This 1952 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight is a well-priced classic that gives you some of the best styles around. Classic Oldsmobile Rocket 88 for Sale. Big-block and Diesel versions also increased the 2.5in (64mm) main bearing journal to 3.0in (76mm) for increased strength. (For more information about our discontinuation of Google Analytics tracking on this website, see the "Online Tracking" section of the Privacy Policy. Now 70 years old and giving a lot of thought to building me a 1950 Olds casket. 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. Some auction action surrounding 1956 Oldsmobiles tells a similar story: 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. 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. 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). in. The engine was designed by Charles L. McCuen, who later had a hand in approving the Rocket engine for production. Did G M make a 1949-50 olds 88 or 98 4 door fastback ? Well, are you presuming that the 88s actual career in stock car racing or road races like the Carrera Panamericana somehow dont count? The first second-generation Oldmobile V8 330cuin (5.4L) "Jetfire Rocket" introduced in 1964 and produced through 1967. The Olds 403 was used by Buick and Pontiac in addition to Oldsmobile until its discontinuation after 1979. [citation needed]. Ate Up With Motor and its embedded content providers may use cookies and/or similar technologies and collect personal information about site visitors as described in the Privacy Policy and Cookie Notice. 4-barrel models used 9.25:1 compression in 1957 and 10:1 in 1958 for 277hp (207kW) and 400lbft (540Nm) and 305hp (227kW) and 410lbft (560Nm) respectively. Sunday - Closed. For more information about what data PayPal services collect and how that data may be used, visit the "Legal Agreements for PayPal Services" page to review the PayPal Privacy Statement and Statement on Cookies and Tracking Technologies that apply in your location (the Statement on Cookies and Tracking Technologies that applies to each region is linked from within the applicable PayPal Privacy Statement). The engine had 10.25:1 compression and a single-barrel carburetor. Most of these engines were very similar, using the same bore centers and a 9.33in (237mm) deck height, raised on "big-block" versions to 10.625in (269.9mm). . I will let you know soon. The Rocket, along with the 1949 Cadillac V8, were the first post-war OHV crossflow cylinder head V8 engines produced by General Motors. 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]. All LV2s feature a 4-barrel carburetor. The difference is that many of the things earlier generations feared (such as heavy dependence on foreign oil and its associated political ramifications) are now familiar reality rather than speculation. In short, the flatheads breathing ability is only mediocre. Embedded video players for content hosted on the YouTube video platform (which is owned by Google LLC) may set these third-party cookies and/or use similar technologies to store data in your browser (or other user agent) for purposes such as (without limitation) managing video settings (e.g., tailoring the playback to your connection speed), storing video preferences, providing certain functionality (e.g., allowing you to pause a video at a particular point), showing you advertisements, associating your video viewing and other activity with your Google account (if any), ensuring proper functioning of the service, preventing abuse, and/or compiling user analytics data. Naturally, GM was extremely interested in the potential of high-compression engines for passenger cars, but there were two hold-ups. A new Cadillac was dramatically more expensive and also heavier, and Buicks with the big straight eight engine probably had Dynaflow. The 260 was designed for economy, and was the first engine option above the 4.1 ChevroletI-6, then later the 3.8L Buick V6, which was standard fitment in many Oldsmobile models by the late 1970s. 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 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). The company produced its first V8 - an L-head design . When you submit a comment, you may have the option save your information for future comments, storing the info in these cookies. 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. 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. You could say the same thing about the original Century, if you were so inclined, which I am. iThemes is one of the Liquid Web family of brands; iThemes and Liquid Web are trademarks of Liquid Web, LLC.). 303CI ROCKET V8, 4SPD AUTO, COOL, ICONIC 50S STYLING, 4-DOOR CONVENIENCE, CLASSY. The Oldsmobile Rocket 88 is a full-size automobile produced and marketed by Oldsmobile from 1949 to 1999. . in. A smaller 260cuin (4.3L) V8 was created for the new Oldsmobile Omega in 1975 by decreasing the bore to 3.5in (89mm). New brakes, wide Whitewall tires and classic stereo and speaker. 