I would certainly agree that the Rocket V-8 was overshadowed pretty quickly, in part because Oldsmobile didnt pursue the competition or performance avenues to the same extent Pontiac did in the late 50s. As part of its marketing campaign for the Rocket V8, Oldsmobile arranged for an 88 convertible to handle the pace car duties at the Indy 500, with speedway president Wilbur Shaw at the wheel. Adding turn signals, backup lights, windshield washers, and heater tacked an additional $112 to the price these items wouldnt be standard for several more years. This is a session cookie that verifies that the user has entered valid user credentials pending receipt of the correct authentication code; the cookie normally expires when the user closes their browser (or other user agent). Oldsmobiles first OHV V8, dubbed the Rocket engine, had a 3.75-inch (95.3mm) bore and a 3.44-inch (87.3mm) stroke, compared to 3.25 inches (82.6mm) and 3.88 inches (98.4mm) respectively for the straight eight the Rocket replaced. (. However not practical to drive around pittsburgh, pa. To many hills for that single chamber master cylinder. Even with the standard Hydra-Matic transmission, the 88 was capable of 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in a bit over 12 seconds and could reach an absolute top speed of 97 mph (156 km/h). $200.00. Most 394s used 2-barrel carburetors, but special high-compression 4-barrel versions were available starting in 1961. The 1954 88 and Super 88 V8s used an 8.25:1 compression ratio for 170 and 185hp (127 and 138kW) and 295 and 300lbft (400 and 407Nm), respectively. I think current brand-management logic would probably consider Oldsmobile rather hopeless. 1967 Oldsmobile Delta 88. Simplified diagram of the cylinder of a wedge-head OHV engine. Maybe just intake or vacuum leak. (WordPress and the WordPress logos are registered trademarks of the WordPress Foundation in the United States and other countries. Free shipping for many products! Produced from 19681980, the Rocket 350 was entirely different from the other GM divisions' 350s. As far as I know, the transmission was not harmed. Comments may be moderated. A pushrod layout is more expensive than a flatheads valve gear and the extra mass of pushrods and rocker arms hurts mechanical efficiency. . Although production of the 455 ended in 1976, a small number were produced through 1978 for power equipment use, such as motorhomes, boats and irrigation equipment.[15]. 10-17, 56; Richard M. Langworth, 1954 Packard Pacific: Last of the Great Straight Eights, Special Interest Autos #51 (May-June 1979), reprinted in The Hemmings Book of Postwar American Independents: driveReports from Special Interest Autos Magazine, ed. Even modest restorations can quickly get out of control, cost-wise, so be careful that a $2,000 bargain doesnt become a money pit. But I can block the blow by coming off the back of the block and it runs great. FOLLOW MARKET. Yup Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Pontiac plus some GMC vehicles, some 1954-on Chevrolet pickups, 19501954 Lincolns, a bunch of independents (Hudson, Kaiser, Nash), Rolls-Royce, and Bentley, among others! Other American manufacturers would reach the same conclusion. in. 9, No. The other members may be able to help you decide whether a price is fair, and in some cases, they may even know the specific car (Ikes 53? 1955 Oldsmobile 88 gasoline blue manual This is a 1955 Olds 88 with its original 324 V-8, automatic, power steering and brakes, tinted glass (all windows), factory wheel covers, wide whitewalls and&. These carburetors did not open progressively; they were either open or closed. (At present, this setting does NOT affect the payment or donation buttons that may appear on portions of the site's administrative dashboard, nor does hiding the box affect any cookies that may have already been set). The 1961 through 1963 Sky Rocket (and 1964 Rocket) was a high-compression, four-barrel 394cuin (6.5L) engine. You never mentioned it but the 50 Olds in the photo has the single piece windshield. 