1970-W30

Back in 1970 at the young age of 23 I was lucky enough to buy an almost new 70 W-30. It was at Coyle Oldsmobile in Walla Walla, Washington with just a few miles on it and still had the full factory 5/50,000 warrantee. It had been used by the NorthWest regional rep and turned in to be sold as a demo.
A friend worked at the dealership and told me about the car and how fast it was.....
I traded in a 63 Plymouth Sport Fury and borrowed $2800 at $140 a month and it was all mine. I loved that Olds, but in 75 my new bride decided we needed to purchase a home and the W-30 was sold to come up with the down payment........now I'm retired and still think of that car so long ago, and guess what, I'm going to buy an Olds again, a 442 or Cutlass Supreme, since the W-30's are out of reach financially for me....
If any of you guys are interested, I've got enough stories about my adventures with the Olds to fill a small book that I wouldn't mind sharing.

StarGeneral

Story time! Lets hear it

1970-W30

Less then a year after I sold it, the new owner lost control on the way back from an Idaho beer run. In those days you didn't need to be 21 to buy beer in Idaho so beer runs were not unusual, the car ended up on its top, caught fire and was destroyed, looking at the picture it's amazing all four young guys got out of the car un-harmed!

RandyS

That story hits pretty close to home for me. In 1968 I purchased an almost new 66 L69. What a machine!!!!! Ultimately, right after I had spent every penny I had to rebuild my blown motor and really freak it out, it got stolen by a 15 year old. Idiot tried to outrun a CHP (Calif Hwy Patrol), high speed chase ensued, took a turn too fast, rolled it and totaled it. Walked away without a scratch. Spoke with the CHP officer that was chasing him and he told me that it was the fastest car he had ever seen...............
No pics, but lots of memories.

1970-W30

Of course the 3.42 gears had to go, gas costs were never a factor, 3.91s were installed along with Hooker headers at some time. I used to race at Bonanza Raceways in Walla Walla in the then newly formed A/SA (A stock Automatic) class. Best time ever was around 12.98 at 109 MPH. The 109 speed at that time was a new NHRA record but that lasted less then a month or so If I recall....... I remember getting beat at the strip by a 6 cylinder Maverick once, with the staggered lights, it seemed the Maverick was 7/8s of the way down the track before I got the green light, man was I upset when the Olds roared by him at over a hundred compared to his 65 MPH trap speed after the finish line! I learned the hard way never to get overconfident no matter who the opponent is.
Later I installed a Carter #4847 Thermoquad, I think it was rated at 1000cfm airflow, enough to require a bit of tinkering with to avoid bogging......
Wasn't long after that, warrantee work was needed, I lost 3rd gear in the TH400, anything but a very light throttle she'd slip badly. Even though the dealer knew I was drag racing, they rebuilt the transmission, no cost. That's enough for today, jees I'm getting all nostalgic as I'm typing this, hope I can find a decent Olds pretty soon........