Next Project - 1970 Oldsmobile W-31

[pajeff02]

aren't the valve cover supposed rised with the "oldsmobile" on them? when i had my 350 rocket it had them.

I'm pretty sure the covers are correct for the engine year and model. However, at least one cover was scabbed from another engine as it had blue paint under the gold.

[1fastcamarosss11]

I'm pretty sure the covers are correct for the engine year and model. However, at least one cover was scabbed from another engine as it had blue paint under the gold.

i think mine was from an 72. but i maybe mistaken. i have a new 350 rocket sticker/decal you can have to if you want it.

[pajeff02]

i think mine was from an 72. but i maybe mistaken. i have a new 350 rocket sticker/decal you can have to if you want it.

Always willing to add to the collection. Thanks!

[jiveass]

i was curious as to when the stamped valve covers began, so i did a google search to see if i could satisfy my curiosity....i came across some info that im sure you already have, but ill post it anyway...didnt see any determination on the valve covers though..

http://books.google.com/books?id=eT7...page&q&f=false

[pajeff02]

Have not looked at that book before. Nice find.

[jiveass]

Have not looked at that book before. Nice find.

hey, i gotta contribute to the site somehow..even if it is by accident...

[pajeff02]

hey, i gotta contribute to the site somehow..even if it is by accident...

[pajeff02]

Started playing with the distributor tonight. Can't seem to find a spec in the manual for the end play. I have a shim kit from the rebuild on the Corvette that fits the Olds shaft -- just don't know what to set it to. I'm also trying to remember if the compartments around the upper bushing are supposed to be packed with grease (you can see them in the second pic, around the perimeter of the top shaft bushing). There is a plastic seal that sits on top of the compartments that the felt washer rides in. May have to do a little research as the service manual doesn't say.

[pajeff02]

I found this quip about the upper cavities in a rebuild procedure for a Corvette non-HEI distributor: Repack the upper oil well (cavity surrounding upper bearing) with an oil absorbent material; a folded 3”x 3” piece of gauze is suitable. Saturate the packing with oil (20wt. non-detergent motor oil is preferred). Note: Due to contamination, I do not attempt to use the saw dust like material that was originally packed in the well.


It also listed the end play spec as .010".


Anyone?

[Smittro]

I found this quip about the upper cavities in a rebuild procedure for a Corvette non-HEI distributor: Repack the upper oil well (cavity surrounding upper bearing) with an oil absorbent material; a folded 3”x 3” piece of gauze is suitable. Saturate the packing with oil (20wt. non-detergent motor oil is preferred). Note: Due to contamination, I do not attempt to use the saw dust like material that was originally packed in the well.


It also listed the end play spec as .010".


Anyone?

I believe the distrib. see's slightly presurized oil so some sort of seal will need to need devised there.. The gause idea may work but I'd be more inclinded for a felt seal as gause tends to frey.. .01 seems right or exceptable you don't want a lot of up and down play on the shaft.. imho

[Smittro]

You may look to your local machine shop an ask about, "oil wipers" for equipment or more so the material used for them.. Oil wipers were widely used after and or "as" an oil resivour (slash) seal,, to keep a continous supply of oil to bushings and friction areas of machinery we're talkin' old days here lol.. It's a hardish felt (prolly made of wool ) that you could then cut and shape then wedge into the triangular slots in the housing.. hope this helps.

[Smittro]

Upon further consideration. I would use the felt (or even leather) if @ all possible.. It makes mechanical sense that the felt prolly also serves as "chatter" supression.. Keeping the shaft and oil pump drive gears from chattering if end play (run out) developes over time.. That would indicate that the felt or whatever material gets used will need packed fairly tightly (in the triangular areas) to function correctly.. imho Sorry for the clutter Jeff.. Just my.05

[pajeff02]

The plastic washer looking thing at the top right of the first pic is what sets on top of the opening. The felt washer to the left goes into the seal and that is what lubricates the plate. These parts would essesntially seal the cavity.

The bushing that extends up through the center of the distributor has two (2) small holes in it that would allow lubrication from the cavity into it. The stuff I dug out of the cavities during disassembly had the consistency of old dried up grease.