18-23; Jim Richardson, Rocket Power: Oldsmobiles 1950 convertibles: The rocking 88 versus the jazzier 98, Special Interest Autos #188 (March-April 2002), pp. In practice, owners who did not regularly drive hard enough to engage the front and rear carburetors experienced problems with the linkage and carburetor throats becoming clogged, and some J-2-equipped cars had the front and rear carburetors removed and blocked off. (If you need to review or change these settings after you accept, you can do so from the Privacy Tools page.) The Olds engine performed well and was very smooth running but didnt have as much scat as the modified flat head. Im wondering how many weeks of informative evening reading I can enjoy from your articles. In 1985, roller lifters, floating piston wrist pins, and swirl port intake runners were added. The 455 big block Olds V8 was replaced in 1977 with the 403cuin (6.6L) small block, which used a 4.351in (110.5mm) bore, the largest ever used in a small-block V8, with the Olds small-block standard deck and 3.385in (86.0mm) stroke. It was used in most Oldsmobile models, as well as those from Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Pontiac. 26-33. The idea of keeping the brand names on a model-specific basis is not illogical (although again its contrary to current brand management philosophy), but it would present all manner of practical problems, not least that it would invite the ire of people who had previously paid money for a sales franchise for that brand. It also used the .921in lifter bore size of the Toronado Rocket. In addition, all page headers, custom graphics, button icons, and scripts related to the PayPal services are service marks, trademarks, and/or trade dress of PayPal. With a 4-barrel carburetor and 10.25:1 compression, the Olds 215 made 185hp (138kW) at 4800rpm and 230lbft (310Nm) at 3200rpm with a manual transmission. Full instrumentation is standard Olds had not yet succumbed to the allure of warning lights. A 1958 2-barrel version produced 265hp (198kW) and 390lbft (530Nm), but had problems with early camshaft failures due to the high preload valve spring forces. Naturally, GM was extremely interested in the potential of high-compression engines for passenger cars, but there were two hold-ups. These changes increased torque to 250lbft (340Nm) but lowered power to 170hp (130kW), while lowering the RPM at which peak power and torque was achieved. They call mine the black ace and they have a club division in the oldsmobile club of america. mill or the Chrysler Firepower hemi of the same displacement. There are 36 Oldsmobile 88 for sale across all model years (1949 to 1999) and variants, 8 are 1st Gen and 1 is model year 1951 . Although Oldsmobile (as well as Buick and Pontiac) had used eight-cylinder engines for more than a decade, Cadillac was not happy about the idea of Oldsmobile offering an OHV V8 and convinced corporate management to deny Oldsmobiles request for development funds. Only the center carburetor was mechanically connected to the throttle pedal, and it was the only one equipped with a choke. The first generation of Oldsmobile 88 was introduced in 1949. Original revolutionary Hydra-Matic SUPER DRIVE 3-speed automatic transmission, spare tire, and a couple of extra chrome wheel covers. NASCAR held nine Grand National races in 1949, of which stock Rocket 88s won six. The Rocket 88 won six of nine NASCAR late-model division races in the 1949 season and 10 of 19 races in 1950. com/ newsletter/ 2004-10_OCAZ_Newsletter.pdf, accessed 15 June 2015; Helen Jones Earley and James R. Walkinshaw, Setting the Pace: Oldsmobiles First 100 Years (Lansing, MI: Oldsmobile Division of General Motors Corporation, 1996); John Gunnell, ed., Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975, Rev. To mitigate these problems, both Oldsmobile and Cadillac adopted an overhead-valve (OHV) layout. Can you point me to any information on GM camshaft design methodology? In1953, at seventeen years old I had a 1932 Ford 5 window coupe that with the help of two uncles that ran auto repair shops installed a 1950 Oldsmobile engine that I got out of a wrecked car, into my coupe. Concord, NC 5 years at carsforsale.com 3 27,900 1955 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight - Concord, NC sedan automatic All generation-2 small-block Olds V8s used a stroke of 3.385in (86.0mm). This car has the pushbutton radio, which cost about $96. Output was 185hp (138kW) and 320lbft (430Nm). 