Came really close to ordering a new 69 W-31. The salesman wouldn't budge a dollar on the price. As I recall, the car was $3,500. Instead, I bought a new 69 Nova SS for $3,260. That was 53 years ago. Back then $240 was a lot of money.
Rob j - I always enjoy hearing about it these cars when they were new and from people who remember them when . Maybe we’ll do a video about the cars sales prices when new.
Always loved the olds had a 70 W-30 4 speed in the mid 80s wish I never sold it thought the W-31 cars were so cool and how lucky are you to have 2 4 speeds I’ll be waiting for more on this
Keith- Hi and thanks for watching. I’m very proud that the gold one ( OG) is still with me after all these years. Every time I walk in the garage I must admit ,it is pretty impressive.
I still remember the night back in 1972 that I took the Q jet off my 69 Cutlass S W-31 and put on a Holley spread bore. That 350 would give the 1969 SS396 375HP Chevelles a run for their money.
Hello there and thank you so much for taking the time to watch and comment. We would love to hear and learn more about your W-31. I actually still run the very same mechanical secondary Holley Spread bore carb. on my F-85 W-31 - (The OG) that's been on it since the early 70's And yes I will agree with you, these W-31's can often run with the big boys!! Please stay tuned and possibly consider " subscribing " It sure does help.
You tuned in to a popular video here. We are excited too but this is going to take some time. We will continue to do our best to show the entire process. Thanks again for wathcing
Great video, loads of little known info. I have one of those 106 cutlass s W31s with a 4 speed. I'm the 2nd owner. Lots of paperwork. It's in great semi survivor driver condition. I think it might be the only one of the 106 with all original matching numbers. I'm looking forward to following your videos
Nice collection and input, still have my 68 442 which I bought off my neighbor in 1980 when I was 16 years old. Let me know how I can send u some pictures .
Frank- that’s a great story. Was your neighbor the original owner ? Please email any pics of your car that you’d like to share at Theautorefinery@gmail.com
@@theautorefinery yes they were the original owners which I am still in touch with, the car is mostly original paint but is a day 2 car with a lot of mods, 455 4speed 410s , acua marine turquoise white roof and interior. Give me a week and I will send u some pics. Your f85 looks like a hard core w-machine.
Great video, not bored for a second. You’re a wealth of info. Just two things, I like the color combo, it matches the Smothers Brothers team cars. Also, wow your F-85 is a beauty. My late Dad bought his first new car, also Aztec Gold but an ‘S’ Holiday. 350-4 (non W), but he ordered a bench with a 3-sp manual (floor). I’m a new subscriber, keep ‘em coming.
When I restored my 66 Cutlass, I liked the fact from 64 to 67 all the 330s & 425s all had steel forged cranks & rods so you can twist them up over 7,600rpm or until the lifers float with zero issues. So when I had a custom cam ground for the 330, for my 66 I used the W-31 cam specks of a .472 lift & a 295 Der. but the W-31 cam center line was for a stick car, and I was going to use a Turbo 400 trans with a Hust his & hers shifter plus a Gearvendors overdrive with a 4,500 stall convert & 3:55 12 bolt posi rear. So I changed the centerline of the W-31 cam to a straight up .110 centerline for a wide power ban. My 66 is a sports coup post car so it is lighter than a Holiday coup. It's to bad the factory W-31 did not use the 67 forged crank & rods out of the 330s as that old cast iron 350 crank will spin a bearing over 7,200rpm power shifts everytime. The fact is, the steel forged 330 crank & rods will fit right in a 68 up 350 and it is foolish not to do it. True it's not correct, but since when does anybody pull oil pans at a Olds show to check ??? On a side note, I never knew the W-31 used a thicker balancer, I used a ATI balancer. Oldsmobile's are just the best cars !
