mhouston44

I know ga heads were what were suppose to come on the w 30 but had anyone ever seen a car come from the factory with one ga and one g head? Any documentation out there I could see?

GAOldsman

No and No. That combo is not likely at all. Sounds like a later addition if anything.

mhouston44

Thanks for the reply. Anyone know how much of a hit it would cause at car shows as far as scoring the car. Also how much would it bring the value down on a sale?

mmurphy77

I always thought the 'Ga' head had a slightly smaller intake valve than the 'G' (2.000" vs. 2.072" respectively).

bobb

The combo may not have been likely.....but it happened. Early 72 W30's had G heads. Mine is an untouched original (with paperwork) that was made in the first week of October (10A) and it has G heads. At some point shortly after that they switched from G's to Ga's.

Talk to Sam (72xw30), as he has an original 72 W30 made slighty after mine that came from the factory with one G and one Ga head. He told me when his car was made, but I forgot. Anyway, when his car was made would be around the transition period when all the G heads were used up and Ga's were available.

take care,
bob

Vega

G and Ga heads all have 2" intake cept the 4-speed G heads, they had the larger valves. Ga has the rotators which give them deeper spring seats which is good for higher lift cams, G might've been the same but im not sure. One head was for sure replaced at one time. Im not sure if its 71 or 72, I wanna say 71 but one of those years had H heads on W30s

jensenracing77

can a date be determined from a VIN in 72? i didn't think so. the VIN is all i have from my old low mile 72 W-30 but it was an early build and had both Ga heads on it. i can't remember what the build date was but i remember it was very early.

Vega

1.) Can the date be determined by the cowl tag? Not sure on Cutlaii but i know i identified the build date on my father's T/A that way

2.) Is there a way to ID the built time on the heads? I know they have the little clocky thing on them that kind of tells the general time, not sure if you can narrow down year or month on heads though. If it can be done though you could check to see how close the two are, if theyre close enough i guess it could have both from the factory

mhouston44

Thanks guys for all the responses. I have a true x code w30 but the engine is not the original. Unfortunately I don't have any build sheets and haven't come across them in the car yet. The car is a 4 speed but I have my doubts about that being original as well. The car has j heads on it now but came with ga heads in the trunk. I wanted to redo the engine and make it perform while still appearing stock so I sent the ga heads up to m&j performance to be worked over. Turns out the castings are soo rusted and pitted that they can't b saved. Smitty only had 1 single ga head there but told me he could put that one with a g head and since he machines them to his specs, there would b no difference once he is done. He says that he had documentation of cars that came with one g and 1 ga head. I want the car to still appear stock and I dont want to deviate too far from what would have come from the factory. But considering its not the matching number block i thought the two different heads with documentation that it could have come from the factory this way might b a neat story behind the car. I just don't want to invest the money into something that will b un sellable if I ever need to unload it.

allyolds68

Start a "wanted" post for a Ga head. Make sure you specify which Julian date you need. Ga heads aren't that expensive. If you're doing a motor for an X car, do it right. JMO

Vega

Just out of curiosity, what date would that be that you would need?

vette442

I have a clean orphan single Ga that has been on my garage shelf for years. Haven't used it in the past decade, and I probably won't use it in the next decade either since I have another extra pair. I'd be willing to safely pack and ship if you may be interested.
Terry

mhouston44

Vette442, I would absolutely be interested in that head. I am going to send you a pm

wmachine

There is a scary amount of misinformation in this thread about heads.
As for the mix of G and Ga heads, and the early '72 W30s having G heads, it is virtually impossible to document any particular head as having been on any engine originally. I can't say these didn't happen, but offering any proof they did would be extremely difficult. Date codes would not be any form of proof here.


No, not true. G and Ga head both came with large 2.072 and small 1.995 intake valves

No, not true. See above. All '71 442s (ex W30, H heads) G heads were large valve (as were the Toronados for that matter), only the exhaust valves had rotators. '72 were all Ga, all W30 and stick 442s had 2.072 intakes, larger 1.685 exhaust valves, rotators on intakes and exhausts, and hardened seats.