394s were produced from 19591964 and were available on many Olds models. The first generation of Oldsmobile V8s ranged from 1949-1964. The following are turn key engines available . The L34 used a 4-barrel carburetor and produced 160170hp (120130kW) and 275ftlbf (373Nm). Plus, there is a cool mix of a preserved chrome cruiser with the right upgrades to make it more enjoyable for modern times. The desire to raise compression ratios had prompted Kettering and his staff to develop tetraethyl lead as an octane-boosting gasoline additive in the early twenties (as discussed in greater detail in our article on the 1970-1981 Chevrolet Camaro), but the research staff had been working to raise compression ratios even higher. The Cadillac and Oldsmobile V8s represented the start of several major trends in American engine design. The 303 was available from 1949 until 1953. Displacement was 259.5 cubic inches, with almost square bore and stroke. I can see it now. Most 425s were painted red, though the 1966 and 1967 Toronado units were light blue. It was the seminal American muscle car, predating Chrysler's Hemi-powered 300-C by . . [[[Chevrolet Corvair#First generation (19601964)#{{{section}}}|contradictory]]]. Its a super 88 sedan 4 door. Some things, like the Hydra-Matic, arent so bad, but trim pieces can be a major pain, and even the early Rocket engines can be challenging at this point. 2027; John Katz, Racing the 88, Special Interest Autos #145 (January-February 1995), reprinted in The Hemmings Book of Oldsmobiles, p. 88; Jamie Kitman, The Secret History of Lead, The Nation March 2000; Allen Hunt, Horsepower from Detroit, Part IV: Cadillac, Oldsmobile and the horsepower race, Car Life Vol. Not all the listed cookies and/or data items are necessarily set in all instances, and there may sometimes be others not listed above, particularly if you are logged into a Google account. 50,000 cars were imported in 1952, US brands comprising some 90% of that total. The early Rocket V8 weighs a bit over 700 pounds (318 kg) and had an SAE gross rating of 135 hp (101 kW). The 76 lingered for one more model year and then was dropped entirely; the division wouldnt offer a six again until 1964. Note the quadrant for the Hydra-Matic atop the steering column. Bore was increased to 3.875in (98.4mm) (same as the later 283 Chevy) and stroke remained the same at 3.4375in (87.31mm). It used a very oversquare 4.057in (103.0mm) bore and Oldsmobile small-block standard 3.385in (86.0mm) stroke for 350cuin (5.7L). (Valve spring, spring seat / retainer placement too? Oldsmobile V8s can be grouped into five "generations.". Just didnt have any power. Unless youre building a rod, its often worth it to spend more upfront for a car thats in better condition. edu/~wkovarik/ papers/fuel.html, accessed 30 May 2008, and Henry Ford, Charles Kettering, and the Fuel of the Future,' Automotive History Review #32 (Spring 1998), pp. Compression ratios of 9.0:1 at 310hp (230kW) or 10.25:1 at 360hp (270kW) were available in the U.S. A special 1965-1967 425cuin (7.0L) V8 was the Starfire engine. Your email address will not be published. 442 . The Rocket 88 would see consistent improvements over the next two decades or so. Crane said Bouvy was Engine/Camshaft designer of the 1949 Cadillac V-8. Vintage lovers are ready to spend any amount of money to get hold of a Rocket 88 of 1949. [citation needed] The 1977-1980 350s have lighter castings, including a thinner block with large "windows" in the main bearing bulkheads,[citation needed] and have crack-prone cylinder head castings[citation needed] manufactured by Pontiac Motor Division (castings are marked "PMD"; these heads were also used on the 260),[citation needed] and a lightened crankshaft. Compression was up again in 1956 for 230hp (170kW) and 340lbft (460Nm) in the 88 and 240hp (180kW) and 350lbft (470Nm) in the Super 88 and 98. Of those sales, 100,273 were the Rocket 88. The Oldsmobile Rocket 88 is a full-size automobile produced and marketed by Oldsmobile from 1949 to 1999. From the 1950s through the late 1970s, each GM division had its own V8 engine family. It was a sliding gear like a manual and held in some fashion I cant remember because it couldnt lock to the engine through the torus member. Ike Turner, later to be half of Ike and