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. Brand new 1/87 (HO) scale diecast car model of 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 Coupe #22 "Overseas Motors Atlanta" Red die cast model car by Oxford Diecast. 770-738-7111. 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. 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. 1985), pp. BMEP, IMEP), you will immediately see that bore/stroke ratio does not directly effect engine power. 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. The FirePower, Buick Nailhead, and Chevrolet V-8s didnt exist yet. OHV engines can also support much higher compression ratios. The Buick version was rated at 200hp with an 11:1 compression ratio. Using the 5 liter Rover block and crankshaft, a maximum displacement of 317.8cuin (5,208cc) is theoretically possible.[14]. The Cadillac and Oldsmobile V8s represented the start of several major trends in American engine design. Thanks! 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. Each of those engines had its own peculiarities, but they were all in the mold of the Oldsmobile Rocket engine. There were 64 1st Gen sold in the last 5 years. Did G M make a 1949-50 olds 88 or 98 4 door fastback ? Its a super 88 sedan 4 door. Crane said Bouvy was Engine/Camshaft designer of the 1949 Cadillac V-8. SPECIFICATIONS Engine: OHV 90-degree V-8, cast-iron block and heads Displacement: 303-cu.in. The combination of good low-RPM torque, the Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor, and the THM-200-4R three speed plus overdrive automatic transmission having a lockup torque converter allowed for fairly good performance, and fuel economy considered reasonable for the era, even in the larger and heavier model cars. Some auction action surrounding 1956 Oldsmobiles tells a similar story: About six weeks after he started work, Burrell showed his designs to Oldsmobiles chief engineer Jack Wolfram and Oldsmobile general manager Sherrod Skinner. 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. (Google, DoubleClick, YouTube, and other related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC. 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. 4th Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2002); Maurice Hendry, Hillbilly Genius: The Great Boss Ket,' Special Interest Autos #51 (June 1979), pp. I just wanted to know if I have a rocket engine and how can I check if its a 394. The Rocket 88 would see consistent improvements over the next two decades or so. (Thats a lesson that many Jaguar and Porsche owners have learned the hard way.)[/quote]. iThemes is one of the Liquid Web family of brands; iThemes and Liquid Web are trademarks of Liquid Web, LLC.). All other trademarks and/or service marks are the property of their respective owners. A diagram of where the hydraulic or solid lifter fits in a flathead might be helpful to readers. The 10:1 compression 1961 model produced 325hp (242kW) and 435lbft (590Nm), while the 10.25:1 1962-1964 version upped power to 330hp (250kW) and 440lbft (600Nm). R.M. 16, No. 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. The demise of Olds is yet another dreary episode in the ongoing story of GM losing its way. 1955 Oldsmobile 88. A special 1963 10.5:1 version was also produced with 345hp (257kW). The following year, 88s won 10 out of 19 Grand National races and set a new speed record at Daytona. Its unclear at what point Oldsmobile engineers became aware of the Cadillac engine or how much they knew about it. An 88 also won the first grueling Carrera Panamericana, the 2,176-mile (3,500-km) Mexican Road Race. Naturally, GM was extremely interested in the potential of high-compression engines for passenger cars, but there were two hold-ups. (PayPal.com, PayPal, and all logos related to the PayPal services are either trademarks or registered trademarks of PayPal, Inc. or its licensors. The Rocket would only get bigger, not smaller. (WordPress and the WordPress logos are registered trademarks of the WordPress Foundation in the United States and other countries. Email: [email protected] Address: 7400 E Monte Cristo Ave . The PYPF cookie normally expires in approximately four weeks, the 01A1 cookie in approximately one year. 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. I have read several histories of the 1949 Oldsmobile and Cadillac V-8s, but never seen Bouvy mentioned. The 400cuin (6.6L) version was the second tall-deck "big-block" Olds. or is that not an Avanti peeking into the frame on the right side of the last photo? Full instrumentation is standard Olds had not yet succumbed to the allure of warning lights. 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. (I quess that would be total Olds minus Olds 76 model.). 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! Ford, Chevy, Dodge and Mercury were the top sellers and I believe Oldsmobile would come in 5th or 6th place. 