Mike- It’s always fun to hear about guys making their own combos that just worked. Just to clarify. The w31 cam is a .474 lift with a 308 duration.(same as the 68 H/O non a/c.) 1969 and 1970 31’s were available with a specially prepped T350 and 2800 stall converter. And all w31’s 68-70 used the larger balancer. Thank you for your interest and participation!
@@theautorefinery My custom 330 Olds motor ( now bored .060 to 350 cubes) is a daily driver in my 66 Cutlass sports coup with my special clone W-31 cam. I used a ATI 4,500 rpm treemaster converter in front of a Turbo 400 (soon to get a gearvendors overdrive) with a 64 to 67 Chevelle Chevy 12 bolt rerar & 355s Car ran 13:80 at 99mph in the 1/4 with a cast iron factory intake & Q jet. It currently has 99,XXX miles on the rebuilt motor. It's been drove to over 30 states and the car is a plain white wrapper & always drove hard and put away wet. I am aware there are a few different W-30/ W-31Der. cams. I went with the .295 Der. to keep the water temp cooler in heavy stop & go traffic with the A/C on. The main thing I did was change the cam center line to a straight up .110* for wider pulling power witch also made for a much more lumpy idle to make better use of the bigger stall converter. You flash that treemaster converter, that Olds flat gets it. Out of all my cars, my 66 Cutlass is the most fun and I let others borrow it as it is so dependable.
@@hydroy1 Mike p. Sounds like a fun and reliable street car ! But To clarify- while there were different cams for W30’s stick vs auto, there was only one Cam used in any and all w31’s . We’d love to hear how your engine sounds!
I am very relieved that this particular video (and the W-31 Engine Exposed) has gotten such a great reception. We really enjoyed making it. Thank you so much for watching and for helping support our efforts!
In regard to the the circle inside the fender. I owned a low mile '69 W32 sports coupe and had the circle as well with an upside down "W" in the center. My car was bought from the original owner.
Good morning to you. Thanks so much for this comment. This is the type of stuff that we love to hear about. When did you own that car? Any idea what the production date of that car was? Was the "W" in the center of the hole? We really appreciate you taking the time to watch and play along. Please help spread the word. Stay Tuned -steve
I bought a new w31 in 1970 when i was 18. Those w31 where fast. I raced a 440 mopar with 3 duces once for $1000 and won. The only thing i changed was a holley 780 and hooker headers. I wish i still had that car. Years later i found out how much those quadrajets where worth. I dont remember what i did with it.
Good morning Mark. Hearing from folks that bought these cars new never ever gets old!!! Please share with us more details about the initial transaction. Did you order the car? was it on the lot? What made you chose it and maybe what were some of the other cars you were considering? (if any). Thank you so much for playing along!! Please help spread the word. -steve
Hi! My dad bought a 1969 442 and brought several w30 parts. The vin on the car matches a 442, the vin on the block matches a 400 engine, and the header code is a G, which matches big block, but the vin numbers on the engine don't match the vin on the car. They may have made cars with a different engine vin than the vin of the car, and the specs you mentioned for a w31 would be the same for a w30. I would like to identify if it is a genuine w30. Thank you very much and excellent video content. I already liked and subscribed. Thanks in advance.
Good morning and my apologies for such a delayed response. I was certainly getting used to all things TH-cam. Feel free to email theautorefinery@gmail.com for more direct dialogue. Thank you for watching
Not knowing olds that much thats why im doing research were the w 31 350 manual only in 68 69 in the trunk there is a few auto flex plates and fly wheels .it has cast iron intake with 4 barrel carb what carb numder should i be looking for that would help in identifing it
Yes yes Lots to learn for sure. Keep watching, keep reading - Again, the best thing to start with is recording all the part numbers of what you have. This will be instrumental in identifying your engine and parts. The 68's were manual only 69 and 70 available with a special T-350 Feel free to email us directly at theautorefinery@gmail.com with any more specific questions. Thanks for watching Id like to learn more about this trans am -steve
While the intake manifold for 1970 w-31’s were in fact aluminum and read “ w-350”. There were no production aluminum blocks or heads. And the 68 ram rod 350 and 69 w31’s used a cast iron intake manifold . I really appreciate your interest
Came really close to ordering a new 69 W-31. The salesman wouldn't budge a dollar on the price. As I recall, the car was $3,500. Instead, I bought a new 69 Nova SS for $3,260. That was 53 years ago. Back then $240 was a lot of money.