Tina Turner, played piano on the track and was miffed that Brenstons name, not his, was on the record. During that period, Oldsmobile Motor Group draftsman Gilbert Burrell began working privately on concepts for new cars and new engines. (Vimeo and the Vimeo logos are trademarks of Vimeo.com, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. [12] The Oldsmobile engine was very similar to the Buick engine, but not identical: it had larger wedge combustion chambers with flat-topped (rather than domed) pistons, six bolts rather than five per cylinder, and slightly larger intake valves; the valves were actuated by shaft-mounted rocker arms like the Buick and Pontiac versions, but the shafts and rockers were unique to Oldsmobile. The Rocket, along with the 1949 Cadillac V8, were the first post-war OHV crossflow cylinder head V8 engines produced by General Motors. (The basic Eighty-Eight was rarer, accounting for only about 35,000.) The Super Eighty-Eight wasnt particularly rare when it was new Olds sold about 150,000 of them in 1951. or is that not an Avanti peeking into the frame on the right side of the last photo? It depends on your goals. The cookieconsent_status cookie recorded whether or not you consented to analytics tracking and told the website to hide the notification banner; this cookie normally expires after about one year. Submitting a comment signifies your acceptance of our. 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 The Oldsmobile 88 was introduced in 1949 as a replacement for the 70 series. R.M. 8-9; Arch Brown, Similar But Different: 1949 Cadillac vs. 1949 Oldsmobile 98, Special Interest Autos #149 (September-October 1995), reprinted in The Hemmings Book of Oldsmobiles: driveReports from Special Interest Autos magazine, eds. By late 1956, many Olds dealers learned about the problem. (We have now DISCONTINUED our use of Google Analytics tracking on this website; see the "Online Tracking" section of the Privacy Policy for more information.) (For more information about our discontinuation of Google Analytics tracking on this website, see the "Online Tracking" section of the Privacy Policy. The Rocket would only get bigger, not smaller. (6,460 cc), which was about the limit of the original block design. (Ten of the 13 88s that entered that race managed to finish, itself an impressive feat.) In development, the high compression ratio combined with the charged load created problems with spark knock on hard throttle applications, which led Olds to develop and utilize a novel water-injection system that sprayed metered amounts of distilled water and methyl alcohol (dubbed "Turbo-Rocket Fluid") into the intake manifold air-stream to cool the intake charge. So this sedan was delivering big torque with a healthy dose of Streetside Classics - Atlanta (877) 828-8754 Lithia Springs, GA 30122 (406 miles away) 6 (I quess that would be total Olds minus Olds 76 model.). For 1957, the basic 88 was officially named Golden Rocket 88, taken from Olds' 1956 Motorama two-passenger show car. Well, Oldsmobile had had a hard time finding its way once GM started trying to define the identities of each of its brands as the _______ brand (which, it must be said, was fast becoming the most meaningful distinction between them. Does not have any openings. The effective dates of the current versions are: Paid advertisements and/or sponsored links on Ate Up With Motor will be identified with words such as "Sponsor," "Sponsors," "Sponsored Link(s)," "Sponsored Content," "Ad," "Advertisement," "Advertisement(s)," or "Paid Promotion" (and/or by images or icons containing such words). If you change certain aspects of the site's appearance using the accessibility sidebar, it may set these cookies to manage and remember your settings. As the diagram below illustrates, an L-head engine has its valves in the side(s) of the block. Many of the other listed cookies are associated with the Google Analytics service, the Google AdSense advertising service, and/or other Google advertising and measurement products, which are subject to the Google Privacy Policy; see their "How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services" page, the "Information for Visitors of Sites and Apps Using Google Analytics" section of the Google Analytics "Safeguarding your data" help page, the "Technologies" section of their Google Privacy & Terms site, and the "Our advertising and measurement cookies" section of the Google Business Data Responsibility site (which includes a detailed list of cookies associated with Google advertising and measurement products) for more information. (We should note, however, that Packards final L-head eight of 1954 used an 8.7:1 compression ratio with no apparent loss of refinement, although the fact that the 359 cu. The early Repco engines produced up to 300bhp (220kW), and featured new SOHC cylinder heads and iron cylinder liners. The immediate prewar Compound Carburetion cars were legitimately quick for 1941 you might get that kind of performance out of a flathead Ford, but not without a lot of non-factory help. Early Hydra-Matics had no Park position (although there was a parking pawl if you engaged reverse), and unlike later versions, theres no way to keep the transmission in third gear, which can be inconvenient. Now that we have DISCONTINUED our use of Google Analytics tracking on this website, this cookie no longer functions no additional analytics data will be collected, with or without the cookie. The 303-cubic-inch (5.0L) engine had hydraulic lifters, an oversquare bore:stroke ratio, a counterweighted forged crankshaft, aluminum pistons, floating wristpins, and a dual-plane intake manifold. Both the Cadillac and Oldsmobile design teams were strongly influenced by the work of GM research chief Boss Charles Kettering, who had been working on high-compression engines since the end of World War I. wider bore provides a greater surface area on which the forces of combustion can act, improving power In the spirit of trying to improve a fantastic article. Powered by the rocket 2bbl. About . Email: [email protected] Address: 7400 E Monte Cristo Ave . It had the same 0.921in (23.4mm)-diameter lifters of the first-generation Oldsmobile engines, rather than the standard 0.842in (21.4mm), which let engineers increase the camshaft's ramp speed for more power, 385hp (287kW), without sacrificing idle or reliability. The placement of the valves also means that the combustion chamber has a smaller surface area and thus greater thermal efficiency some 20% better than a comparable flathead. SPECIFICATIONS Engine: OHV 90-degree V-8, cast-iron block and heads Displacement: 303-cu.in. All full-size 1962 Oldsmobiles had the 394. Until well into the 1950s, most engines were undersquare, with a narrow cylinder bore and a long piston stroke. These limitations hurt both power and fuel economy. It was installed in the Oldsmobile Light Eight and was related to the Cadillac flathead V8 engine. ), These cookies were previously used by the Google Analytics service to collect information about visitors and their use of the Ate Up With Motor website. Concern about diminishing oil reserves is nothing new in the twenties, some engineers feared the U.S. would be out of oil within 30 years but it was not until the seventies that those fears entered the public consciousness. The main qualities that make an engine attractive to hot-rodders are how much it costs, how easily it can be hopped up, and how much power you can get out of it without blowing it up. Some consider Rocket 88, recorded by Jackie Brenston in 1951, to be the first rock and roll song. The 1976-1979 Cadillac Seville was equipped with a version of this engine featuring an analog Bendix/Bosch electronic port fuel injection system, making this the first American mass-produced car with EFI as standard equipment.[18]. Theyll also be able to suggest sources for parts, which can be a big issue. in. Big block Oldsmobile Rocket 442 crate engines are also available. Flathead engines are easy and cheap to manufacture, but they leave a lot to be desired when it comes to performance. Whether you are looking for a Rocket 455, a 350, or maybe an Oldsmobile 403 engine for sale, we have the ideal replacements ready . What I would recommend that I actually suggest for anyone considering a collector car is that you join a club for that marque in your area, if you havent already. Oldsmobile used the popular LV2, a 307-cubic-inch (5.0L) engine, commonly known by the VIN code "Y", from 1980-1990. Like all other GM