Each PayPal payment or donation button may also incorporate a tracking pixel called "pixel.gif" (which loads from paypalobjects.com). Owned that vehicle till 1970 and traded in due to a bad dual chamber fuel pump for $350. The first Oldsmobile V8 was of a flathead design that was developed by Northway Engine Works before GM assumed operations. (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.). U.S. Pat. Since the valves of a flathead are also in the block, the camshaft can actuate the valves directly. It was used in most Oldsmobile models, as well as those from Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Pontiac. The standard 1965-1967 425cuin (7.0L) was called the Super Rocket, and was the most powerful engine option for the Oldsmobile 88 and 98 of 1965-1967. Ate Up With Motor, its logo, and other associated icons and graphics are trademarks and/or service marks of Aaron Severson dba Ate Up With Motor. Made of diecast with some plastic parts. 74-81; Bob McVay, Oldsmobile Starfire Road Test, Motor Trend Vol. The main distinguishing features of this engine were a slightly different camshaft profile from the standard ultra high compression engine and factory dual exhaust. First, their volumetric efficiency is poor. Unless youre building a rod, its often worth it to spend more upfront for a car thats in better condition. ), If one was trying to tally how many Rocket engines were built in Olds cars in 1949-50, do you have those numbers? 1962 OLDSMOBILE 88 CORE SHORT BLOCK ENGING 8-394 860673. About . However, my research has of necessity stretched back somewhat further than that and not just to the late 40s but, in tracing company histories, at least as far back as 1903 and the curved dash Oldsmobile. (2,969 cc) six with a compression ratio of 12.5:1, where most contemporary engines had ratios of no more than 7.0:1. In the mid-1980s, hot rodders discovered the 215 could be stretched to as much as 305cuin (5L), using the Buick 300 crankshaft, new cylinder sleeves, and an assortment of non-GM parts. Olds were very popular in Brazil but I can t give you any numbers. To learn more about the specific cookies used and/or to fine-tune your available choices, click "Privacy Preferences" at the right. If we have enabled multi-factor authentication (which requires an authentication code as well as a password to log into the administrative dashboard), the iThemes Security plugin may also set the itsec_interstitial_browser cookie during the login process. Free shipping for many products! Its true Oldsmobile didnt really maintain that position for long and didnt try again to go for the performance market until the 60s, but having a short season isnt the same as being overhyped. It didnt have an actual Park position until the advent of the controlled-coupling Hydra-Matic in MY1956. Even still, the same design philosophy carried with it throughout its production run. [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. Both are well-documented, albeit relatively short-lived. Base price for the Deluxe Club Sedan was $1,982 in 1950, and 16,388 were sold. In 1949, your main alternative new car choices were the bug-ridden 49 Ford and Mercury, whose engines would need a lot of hopping up to get anywhere near the level of the 88. Get the best deals on Complete Engines for Oldsmobile 88 when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. 4 speed hydromantic transmission. Some people fit these motors into a modified classic car or muscle car because of Oldsmobile GM reliability and performance horsepower advantages. [citation needed] Production of the 260 V8 ended in 1982 when the 307 became the only gasoline V8 in Oldsmobile's line. Hoo, boy, you better run away right now). This engine was only available in the Oldsmobile Starfire and a performance economy model called the Jetstar I. Apart from the Oldsmobile Aurora, the Aurora V8 was also used in the Shelby Series 1. Call me a square,[I am a square], I say you dont denigrate a proud heritage. Thank you! [[[Chevrolet Corvair#First generation (19601964)#{{{section}}}|contradictory]]]. If you use the buttons to make a payment or donation, the PayPal services will set additional cookies (not listed here) to manage your PayPal login and transaction data (and potentially also for various other purposes, e.g., user analytics and/or advertising). Most contemporary road tests at least mentioned fuel consumption. 