Rob j -
I always enjoy hearing about it these cars when they were new and from people who remember them when .
Maybe we’ll do a video about the cars sales prices when new.
@@theautorefinery Dealers that sold them to. W-31s was not really advertised much but boy, what a powerhouse.
I never get bored learning about the minutiae of any muscle car. Well done!
We appreciate your compliment. Please stay tuned!
Lived in Lansing '68 --'16. W-31s were thee Bomb back then, along with Red White ragtops. Leaned to Drive In Driver's Ed class in a '72 Vista Cruiser.
oh wow. Please share any stories you may have about w-31 in real action . Thank you for watching and apologies for a delayed reply
Always loved the olds had a 70 W-30 4 speed in the mid 80s wish I never sold it thought the W-31 cars were so cool and how lucky are you to have 2 4 speeds I’ll be waiting for more on this
Keith-
Hi and thanks for watching. I’m very proud that the gold one ( OG) is still with me after all these years. Every time I walk in the garage I must admit ,it is pretty impressive.
You're in your element! People love it, thats why your channel is growing so fast. Keep doing what you're doing!
I still remember the night back in 1972 that I took the Q jet off my 69 Cutlass S W-31 and put on a Holley spread bore. That 350 would give the 1969 SS396 375HP Chevelles a run for their money.
Hello there and thank you so much for taking the time to watch and comment. We would love to hear and learn more about your W-31.
I actually still run the very same mechanical secondary Holley Spread bore carb. on my F-85 W-31 - (The OG) that's been on it since the early 70's
And yes I will agree with you, these W-31's can often run with the big boys!! Please stay tuned and possibly consider " subscribing "
It sure does help.
Let see more love it just bought 69 S 4 speed
Paul -
Congrats on your purchase. Please keep watching!
Lots of great info! This W-31 was a great find! Cannot wait to see it restored and back on the road!
You tuned in to a popular video here. We are excited too but this is going to take some time. We will continue to do our best to show the entire process. Thanks again for wathcing
Great video, loads of little known info. I have one of those 106 cutlass s W31s with a 4 speed. I'm the 2nd owner. Lots of paperwork. It's in great semi survivor driver condition. I think it might be the only one of the 106 with all original matching numbers. I'm looking forward to following your videos
Would love to learn more about your cars and it’s’ pedigree. Feel free to email us
@@theautorefinery m21 3.91 color is Sable and white. I bought it from nickey Chicago several years ago. How can I send you a few photos?
@@user-kj6bg5sq4v feel free to email us at theautorefinery@gmail.com
Nice collection and input, still have my 68 442 which I bought off my neighbor in 1980 when I was 16 years old. Let me know how I can send u some pictures .
Frank-
that’s a great story. Was your neighbor the original owner ? Please email any pics of your car that you’d like to share at
Theautorefinery@gmail.com
@@theautorefinery yes they were the original owners which I am still in touch with, the car is mostly original paint but is a day 2 car with a lot of mods, 455 4speed 410s , acua marine turquoise white roof and interior. Give me a week and I will send u some pics. Your f85 looks like a hard core w-machine.
Great video, not bored for a second. You’re a wealth of info. Just two things, I like the color combo, it matches the Smothers Brothers team cars. Also, wow your F-85 is a beauty. My late Dad bought his first new car, also Aztec Gold but an ‘S’ Holiday. 350-4 (non W), but he ordered a bench with a 3-sp manual (floor). I’m a new subscriber, keep ‘em coming.
Thank you! And very cool. More coming soon, thanks for watching along!
