showing the quality of the car. Lee

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Thanks Lee,
Will keep an eye out for the issue ! Gotta love Black/Gold !


DL

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

I listed the car on ebay. Will be interesting. Lee

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...00515622#v4-43

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Good luck Lee.

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

The ebay auction is over and the car did not make the reserve, 7500 views on the auction, 400 watchers, 19 different bidders, bid to $221k. Great auction no sale but some great comments and several potential buyers. I am pleased but will not sell the car till it is time. Still for sale.........Lee

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

What a beautiful car...

I used to go to Hansel on almost a daily basis....chasing parts for Hardin Olds...where I worked [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif[/img]

Good luck Lee!

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Lee,
Has she found a new home yet ? Hard to believe it's been a year since MCACN!Glad I was fortunate enough to see it in person.
Best Regards,
DL

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

I will miss MCACN this year but my spies will be sending me pictures. Car is still for sale. The perfect Christmas present for the collector that needs a great Oldsmobile. Lee

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Nice action on the car now. Perfect Christmas present for you wife to buy for your car collection.

Lee

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

More pictures. Price reduced $299,000. Lee

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23411995@N08/

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Lee's beauty!

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Lee,
your car sounds like a bargain!

Price: *$357,500.00 Year: 1970 Make: OLDSMOBILE Model: 442 W30 Style: CONVERTIBLE. Commentary said this car was &quot;RUFF&quot; pre- restoration as well..

DL

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

It was not Ruff but was a really nice Thorton restoration. It does make my car price sound in well in the ball park though. Lee

sorry I misread your post don. didn't catch the &quot;pre&quot; restoration

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Lots of pre resto photos on display with the car. It was rough!!!
Thorntons have established a good reputation and that certainly adds to the Hype.

Paul

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Thornton has a great reputation, but Level One is certainly no slouch and honestly, comparable. I think trying to figure the prices on the these cars ('70 W-30 Conv. Sticks) is tough, especially considering the amount of documentation some have ( and some lack), the options, different color combos, and what recently happened in Scottsdale.
Lee's car is very special and deserves to be priced accordingly.
Good luck with the sale.

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

I am still waiting for the Hemmings Muscle Machine article. Should be in the next few months in a special convertible issue. The olds is still for sale with about four buyers in play but nobody has stepped up yet. Lee

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Good Luck with the sale of the w30 Lee
I wish I could afford to have that car in my garage!

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DW31S</div><div class="ubbcode-body">, and what recently happened in Scottsdale.
</div></div>

an anomaly that should not be factored into any 442 'vert pricing. Booze induced purchase [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

I do not believe that the BJ W30 purchase was &quot;booze induced&quot;.

While it may be the highest public price paid for what is considered by some to be one of the better W30 4 speed convertibles available, there are other examples which have sold privately in the $250-$300,000.00 price range.

Lee's W30 is considered by those who follow these cars to be one of the absolute best 4 speed rag tops in existence. I'm confident that it will find a suitable home sometime soon.

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Buyers are willing to pay top dollar for the right automobile. The 1970 W-30 ragtop four-speed that sold at B-J was completely documented with excellent paperwork and history along with an exceptional restoration by the Jeff Thornton. Before the economic collapse, W-cars of this caliber were selling for these kinds of numbers and many even higher routinely in private sales. These cars along with a few others represent the pinnacle of American Muscle. RM

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

I tried to edit this post but time expired. I meant to say the Thornton Brothers in Pennsylvania restored this B-J W-30 convert. However, I believe Jeff restored this particular car. Several of my collector friends have had their W-machines restored by the Thornton Brothers and they do truly amazing work. RM

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

I have been tracking the 4 speed w-30 convertibles for almost 30 years. Although I have never seen or heard of the car that sold at the BJ auction there are only about 10 bullet proof documented cars of the 96 made. That car popped up on ebay a few years ago.

This makes a very limited number of cars. Only a couple are restored to the highest level. The hemi cuda is of course the top dog but Oldsmobile represents a unique luxury performance car during the era. It is an entirely different sector of the 70's performance. Three of the 10 have sold in the last year for over $200k and two are currently for sale. Lee

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

My Honda suitcase cycle was filmed by Jeff Koch the same time as my w-30. The Motorcycle made the april issue of Hemmings Motor news. Two page spread. There is still hope to see the w-30 in a future Hemmings Muscle Machine article. Not sure when though since the pictures were taken more than a year ago. Lee

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: dl7265</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Lee,
your car sounds like a bargain!

Price: *$357,500.00 Year: 1970 Make: OLDSMOBILE Model: 442 W30 Style: CONVERTIBLE. Commentary said this car was &quot;RUFF&quot; pre- restoration as well..

DL </div></div>

Buyers Remorse ? She's running again No Reserve ... That' takes some *****
http://www.barrett-jackson.com/appli...72&amp;aid=467

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Turns out the paperwork was fake. Now it is selling as &quot;Undocumented&quot;

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

When the car was sold on eBay and unrestored a while back, it had no paperwork what so ever.

So who made up and or had someone make up all the paperwork which was displayed with the car at BJ?

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Wow!!!! Maybe that is why the old w-30 guys had never seen that car. Even if it is a real w-30 the black cloud will follow that car forever. It would seem other cars done by that restorer will now be questioned. That is very sad. Lee

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Woa!!!

Thats gotta hurt!

Thornton has done lots of non W30 cars and presented them as they were. I saw photos of this one and it was rough to start with and likely thought to be a real W30 before Thornton restored it. Several cars have been on ebay over the years by various sellers and reemerged with paperwork along the way.

Paul

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Thornton's have certainly restored quite a few Oldsmobiles and some were undocumented W-Machines brought to auction, however I do not recall ever seeing a W-Machine done by them being advertised as NOT authentic?

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Nobody is saying it is not authentic. Just the paperwork was not authentic.

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

This sale is an example of a car being bought without consideration of its history. An unknown car with recently located docs and a world record auction price. Pretty scary.

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

Unfortunately, the only Oldsmobile cars that can go completely unquestioned are cars with Canadian documentation. Sadly, all the other paperwork is going to be suspect in one way or another. I would imagine even the Thornton’s could be fooled today because the fake documentation is so accurate.

My friend was a longtime serious W-30 convertible collector and he was bamboozled on a fraudulent 1971 W-30 4spd convertible. He knew these cars well and went back to the 1970s collecting them.

I remember cars as far back as the early 1980s being accurately cloned into W-30s. Now people think those cars are real because they have appeared as W-30s for such a great length of time. I know of numerous cars in the Chicago area that started out life as standard 442s only to eventually become &quot;documented&quot; W-30 cars.

It is too bad that all the corruption and dishonesty has entered the hobby. However, when serious sums of money got involved in the hobby so did all the dishonesty. It would be funny if they ever found the paperwork for these cars to see how many of them today are fakes. I bet it would reduce the W-30 population by 90%. :hmmm:

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

At least 1972 has an X in the VIN.

Re: F/S Lee Pearl's 1970 442 W-30 Convertible 4 speed
 

There are also a bunch of real W-30 coupes and convertibles here in Chicago land!

The only &quot;fake&quot; '71 4 speed rag top which I can remember recently, was a std 442 rag original green, converted to a black W-30.