Anyone have a source for a CORRECT SPEC camshaft for a 1971 W30 with A/C. Im thinking my car didnt get get the correct cam during the rebuild that was done back in the late 80s early 90s. Im sure by then anything NOS was out of the question and the reproductions probably werent available. Thanks

Ed

 

I have a story I will be telling in a thread shortly about the accuracy of repo cams. Be careful.

 

http://www.supercarsunlimited.com/Camshafts-i117.aspx

 

See my post above.

 

Why settle for a cam that was designed 40 years ago?. When is the last time you were at a car show & someone asked to see your cam card?


Get a custom grind from a reputable builder that matches your engine components & drivetrain specs & you will be way happier in the end.

 

Like me!

 

x2 for Supercars Unlimited.

I have one of their cams in my 73 442 w/455. I built the engine to earlier specs instead of 1973 specs for more performance. Over 10 years and several multi-state trips later to OCA National events, the engine runs like an Oldsmobile should. It's a great highway cruiser and has lots of get up and go. The rest of the car is stock and still weighs over 4,000 pounds so it's not a neck snapper, but the performance is very respectable. I am completely satisfied with the cam I bought from Supercars Unlimited.

 

its not so much for settling on an old cam its rebuilding to the factory specs that olds intended...now if you are going to modify the engine then yes i agree there are more cams available

 

Heres where im at. Ive buit many engines, Chevy Olds Ford ffor example. I know technology has come a long way in 40 years. I currently own numerous cars, A 73 impala daily driver with a 475 horse 454, A 51 Henry J woith a 471 (bored & stroked 428 super cobra jet) cubic inch Ford drag car, A 52 Chevy with a 455 Olds drag car (in process) and a numbers matching documented 71 442 w30. The engine in the w30 was rebuilt in the mid 80s before I got it and runs good the way it is. Im sure the cam Olds designed for the car was not available at the time and repops werent out yet either. I want the originality with this car. That is why Im looking for this cam. I know I could do better with a custom grind and when selecting a cam for the 52 I will. I just want a CORRECT cam like ooriginaly installed in the engine, from a good source. Not a fly by night here today gone tomorrow supplier. I hope this explaines my dilemma
Thanks

Ed

 

Ed, if what you are looking for is a camshaft ground to the exact specs of the OE cam (in your case the 409759 OE #, which is almost the same as the 406768 '70 442 4 speed cam), insist that the supplier - whoever it is - supply you with the cam card for that specific cam documenting it meets those specs, and is not a generic aftermarket Olds 402194 W-31 cam available from many different suppliers.
I'm with you - I know many much more sophisticated, superior cam profiles are available, but one reason I love my Oldsmobiles is the sound of the thing at idle, and knowing that is the way it originally sounded - to each his own!

 

Anyone know of a good supplier? Mondello? Supercars?........Anyone else?

 

I would love to see some photos of that car also

 

Fact is the exhaust system has as much to do with that as the cam etc.

 

One big advantage to a newer design cam with shorter ramps is that engine performance with exhaust manifolds will be significantly better. The engine sound will be similar or the same if the overall "size" or effective duration (at .050" lift) is close. Thus, one approach to reconcile the two sides of the issue, as discussed above, would be a quicker ramp profile having the same effective size. With mild rear gears and AC, you don't want a long duration cam. Improved mid range power from shorter ramps would help drivability. Olds went to smaller cams with W30s having automatics and/or AC using the cam profiles available at the time. Today we could use effective size and ramp durations to advantage--Olds engineers would have done so had such been available to them at the time. Back then computerized lifter acceleration profiles ("lift" profiles) were in their infancy.