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. By contrast, both the Cadillac and Oldsmobile V8s were oversquare, with a wide bore and a short stroke. An outstanding 350 Oldsmobile engine for sale would be perfect in a Cutlass convertible. It was optional on 1964 98s and Super 88s. The top brass equivocated, but Skinner finally got the green light. ), If one was trying to tally how many Rocket engines were built in Olds cars in 1949-50, do you have those numbers? In MY1950, total production was 407,889, of which only 33,257 were the 76, so 374,632 (91.8%) had V-8 power. Even "modest" restorations can quickly get out of control, cost-wise, so be careful that a $2,000 bargain doesnt become a money pit. It kept the retired 425's 4.126in (104.8mm) bore to produce between 275 and 400hp (205 and 298kW; 279 and 406PS). Both are well-documented, albeit relatively short-lived. The high-compression four-barrel 394 cu. 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. 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. Hours of Operation. You make a good point about the L-head lifter. 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. SAE gross power was 150hp. Instead, influenced by the Space Race between the United States and the USSR, the legendary Rocket was born, available in Oldsmobile's 88, Super 88, and 98 models. The icing on the cake was that fuel consumption was reduced by about 10% compared to the old L-head engine. 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. Making its debut in 1957 as standard equipment on all Olds models,[4] the 371 was produced through 1960. Each engine in this generation is quite similar with the same size block and heads. This cars turn signals may be an aftermarket addition turn signals were originally a $15 option on this car. You shared that mileage ranged from 12 MPG 18 MPG depending on the year. They call mine the black ace and they have a club division in the oldsmobile club of america. The 1967 and later versions of the Repco engine had proprietary engine blocks. Note the quadrant for the Hydra-Matic atop the steering column. 303 Oldsmobile V8 parts in-stock with same-day shipping. Off.).) As far as Im aware, it was basically similar to the parking pawls of Dynaflow or Ultramatic, although those transmissions had a separate position on the quadrant for it. 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. 1955 OLDSMOBILE 88 CORE ENGINE ASSEMBLY 8-324 V-8 879042. Most 394s used 2-barrel carburetors, but special high-compression 4-barrel versions were available starting in 1961. 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. Unless youre building a rod, its often worth it to spend more upfront for a car thats in better condition. I have read and accepted the Privacy Policy 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). $200.00. 330s were painted gold and had forged steel crankshafts. 6 (July 1962), pp. From 1950 until 1974, the 88 was the division's most profitable line, particularly the entry level models such as the 88 and Dynamic 88. 74-81; Bob McVay, Oldsmobile Starfire Road Test, Motor Trend Vol. Based on the Cadillac Northstar engine, this 4.0-liter engine, called Aurora, was a DOHC design with four valves per cylinder. Park is actually a parking brake that has a red light comes on when the hand brake is out. We think it was probably just as well that the proposed ultra-premium fuels never materialized; as it was, increasing the octane rating of pump gasoline from the 70 RON of typical mid-forties regular fuel to the 98 RON level of later super-premium fuel increased the amount of lead in each gallon by more than 40%, with significant public health consequences. R.M. Two-door fastbacks, like this one, were known as Club Sedans; the four-doors were called Town Sedans. It was advertised with gross power and torque ratings of 312hp (233kW) at 4600 rpm and 415lbft (563Nm) at 2800 rpm. Displacement swelled from 303 Ci or 5 liters all the way to the gargantuan 455 Ci 7.5 liter V8 in the early 70s. With an overall length of 202 inches (5,131 mm) and an overall width of 75.2 inches (1,910 mm) on a 119.5-inch (3,035mm) wheelbase, the 88 was hardly a small car even by American standards and it tipped the scales (in this body style) at almost 3,800 lb (1,717 kg) with Hydra-Matic, but its Rocket V8 would leave Pontiacs elderly straight eight or Chevrolets Stovebolt Six for dead and the Oldsmobile name carried more prestige than Pontiac or Chevrolet. Powered by the rocket 2bbl. 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. For the Rocket 88, Oldsmobile came up with a 303 cubic inch V8 capable of a maximum 135 hp and 283 lb-ft of torque. They were criticized at the time as being unsafe in city traffic because they picked up their air too close to the tail pipes of cars ahead. Oldsmobiles companion make, the Viking had a horizontal-valve V8 with two-plane crankshaft in the early thirties. Moreover, correct tuning was a continual headache. The engine had 10.25:1 compression and a single-barrel carburetor. The Rocket-powered 98 was already a very respectable performer, so installing the new engine in the lighter body made for quite a hot number. Many believe it was deliberately underrated to avoid offending Cadillac, which was concerned about its sister division outmatching the new Cadillac V8. Concord, NC 5 years at carsforsale.com 3 27,900 1955 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight - Concord, NC sedan automatic $8,888 or BEST REASONABLE OFFER. Olds were very popular in Brazil but I can t give you any numbers. 