W31 Carb 7040255

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Old March 20th, 2021, 10:56 PM
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W31 Carb 7040255

Newbie here, more familiar with Buick, and know little about Olds. I was suprised by the price on the restored 7040255 on ebay, how much are used, unrestored examples of 7040255 worth?? I read up a bit and saw the specific W31 application.
Are most of the carb pieces available if you come up with the "block"?
I know it is always hard finding the particular part you need, but since cars can be totaled and the carb saved, it would seem there could be more of these carbs floating around than cars remaining. I guess the price suggests otherwise!
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Old March 21st, 2021, 02:58 AM
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Welcome to the W 31 game nothing cheap
Just a fact of life in restoring these cars
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Old March 21st, 2021, 06:02 AM
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Originally Posted by Buick Stage1
Newbie here, more familiar with Buick, and know little about Olds. I was suprised by the price on the restored 7040255 on ebay, how much are used, unrestored examples of 7040255 worth?? I read up a bit and saw the specific W31 application.
Are most of the carb pieces available if you come up with the "block"?
I know it is always hard finding the particular part you need, but since cars can be totaled and the carb saved, it would seem there could be more of these carbs floating around than cars remaining. I guess the price suggests otherwise!
The '255 and '256 (1970 W30 manual trans) carbs are unique as they do not use primary metering rods. The cams in these motors didn't generate enough vacuum to reliably operate the power piston, so Olds just plugged the hole and used fixed jets. Obviously having the correct stamp and carb internals is extremely important on a restored W-car with a six figure asking price.
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Old March 21st, 2021, 09:05 AM
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Originally Posted by Buick Stage1
Newbie here, more familiar with Buick, and know little about Olds. I was suprised by the price on the restored 7040255 on ebay, how much are used, unrestored examples of 7040255 worth?? I read up a bit and saw the specific W31 application.
Are most of the carb pieces available if you come up with the "block"?
I know it is always hard finding the particular part you need, but since cars can be totaled and the carb saved, it would seem there could be more of these carbs floating around than cars remaining. I guess the price suggests otherwise!
You have to consider that many people tossed the original carburetors back in the day and installed aftermarket carbs. That is where the carb shortage really happened.
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Old March 21st, 2021, 10:13 AM
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As stated by jensenracing77 Many carburetors were tossed
I am lucky enough to have the original 255 carb for my W 31
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Old March 22nd, 2021, 09:24 PM
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I knew nothing about how interesting the W31 car was as a whole package, or how special the engine was with all the interesting parts. The Buick GS350 was rated a touch less HP and a touch more HP, more square, not sure if it has as interesting parts or not.

One of the most remarkable things about GM at that time is the Chevy 454, and the BOP 455 had precisely no major parts in common, all doing their own thing. I always liked the under the radar Buick/Olds muscle vs the Chevelle/GTO
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Old March 23rd, 2021, 05:23 AM
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255

I sent you a pm. I have parts for your 255 if interested.
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Old March 23rd, 2021, 05:25 AM
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Originally Posted by Buick Stage1
I knew nothing about how interesting the W31 car was as a whole package, or how special the engine was with all the interesting parts.
Here's a W31 trivia factoid that most people don't know. The rubber bumper for the clutch pedal is unique to the W31.

Why? Glad you asked that. Turns out that the W31 used the same HD 10.5" clutch as the L88 Corvette. It was the only Olds to use that clutch.
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Old March 23rd, 2021, 08:41 AM
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Originally Posted by joe_padavano
here's a w31 trivia factoid that most people don't know. The rubber bumper for the clutch pedal is unique to the w31.

Why? Glad you asked that. Turns out that the w31 used the same hd 10.5" clutch as the l88 corvette. It was the only olds to use that clutch.
10.4".
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Old July 5th, 2021, 04:17 PM
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10.5 inches.
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