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. 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. The cookies are not set at all unless you select that option when submitting a comment. This was not an official assignment; he was simply exploring ideas for his own interest and amusement. 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. 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. R.M. Runs great. The _ga and _gid cookies, which were only placed if you clicked "Accept/Enable" in the notification banner, enabled the Google Analytics service to track your activity on the site. 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. 1955 OLDSMOBILE 88 CORE ENGINE ASSEMBLY 8-324 V-8 879042. Earlier 50s and(I believe)all 49s had the split windshield. 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. Internal combustion engines are essentially air pumps, so their power depends greatly on how much air-fuel mixture can flow into the cylinders to burn. These cookies expire in about 15 days if the user clicks "Remember Me" when logging in; if not, the cookies normally expire when the user closes their browser (or other user agent), or, failing that, within about two days. All full-size 1962 Oldsmobiles had the 394. To learn more about what information the Vimeo platform collects and how that information may be used, see the Vimeo Privacy Policy. Unfortunately, it also creates more friction and means that the average piston speeds are very high, particularly at high RPM, which is detrimental to engine longevity. Detailed interior, exterior. It depends on your goals. The following are turn key engines available . spark ignition engine for high-compression studies. The 324 was shared with GMC trucks. Email or call Mark at 217/390-8500 with questions, or to inspect or test drive. Two-barrel carburetion was standard; all high performance 324s came with four-barrel carburetors. Submitting a comment signifies your acceptance of our Comment Policy please read it first! Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage 1949 Oldsmobile 88 Futuramic Rocket Engine Magazine Print Ad W31 at the best online prices at eBay! (5,880 cc) engine was a massive straight eight with nine main bearings may have played a role in that!) Thanks! Crane said Bouvy was Engine/Camshaft designer of the 1949 Cadillac V-8. The Oldsmobile Cutlass, Rocket 88, and other classic models remain very popular among car collectors and Oldsmobile fans. or is that not an Avanti peeking into the frame on the right side of the last photo? 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. This cars turn signals may be an aftermarket addition turn signals were originally a $15 option on this car. The new V8 was also more powerful: Rated output climbed from 110 to 135 gross horsepower (82 to 101 kW) while torque increased from 213 to 283 lb-ft (289 to 383 N-m), allowing an Oldsmobile 98 with Hydra-Matic to reach 60 mph (97 km/h) in a brisk (for 1949) 13.5 seconds, with a top speed of 96 mph (155 km/h). In the spirit of trying to improve a fantastic article. [19] The 403 was never featured with a manual transmission and the crank was never manufactured for a pilot bearing. Until 1951, Oldsmobile offered a choice of fastback and notchback body styles, as well as the convertible. It has gained popularity among young muscle car lovers. Still, the same quandary exists that faced Gordon Burrell and Jack Gordon in the late forties: New technologies in this case, direct injection, turbocharging, and even hybrid powertrains can benefit both performance or fuel economy and emissions, but one still almost always wins out over the other. Some people fit these motors into a modified classic car or muscle car because of Oldsmobile GM reliability and performance horsepower advantages. 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. Im not sure about the early Hydramatics but later ones, 54-56 you put in reverse to park. Oldsmobile Rocket 88/98 GM General Motors, which remains the world's largest producer of pushrod OHV engines, started the revolution when Oldsmobile and Cadillac began developing their OHV engines in 1945. The early Rocket V8 weighs a bit over 700 pounds (318 kg) and had an SAE gross rating of 135 hp (101 kW). The original Oldsmobile V8 was to have been marketed as "Kettering Power" after chief engineer Charles Kettering, but company policy prohibited the use of his name. Incidentally, the Rocket engine was not Oldsmobiles first V8. 1968-1974 350s were painted gold; 1975-1976 350s were metallic blue like the 455; 1977-1980 models were painted GM Corporate Blue. Any interest in better fuel economy was quickly forgotten; gasoline was cheap and speed sold more cars than parsimony. The shape of a flatheads combustion chambers also limits its maximum compression ratio (the amount the fuel mixture is compressed before burning). It was the seminal American muscle car, predating Chrysler's Hemi-powered 300-C by . The wp-donottrack_feed cookie, which controls a blog feed, was set by accessing the dashboard menu for the WP DoNotTrack plugin (which we do not currently use on this website); this cookie normally expires in about one year. 