Ryan Weaver's 1969 Olds Cutlass S W31 Club Coupe

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Stefano</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 83hurstguy</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Ton of info (and arguments) about shrouds here: http://classicoldsmobile.com/forums/...n-shrouds.html

Post 13 starts a discussion on '69 W-cars. The PIM appears to say &quot;no&quot; for an OAI car with manual trans, other people are saying &quot;yes they got them&quot;.

If you are planning on street driving this thing, I would put the shroud on it. Points for correctness don't matter when you are puking antifreeze everywhere on the side of the road. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif[/img]

Dave H does not have a shroud on his original owner '68 Ram Rod. I just double checked my MCACN pictures to be sure.

One other side note, Stefano, the shroud on that Ram Rod is a '69-up piece due to the square bump for the hose strap (that's not there), so it's very likely not original to the car. '68 used a one year only shroud, the upper hose straps directly to the top core support instead of the plastic shroud in both small block and big block cars. </div></div>

The Pics I posted are a 1969 W-31.


</div></div>

Only the best info here:-)

Ryan

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Thanks Luke, I will definitely be using a shroud!! After a 41 year sleep this W-31 will be driven, she needs to be reliable!

Do you know the part number, or have pics of what to look for?

Ryan

[83hurstguy]

No prob. 402995 (more details in that thread). They were still available NOS a few months ago, or a wanted ad on classicolds should get you more of an original/patina nice one if you are going for the unrestored look. Should be easy to get one.

There's a generic HD Delco fan clutch for later Olds 307 that should bolt on and keep it cool as well if your original is toast. I don't have the p/n handy at the moment... It's not a perfect original, but with a shroud, you can't see the clutch anyways... My 68 has the original OS clutch in good shape, I may switch to the new HD one so it stays cool. Haven't decided yet...

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Great stuff!!

I will find one!! (Shroud)

How do you test the clutch fan?

Ryan

[83hurstguy]

The most obvious issue would be leaking fluid. Other than that, you can try to spin the fan with the clutch stationary, and the fan should &quot;drag&quot; and not spin more than 1/4-1/2 revolution. If it freewheels, it won't be spinning under load. Of course, the final test is keeping the car cool at idle. You should be able to give it a quick spin test without worrying about ruining the &quot;barn find&quot; patina for MCACN. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif[/img]

The AC Delco HD clutch is 15-40108, found it. If your clutch is good, I'd be inclined to run it, use this number as a backup or if it wants to run hot at idle.

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Many thanks Luke!

I will have a look at the one in the car (original?) as you described. What part numbers should I look for on the clutch and fan to see if they are original?

I will get one of the modern clutches as well, I am most concerned about reliability, I could try the old one someday for sh@@s and giggles, but don't want to see the heat gauge rising on drive number one.

Ryan

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

I revived a great E-Mail from Bill Pritchard (below)

Very cool story from back in the day!!


Hi Ryan,

I'm not sure how I missed it, but just stumbled upon the thread about you buying the 69 W31 that Pete found for you. That is absolutely awesome!!!!! Huge congratulations to you, and being only the second owner is just icing on the cake.

I have a cool 69 W31 story to tell you (a bit lengthy, but bear with me). Back in around 1971 or 72, when I was still living at home with my mom, the neighbor across the street from us owned the local Volkswagen dealership. I had purchased a 69 Dodge Dart Swinger 340 that was traded in there, and a friend purchased a 70 Challenger R/T 440 that was traded in there. Another friend noticed a white 69 Olds F85 2 door sedan that was on their used car lot, and it had gold stripes on the hood, so it caught his eye. Knowing that I had somewhat of an 'in' there, he asked me to find out more about it. The dealership owner (Richard) told me his mechanics &quot;couldn't get the car to run right&quot;, and that it had some &quot;transmission problems&quot; (it was a column shift automatic). They just wanted to get it off their lot for what they had in it.....$900. My friend bought it. It was, of course, a W31, and the reason the mechanics couldn't get the car to idle smoothly was due to the cam that came in the car. The transmission &quot;problems&quot; were the fact that it had a higher stall converter, very high shift points, and firmed-up shifts. Just exactly the way the car came from the factory! I guess the VW mechanics figured all Oldsmobiles should idle smoothly and quietly and shift imperceptibly. Their loss was my friend Bruce's gain. That car absolutely screamed!
Bill

[83hurstguy]

Stefano, sorry for the incorrect assumption.

Ryan, I took a quick skim through the '69 Engine PIM section I have, Section 6-1 Page 210 has the clutch options. There are OU/OS/OW... I think it should be the OU, but I didn't have time to verify the engine codes in there, so don't quote me on it.

I have a picture of my original fan clutch ink stamp in my thread here, I think you have a CO account: http://classicoldsmobile.com/forums/...tml#post810643

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Great stuff

Thx for sharing

Ryan

[70post]

I've been reading your thread on occasion but haven't gone back to review everything so I'll just ask here (so don't get upset if the answers to my questions are on the preceeding 64 pages!)...

&gt;Does your car have the original radiator support?

&gt;Does it have the original radiator? If so, how many rows in the core (3 or 4)?

If original rad support then check the top and bottom radiator tank brackets...they'll either be for 3 row end tanks OR 4 row end tanks. If you have 3 row brackets/radiator and are considering stepping up to a 4 row radiator then you'll need correct placement measurements for the 4 row brackets (as well as the correct 4 row brackets).