I'll have to contrive a packing. LIke you mentioned, that machine felt would be ideal, but I doubt I can find anything like that locally. Thanks for your .05!

[Smittro]

The plastic washer looking thing at the top right of the first pic is what sets on top of the opening. The felt washer to the left goes into the seal and that is what lubricates the plate. These parts would essesntially seal the cavity.

The bushing that extends up through the center of the distributor has two (2) small holes in it that would allow lubrication from the cavity into it. The stuff I dug out of the cavities during disassembly had the consistency of old dried up grease.

I'll have to contrive a packing. LIke you mentioned, that machine felt would be ideal, but I doubt I can find anything like that locally. Thanks for your .05!

It may have beem grease or dirt saturated with old motor oil .. Notice the spiral cut on the dist. drive shaft.. That is to help carry oil up towards the area in question.. I would surmise that if grease only was used it would eventually make its way into the dist. base and be a mess.. I figured there would be some sort of ring to hold it all down. However due to the shape of the inner casting it's more likely a dist cover for the area bellow it. imho..

[pajeff02]

I finished the distributor rebuild on Friday and today took it over to my friend's shop to test it. He has an old school Sun 504 Distributor Bench that is in incredible condition. We did the usual tests on the capacitor and dwell before checking total mechanical and then vacuum advance. We also ran it up to the equivalent of about 6,200 engine rpm to check for points bounce and finally inspected the accuracy of the distributor lobes for each firing event. I decided to go with an adjustable vacuum advance unit in lieu of an O.E. style canister as it will allow me to better dial in the advance. If I recall, it is just about impossible to see it once the air cleaner assembly is in place.








My friend is an accumulator of all things automotive, as you can see below. Auctions, Carlisle, garages that have gone out of business... you name it and he has hunted for stuff there. This is but a small portion of one of his two buildings. His bookcases in the house are filled with Mallory distributor parts, antique gauges, manual trans shift linkages, and lots of other things one would not normally expect to find within a home.

[pajeff02]

Tonight I started the Quadrajet rebuild by tearing it down and inspecting everything. The neat thing about the carb on a W-31 is that it does not have primary metering rods. The entire assembly is missing from the front well. Only the secondaries have metering rods installed. It appears from the witness marks on the screws that at least the top has been removed at some point. Nothing else appears to have been touched and for being 40 years old does not look bad at all. I believe this model carb is specific to the W-31 and is somewhat rare -- the ones that I have found for sale while surfing for Oldsmobile info generally have a price tag of about $2,500.00. I lucked out and the casting numbers on this one are correct for the car so I assume that it retained its original carburetor through the years.











As expected, the throttle shaft has worn into the baseplate casting and is loose (as shown in video below). The fix for this is to remove the shaft and ream the holes out so that bushings may be installed. Otherwise, the wobbly shaft creates a vacuum leak of varying degree and you can end up with idle issues. Fortunately, one of my friends is a die hard Olds guy and has the tools to do this so I will not need to ship it out.





I started the clean up process by hosing things down good with carburetor cleaner. I'll use a toothbrush or small brass brush on the more difficult deposits. Some of the small parts will go in my vibratory tumbler with a plastic shot media to polish away the grime. This is the first batch and I am hoping that it will work well. The plastic media should not cause any wear to the parts.

[cpop98ws6]

Nice work Jeff!! Can't wait to see the finished product!

[pajeff02]

Nice work Jeff!! Can't wait to see the finished product!

I sincerely hope you are a patient person. I tend to go in spurts on projects like this.

[Smittro]

Nice! I have a question tho.. Are you sure that's the original carb? I'm not seeing any mixture screws in the throttle plate.. They would hide then with little plugs that had to be drilled to get to the mixers on the smogger years.. Which usually had little square PITA heads on them.. The older q-jets usually had mixture screws with a regular screw head on them..

I'm totally enjoying this build. I also like the little tumbler.. Never seen one looks like a cool tool.. Good luck, may yours be better than mine..lol

[cpop98ws6]

I sincerely hope you are a patient person. I tend to go in spurts on projects like this.

Yeah I know what you mean, took us about 6 years when we restored my Dads 70 442 W-30.