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This 1970 Olds 4-4-2 convertible is trimmed in rare white/blue combination. Image: Hemmings
Last week I received an email from an Internet pal who owns a Ram Air IV GTO from my hometown. “Is this your car?” Ad was from Hemmings magazine’s online classified and showed a 1970 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 W-30 convertible. “Nope!” I replied.
Image: Hemmings
These things don’t happen often. As it stands, this is the third car I know of (including mine) in the color combination of white and blue.
When I bought my car at the tender age of 15, it was a ragged and rusted crop duster painted baby blue, but I knew it had originally been white by the code “10” on the data plate. The interior and top were both blue, which made for nice color combination, not to mention white and blue are America’s racing colors. But since the Olds was a 4-4-2, it was supposed to have stripes, which were not on the car.
The stripe choices in 1970 were black, white, gold, blue, or red, so it would make total sense to have a blue stripe on a white car with blue top and interior, right? That’s how my car was repainted.
The blue Oldsmobile used for the stripes is a unique tint that you’d least expect. As I’ve become more familiar with these cars in the ensuing years, I’ve come to realize how rare a blue-striped 4-4-2 or W-31 really is. In fact, at the 1993 Oldsmobile Nationals in New Jersey, a club member told me I should have been in the Modified class because I had the wrong stripes! Most of the cars I’ve found with blue stripes have been Azure Blue, which is a strange color for a high-performance machine. You’d think white and blue would not be so rare, but even most white cars I’ve seen have had either black or gold stripes.
This dealer document shows what stripes were available and what color combos were recommended. Most blue-striped cars I've discovered have been Azure Blue.
This car that’s for sale is equipped very similarly to mine. To wit:
Never offered for sale since 1970, this rare color combination air conditioned car could be the only one ordered like this. Protecto-O-Plate and original paper work and books. Found both broadcast sheets one under back seat, one in back of passenger.Power windows, power trunk. map light. Engine rebuilt in 1998 stock. When this was done the front end was cleaned up as well.
Original interior, #344670H194984. Matching numbers, All floor boards are in perfect original no rust condition. Runs great! I used to ride in this car in 1978 in High School! Would like to trade for for newer Porsche with money down. Serious inquires only! $50,000 negotiable
The second white/blue I've discovered. Ron McHugh owned it in the 1970s and owns it today.
One glaring typo is the “H” in the VIN. W-30s were only built in Lansing (“M”) but there was no “H” plant so who knows what he meant to type? Otherwise, only 2,933 Olds 4-4-2 convertibles were built in 1970, and I know at least 0.1% were white and blue. Those three cars have the W-30 package, of which 264 were built. People tend to gravitate towards Sebring Yellow or Rally Red, but I’ll take a funny blue-striped car any day.
