These don't pop up that often. NOT MINE OOPS that should be EBAY

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1968-...10641765070?pt



=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4853b12ace#v4-41

 

Nice car, and relatively rare. Pre-cursor to the W31 cars of 1969/70

 

StickW31,

Is that the Saffron Cutlass S 4 speed you sold a few years ago?

 

Your right Italian ice you don't see to my Ramrods. You see more 70's then 68-69 31's

 

What makes anyone think this is a real Ram Rod except stickers on the fenders and manual brakes? You'd think if you were selling the real deal you'd post at least one pic of the Ram Rod specific parts.

 

Cool, but where are the OAI component pictures??

 

By the looks of where the washer pump suction hose is going, this car likely does not have the ram air set up on it. The hose is always routed to the pass side on ram air applications because the washer bottle was relocated on passenger fender well on RamRods.

 

You mean like the SMT and dual exhausts shown in the pics? I agree the fender clips and ram air tubes, inlets and air breather would be a nice add on to the pics.

I read somewhere that there were only around 500 Ramrod 350s made in 68. I don't know any way to validate the RR350 through VIN or cowl. Doesn't it need some paperwork?

 

Yep, gotta have paperwork to verify.

 

The guy has gone through great lengths to include pics that do not show things like the washer fluid bottle location (referenced above), under bumper scoops or brackets, inner fenders, and balancer. There's no way to validate anything through the VIN or cowl other than they have to be Lansing cars. These cars are rarely documented and easily cloned.

 

Interesting that the car is in Springfield, OH but has VA plates in the photo. I doubt the O.A.I. air cleaner fits on that Holley, so who knows if he still has it (or any other of the "rair" parts). I zoomed in on the photo of the front of the car and MAYBE you can just make out the outside edge of the driver's side scoop, but then again, maybe not.

 

The 4 speed and decals draws you in, but as most of you have said based on the pics there's nothing convincing that its real.

Joe to answer your air cleaner question.

Posted in the Q&A:

Questions and answers about this item

Q: Nice Olds,Do you have the ram air system? Replacement moter or original? Thanks
A: NUMBERS MATCHING EVERTHING, EXCEPT HEADERS,DO NOT HAVE THE AIR CLEANER

 

I have asked a couple specific questions waiting on answers. Depending on what response I get I may go look at car. It is only 45 miles from where I live.

 

The shifter isn't even original.

Sorry to pick it apart but I don't like people that are less than truthful

 

where is all the body line peak moldings? I don't believe I even see mounting holes for them

 

I am used to seeing the much longer arm rest bases [chromed plastic part] on 1968 models. Maybe that's an early/ late production difference? Ignition switch escutcheon looks different. W/o the documentation it's hard to justify a high price for that Cutlass.

 

Yes, that's stickw31 Steve's old car. Canadian built M20 car but not a Ram Rod. I'd love to own that car.

The guy in Richmond who bought it from him let it sit outside for a couple winters based on pics from when he was trying to sell it on Ebay last year. That sure didn't help the body condition.

 

Yup, not if it's Canadian built (though that does mean you can get the build sheet documentation)

Yes, but to be honest, it's a 4 spd car with rally pac, so price isn't THAT far out of line.

 

Ok guys . This is NOT. Ram rod . I used to own it. Has my "Cas Am performance " sticker still on the drivers quarter window. Also a Cabadian built car. Rear numbers matiching 350 4 speed car. I sure do miss it

 

Totally agree if the underside is rock solid. I was interested in it when the guy in Richmond had it for sale, but he wasn't the easiest seller to work with when it came to getting info and more detailed pics. I was interested in it when Steve had it for sale before that. I still had one of my '68 post coupes at the time so I passed...
Terry

 

So, now that we know it's NOT a RR350 and the seller says the car is 'breaking out' (with rust is a good guess) indicating not likely 'rock solid', what is a good price?

 

He removed the Ram Rod references, but upped the starting bid $3,000. Now the price is out of line. He's supposed to be sending me pics of the underside, door bottoms, etc.

 

Yup. When I said that $7500 was close, I was thinking that the starting price should be around $6000-6500. Unfortunately, I see this a lot - something doesn't sell on ebay, so it gets relisted with a higher starting price.

 

Am I the only one who doesn't agree with this characterization? I consider it a W-31. What say you, Oldsmofolks?

 

I don't agree with you

W31 was an option code in 68. It's name was Ram Rod

 

But it's still a W-31, no?

What do you call a '68 W-30? Ram Rod 400?

Perhaps the way Oldsmobile marketed the '68 sorted itself out by branding the W-Machines for '69, but I don't think it changes a thing. What do Chevy people call the 1967 Z/28? No badges, no nothing other than a "Z28 performance package" on the order form, but is it not a Z?

 

A 68 W30 was called a W30 and marketed as such

Would you call a 68 non A/C H/O a W45?

 

According to this ad, there is no mention of the W-30 by name:

 

Diego,

I can’t put my hands on the marketing brochures but I know I’ve seen them. I‘ve got a book called “Oldsmobile Muscle Cars” by William Holder and Phillip Kunz that states:

“And for the first time, Olds acknowledged the W-30 in company literature, and hinted at the magic of the moniker”

I know there are lots of mistakes in that book but I don’t think that’s one of them.



Dave made a long post on V8Buick a few years ago responding to errors in the 442.com history of the W31 (Ram Rod) and this is an excerpt from it:

 

Where would I find that option code Mike? I looked in the SPECS for 68 and can't find it for any of the Cutlass line.

 

You are correct Diego. The '68 W31 was not a precursor, it was a W31. Officially. And W31 was an option code. The name of this option code was "Force-Air Induction System" specifically spelled out in the Public Relations Release from Oldsmobile.

 

Thanks for chiming in, Kurt!

 

The W31 option was late in 67 or early in 68. It doesn't show up in the 68 dealer literature. I'll look around to see if I can the announcement. The first fifty were built in January or February of 68 and they went mostly to race teams. They were built much differently than the later ones.

 

There are also numerous references to the W31 (as a W31) in the Assembly Manual.

 

Uh...

 

Thank you. Excellent documentation.

 

isnt that ramrod 400 decal a 69 item

 

Other than references to the option code I'm not seeing where Olds marketed the 68 as a W31. It was known as a Ram Rod 350

 

The point is that the Ram Rod 350 is not a precursor to the W-31 but IS a W-31 before Oldsmobile started branding the W-Machines.

 

You're not seeing the W31 being marketed as a W31 on the release announcement from the Public Relations posted above? Where are you seeing it marketed as a Ram Rod? It wasn't really known a Ram Rod because it really wasn't even known, outside of some racing circles.

The truth is the '68 W31 was not marketed. Same situation as the '66 W30 and they were pretty much conceived, produced, and distributed the same way. Sans marketing. They were purpose built cars. I'm sure the term "Ram Rod" was intended to be a branding identity (as Diego is saying), but it never made it. It wasn't until the '69 advertising campaign came along and promoted the W cars that some identity was being established by marketing.
That was a time period where there was a struggle going on between engineering and marketing. It was certainly not a joint effort. Look at these 2 examples ('66 W30 and '68 W31) of some of the finest performance cars of the era. Where was marketing? Yup, with their thumbs you know where.
Unfortunately, marketing was always a shortcoming of Oldsmobile, and as far as I'm concerned, led the way for Oldsmobile's exit from GM.