divisions, Olds continued building its own V8 engine family for decades, adopting the corporate Chevrolet 350 small-block and Cadillac Northstar engine only in the 1990s. in. Contact. There will typically be several such cookies, each beginning with "gdpr" (e.g., gdpr[allowed_cookies], gdpr&5Bprivacy_bar&5D, and gdpr[consent_types]). The _gat cookie, which may appear as _gat_gtag_UA_6113964_2, was sometimes set along with the _ga and _gid cookies to control how frequently requests were sent to the Google Analytics servers; this cookie typically persisted for only a few minutes at a time. The 1949-50 Rocket 88 was good for 15-16 miles to the gallon (15 L/100 km) overall and up to 18 mpg (13 L/100 km) if driven carefully; a 1964 Oldsmobile Starfire struggled to reach 12 mpg (20 L/100 km), a decline of around 30%. (These cookies are not usually set for administrative users, since comments they submit while logged in are associated with their user ID number and user profile information rather than a manually entered name and email address.). They were all painted Bronze and had V and G stamped on the cylinder heads. Motor Trend (July 1950) mentioned getting 18.8 mpg at a steady 50 mph and a 1950 Olds entered in the Mobilgas Economy Run bettered 20 mpg. We are largest vintage car website with the. If the fluid reservoir was empty, a complex double-float and valve assembly in the Turbo-Rocket Fluid path would set a second butterfly (positioned between the throttle butterfly and the turbocharger) into the closed position, limiting the amount of boost pressure. While the 260s were not very powerful compared to the larger 350 and 403 V8s, fuel economy was almost as good as the base V6. Richard A. Lentinello (Bennington, VT: Hemmings Motor News, 2002), pp. The Oldsmobile V8, also referred to as the Rocket, is series of engines that was produced by Oldsmobile from 1949 until 1990. Sorry! 78-79; and Josiah Work, 1949 Rocket 88: This Is Not Your Grandpas Oldsmobile, Special Interest Autos #139 (January-February 1994), reprinted in The Hemmings Book of Oldsmobiles, pp. Free shipping for many products! [22] The 260 V8 received VIN code "F" and had a sales code of LV8. The factory painted "small-blocks" gold or blue (flat black on the late model 307cuin (5.0L)),[1] while "big-blocks" could be red, green, blue, or bronze.[1]. From 1961-1963, Oldsmobile manufactured its own version of the Buick-designed, all-aluminum 215 cubic inch (3.5L) V8 engine for the F-85 compact. Offenhauser 3200 49-53 Olds Rocket Dual Quad Intake, Small Port $889.99 Ships Free . The first second-generation Oldmobile V8 330cuin (5.4L) "Jetfire Rocket" introduced in 1964 and produced through 1967. For more information about Google advertising, see the "Advertising" section of their Google Privacy & Terms site. [20] Parts peculiar to this system include a toothed disc between the harmonic balancer and the crank pulley, the "adjacent sensor" (an early form of crankshaft position sensor), a special distributor, an engine temperature sensor, and a rudimentary computer mounted inside the car, under the dashboard. The 394 replaced the 371 in Super 88 and 98 cars for 1959 and 1960 and a detuned version was used in the 88 for 1961 and the Dynamic 88 for 1962-1964. If the engine is thrashed and you just plan to swap in a later crate motor and a modern transmission, it may not matter, but if you want to restore, thats another matter. First, their volumetric efficiency is poor. The OHV V8 was still a large engine externally, but it was shorter and lower than the straight eight and weighed quite a bit less. in. Cant wait to get my Wool Fedora and get it back on the road. Oldsmobiles first postwar engine was born during the UAW strike that shut down GM production from November 1945 through March 1946. Skinner liked the idea, but it had to be approved by corporate management, which brought a new round of objection from Cadillac the 98 was already a close match for Cadillac in performance and a V8-powered B-body Oldsmobile would undoubtedly be faster. The top brass equivocated, but Skinner finally got the green light. 1955 Oldsmobile 88. These taller-deck models are commonly called "big-blocks", and are 1in (2.5cm) taller and 1.5in (3.8cm) wider than their "small-block" counterparts.[1].