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. There will typically be several such cookies, each beginning with "gdpr" (e.g., gdpr[allowed_cookies], gdpr&5Bprivacy_bar&5D, and gdpr[consent_types]). Unlike all other 425s, this version was painted slate blue metallic. (The basic Eighty-Eight was rarer, accounting for only about 35,000.) Sending my 53 olds to Dallas for overhaul. R.M. Oldsmobile like mine are real popular in australia. Most components and accessories are interchangeable. Were Oldsmobiles ever sold in Brazil in any significant numbers? Awesome vehicle many great high school memorys. Engineers today are wrestling with questions very similar to those faced by their counterparts of 70 or even 90 years ago. Bore was increased to 3.875in (98.4mm) (same as the later 283 Chevy) and stroke remained the same at 3.4375in (87.31mm). This motor is blue which makes me think its been gone through. 1955 Oldsmobile 88. Such cookies and/or stored data items may be set by various domains (such as, though not necessarily limited to, youtube.com; youtube-nocookie.com; googlevideo.com; ytimg.com; google.com; accounts.google.com; www.googleadservices.com; and/or doubleclick.net, which is part of the DoubleClick advertising service, also owned by Google LLC). The 403 is fundamentally the exact same block as an Oldsmobile 350 V8, however it features a larger bore. In any case, the early postwar period saw the emergence of the California customizing/hot rod scene; the advent of the fiberglass kit car body manufacturers such as Bill Tritts Glaspar (Tritt was retained briefly by GM as a consultant in 1951 when they were considering building a lightweight fiberglass-bodied sports car); and the birth of modern motorsport in the US with the founding of the SCCA and the advent of road racing as the most popular form of competition. The first was that Ketterings engine required fuel with a considerably higher octane rating than any contemporary pump gasoline; better fuel economy was hardly useful if you could only fill up at airports. Power increased the final Rocket was rated at 345 gross horsepower (257 kW) but fuel economy eroded. Submitting a comment signifies your acceptance of our. in. 1964 Starfire produced 345hp (257kW) and 440lbft (600Nm) for the 1963-4 Starfire and 98 Custom-Sports Coupe. The 260cuin (4.3L), 307cuin (5.0L), 330cuin (5.4L), 350cuin (5.7L) and 403cuin (6.6L) engines are commonly called small-blocks. I have a pretty good handle on Ford Design evolution, but not so much on GM, especially OHV. Even still, the same design philosophy carried with it throughout its production run. After logging in, the wp-settings-UID cookies store the logged-in user's configuration settings, while the wp-settings-time-UID cookies record the time those configuration settings were last set; again, there may be multiple iterations of each of these cookies, which normally expire after about one year. For example, the stock (non-high-output, VIN "Y") 307cuin (5.0L) in the 1983 Oldsmobile 98 was a mere 140hp (100kW), although in that year a high-output model (VIN "9") was available producing a nominal 180hp (130kW), at approximately 245lbft (332Nm) torque. Clarke (Cobham, England: Brooklands Books Ltd., ca. Call me a square,[I am a square], I say you dont denigrate a proud heritage. (4,705 cc) displacement of the original prototypes once higher-octane fuels became widely available, raising compression ratios to maintain the same output with lower fuel consumption. When the engine is running, transmission oil pressure disengages the pawl. 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. Concord, NC 5 years at carsforsale.com 3 27,900 1955 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight - Concord, NC sedan automatic 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. 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. 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. These were wedge-head engines with a unique combustion chamber that resulted from a valve angle of only 6. A long piston stroke gives more torque, which means better engine response at low speeds. Offenhauser 3200 49-53 Olds Rocket Dual Quad Intake, Small Port $889.99 Ships Free . There were 64 1st Gen sold in the last 5 years. (Valve spring, spring seat / retainer placement too? Comes in plastic display showcase. 9 (September 1964), reprinted in Oldsmobile Muscle Portfolio 1964-1971, ed. 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). Some consider Rocket 88, recorded by Jackie Brenston in 1951, to be the first rock and roll song. 26-33. 