When I restored my 66 Cutlass, I liked the fact from 64 to 67 all the 330s & 425s all had steel forged cranks & rods so you can twist them up over 7,600rpm or until the lifers float with zero issues. So when I had a custom cam ground for the 330, for my 66 I used the W-31 cam specks of a .472 lift & a 295 Der. but the W-31 cam center line was for a stick car, and I was going to use a Turbo 400 trans with a Hust his & hers shifter plus a Gearvendors overdrive with a 4,500 stall convert & 3:55 12 bolt posi rear. So I changed the centerline of the W-31 cam to a straight up .110 centerline for a wide power ban. My 66 is a sports coup post car so it is lighter than a Holiday coup. It's to bad the factory W-31 did not use the 67 forged crank & rods out of the 330s as that old cast iron 350 crank will spin a bearing over 7,200rpm power shifts everytime. The fact is, the steel forged 330 crank & rods will fit right in a 68 up 350 and it is foolish not to do it. True it's not correct, but since when does anybody pull oil pans at a Olds show to check ??? On a side note, I never knew the W-31 used a thicker balancer, I used a ATI balancer. Oldsmobile's are just the best cars !
Mike-
It’s always fun to hear about guys making their own combos that just worked.
Just to clarify. The w31 cam is a .474 lift with a 308 duration.(same as the 68 H/O non a/c.) 1969 and 1970 31’s were available with a specially prepped T350 and 2800 stall converter.
And all w31’s 68-70 used the larger balancer. Thank you for your interest and participation!
@@theautorefinery My custom 330 Olds motor ( now bored .060 to 350 cubes) is a daily driver in my 66 Cutlass sports coup with my special clone W-31 cam. I used a ATI 4,500 rpm treemaster converter in front of a Turbo 400 (soon to get a gearvendors overdrive) with a 64 to 67 Chevelle Chevy 12 bolt rerar & 355s Car ran 13:80 at 99mph in the 1/4 with a cast iron factory intake & Q jet. It currently has 99,XXX miles on the rebuilt motor. It's been drove to over 30 states and the car is a plain white wrapper & always drove hard and put away wet. I am aware there are a few different W-30/ W-31Der. cams. I went with the .295 Der. to keep the water temp cooler in heavy stop & go traffic with the A/C on. The main thing I did was change the cam center line to a straight up .110* for wider pulling power witch also made for a much more lumpy idle to make better use of the bigger stall converter. You flash that treemaster converter, that Olds flat gets it. Out of all my cars, my 66 Cutlass is the most fun and I let others borrow it as it is so dependable.
@@hydroy1 Mike p. Sounds like a fun and reliable street car !
But To clarify- while there were different cams for W30’s stick vs auto, there was only one Cam used in any and all w31’s .
We’d love to hear how your engine sounds!
Im a ford guy but this is still interesting!!
Thank you for watching! Plenty more interesting vids to come too.
Sweet video, just imagine a cutlass with a hemi olds with a manual trans.😎😎😎👍👍👍👍
Hi. I have some Oldsmobiles also including a rough 70 Cutlass S W-31 and a 70 W-30 droptop
You’ve got our attention !
Feel free to email any pics of your cars if you’d like.
@@theautorefinery Hopefully I will have done videos of them uploaded soon.
Excellent information! Very informative! Good job
I am very relieved that this particular video (and the W-31 Engine Exposed) has gotten such a great reception. We really enjoyed making it. Thank you so much for watching and for helping support our efforts!
I have never seen rust like that on the lower dash wow
My brother has his work cut out for him! Stay tuned and you’ll eventually see that get repaired.
In regard to the the circle inside the fender. I owned a low mile '69 W32 sports coupe and had the circle as well with an upside down "W" in the center. My car was bought from the original owner.
Good morning to you. Thanks so much for this comment. This is the type of stuff that we love to hear about. When did you own that car? Any idea what the production date of that car was? Was the "W" in the center of the hole? We really appreciate you taking the time to watch and play along.
