Can anyone tell me if a 1968 442 w-30 automatic car be ordered with air conditioning. According to the order sheet you could not get air with g88 or g92, standard gears for the w-30. Could you not just order more highway friendly gears & get the air? It seams strange that you could order air on an H/O cutlass. I looked on line for any w-30s that have sold recently & found one from Barret Jackson's auction. Representing a fully restored 68 w-30 with air? Any help would be appreciated. or if you can direct me to documentation to state with out a doubt that air could not be ordered.

 

Looks like a good question for Joe P., WMachine, and a couple others! You'll get your answer soon!
Shawn

 

A/C was not available on W-30s until the 1970 model year, period. This is well documented in the factory sales literature. The reason is that the 328 degree W-30 cam did not provide enough vacuum to operate the flapper doors in the HVAC system (just like it did not provide enough vacuum to operate power brakes, either).

Starting with the 1970 model year, the W-30 motor came two ways. The 328 degree cam was used on manual trans cars and again neither A/C nor power brakes were available. AT cars got the milder 285/287 deg cam, which did allow the installation of A/C and power brakes. How this milder cam made the same 370 HP as the manual trans W-30 is a mystery of the marketing department.

And by the way, I'm shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you, that BJ would misrepresent a car they were listing...

 

A/C was not available on W-30s until the 1970 model year, period. This is well documented in the factory sales literature. The reason is that the 328 degree W-30 cam did not provide enough vacuum to operate the flapper doors in the HVAC system (just like it did not provide enough vacuum to operate power brakes, either).

Starting with the 1970 model year, the W-30 motor came two ways. The 328 degree cam was used on manual trans cars and again neither A/C nor power brakes were available. AT cars got the milder 285/287 deg cam, which did allow the installation of A/C and power brakes. How this milder cam made the same 370 HP as the manual trans W-30 is a mystery of the marketing department.

And by the way, I'm shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you, that BJ would misrepresent a car they were listing...

 

I agree, no '66-'69 W-30s with A/C.

duration - something like:

.285*/.287* - '68 H/O with A/C, '69 H/O & '70 W-30 w/auto
.308*/.308* - '66-'67 W-30 & '68 H/O without A/C
.328*/.328* - '68-'69 W-30 & '70 W-30 w/manual trans

 

Thanks for the info boys. No one ever explained why you could not order it.

 

308* & 328* duration camshafts produce little vacuum
power brakes, Turbo 400s & A/C controls all require vacuum - so none of those options available on cars with the "big" cams

most "big" cam W-30s had 3.55:1 rear gear ratios or numerically higher like 4.33s!

A/C compressors / warranties / high RPMs - don't play together well.

I believe all of the above lead to the W-32 package for '69 - all the visual cues, but STD 442 cam & gears.

 

Just to clarify, the TH400 WAS factory installed behind the 328 deg cam for the 1968-69 model years. Power brakes and A/C still were not offered, but the trans was calibrated to operate correctly. My 68 W-30 was originally a TH400 car, though a previous owner converted it to a manual trans.

You are correct about the A/C compressor and rear axle ratios. 3.23:1 was the highest (numerical) axle available with A/C. My 69 442 is equipped this way.

There is some uncertainty about the trans used in the 1969 W-32 cars. The engine definitely used the manual trans camshaft and O.A.I., but I've heard that the trans was either the OW version from the W-30 or the regular OG version from the 442. I would tend to believe that is was an OW, as this made more sense. The OW was modified to accommodate the W-30 motor so it should have had no problems with the manual trans cam. If the regular OG version could survive the 350 HP motor, why offer the 325 HP version in the AT cars?