SURE-FOOTED BALANCE AT SPEED IS
4-4-2's FORTE. WIDE-OVAL TIRES, HANDLING PACKAGE, BEEFY DRIVE TRAIN IS THE WINNING
FORMULA. |
OLDSMOBILE HAS ONE CAR
whose performance reputation has seeped out through General Motors' curtain of primness,
and that is the 4-4-2. Basically the car is an F-85, but its ability to gobble up a lot of
GTOs stems primarily from a 400-cubic-inch, 350-hp V-8 with 4V carburetion.
Due to
what appears to be a policy decision throughout GM, it was necessary to discontinue the
multiple carburetion option (triple 2Vs) offered in 1966, but by adding a Toronado cam and
a little compression ratio, the horsepower cut was held to 10 and torque remained the
same. It's still a 96-mph car in the quarter, and you don't have to bother with keeping
three carburetors living happily together under the same hood, a continuing task that
sometimes could try the patience of Job.
A new
3-speed automatic, called Jetaway but actually a Turbo Hydra-Matic design, is optional and
Oldsmobile engineers claim that it will do as well as the 4-speed manual box that is also
optional. Depressing a button converts the unit from automatic to manual operation in 1st
and 2nd, and if you do a full-throttle start in DRIVE, you will be close to the redline
before each shift.
115-IN.
WHEELBASE, 204.2-IN. LENGTH AND THE GM "A" BODY'S CHARACTERISTIC FAIRINGS ON
REAR WINDOW CARRY OVER FROM '66. |
The
car we drove had the 4-speed manual box with the delightfully-close gate typical of Hurst
linkages which Olds uses. There was a suspension package and the Firestone Wide-Ovals
which will be standard on this car in '67. In front of you is a satisfying set of
instruments, thanks to a "Rally Pack" that fills former warning light space with
a tachometer, clock, and a full set of engine instruments.
The
F-85, Cutlass and 4-4-2 models all have roll understeer designed in -- 6% in front and
around 11% at the rear. But because the 4-4-2 has a much higher roll stiffness rate, it is
for all practical purposes nearly a neutral car. The figures here are about 10 degrees per
"g" of lateral acceleration versus 8 degrees for the F-85. This is accomplished
by stiffer springs, Wide-Oval tires, a larger diameter front stabilizer bar and the
addition of a stablizer at the rear.
Olds
engineers refer to this optional combination of clock and tach as the
"tic-toc-tach". Package replace idiot light set-up. |
Put in
other words, the F-85 would probably be more forgiving to the average driver who
inadvertently barreled into a turn at too high a speed, whereas a skilled driver
could and probably does drift through the same turn in a a 4-4-2. It is worthwhile noting
that the complete 4-4-2 performance and handling packages are available as option W-29 on
Cutlass Supreme coupes and convertibles, and the handling package alone is available on
any F-85.
We
have wondered on these pages in the past why GM has delayed its introduction of the disc
brake option. Olds general manager Harold N. Metzel has his own succinct explanation for
at least Olds' share in this delay: "We still like the other (drum) brakes
better," says Metzel. "We're just now satisfied with discs." So, with this
left-handed compliment they are now being offered as an option on all Oldsmobiles. The
intermediate cars use a Delco-Moraine design and there are smaller-sized cylinders on the
rear drums to guard against premature lockup of the duo-servos there. Olds 88s and 98s
offer Delco-Moraines also, but have a proportioning valve to cut line pressure to the rear
during the period of weight transfer. A metering valve delays action of the four opposed
pistons on the discs until 75 pis line pressure is reached, mostly as a precaution against
dragging pucks. The Toronado uses a similar system designed by Kelsey-Hayes.
MASSIVE
BUMPER IS COMMON TO ALL SMALL OLDSES, SHOULD GIVE GOOD PROTECTION. STRIPE ON FENDER IS
OFFERED ON 4-4-2 ONLY. |
We
didn't get a chance to do any measured stops during our preliminary dring of the 4-4-2,
but the discs certainly felt better than the drums on our '66 test car (MT, June) which
took 170 feet to stop from 60 mph.
Among
other items that couldn't be checked during this first brief exposure was the claim that
the transistorized ignition system optional on the 400-cubic-inch engine would double plug
life, but most of these systems have this capacity to fire a fouled plug long beyond the
state where a coil and breker point combination would have given up. And the summer
weather didn't allow us to find out much about the optional "climatic
combustion" device which keeps intake air at a minimum 100 degrees Farenheit. This
should be a fuel saver, and it should eliminate the need for anti-icing additives in the
gasoline. We do know that it doesn't hinder performance.
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