We don’t feature a lot of six and seven-figure cars here on Barn Finds. When we do, they are often rare muscle cars such as this one. You are looking at (what is reported) a 1 of only 38 factory-built Oldsmobile W31’s. These were factory-built drag cars and the seller thinks this may be the only one in existence! The car can be found here on eBay with a requested starting bid of $200,000 and a buy-it-now price of $500,000!
Apparently, these cars were built for select Oldsmobile dealers and were specifically built for drag racing. The seller states the following: “This may be the only one to survive today. Reason being the dealerships were told to destroy their car when they stopped racing it.” The car features a “ram rod” 350 cubic inch engine with a 4-speed manual transmission. While the 350 isn’t as impressive as the 455, these cars were specifically made for racing and they held their own on the track.
You can read an article here about this car that was published by Hagerty.com in 2011. Said to have a little over 20,000 miles on the odometer, the car has been through a light restoration. You can bet most of the 20,000 miles is 1/4 mile at a time! The car still wears its original paint and the interior is original as well.
I’m a little surprised by the car being sold on eBay, but perhaps the seller is gauging the interest of the public and/or getting the hype built up for the car so it can be featured at a live auction? What do you think? Will someone place a bid over $200,000 or will this car end up at a live auction?
This is an awesome ride and belongs in a GM Olds Museum. Speed is the new Black! I think the Seller should clarify that just because Hagerty has currently insured the car under his ownership at a set value, it does not mean they will automatically do so when the car exchanges hands.
You are right on. You would need to meet there underwriting guide lines. Thank you very muck for your comment. I have reduce the price to $250,000.00 My email is munins@charter.net
The only way this brings a half-mil is if it can be proven to have notable racing history. Unquestioned coolness but not that much cool.
My car was raced by Victor George Olds at Tri-city drag ways.
Ran in E-class. my email is munins@charter.net
right on and I have some doc, showing that history. My email is munins@charter.net
For $200000 at least he could get rid of the $2 steering wheel cover.
That not a cover on the starting wheel it factory leather
You may want to expand the picture. I know the wheel that belongs on this car. This one came from Pep Boys.
Good catch. Steering wheel is wood grain. I put the wrap on for me to grip the wheel easier. This is a no option car. thanks for comment. Stay well. My email is munins@charter.net
Genuinely rare, and a spectacular car if inspection proves claims……….but as usual, rare doesn’t equal valuable automatically. This is the kind of car that normally trades hands by word of mouth within a closed community of specific enthusiasts. Being on ebay hints that either that community has diminished significantly or that the most likely interested don’t agree with the advertiser on what a realistic price is. Could be a fishing expedition. If the advertiser becomes sufficiently motivated someone will be able to buy a very neat car.
Why isn’t he including his documentation in the ad? There is no better time to do so.
Steve R
Poorly presented ads are an imponderable……………but highly repetitive. But you already know that…….
A friend of mine use to have a F85 with the W31 package. BUT was an automatic!!! How many were made with the automatic?
Professionally restored 70 W-31s with 4 speeds don’t bring more than 125k, and they’re the Olds that everybody wants. I just don’t see this going for more than that.
I meant W-30 here
I love it, but that price ! I always liked this year Olds, but ever owned one and will never own this one .
An absolute screamer of a car, Oldsmobiles answer to the budget Roadrunner, which never caught on at all sales wise. Great machine here!
I’m not even looking at that price tag, just enjoy seeing one of these again.
Awesome car, but according to multiple sources, there were 731 W-31s built in 1968, and more than one survived. Perhaps only 38 were based on the low-level F85? Regardless, I’d be reluctant to believe the seller’s story without documentation. I know well-optioned 442s can push the $200K mark, but I would be very surprised if this W-31 brings that kind of money. I agree with Uncle Bob – this is a well-known car, so if the seller were asking a reasonable price, it would have sold privately.
I have that cover on my steering will to help me grip it. It has a wood grain wheel that Victor George Olds Dealership added munins@charter.net
The Berejik 1968 olds factory racer like his is alive but not well here in northern mass. So I guess there’s 2 surviving not just his. I’ve seen and the car in person.