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. The 76 lingered for one more model year and then was dropped entirely; the division wouldnt offer a six again until 1964. 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. Around the end of that year, the project nearly ground to a halt due to objections from Cadillac. The engine proved so popular, the division's 88 models were popularly called Rocket 88s. Oldsmobile like mine are real popular in australia. It was released one year earlier than the tall deck 425, and debuted the standard 3.385in (86.0mm) stroke; bore was 3.938in (100.0mm). 9 (September 1964), reprinted in Oldsmobile Muscle Portfolio 1964-1971, ed. 394s were produced from 19591964 and were available on many Olds models. 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. An Ultra High Compression Toronado Rocket version of the 425cuin (7.0L) V8 was made for the 1966 Toronado. wider bore provides a greater surface area on which the forces of combustion can act, improving power The Olds Rocket 88 engine went through modifications during the 1950's For the 1955 model year Oldsmobile increased the compression ratio which helped put out 185 horsepower for the Olds 88 model. The popularity of the flathead Ford engines depended heavily on the first two qualities. The first generation of Oldsmobile 88 was introduced in 1949. Since the valves of a flathead are also in the block, the camshaft can actuate the valves directly. [22] This was the first engine to use the smaller Rochester Dualjet two-barrel carburetor, the only carburetor used on the 260. Thanks for the great write up on the history of one of the most influential engines in the automobile industry! $410.00 shipping. "Alternative Engines: Part 2--Buick V8", in, Davis, Marlan. in. (If you need to review or change these settings after you accept, you can do so from the Privacy Tools page.) Sorry! Red Hat is a trademark of Red Hat, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. One by one, every other American manufacturer brought out its own OHV V8 engine: Chrysler and Studebaker in 1951; Lincoln in 1952; Buick and Dodge in 1953; Ford and Mercury in 1954; Chevrolet, Pontiac, Plymouth, and Packard in 1955; and AMC in 1956. in. 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. The 324 was shared with GMC trucks. Oldsmobile might be gone, but the Rocket brand hasn't been forgotten by collectors shopping for a 1950s American automotive icon. 76. It was used in most Oldsmobile models, as well as those from Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Pontiac. Unlike a Mustang or a later Chevy, where theres a thriving business in replacement pieces, finding parts for an Olds of that vintage isnt necessarily easy these days. 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. The Nash was driven by Roy Graham a wrestling referee at Dallas Sportatorium who also had the Nash dealership in Corsicana TX. A flathead engine, therefore, also has poor thermal efficiency. Clarke (Cobham, England: Brooklands Books Ltd., ca. FOLLOW MARKET. Regarding production tallies, in MY1949, Oldsmobile built 288,310 cars, of which 95,556 were the 76, meaning the remaining 192,754 (66.9% of production) were 88s and 98s with the new Rocket engine. Two distinct versions of the 400 CID engine were made: The 1966-1967 4-4-2 400cuin (6.6L) V8 was a short stroke engine which featured B and C cast large-valve cylinder heads and hydraulic lifters of larger diameter, as well as push-rods of different length and diameter than the standard Olds Rocket V8. (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 303 was produced from 1949-1953. 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. The iThemes Security plugin may also set the itsec-hb-login-xx cookie, which helps to protect the site against "brute force" hacking attempts; that cookie normally expires in about one hour. 7-27; Michael Lamm, Two Very Important Cars! Oldsmobiles first postwar engine was born during the UAW strike that shut down GM production from November 1945 through March 1946. Thanks Weldon, [quote=Administrator]Unless youre building a rod, its often worth it to spend more upfront for a car thats in better condition. 17, No. Biggest mistake I still think about that automobile. This 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 has the Deluxe trim with a dashboard clock; Deluxe models cost $78 more than the standard-trim version. Like the test mules, the Rocket 88 was, in the parlance of a somewhat later era, a real bomb. (For this cookie, "xx" will be a cryptographic hash.) Flory. Popular price guides put Lansing's mid-1950s cars at an average of $16,500 for a four-door all the way up to $72,900 for a two-door convertible. $300.00. 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. You could say the same thing about the original Century, if you were so inclined, which I am. On that level, the Oldsmobile Rocket engine didnt make it, but thats with the benefit of hindsight. 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. Happy to see someone that not only mentions, but appreciates the early Olds. 