When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Was wondering if anyone has bought one of the reproduction aluminium W30 intake manifolds that The Parts Place are selling. I'm just keen to know what the quality is like before I consider investing in one.
My original '70 manifold is cracked and struggling to find a very good original without cracks. Down side of the reproductions is that they only have the early '70 version with the full word "Oldsmobile" (rather than Olds) but I might have to live with that.
Appreciate any feedback if you have actually bought one of these. Thanks.
Its easy to to tell a repop on any car and most people have never noticed.
It's so obvious once you see it, you'll never mistake it again...
The W-455 should be centered, not under the O of Oldsmobile. To me, it's an obvious and complete mistake. Buy GM !
repro left - GM right
Its easy to to tell a repop on any car and most people have never noticed.
It's so obvious once you see it, you'll never mistake it again...
The W-455 should be centered, not under the O of Oldsmobile. To me, it's an obvious and complete mistake. Buy GM !
repro left - GM right
Thanks Vader. Well I’ll keep searching or if I strike out then I’ll attempt welding my original and see if abrasive blasting the weld will make it look less obvious.
First of all, there are three different versions of the 1970-72 W-30 intake made by the factory and all three are available as repros.
406115 "OLDSMOBILE W455" early 1970
406115 "OLDS W455" late 1970
407570 "OLDS W455" 1971-72
There is only one mold used by the repro houses. The mold has replaceable plates for the casting number and OLDSMOBILE vs OLDS logo on the front. You can see the parting line in the repro castings where the seam is around these plates. The fonts are also slightly different on the logos and the cylinder numbers. Firing order text is also wrong font. Bosses for vacuum ports in the runners are not shaped correctly. All in all, they are not very good reproductions.
date on the intake is 12/12/69. probably the earliest "Olds" I've ever seen.
I also have an Oldsmobile intake $1200 for each.
yes- I have a 7040256 Pm'd you
Interesting, have a 'Dec. built W30 with "OLDS" intake, does anyone know when the original form broke? Just picked up a "OLDSMOBILE" W30 intake a month ago and paid up for it, seems like value has held steady. When rare parts show up I've always purchased the parts and hold onto them.
Interesting, have a 'Dec. built W30 with "OLDS" intake, does anyone know when the original form broke? Just picked up a "OLDSMOBILE" W30 intake a month ago and paid up for it, seems like value has held steady. When rare parts show up I've always purchased the parts and hold onto them.
Second week of November had the OLDSMOBILE. Not sure when OLDS started but I believe it was right around December.
Had my builder install it. Was awesome in my opinion and bought another for my current build. Obviously original correct is best but in my case my car was not a W-30. Keep in mind an original is always better but for me the repop fit the bill fine.
Thanks Vader. Well I’ll keep searching or if I strike out then I’ll attempt welding my original and see if abrasive blasting the weld will make it look less obvious.
35 olds, not sure where your intake is cracked or what area your in. Have a neighbor here in MI that can weld aluminum and you would be hard pressed to see it.
Scotty442, your intake has Oldsmobile i'd bet? Trying to get closer to the date that it changed over to just Olds when the mold broke.
This has been an educational thread, I appreciate the information provided. I am so glad that I was able to procure an original intake now that I've seen the reproduction errors.
35 olds, not sure where your intake is cracked or what area your in. Have a neighbor here in MI that can weld aluminum and you would be hard pressed to see it.
Scotty442, your intake has Oldsmobile i'd bet? Trying to get closer to the date that it changed over to just Olds when the mold broke.
Had my builder install it. Was awesome in my opinion and bought another for my current build. Obviously original correct is best but in my case my car was not a W-30. Keep in mind an original is always better but for me the repop fit the bill fine.
X2^^ I bought one from them about 4 yrs ago. It fits/works fine for me. I bought it because I got tired of taking the cast iron one off several times because I could not get it to seal properly from leaking oil from the front seal.
This has been an educational thread, I appreciate the information provided. I am so glad that I was able to procure an original intake now that I've seen the reproduction errors.
on the repros, I know a couple people who have purchased them. One had a hell of a time getting it to line up on an engine that was decked. basically the quality is not very good.
another had a real and the repro. on back to back dyno runs swapped them. the repro costs about 30-40hp iirc.
Here is a pic of my manifold. You will see (someone before me) has used putty to fill the hole/crack just above where its cast with W455 (its then been painted over). This manifold has a casting date of 2.6.70. I am going to try is get it welded up and abrasive blasted so will see how we go. I'm in Australia so way more cost effective to see if the original can be repaired, but need to consider the alternatives if its unsuccessful.
Well I ended up chipping away the epoxy filler that I thought was filling a crack and it seems a previous owner must have tried to seal up the leaking fuel inlet in the carb and spilt the epoxy over the manifold. After a few hours of careful removal and no crack found it became clear that it was actually way better than I initially believed.
Ended up having to get it water blasted to remove the epoxy in the grain of the casing and it's come up pretty nice.
A good welder can repair an intake manifold w/o issue and once the weld is properly worked it is very difficult to tell what was done. Many vendors of intakes have them repaired, prior to selling them.
It has a few different names including vapor blasting. Its primarily extremely high pressure water and there is some super super fine glass in the mix. It's not like traditional abrasive blasting and pretty much returns the surface to as new. The photo I posted was taken with a flash so the actual finish is almost (not quite exactly) like the cast finish as it left the factory in '70. There is micro peening of the surface which seals the surface (so you don't have to seal with clear or aluminium paint afterward).
je recherche une admission w30 d origine 1970
j ai acheté une reproduction chez the parts place et je n arrive pas à rendre étanche le moteur 👎
Translation;
Hello everyone , I am looking for a w30 admission of origin 1970. I bought a reproduction from the parts place and I can't make the engine waterproof 👎
I have not heard of any issues with water jacket leaking on the reproduced intakes. May we assume that silicone sealant was applied to the coolant ports prior to installing? (Thank you No1Olds for translation)
The machining on that intake is CRAZY! Here are the pics of the review of the parts place intake on eBay. Buyer states he sent the first one back and a replacement arrived the same way.
I am running a repro 71-72 W30 intake on the 68 455 I built for my 72, but I don't know what company made it/ sold it. I got it from a guy at Carlise who was selling a bunch of reproduction parts that he had not used. I have no issues with that intake leaking etc. The only negative thing I have to say about it is that it seems to have some small bits of steel that made their way into the aluminum before casting (almost like sparks). These produced tiny spots of rust on the surface so I had to paint it with a coat of silver. Here is the intake when I was test fitting the 455 in my cutlass.
J ai changé 4 fois le joint de l admission
référence fel pro 1356 et à chaque fois le joints ce déchire ….
Est-ce que quelqu’un aurait une solution ?
ou alors une admission w30 d origine à vendre
merci à vous
I changed the intake gasket 4 times reference fel pro 1356 and each time the seals tear…. Does anyone have a solution? or else an original w30 admission for sale
Don't use the black rubber "end" gaskets, only the side gaskets or a metal "turkey tray". For the front and back use a thick bead of RTV and give it a good amount of cure time.
In French (thanks Google):
N'utilisez pas les joints "d'extrémité" en caoutchouc noir, uniquement les joints latéraux ou un "plateau à dinde" en métal. Pour l'avant et l'arrière, utilisez un cordon épais de RTV et laissez-lui un bon temps de durcissement.
Last edited by Loaded68W34; Mar 20, 2022 at 01:55 PM.