Don’t care how rare it is any no cutlass worth 500,000 💰
This is not a cutlass, it,s a F-85 with the w-31 option raced at tri-city drag way here in Michigan by Victor George olds dealership. I have a large photo of it at the track.
Ant not any 🖊
Outstanding Oldsmobile!! Really a very impressive model. As mentioned, I’m not seeing how it will bring the money the current seller is asking nor do I think that the venerable W-30 455 cars bring this kind of scratch. Maybe this is his “I really don’t want to part with my baby price?” I can say that while it’s true a 350 isn’t as impressive as the big 455. I can attest that an Olds 350 Rocket of this era is indeed a strong runner. I had a 70 Olds 350 Rocket and it was a strong mill.
I recognize this car was a friend of mine in 68 6 month after he bought the can be died his brother took ownership and drive it very little if this is the car for sure (Lansing Michigan ) is the original city it was purchased .
Hi Derek, with no intended personal attack toward you, I’ll simply bring up the term “punctuation.”
Yeah us old schoolers lol have a great day
Yeah, and you as well
Mine was owned by Victor George Olds dealership in Grand Blanc, MI.
No. No. And No. This is not the car it’s claimed to be and there is ZERO documentation and ZERO W-31/RamRod driveline components on it.
gonna have to come up with some documentation if he expects to get half of his 500k asking price, BTW its a beautiful car. I also feel its worth mentioning that the biggest motor installed in 68 and 69 cutlass /F-85/ 442s was the long stroke 400 unless we are talking about the Hurst/olds. any way nice car but the price is really ambitious!
I’ve reduced the price to $250,000.00 it is one of thirty eight built in 1968. It’s a F-85 with W-31 package. NO OPTIONS. And I do have some doc’s on it.
Some how a 455 would be a much better option. If one exists with the 455 then I could see $200,000
Personally I like the 350 Olds better than the 455 . The 455 brings a lot of cubic inch to the table. However you get small block Chevy flow numbers with the heads C castings included. Weak bottom end with oiling issues. However the early 400 cubic inch engine is not a bad engine 65-67.You still have the oiling issues.
no Olds is worth 200 grand !
there ain’t no Olds worth 200 grand !
once again, but holes and opinions don’t we all have that.
There are a few W31 F-85’s, still floating around.
Back in the 60’s and 70’s, Chesrown Olds in Ohio sponsored a number of drag racing Oldsmobiles. The most famous one was probably the white a 68 W31 F85 post that won the 68 Summer Nationals at Englishtown. It was a big deal back then, because it beat Hot Rod Magazine’s 56 Chevy sedan delivery, to win Stock Eliminator. The 68 Chesrown W31 was found and restored a few years ago.
A few years ago, there was a beautifully restored, green 68 W31 for sale, that was featured on a number of internet car sites. It was a 2 door post, but I think it was a Cutless S, not an F85, and the asking price was around $35,000.
Just to clarify, I bought on in 1968, it was a convertible with full bench seat, 4spd with 391 gears I had it special ordered and it was not sold as a race car, I just walked into dealer and showed the salesman the picture, he said he never heard of it but when he checked into he said he was glad to order it, it took 6 weeks to get delivered and when it shows up the salesman called me excited, I was a 20 year old punk. You could check ” Smothers Brothers Racing” they raced one that ran somewhere in the low 12s
There are quite a few Hemi cars for a lot less money, who in their right mind would spend 200K for a 350 powered Cutlass? This is either a hail Mary of enormous proportions or a joke.
https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1125833/1968-plymouth-gtx-for-sale-in-cadillac-michigan-49601
I love those Hurst inland 4 speed shifters Mopar used in the late 60’s. And sign me up for the bargain priced Hemi GTX!
He’s got bids over 200 grand already. If somebody’s got three million in their 401K and is wanted a car like this since high school, I suppose it’s not that big of a deal, I guess.
This is being considered by people in a different financial league then those of us working regular jobs and watching our 401K’s creep up like a snail.
Shill bids. Folks in this price class don’t bid in $100 increments.
Agreed, this isn’t a 1990s Volvo 850, LOL!
Its still just a Oldsmobile not even close to being worth half a mil 50k maybe.
