Welcome, Dennis! It's about time you came out of the woodwork! Give your brother a kick in the pants and make sure that Cutlass is good-to-go for the races this year.
There a "project" quality Ralleye 350 on ebay now. Starting price is $5,000. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6405&item=4513658324&rd=1 o No:
Yeah, that one is a "project and one half". I don't know what kind of garage it was sitting in for the last 20 years but it sure rusted out! I asked the seller for more pics. There's also another one just hit ebay...buy it now for 34,000!!! :eek2: The last two on ebay were almost as nice and they went as high as 17,800. Harvey
W-31 Rallye 350? Hi Brian, We have to go through the M20 this winter. It's toast, but I may try racing the Cutlass with the M21 if Dan and i don't get around to rebuilding it. Even with 3.91's, it's bogs out of the hole pretty bad. Dan's keeping very busy with all the cars people have him working on. I know Dave H. may cringe, but Dan and I looked at a Rallye 350 about 25 years ago that had all of its documentation that listed the W-31 engine. It was for sale by a well known collector of GTO's and other neat Pontiacs. I didn't pay it much attention other than the fact that it was low mileage, a 4-speed and clean. I wish I knew where it went. o No:
I love the internet! Since I've posted this thread I have leads on five - 4 speed cars. :TU: Three of them less less than 6 hours away! I'll probably go look at 2 of them next week.
:laugh: Yeah, I remember talking to Dan about that car. It would be 100 times easier to doctor up some paperwork than change the release and inspection system in the plant that specifically require cars to leave with the right engine in it. My guess is that car probably was converted in Engineering or at a dealer, but no way it came off the line with a W31 engine in it, and especially on the window sticker (which was put on in the final shipping and inspection line). Sorry. I'd love to talk with the original owner on that car. I personally wish they had allowed the W31 engine in that car. You could get everything else (as your Cutlass S also has). Or a 455 like the Indy pace car convertibles (442 version- BTW, Brian, lots of decals there, too). No self respecting hot rodder would be seen dead in one of them back then, though. Even my wife remembers them. We test drove a new Explorer a coupla years back and the only one they had with the V8 (that I needed for towing) was a bright yellow "No boundaries" edition with this stupid, moose-antler type rack on top. First thing she said was it she wouldn't drive it in the daylight and it reminded her of those ugly yellow Cutlasses years ago. When we got back, she asked the salesman how much it would cost to get some "boundaries" added. :laugh: :laugh: (And you wonder how people stay married for 36 years). He said we could take off the roof rack and plug the holes. Guess that made that ridiculous roof rack optional, too. "Screaming Yellow Zonkers"- anyone remember that popcorn treat back then with Charlie Callas in the ads doing his Captain Wierd act from the Andy Williams show? "Screaming Yellow Zonkers can make a man out of you....maybe yes, maybe no......" The car fit that theme quite well. Diego: If that spoiler was changed to make it optional midyear, it would be documented on the page in the assembly manual with an engineering change. I don't have a 1970 year end assembly manual available to verify that, but if someone has that, check it out. I'm thinking the trunks were pierced at Fisher before they were painted. The wing was optional on other cars, but a mandatory option on W45 Rallyes as I remember it. There was a major war between Olds Manufacturing and Marketing/Engineering on that car. We would much rather it went to Demmer (like most of the previous specialty builds) than do it on line. We wanted them all alike, and like I said in the article, we really didn't need anything that bright in the morning, Brian: I always knew there was somthing I really liked about you. First it was the headers on your 70W30, and now your opinion on the W45 Rallyes. Those decals were really cheap and our first venture into "girlie-boy" cars. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
W-31 Rallye 350? Dave H: I think you are right about the W-31 not being available and the Rallye's. I've never seen any since that 1980-ish sighting, and truthfully, I never looked under the hood. Dan did though. I also thought the car was goofy looking then, but neat today. By the way, that was a great spread on you and the Ram Rod. I love reading that stuff. I wish the mags would do more in-depth articles like that. Are you running the original M21 close box in the Ram Rod? Everyone have a very merry and safe Holiday!
Thanks, Dennis. Steve did a great job on that. Dan was going to write it up himself a coupla years ago for Muscle Car Review, should have. I ordered my car with the M20 wide ratio and the 3.91 gear. It was a more streetable package. Never planned to race it, but the M20 does work well with the 4.56 gear I run now. There were a lot of cars running around that looked like they could be factory stuff. Lots of 68-69 442's with 455's painted bronze. It is entirely possible that that car was bought with a W31 motor, just that it wasn't built that way initially on the assembly line. There were two of them that Product Engineering converted for evaluation. They were supposedly converted back to L74 before they were sold. Maybe one wasn't???? BTW, just read that Helen Earley is being moved into hospice tomorrow with termional cancer. That's sad. She sure did everything for Olds, the history center, and the legend. I think she worked with Dennis Casteele years ago and that's how she got into this. Merry Christmas.