15-16 MPG is great even by modern standards, for a 300+ HP engine. The Super Eighty-Eight wasnt particularly rare when it was new Olds sold about 150,000 of them in 1951. Now 70 years old and giving a lot of thought to building me a 1950 Olds casket. (Author diagram). Have never been an American car guyI cut my teeth on old British roadstersbut I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed your well-written, informative article on the history of the Rocket 88. When the center carburetor was opened to 60 or more engine vacuum drawn from the windshield wiper pump would simultaneously open the front and rear carburetors. As far as I know, the transmission was not harmed. BMEP, IMEP), you will immediately see that bore/stroke ratio does not directly effect engine power. 442 . So my question is, was there any substance to the Olds Rocket 88 legend or has nostalgia given it a bigger place in musclecar legend than it deserves, much like the original 1936 Buick Century? You see, this 1957 Golden Rocket 88 Holiday two-door hardtop, with the J-2 setup and only a few more than 30,000 actual miles, is owned by his daughter and son-in-law, Jan and Tom Hummer. Each of those engines had its own peculiarities, but they were all in the mold of the Oldsmobile Rocket engine. 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. So, its not particularly surprising that a highly tuned flathead Ford would be stronger than a stock 1950 Olds 303. . But it DID have a fairly illustrious season on the track and in road racing. The new, mid-sized Oldsmobile Rocket 88 went on sale February 6, exactly seven weeks after the 98. 1955 OLDSMOBILE 88 CORE ENGINE ASSEMBLY 8-324 V-8 879042. It was offered in the Hurst/Olds version of the Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais and in the 4-4-2 version of the Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon. Because the high-octane fuels necessary to take advantage of really high compression ratios were not yet available, Burrell ordered the displacement of the production engine (known internally as 8-90) increased to 303.7 cu. The 303 was produced from 1949-1953. For anyone interested the 1950 Mexican road race where 12 Olds 88s entered and 10 finished, eight of the 10 were beaten by a flathead Nash. Accessing the login page sets the wordpress_test_cookie, a session cookie that tests whether the user's browser (or other user agent) will allow the cookies needed to log in to the administrative dashboard; this cookie normally expires when the user closes their browser (or other user agent). Known variously as the Rockette, Cutlass, and Turbo-Rocket by Oldsmobile (and as Fireball and Skylark by Buick),[10] it was a compact, lightweight engine measuring 28in (71cm) long, 26in (66cm) wide, and 27in (69cm) high (same as the small-block Chevy),[11] with a dry weight of only 320lb (150kg). The B-body Oldsmobiles rode a 6-inch (152mm) shorter wheelbase and were 11 inches (279 mm) shorter and 3.6 inches (91mm) narrower than the C-body 98 and weighed 250 pounds (227 kg) less. You can hide the "Support Ate Up With Motor" box and prevent the loading of its embedded content by going to the "Consent Management" tab and switching the "Allow PayPal Button" toggle to "OFF." The Olds 403 was used by Buick and Pontiac in addition to Oldsmobile until its discontinuation after 1979. 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. 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. It was the only GM engine to meet US emission standards using a carburetor all the way up to 1990. 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). 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. As part of this I ran across a very interesting 1934 paper by a GM engineer Chris H. Bouvy and would like to know more about him and whether his design method was used within GM. Learn more. New brakes, wide Whitewall tires and classic stereo and speaker. [21] It produced 110hp (82kW) net and 205lbft (278Nm). 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. We'll start with Olds and return to Caddy in another article. You make a good point about the L-head lifter. Power was 81 hp at 3000 rpm. 26-31; Roger Huntington, 1965 Engines, Motor Trend Vol. In shape and size, the Oldsmobile Rocket 88 is not much different from the Pontiac Streamline and Chevrolet Fleetline whose body shell it shares. Skinner and Wolfram tried again in March 1947, having decided that alternative engine configurations were impractical, and this time managed to secure production approval from GM president Charles E. Wilson. It has been noted to go up to $100,000 at some auctions. You shared that mileage ranged from 12 MPG 18 MPG depending on the year. 330s were painted gold and had forged steel crankshafts. Some consider Rocket 88, recorded by Jackie Brenston in 1951, to be the first rock and roll song. An 88 also won the first grueling Carrera Panamericana, the 2,176-mile (3,500-km) Mexican Road Race. 1951 Oldsmobile Rocket 88. Some persist for only a few minutes, or until you close your browser (or other user agent); others may remain in your browser (or other user agent) as long as your individual settings permit. 