Please help spread the word.
Stay Tuned
-steve
W 31 had flat top pistons balancer are like gold as carb
Absolutely True!!! Thank you for watching
I bought a new w31 in 1970 when i was 18. Those w31 where fast. I raced a 440 mopar with 3 duces once for $1000 and won. The only thing i changed was a holley 780 and hooker headers. I wish i still had that car. Years later i found out how much those quadrajets where worth. I dont remember what i did with it.
Good morning Mark. Hearing from folks that bought these cars new never ever gets old!!! Please share with us more details about the initial transaction.
Did you order the car? was it on the lot?
What made you chose it and maybe what were some of the other cars you were considering? (if any).
Thank you so much for playing along!!
Please help spread the word.
-steve
Them are nice cars I'd love to get a 68 or 69 there beautiful cars
Well you have great taste. Thanks so much for that compliment and for watching our videos!
-steve
Even my 70 Cutlass Supreme SX was built in Lansing with a W-32 engine. Canadian car built in Lansing.
Yes, many performance cars were imported to Canada from Lansing.
That process provided some of the best documentation when going through customs!
Hi! My dad bought a 1969 442 and brought several w30 parts. The vin on the car matches a 442, the vin on the block matches a 400 engine, and the header code is a G, which matches big block, but the vin numbers on the engine don't match the vin on the car. They may have made cars with a different engine vin than the vin of the car, and the specs you mentioned for a w31 would be the same for a w30. I would like to identify if it is a genuine w30. Thank you very much and excellent video content. I already liked and subscribed. Thanks in advance.
Good morning and my apologies for such a delayed response. I was certainly getting used to all things TH-cam. Feel free to email
theautorefinery@gmail.com for more direct dialogue.
Thank you for watching
Nice. Subbed.
Hello there and Welcome!!! Thank you so much for helping support this channel and our efforts.
Where did you find this car
Georgia
Not knowing olds that much thats why im doing research were the w 31 350 manual only in 68 69 in the trunk there is a few auto flex plates and fly wheels .it has cast iron intake with 4 barrel carb what carb numder should i be looking for that would help in identifing it
Yes yes Lots to learn for sure. Keep watching, keep reading - Again, the best thing to start with is recording all the part numbers of what you have. This will be instrumental in identifying your engine and parts.
The 68's were manual only
69 and 70 available with a special T-350
Feel free to email us directly at theautorefinery@gmail.com with any more specific questions.
Thanks for watching
Id like to learn more about this trans am
-steve
They did make a 69 aluminum W31 intake as well as a aluminum block and aluminum heads.
While the intake manifold for 1970 w-31’s were in fact aluminum and read “ w-350”.
There were no production aluminum blocks or heads. And the 68 ram rod 350 and 69 w31’s used a cast iron intake manifold .
I really appreciate your interest
W31 also had flat top pistons instead of dished right?
84 Hurst-
Yes the W31 ‘s used a flat top piston shared with no other 350.
any idea where to purchase new induction fresh air hoses
Fusick In Ct. sells cloth covered hoses like the originals
@@theautorefinery thanks I did find them at Fusick
Everything I have ever read about w31's is that they came with redish orange plastic front inner wheel wells
W-30 cars have red fender wells. W-31 standard black with hole cutouts for OAI
Is your gold 69 an F-85?
Jacob- Yes it is.
thats rediculous that those cars have no power brakes and no air conditioning....i lived in florida and air cond is a must!!
Nick, The W-31 was a purpose built cars.
plain and simple
-steve
Flat top pistons also!
Yes. Correct, W-31's had flat top pistons. , Thanks for watching .
Stay Tuned
i would do a vin swap on that
way too much work needed on that body
honestly..you are better off without the quadrajunk....they are suboptimal
The convertible Cutlass has a modded Q-jet. After lots of tuning, seems to run pretty well.