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. The first second-generation Oldmobile V8 330cuin (5.4L) "Jetfire Rocket" introduced in 1964 and produced through 1967. Road tests were conducted later that year and the new V8 went into production a few days before Christmas 1948. I received some information from Harvey Crane. As an aside, the Oldsmobile was bought by doctors, lawyers, bank managers, shop owners, construction entrepreneurs and the like. Displacement was 259.5 cubic inches, with almost square bore and stroke. Raises and Lowers - 4 Leg Suspension - New Paint Job 2 Tone Black & Copper - New Starter - New A/C - Cloth Bench Seating - New Battery - New Flowmaster Exhaust - MSD Ignition - Headers - $5000 of Mechanical Work Just Done It also used the .921in lifter bore size of the Toronado Rocket. Is there a serial number plate on the engine? Some Oldsmobile employees detested that name, but it remained strongly associated with Oldsmobile well into the 1960s. All of this was occurring from about 1948 thru the first half of the 50s. 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. The real standard of the world. Submitting a comment signifies your acceptance of our Comment Policy please read it first! Unlike the 76, powered by a straight-six engine, the 88 came with a V8 under the. Oldsmobile's own L34 350-cubic-inch (5.7L) V8 was used in the 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass "S", 1979 Hurst/Olds models and 1980 "4-4-2". U.S. Pat. 5 vehicles matched Now showing page 1 of 1. If not, it may be a little more difficult, short of pulling the heads. 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. Oldsmobile used the popular LV2, a 307-cubic-inch (5.0L) engine, commonly known by the VIN code "Y", from 1980-1990. The second generation of Oldsmobile V8s was produced from 1964-1990. Sunday - Closed. 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. So, its not particularly surprising that a highly tuned flathead Ford would be stronger than a stock 1950 Olds 303. Its tempting to speculate what might have happened had the the U.S. industrys push in the fifties been for efficiency rather than the (ultimately Pyrrhic) horsepower race, although that would admittedly have been unlikely. It was rated at 215hp (160kW) at 4600rpm and 300lbft (410Nm) at 3200rpm. 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 . A very significant and, at this point, often misunderstood transmission that had a big influence on the character of the cars that used it. Additionally, the 403 had windowed main webs, which reduced the internal strength of the block in the crankcase area. Awesome vehicle many great high school memorys. 18-23; Jim Richardson, Rocket Power: Oldsmobiles 1950 convertibles: The rocking 88 versus the jazzier 98, Special Interest Autos #188 (March-April 2002), pp. It has gained popularity among young muscle car lovers. Oldsmobiles reign as the hottest performer in the land proved to be short-lived. Produced from 19681980, the Rocket 350 was entirely different from the other GM divisions' 350s. in. The company later introduced a new vehicle, the Oldsmobile Aurora, with a new generation V8. Its output of 0.45 hp per cubic inch was 7% better than the 0.42 hp per cubic inch of the popular and widely produced 100hp (75kW) 1949 Ford Flathead V8. It has been purported that there is a 403 Oldsmobile block and cast that has solid main webs that may have been equipped in vehicles such as the Pontiac Firebird equipped with a towing package, but there are currently no clearly documented surviving examples. California residents also have the Right to Opt-Out of the sale of their personal information see the Do Not Sell My Personal Information page. R.M. 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. In an OHV engine, the valves are placed directly above the combustion chamber, which greatly improves breathing. 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. 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). 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 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. 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. 34-41; Arch Brown, Richard Langworth, and the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, Great Cars of the 20th Century (Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International, Ltd., 1998); F. Gibson Butler, History of the Rocket Engine, originally written 15 November 1977 and excerpted in Desert Rocket Report: Newsletter of the Oldsmobile Club of Arizona October 2004, pp. The 425cuin (7.0L) big-block was the first tall-deck "big block," produced from 1965 through 1967. Compression ratios never approached the 12.5:1 level that Kettering had proposed, peaking at about 10.5:1. ), These first-party cookies are used to manage user logins and certain other administrative functions of the WordPress content management system, e.g., post editing. This was not an official assignment; he was simply exploring ideas for his own interest and amusement. The second issue was that the practical limit for L-head engines was a compression ratio of about 7.0:1; above that threshold, it became difficult to control combustion roughness.
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