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. 5 vehicles matched Now showing page 1 of 1. 49 rocket 88 was my first car back in 1964. Depending on carburetion or use of turbocharger. It was generally paired with the Turbo Hydramatic 350 3-speed automatic or the Turbo Hydramatic 400 3-speed ustomatic in rear wheel drive vehicles, in the case of front-wheel drive vehicles, the Turbo Hydramatic 425 FWD 3-speed automatic. As mentioned earlier, the Rocket V8 was initially offered only in Oldsmobiles flagship 98, a big luxury car that gave away little to Cadillac in size or appointments. Unfortunately, they were also thirsty and a pain to tune, which was not at all what wartime buyers wanted, and after the war there was a gradually increasing array of cheaper alternatives. If you delete or disable these cookies, your existing preferences will be lost and you may not be able to save your privacy settings for this website. He saw the potential in an engine design offering increased compression. Note the quadrant for the Hydra-Matic atop the steering column. However, former Cadillac engineer Harry Barr, who led the development of Cadillacs first OHV V8, later asserted that Charles L. McCuen, then GMs vice president of engineering (and the former general manager of Oldsmobile) had ordered Cadillac chief engineer Jack Gordon to show Cadillacs OHV design to Oldsmobile carburetor engineer Tony Wauters. *. The wild rocket hood ornament was technically a $5 option. Thanks, I have enjoyed reading your many excellent articles. True-to-scale detail. Most commonly available premium fuels had an octane rating of only 80 RON, not nearly enough for the ultra-high compression ratios Kettering proposed. Detailed interior, exterior. Google, Google Analytics, and other related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC.). "Alternative Engines: Part 2--Buick V8", in, Davis, Marlan. All Oldsmobile V8s use a 90 bank angle, and most share a common stroke dimension: 3.4375in (87.31mm) for early Rockets, 3.6875in (93.66mm) for later Generation 1 engines, and 3.385in (86.0mm) for Generation 2 starting in 1964. Rocket Racing & Performance is a custom engine building facility that specializes in Oldsmobile Performance.We offer a full machine shop, in house engine dyno, and parts supplier serving the local Wisconsin area and worldwide. The 400cuin (6.6L) version was the second tall-deck "big-block" Olds. This was the only engine offered in 1923, when the Model 47 continued alone. Oldsmobiles engineering staff already knew what the Rocket could do in the B-body cars and there was no question that it fit, so Harold Metzel, then Oldsmobiles chief transmission engineer, asked Sherry Skinner if Oldsmobile could offer that combination in production. 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! Off.).) Its a super 88 sedan 4 door. However, the only badging identifying it as such was a simple "88" underneath each taillight. Every 307 used a four-barrel carburetor, which was a variant of the Rochester Quadrajet, usually the CCC (Computer Command Control) Quadrajet. 15 results per page. In 1962 and 1963 Oldsmobile built a turbocharged version of the 215, designated Turbo-Rocket. A pushrod layout is more expensive than a flatheads valve gear and the extra mass of pushrods and rocker arms hurts mechanical efficiency. To learn more about what information the Vimeo platform collects and how that information may be used, see the Vimeo Privacy Policy. The "Rocket" name disappeared from the air cleaner decal in 1975, the same year that the catalytic converter was added to the emissions control system. This car has the pushbutton radio, which cost about $96. 