WTF is up with this car ? I've been watching this car for what seems like MONTHS getting bid on, ending, starting all over. Now it is up with a Buy-It-Now for $34,000 !! For that kinda dough, it should have the right radiator top plate, the correct oil fill cap, a fan shroud, the correct oil pan, the correct TH350 dust cover ..... on and on and on and on ..... It is a cool color combo, but says nothing about numbers matching, etc. o No: If that thing gets $34k, mine is going up for sale !! Psycho, Crazy, Stupid Money W-31
I know where there is a correct White one that would scare him to death. But so would the price. John
Crazy things are happening in this business right now. The Silver 71 W-30 Conv I sold last year is back on the market at 60k. Not a frame off car. A frame off 66 Tri power 4 speed conv at 60 k. I am crawling into a hole until it's over. John
Casey---Not that it matters but isn't that the correct top plate for a non-4 core car---ie not all these things came with fan shrouds-thus the different "non-fan shroud" rad top plate. I really think it's the overstuffed couch-like seats that keeps scaring people off...they just can't seem to get rid of this thing! Or maybe it's the "investment grade" rating they give the car in the description.....WTF??? Did both Standard & Poors and Alan Greenspan personally inspect the car and deem it to be "investment grade"--what BS! Patton
I believe it made it to 26k at one time. Someone will pay too much for it. There is a nice car on 442.com for 21k.
Interesting question Patton ...... It is my understanding, and I definitely could be wrong ..... All '70 W-31's came with HD cooling - hence - - clutch fan, 4-core radiator, 4-core top plate, fan shroud.
John---r u talking about the red 72 W30 car? Didn't see any W31s on there. Casey---I don't think HD cooling was mandatory, would have to check closer--but I have seen examples of what I believe to be real W31s with the non-fan-shroud top plate w/3 core supports (ie the saddles in the rad support were definitely 3 core as well as the top plate) ...1970 is what I am talking about---don't know these details on earlier ones. Patton
sounds like a job for Brian Ehlers!! (BlackGold). One example is in my garage--- 70 '31 4 speed and has the non fan shroud set up..no evidence of front end collision damage that might have resulted in a change out to different parts. Now you got me worried! Patton
I've got the dealer option junk at home. Now you've got my interest peaked ! We'll figure it out ! :TU:
maybe it was mandatory on the auto trans cars due to added heat? I'm curious. Thnx, Patton Also--check out the photos of the bottom edge of the trunklid on the ebay W31---what's up with the "too short" stainless eyebrows on each end of the decklid? I guess those came off of a Supreme decklid....must be a weight savings Pure Stock trick you buys can employ on your cars!--or maybe this is what makes it "investment grade" Damn! it gets worse---why the ac kick panels on a non ac car--shouldn't there be a couple cable pulls down there or maybe I just can't see 'em! Investment Grade....Hah!!!!
OK - 'ya ready ? I knew there was a reason why I thought it was "mandatory/standard" ..... Here goes ....... :Brow: On a 1970 W-31, the "Standard" gear was the G88 (3.91:1). With that Standard gearset, you HAD to get the V01 Heavy Duty Cooling option. V01 was the 2.70" (4-core) radiator that dictated the fan shroud, blah blah blah. If you chose the "Optional" G92 (3.42:1) gear, you got the V02 Heavy-Duty Cooling option, which was the 2.00" core radiator (3-core). Sooooooo, if it was a "Standard" gear set car, it got the 4-core and all the related paraphenalia ..... if it was an "Optional" geared car, it got the 3-core ........ Clear as mud - - 'eh ?? :beer Patton - is yours a 3.42 ?
Casey---thanks very much for the research and info--very helpful. Yes---mine is a 3.42 4 spd car---and it has the plain-jane non fan shroud top plate and a 3 core..so that would account for it. I will most likely switch over to a 4 core set up with a shroud--I have all the original parts but like the idea of cooling that thing down a little better while driving in the 100 degree plus weather we get down here. Other details---Copper color, no vinyl top, black stripes, white bucket interior, console, 8 track, non-ps, and the usual non-power discs up front. Non rallye pac, standard steering wheel(car had a sport wheel added but prior owner had saved the original wheel--it's like the ones on the Delta 88s--not the plain-jane F85 "two spoke" wheel{which I think is the coolest}), manual windows and locks, interior hood lock option, AMFM, SSII's. That's about it for options. Car is in (slow) process of restoration..one of those multi year deals. Once again---thanks a lot for the good info. Patton
Hey, look guys -- that eBay W-31 has the rare FE2 Sport Styled Mirrors!!! (FE2 was the 442 suspension package, for you non-Olds folk.) All nit-picking aside, it does look like someone put an awful lot of work into that car -- or at least an awful lot of paint. But I agree, he's a little optimistic on the price. Casey and Patton, you're too fast for me. You nailed it on the radiators and top plates with the 3.91/3.42, V01/V02, 4-core/3-core info. And from what I can tell, shrouds were only used on cars with C60 (A/C), Y72 (HD cooling), and V01 (4-core that came with 3.91 gears). No shroud was used on the V02. All this info is from the Assembly Manual. But I'm never going to say "never" when it comes to radiators and cooling options. The radiator page in the Assembly Manual has revisions up to "U", made on 3-25-70. And revisions before "P" are not even shown. So the engineers changed their mind a lot that year, and who knows what the line workers actually installed. The 1976-issue Olds Parts Catalog is no help either. It has a nice table for each year for radiators. Unfortunately, it is full of suspicious data, like using a 2-core as a service replacement for a 4-core. So I don't trust anything I see in it.
damn this is a good site! Thanks mucho. Patton On that W31----too bad about that price---correcting the "wrongs" (assuming it's real) wouldn't be too bad but for the "buy it now" price you kind of expect a little more perfection. At those price levels, when obvious stuff is done wrong or missing then it kind of raises the red flag and makes you wonder what else is wrong. I think DaveH, in an earlier thread on here or ROP about this car mentioned he knew a little history about the car and it sounded pretty decent. Like that color combo also--the gold stripes are pretty rare fromt he factory as far as I know. C'mon Brian---didn't you know that the one-year-only 70 sport mirrors with the sharp horizontal line down the middle and the sharp vertical line on the base actually produced downforce!!!--this was all part of the FE2! I think the insurance companies drove those mirrors out of business because they aided high speed handling! :laugh: Ralph Nader was also threatening to open an investigation into those mirrors. Thanks again, Patton
I saw it before it was "restored". :Brow: :Brow: It was at the Pavilion in Scottsdale about 3 years ago before it was "restored". Pretty straight solid original car in the white with gold stripes. I think it was for sale at that time for around $9500. Appeared to be basically correct, but obviously had quite a few things changed over the years. I wouldn't get excited about anything in the cooling systems of any car out in the Southwest. They needed all the help they could get. 68 Ramrods came with the HD cooling system as a mandatory option and included the 4 core radiator, the aluminum fan, HD fan clutch (temperature compensated), but no fan shroud. All of them were 4 speed cars. I never had a heat up problem in the summers even in New Jersey and Philadelphia. 69 and 70 W31's were more turned into driver cars than the orignal plan as a dedicated race car in 68, so a lot of things were changed. Hurts my brain to try to keep all that straight. ou:
Patton there was a 31 silver car from the West Coast on 442.com 21.5 Looked like a decent car for the $$ John