Okay it is now official. My 401k is crap. I really hope I get the same boost the Boomers did. Wow. Anytime now stock market…
Apparently you could order the W-31 Option on just about any Cutlass platform and they were not all that rare. Perhaps there were only 38 of the W-31 F-85’s made, but that does NOT make them a “factory race car” and the notion that Oldsmobile sent them to dealers to race and then be destroyed is a far fetched fantasy. At only 325HP they would not have been any real threat at the dragway in 1968.
Still a very cool maybe $35,000 car.
From a Hemmings Article;
“Nonetheless, 1968 saw the first of Oldsmobile’s W-31-option small-block engines, offered under the Ram-Rod 350 moniker. The W-31 was built to make power the way other high-performance small-cube V-8s did: with high-flow induction, aggressive camshaft timing and RPM. The ’68 Ram Rod 350 was rated at 325hp and used the same cylinder-head castings as regular 350 engines that year, with a “5” casting number, though fitted with larger 2.00/1.625-inch valves from the 455. The camshaft featured 308 degrees duration, making for a choppy idle that mandated manual brakes due to the resulting low idle vacuum; manual transmission, either a three- or four-speed, was also mandatory. One of the unique W-31 pieces is the harmonic balancer, which is larger and thicker than the standard 350 piece, perhaps to better cope with the junior W’s higher RPM capability.
The W-31 was offered on F-85 Club Coupe, Cutlass Supreme coupe and standard Cutlass coupe for 1968, and brought ram-air induction scoops mounted beneath the front bumper, feeding large tubes that passed through the fenderwells to reach the dual-snorkel air cleaner. Just 742 examples of W-31-powered Oldsmobiles were built that first year.”
Keep in mind that at 325 hp, at this weight, it speced out as NHRA E/Stock in the day…probably plenty competitive in it’s class when properly prepared and driven.
Appears to be a very nice original car but, price is kind of crazy…
There is no way this car is worth anything close to that. Someone rare does not always equal $$$.
One of the 200K bidders most likely is a SHILL, they have (38) THIRTY EIGHT BID RETRACTIONS in the last (6) six months.
Let’s Sing S-H-I-L-L -O-R-I-A after me S-H-I-L-L -O-R-I-A
My olds is insured with Hagerty, policy # 0N69919. It’s insured for $250,000.00 guaranteed value. There phone # 1.800.747.5348
your car must qualify in order to get this amount of insurance.
Please pass this on. my email is: munins@charter.net
Stay well. I’m open for a offer.
The first and third 200K bidder is also a SHILL, they have (60) SIXTY BID RETRACTIONS in the last (6) six months.
Let’s Sing S-H-I-L-L -O-R-I-A after me S-H-I-L-L -O-R-I-A
I agree Jeff. Current bid:US $200,300.00
Reserve not met
[ 3 bids ]
Price:US $500,000.00
I reduced price to $250,000.00 Thank you for your comment, stay well. Come close and I would be happy to consider it. My car was undefeated racing in E class.
I reduced my price to $250,000.00 Will consider any close offers. munins@charter.net
That bid of $200,300.00 I would except now. Please let that person Know.
I think I’ve misread something here. One too many zeros.
Neat yes, but he’s asking Hemi car, or Cobra money
Relisted:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/223170734327?ViewItem=&vxp=mtr&item=223170734327
Geez I wish I had a half Mil to spend on a car. I’d get a 63 bloomington gold split window fuelie and bank the change. Nice Olds though..
I’ve reduced my price to $250,000.00 Lots of split window corvette’s out there. Mine is much much rarer. 1 of 38 Drag raced by Victor George Olds dealership in Grand Blanc MI. Thanks for the comment
This should go to Barrett Jackson with no reserve to bring all of the money. The question to be answered is what is all the money
You could be right who knows for sure, thanks for the comment. Stay well.
O don’t get me wrong. I love all old cars, especially sixties. I’ve had many many vets, mopars and A body goats (still do) chevelles, 442s, GS and a W31 (’78 or 9 meh) but nice one. Your car, I guess a junior stocker back then is a very beautiful one and maybe an only survivor. It will sell to the right home for love over money. Maybe a GM heritage museum or privately. I’d be curious to know even though it’s really not about the money. although everything seems to have a price.
Its still just a oldsmobile. I dont care if it was raced by a dealership that does not make it worth 250k much less 500k. 35k max.