Vega

Umm, thats not true. On 4-speed 442s they got larger valves, on autos ive heard in all of the literature except for your post that they were smaller valves. 72 Ga heads were put on W30s (as well as normal 442s) where the same rules apply. Also, while all of this is circumstantial by transmission or W30/non-W30, its also debateable as to whether his heads are the #s matching heads to the car, or any 442 for that matter. And one of them obviously will not be as one was unable to be saved so most likely at least 1 will be a factory smaller valve unit assuming the original one he had wasnt already then they both would be

Sorry, i just dont like my info to be brushed off as "misinformation" its pretty rude to me. Im sure you didnt mean it as such but still

And i know the majority of Ga and G heads were small valve because all ive owned have been. Unless ive owned some really rare pieces and just been super unlucky in my motor hunting

alek72us

I agree with vega. this is what i have heard also.

wmachine

Believe what you want if those reasons are good enough for you. You both have not made a case with me.

alek72us

So you have no proof then? so its you word versus his? why do you even comment and tell people they are wrong if you can't prove it yourself?

alek72us

This was takin from the tech page here on classic olds. we are not arquing with you. but you seem like you know so we are asking for proof. because just like you we dont want to give misinformation.

Ga 409100 [same number as G head] 80cc 2.000, 2.072" 1.685" 1972 455's, including W-30. Valves almost universally 2.000 and 1.625", even 442's had small intakes, if auto trans models. Even the Toronados were relegated to small intake valves this year. Only 442's with W-30 or MT had the larger 2.072" intakes. No way to tell valve size without measuring a valve. Strange combinations of exhaust valve sizes and angles, depending on application. Exhaust valve with a unique 1.685" diameter and 30 degree face. All Ga heads use valve rotators on all valves, therefore have all deep spring seats. Hard exhaust seats.

oldsmobiledave

This looks very much like the info in the original Mondello Tech manual that Joe put together many years ago & in principle it conforms to my own personal observations.

I own a 1972 W-30 4 speed car & its original heads are definately the 2.072" intake valve. I have had several sets of Ga heads from Deltas & even from a U code Cutlass. All of them were automatic trans cars & they all had the 2.00" intake valve. I have had one 455 from a 72 Toro. Its' Ga heads were also 2.00" version (1971 was the last year that Toros got the larger intake valve). All of the Ga heads I have seen that were stock had the valve rotators.

72 w29 all green

OK now it's my turn . I've always gone by the chart in the '72 Chassis Service Manual (see below). According to the chart, the '72 W-30 and stick-shift 442's came with the 2.072 intake and 1.625 exhaust valves. For the rest of the 442's (i.e. automatics), it was 2.00 intake valve and the oddball 1.684 exhaust valve. Before i pulled the heads on mine, it had the smaller 2" intake and larger 1.684 exhaust valves.

rev1_zps078ca97d.jpg

alek72us

Thank you, you guys

allyolds68

Am I the only one that thinks that WMachines answered this question the same as the rest of you? I don't see anywhere he said that big valves were in anything other than W30's and stick 442's in 72. In 71 he said G heads with big valves were in all 442's and and toronados. Exactly what most of the rest of you are saying.

455man

Glad I read this. I have a set of Ga heads with 2.07 valves in them. Dont know what they came off of but sounds like they are good heads.

72 w29 all green

One difference from what Kurt wmachine posted and i did from the '72 CSM was this:

Kurt:
'72 were all Ga, all W30 and stick 442s had ... larger 1.685 exhaust valves, rotators on intakes and exhausts, and hardened seats.

allgreen:
According to the chart, the '72 W-30 and stick-shift 442's came with ... 1.625 exhaust valves

ah7910

I know I'm 2yrs+ late to the Show , Just have to say Love this thread!