1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass W-31

The W-31 was a Cutlass with a 350 CID Performance Option, not a 442 Option and was only built for 2 seasons, in 1969 and 1970. Engine upgrades included the use of what's become known as the 308 camshaft, which was actually the unit's duration; the camshaft also touted .474-inch lift and an intake/exhaust valve overlap of 82 degrees. The engines were factory blue printed units by picking components off the production line that were matched in weight. The Connecting rods for the W-31 engine were particular to the engine The Cylinder heads were also specific to the W-31  Completing the fuel/air induction system was an aluminum intake manifold with a "performance calibrated" 750-CFM Rochester Quadrajet as well as the W25 low-restriction air cleaner assembly. Above that was a new-for-1970 air induction system: twin scoops on top of a fiberglass hood with chrome hold-downs.

Only 1029 of these made. The rarest of the high performance Oldsmobile made.
Behind the engine is a Muncie M21 4 Speed Trans w/ Hurst Shifter. Dual Exhaust, RLimited Slip Rear-End. Manual Brakes, HD 4 core Radiator. the W-31 package automatically upgraded the front and rear coil-sprung suspension to the FE2 heavy-duty components, including special springs and tubular hydraulic shocks.

A Very Famous Maserati And A Golden Shifter.

 Photos and Videos by Miguel Caparros

Click Here For The Video                                            

In the 50's the great Formula 1 constructors would derive their two seat Sports Cars directly from the Formula 1 cars. The 300S was based on the 250F that had a very long career from 1954 to 1960. Only 26 250F's were built, most of them were raced by privateers. The 300S began in 1955 and 28 examples were built through 1958.  It is amazing the performance extracted from these cars that had Dual Over Head Camshaft Hemi head and only 3 liters, or 183 cubic inches. Power output varied from 245 to close to 300 horsepower from the 6 cylinder engine.  I had both the good and bad fortune of having a few Maserati's over the years. Maserati marched to a different drummer and like many they had good times and really bad times. I also was exposed to their construction techniques when I owned a Stangelini Formula Junior that was basically a 3/4 scale version of the 250F and it was to date the most successful Formula Jr car of all time. The 300S sports car was not always the fastest but it proved to be reliable enough to win more than its share of races against the Mercedes 300SL and the Ferrari 250 V12 Monza. It was a glorious time when the drivers were fat and the tires were skinny, and there was a direct connection from the factory race cars to the ones that were driven on the street. The 300s also begat a 350S with a monstrous V12 engine and my favorite of all the 450S with a 4.5 liter V8 that had a sound that is unforgettable.

By Miguel Caparros.                                                      Click Here For The Video

By 1970 the Oldsmobile 442 and its other Muscle car cousins had come under fire from the insurance industry due to the popularity of the cars and in my opinion greed. The companies all banded together in the era of the 55 mile per hour national speed limit to make sure that the young and the young at heart would pay through the nose if they bought any thing that did not weigh 4,600 lbs and have 4 doors. Models like the 442, GTO, Z28, Mustang GT, Turino and Road Runner, all fell under scrutiny, if it had a V8 bigger than a 350 they would get hit with a big insurance premium. Very flawed thinking. The Ralley 350 was Oldsmobile's answer to sell a sporty car on keep it out of the high premiums. Ignoring the reality that in less than 3 hours that 350 could be lifted out and a 455 monster be dropped in and there was no way that the average insurance adjuster could tell a high output 455 from a milk jug. Those that would rather keep the engine in the car that it came with, found out that you can get loads of power from any 350. I was very guilty just like most young men that grew up in the 60's and 70's of burning up 30 cents a gallon of Sunoco 260 to blast down the street, stupid laws or insurance companies be dammed. If the insurance companies had truly cared for their customers safety, and even today, taken a pro active role in training drivers and creating a teared licensing system we would have saved many more lives than ridiculous speed limits, driving around with the shop teacher was a total waste of time. Not that I have an opinion on this.