I once owned a ’69 Olds Cutlass S with the W-31 motor and factory Muncie 4-spd. Believe it had a close-ratio Rock Crusher gearbox driving a Dana 60 rear end with 3.70 ratio. Of course this was a limited slip type differential to lay down two black marks. The thing was being restored by a guy who went to school with a couple of the original members of the rock band Kansas. He was moving his operation to Texas and decided to leave a couple projects behind. I happily purchased that diamond in the rough with my grocery store earnings! This would have been early 1980s. Clearly the good ol’ days for classic muscle cars. I didn’t learn how rare these things actually were until a buddy bought me an issue of Hot Rod magazine (iirc) that contained an article featuring their favorite muscle cars of all time. I seem to recall the article stated 3500 units sold over the time Olds made them available. I have since seen only two others and they both had automatics with the nifty h-pattern Dual-Gate shifter on the console between the bucket seats. Mine had a bench seat and dog-leg Hurst shifter. Making it even more unique was it had a special order paint that came from GMs Cadillac division (Fire Mist Green Metallic poly iirc). The car had been raced in 2-barrel carburetor competition so the secondaries were wired shut when I bought it. The motor was even chained down. The under bumper chin air scoops were missing when I acquired it as were the flexible hoses but fortunately the dual snorkel air cleaner was still there and the existing holes for the ‘dryer duct’ made it possible to jerry rig fresh air to the beast. The camming was very radical but may have been stock. I do remember it was a high-compression mill and she would puke and barely run on anything other than premium. Thus I always carried 104 Octane Boost in the trunk.
Btw those commenting about the unimpressive numbers of the W31 are mistaken. W-31 cars won 13 NHRA class titles in the three years they were available. The main problem for these cars in stock form was not a lack of horsepower but effectively putting the power to the ground. The narrow factory tires were a joke. However, with more tread surface on the road providing some ‘bite’ I would get severe wheel hop despite the aftermarket traction bars if the air shock system (also non-stock) was not sufficiently inflated to hold the axle more rigid. Because of this I was not able to get a lot of beneficial weight transfer back onto the rear wheels under initial acceleration. Therefore, you couldn’t simply wind her up tight and dump the clutch because she would not hook up and the other guy would be long gone while you conducted a goofy burnout exhibition. Instead, she required a bit of finesse. You would tach her up just a little before dumping the clutch then progressively roll into the throttle. Btw, the rated 325 hp figure was measured iirc at only 3400rpm. Oldsmobile deliberately understated their baby for insurance purposes. The actual output was 360 hp when wound a little higher. This was achieved with factory cast iron exhaust manifolds unlike a buddy’s orange and black 1970 Plymouth AAR ‘Cuda which came stock with factory headers behind its 340ci 6-pack Chrysler v8 mill. (Btw, that ‘Cuda lived in constant fear of the Cutlass because it had seen what a big knife does to a big fish!) A pair of aftermarket headers and straight glass-pack mufflers helped the Cutlass breath significantly better than when she left the factory. What made the W31 so wicked was a very broad power band. I once saw some dyno comparisons in another magazine article that illustrated this well. The shop had built up a Chevy 350 motor with aftermarket cam, manifold and other goodies to produce similar peak horsepower and torque numbers to the Olds RamRod 350 W-31 motor. Iirc the Olds made slightly more max hp while the Chevy produced slightly more torque or perhaps it was vice versa? Either way on paper the two motors would appear to be quite comparable and one would presume a drag race to be a wash in equivalent weight cars when looking only at the peak numbers. However, there was a crucial difference that was obvious only when seeing the actual dyno graphs side by side. The stock Olds motor made serious power at a much lower rpm and held it over a huge rpm range. By contrast the Chevy motor was very ‘peaky’ without the awesome plateau-shaped power band of the Olds. Because of this I think my Cutlass might have actually been better served by the wide-ratio Muncie 4spd (M21?) option. Regardless, it spent two summers on the boulevard of Topeka, KS spanking everything that was not running nitrous oxide or supercharged.
How is the breakdown on this car 1 of 38 ?
They made 742 W-31 in 68
Is it
1 of 38 that’s black/ blue interior ?