12 (December 1964): 36-47; William Kovarik, Ph.D., Charles F. Kettering and the 1921 Discovery of Tetraethyl Lead In the Context of Technological Alternatives, originally presented to the Society of American Engineers Fuels & Lubricants Conference, Baltimore, MD, 1994, revised 1999, www.radford. Ford, Chevy, Dodge and Mercury were the top sellers and I believe Oldsmobile would come in 5th or 6th place. [citation needed] Production of the 260 V8 ended in 1982 when the 307 became the only gasoline V8 in Oldsmobile's line. [citation needed] Most 260s were coupled to the Turbo Hydramatic 200 transmission,[citation needed] but a 5-speed manual transmission was also available in some vehicles. It also used the .921in lifter bore size of the Toronado Rocket. In the event we receive any compensation and/or other valuable consideration for any other content presented on this website, the nature of that compensation or consideration will be disclosed as part of the applicable content and/or otherwise adjacent to it. It was the only GM engine to meet US emission standards using a carburetor all the way up to 1990. (Google, Google Analytics, and other related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC. By the time the battle reached a temporary ceasefire at decades end, the average power of the typical passenger car had (at least on paper) more than doubled. Making its debut in 1957 as standard equipment on all Olds models,[4] the 371 was produced through 1960. Oldsmobiles first postwar engine was born during the UAW strike that shut down GM production from November 1945 through March 1946. The PYPF cookie normally expires in approximately four weeks, the 01A1 cookie in approximately one year. CC-1634303. Our sources for this article included the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, Encyclopedia of American Cars: Over 65 Years of Automotive History (Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International, 1996); John R. Bond, Car of the Year: The 1949 Cadillac, Motor Trend November 1949, reprinted in Cadillac Automobiles 1949-1959, ed. 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? The Oldsmobile engine block formed the basis of the Repco 3-liter engine used by Brabham to win the 1966 and 1967 Formula One world championships. I was aghast at the ad campaign, This is not your Fathers Oldsmobile. 88. They may persist for up to two years. An engines static compression ratio is the ratio of the swept volume of each cylinder to the volume of the combustion chamber; the higher the ratio, the more the engine compresses its fuel mixture before combustion. Most 394s used 2-barrel carburetors, but special high-compression 4-barrel versions were available starting in 1961. Plus, there is a cool mix of a preserved chrome cruiser with the right upgrades to make it more enjoyable for modern times. A few years later, the Chevrolet engine started taking over the flathead Fords role as the cheap-and-easy hot-rodder choice. Your wording in the flathead section (acts directly) suggest the valve stem tip rides the cam lobe in a flathead. The real standard of the world. . Using the 5 liter Rover block and crankshaft, a maximum displacement of 317.8cuin (5,208cc) is theoretically possible.[14]. All the chrome is perfect interior all original all the glass is good.all the gauges work. Even the flathead Ford held up well (courtesy of the Ardun hop-up parts mail order catalogue.) During those few brief years, both the hot rodder and the racers weapon of choice was either the Cadillac 331 c.i. Cookies whose names begin with "_ceg" are associated with the Crazy Egg web analytics service (which is subject to the Crazy Egg Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy). (For this cookie, "xx" will be a cryptographic hash.) Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for For 1957 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket 88 Battery Cable SMP 68152PP 6.1L V8 at the best online prices at eBay! 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. It was the first mass-produced OHV V8, in 1949. 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. [citation needed], Introduced in the middle of the 1957 model year,[6] the 1957 and 1958 J-2 Golden Rocket had three two-barrel (twin choke) carburetors with a vacuum-operated linkage. The typeface used for the labels in the author-created diagrams is Liberation Sans, one of the Liberation Fonts (version 2.00.1 or later), which are copyright 2012 Red Hat, Inc., used under the SIL Open Font License, Version 1.1. The starting gun of that race was sounded by Oldsmobile, with its advanced new overhead-valve V8 and the new mid-size model that shared its name: the 1949-1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88. Have a 47 98 custom cruiser. Prior to the advent of the 1949 Cadillac and Olds engines, many (though by no means all) U.S. engines were L-head, or side-valve, design.