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. The 324cuin (5.3L) version was produced from 1954 until 1956. It was the first mass-produced OHV V8, in 1949. In a flathead engine, the air-fuel mixture has to go around several corners to make its way into the combustion chamber and burned exhaust gases have a similarly circuitous route out of the cylinders. For all the administrative and login cookies described here, "xx" will be a cryptographic hash while "UID" will be the administrative user's user ID number in this website's WordPress database. ), 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. in. To learn more about what information the YouTube platform and other Google services may collect through and/or in connection with embedded video players and how Google may use that information, see their "How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services" page and the Google Privacy Policy. Second, the combustion chambers of a flathead engine have a lot of surface area; more surface area means more opportunities for the heat of combustion to escape (which engineers call heat rejection) before its had the chance to do any useful work. All the chrome is perfect interior all original all the glass is good.all the gauges work. If better fuels became available, both the Cadillac and Olds engines had the theoretical potential for compression ratios as high as 12:1. 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. The Oldsmobile V8, also referred to as the Rocket, is series of engines that was produced by Oldsmobile from 1949 until 1990. In the mid-1950s, American automakers were engaged in a ferocious horsepower race. 1985), pp. Oh, and lets not forget the Bonneville speed merchants. NASCAR held nine Grand National races in 1949, of which stock Rocket 88s won six. The engine built in the 1955 Super 88 and 98 models delivered 295 horsepower. The V8 was standard in the new 1949 Oldsmobile 98, replacing the old 257 cu. Hemmings Motor News has been serving the classic car hobby since 1954. Oldsmobile 1949 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight History Gallery Valuation Rocket 88 (1949 - 1953) 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 These are standard specifications - not necessarily specifications for the vehicle (s) in the photo (s). There may be more than one of these cookies, particularly if you access several password-protected posts with different passwords. Hours of Operation. Power increased the final Rocket was rated at 345 gross horsepower (257 kW) but fuel economy eroded. [13] It could also be fitted with high-compression cylinder heads from the Morgan +8. There will typically be several such cookies, each beginning with "gdpr" (e.g., gdpr[allowed_cookies], gdpr&5Bprivacy_bar&5D, and gdpr[consent_types]). Completely restored it, all original. Deciding Burrells ideas had promise, Wolfram and Skinner organized a new advance design group to develop a new overhead-valve (OHV) V8 engine and assigned Burrell to lead it. It used a 4.126in (104.8mm) bore and 3.975in (101.0mm) stroke. Oldsmobile used the popular LV2, a 307-cubic-inch (5.0L) engine, commonly known by the VIN code "Y", from 1980-1990. For additional information about how Google uses cookies and/or other technologies that may collect and/or process personal information, see the "Technologies" section of their Google Privacy & Terms site and the "Our advertising and measurement cookies" section of their Google Business Data Responsibility site, which includes a detailed list of cookies associated with Google advertising and measurement products. During those few brief years, both the hot rodder and the racers weapon of choice was either the Cadillac 331 c.i. This problem did not appear until the engine had over 50,000 miles (80,000km) on it. The Olds engine performed well and was very smooth running but didnt have as much scat as the modified flat head. The Rocket 88 would vacuum the chrome off V8 Fords (unless the Fords owner had made a substantial investment in aftermarket parts) and it took a semi-exotic like the new Jaguar XK-120 to soundly beat the Olds. R. V. Hutchinson, who was an Oldsmobile engineer prior to transferring to Product Studies #5 when C. L. McCuen was appointed 1st Vice President in charge of engineering, designed and build a heavy in-line 6-cylinder (850 lbs.) What these activities have most in common was that there was an awful lot of engine-swapping going on. The cheap ones are expensive, and the expensive ones are cheap. I heard it (fittingly) in connection with Jaguars, but of course its true in general. I have read and accepted the Privacy Policy We are known for our high quality,attention to detail and meeting our customers goals. Inevitably, the 88 overshadowed Oldsmobiles cheaper 76, which