Do you remember all of the hype in the 1990s regarding dual overhead cam V8s and how they were vastly superior to the standard pushrod unit? Think back to the Corvette ZR-1, the Lincoln Mark VIII with the 4.6L, and the Cadillac Northstar/Oldsmobile “Shortstar” engines. Remember how many fanboys would write in uplifting the virtues of the dual overhead cam while slamming the pushrod V8 as an antique? Yeah…about that. Think back to the 1960s, when Ford and Chrysler were at each other’s throats in NASCAR. Ford brings out the 427 Cammer, Chrysler nearly goes ballistic. Chrysler wasn’t just crying about it, however…the “A-925” Hemi, complete with four-valve heads, was Chrysler’s H-bomb in waiting, and was being tested right up until NASCAR dropped the banhammer on engines that seemed too fancy and one-off for the down-home good ol’ boy image of the sport.

But did you know about GM’s offerings? Officially, GM was not in racing at this point in time, since the company was sincerely worried about a possible anti-trust suit being brought on by the U.S. Government. Now, GM had been involved with the 1957 AMA ban on motorsports that came about after the deadly 1955 LeMans disaster, but it was no secret that they were shoving parts out of the back door to racing teams. By the early 1960s, excepting Pontiac (who had Bunkie Knudsen at the helm, with his “eff you, we’re going racing” strategy in full swing), GM was sleeping. But within GM, the individual brands were not. That engine in the lead photo? That’s an Oldsmobile creation! You want the information on the OW43 and other attempts at a more modern setup than the standard two-valve unit? Hit play below!