The History Of The All Aluminum GM/Rover V8

By Miguel Caparros

In 1961 General Motors Introduced a 215 cubic inch all aluminum V8 for the new compacts from Buick,Oldsmobile and Pontiac. The Skylark, F85 and Tempest models were available with an economic low compression 2 barrel version of the new engine that had a rated output of 155 horse power (hp). The 4 barrel high compression optional engine was listed at 200 hp. Oldsmobile offered a third version of the alloy V8 labeled the JetFire that added an optional turbo and boosted power to 215.

This engine had a very long development with GM, going back to 1951. GM decided they were going to have compete with the sophistication that the Europeans were beginning to show as they rebuilt from the devastation of World War II. From the beginning this engine was special. First making an appearance powering the GM 1951 show stopper the LaSabre XP-300.
During the development period the engine was supercharged to an output 375 hp from its 215 cubic inches, a power output unheard of at the time for such a small engine. Through the 50's GM developed the engine and eventually was it introduced in the Buick Pontiac and Oldsmobile import fighters.

Just at that point philosophy at GM changed and cars got bigger and heavier, the “horse power war” was under way. Buick took and adapted the architecture of the 215 V8 engine for its big block series of engines that were cast iron and ranged in displacement from 330 cubic inches to 455.

In 1967 England's, Rover Cars had a wonderful luxury 4 door sedan with incredible handling a legendary reputation for safety and terribly under powered. The Rover 2000 TC (Twin Carbs) was the predecessor for today’s sport sedans from the likes of BMW and Mercedes. To maintain its edge tiny Rover needed an engine and found that GM was willing to sell the rights and all the equipment to build the small all aluminum V8 for very little money. Rover instantly had a performance engine that took 200 pounds off the front and doubled the horse power potential of the Rover 2000. The engine survived the various mergers and take overs that the British auto industry went through. The engine was fitted into Land Rovers, Leyland Trucks, MG V8, Triumph TR8, TVR's and various other smaller manufacturer that bought the engines for their limited production sports cars.

Back to the story of the Buick/Rover V8, in 1966, a new 3-litre formula was created for Formula One to replace the unpopular 1.5 litre formula that preceded it. The new engines under development by other suppliers all had at least 12
cylinders and proved difficult to develop, being heavy and initially unreliable. F1 driver turned car builder Jack Brabham took a different approach to the problem of obtaining a suitable engine. He persuaded Australian engineering company Repco to develop a new 3-litre eight cylinder engine for him. Repco had no experience in designing complete engines. Brabham had identified a supply of suitable engine blocksobtained from Oldsmobile's aluminium alloy 215 engine and persuaded the company that an engine could be designed around the block, largely using existing components. Brabham and Repco were aware that the engine would not compete in terms of outright power, but felt that a lightweight, reliable engine could achieve good championship results while other teams were still making their new designs reliable.

The combination of the Repco engine and the Brabham BT19 chassis worked. At the French Grand PrixJack Brabham became the first man to win a Formula One world championship race in a car of his own construction.

So this was a case of the little engine that could! During the gas crisis of the mid 70's, GM was caught with inefficient and heavy series of 4,6 and 8 cylinder engines and tried to buy the engine back from British Leyland Motors that had absorbed Rover along with MG, Austin, Jaguar, Triumph, and a few others. By this point BLM was installing the engine in almost every single one of its lines of cars and trucks. Development on the engine continued until the acquisition of Rover by BMW in 1994.

In 1968 Morgan was the first to raise their hand and say “we'll take some”. The Rover V8 more than likely saved Morgan as the new  found power and the fantastic sound of the V8 is well worth the admission for driving a wooden car designed in the 30's. The fate of the engine is up in the air after BMW sold Rover to Ford sold it and Jaguar in 2008 to Indian car giant Tata. I am sure we will be seeing the “small block Chevy” of the rest of the world coming to us from something made in India.