still used a 257 cu. It shared the same compression ratio of the Toronado Rocket at 10.5:1. Performance modifications included a "hot" camshaft (in reality, just a camshaft used in various applications during the '70s with .440"/.440" lift and 196/208 duration at .050"), stiffer valve springs, a larger vibration damper (same as all '73-'79 350s, 403s, and 455s), a Y-pipe dual-outlet exhaust system, and richer secondary metering rods in the carburetor. Richard A. Lentinello (Bennington, VT: Hemmings Motor News, 2002), pp. Clarke (Cobham, England: Brooklands Books Ltd., ca. And just where is this crazy car heaven where Rocket 88 Oldsmobiles and Avantis are parallel parked on the street side by side? Of those sales, 100,273 were the Rocket 88. In certain cases, multiple iterations of either or both of these cookies may be set. [2] [3] In 1929, Oldsmobile installed a 90 degree monobloc flathead V8 engine in the Viking companion brand before the monobloc was used in LaSalle and Cadillac vehicles from 1929-1931. It was rated at 350 horsepower (261kW) and 440lbft (597Nm) of torque with a Rochester 4-barrel, and 360hp (268kW) with the L69 tri 2-barrel option in 1966. . Bore was up to 4.0in (100mm) and stroke was increased to 3.6875in (93.66mm) for 371cuin (6.1L). Awesome vehicle many great high school memorys. The real standard of the world. The turbocharger fitted to the V8 engine was a small-diameter Garrett T5 model with integral wastegate, manufactured by Garrett AiResearch, and produced a maximum of 5psi (34kPa) boost at 2200rpm. There were 64 1st Gen sold in the last 5 years. Diagram of a typical pushrod/rocker-arm layout of an overhead-valve engine. Your wording in the flathead section (acts directly) suggest the valve stem tip rides the cam lobe in a flathead. Thank you so much for further refining my understanding of my 52 Super 88 Holiday Coupe.I love this car for its rich history, and the fact that I inherited it from a dear, tragically taken friend. If you correctly enter the password, the site saves this cookie on your device to allow you access to the password-protected post or page. Oldsmobile was basically offering three full-size vehicles in 1949, but the 88 was a little bit special. (For this cookie, "xx" will be a cryptographic hash.) Naturally, GM was extremely interested in the potential of high-compression engines for passenger cars, but there were two hold-ups. Particularly by 50s standards, the flathead Ford wasnt an outstanding engine, which I think even a lot of loyalists would have readily admitted, but you could get them by the cartload and there was a huge, well-entrenched aftermarket for them. The payment button in the "Support Ate Up With Motor" box (and similar payment or donation buttons that may appear on portions of the administrative dashboard, which is not normally accessible except to logged-in administrative users) contains embedded content served by PayPal services. Many customers did not keep the reservoir filled, or had mechanical problems with the turbocharger system which resulted in many of the turbo-charger installations being removed and a conventional 4 barrel carburetor and manifold installed in its place. When it comes to Oldsmobiles from 1957, the hardtop was the second-most-popular body style, with 49,187 units produced. . The Vimeo Cookie Policy also provides information about how Vimeo users can control the use of third-party analytics and/or advertising cookies in connection with embedded Vimeo video players. Although I often wondered why GM needed three mid-level brands, since you already have them, why not preserve them, especially since it is embarrassing and demoralizing to lose one, now two. The overhead valve engine concept offered both power and efficiency, with an improvement in fuel economy (estimated at about 10 percent better than prior engine designs). Assuming your car has its original engine, its the version Oldsmobile called the Skyrocket, which was differentiated from the base Rocket by its four-barrel carburetor and gross ratings of 330 hp and 440 lb-ft of torque. These cookies are necessary for the site's administrative users (who wouldn't even be able to log in without them), but if you are not an administrative user, these cookies aren't normally placed on your device at all unless you somehow access the login area, which is off-limits to non-administrators. The difficulty presented by an OHV layout is finding a way to operate the valves.
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