oldsmobile rocket 88 motor

Bore was increased to 3.875in (98.4mm) (same as the later 283 Chevy) and stroke remained the same at 3.4375in (87.31mm). 1956 Oldsmobile 88 45,891 mi 324 Rocket V8 $ 39,995 or $576/mo Oldsmobiles now-famous OHV Rocket V8 engine was in its the beginning when this 1956 Oldsmobile Super 88 Holiday hardtop emerged. Oldsmobile might be gone, but the Rocket brand hasn't been forgotten by collectors shopping for a 1950s American automotive icon. (If you need to review or change these settings after you accept, you can do so from the Privacy Tools page.) GM embarked on a vigorous campaign to persuade the major oil companies to offer higher-octane premium gasoline for civilian use. 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 were wedge-head engines with a unique combustion chamber that resulted from a valve angle of only 6. Free shipping on many items | Browse your favorite brands | affordable prices. [[[Chevrolet Corvair#First generation (19601964)#{{{section}}}|contradictory]]]. Just didnt have any power. Sunday - Closed. 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 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? 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. The Rocket, along with the 1949 Cadillac V8, were the first post-war OHV crossflow cylinder head V8 engines produced by General Motors. In 1985, roller lifters, floating piston wrist pins, and swirl port intake runners were added. U.S. Pat. (Google, DoubleClick, YouTube, and other related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC. Trim Rocket 88 1951 Oldsmobile 88 Futuramic 88 Rocket 303 V8 Hydramatic custom $16,900 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. 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 Oldsmobile 88 (marketed from 1989 on as the Eighty Eight) is a full-size car that was sold and produced by Oldsmobile from 1949 until 1999. Monday - Saturday: 9-5. 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. [21] It produced 110hp (82kW) net and 205lbft (278Nm). The Oldsmobile engine was then pretty new, a new 88 was expensive, and Im guessing that getting a decent crate or junkyard engine would cost almost as much as a decent Cadillac V-8. 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. & Tm. 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. Olds veterans claimed the Burrell group was completely unaware of the Cadillac project until quite late in the development of the Oldsmobile V8. The 260cuin (4.3L), 307cuin (5.0L), 330cuin (5.4L), 350cuin (5.7L) and 403cuin (6.6L) engines are commonly called small-blocks. 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. Total Oldsmobile sales for the 1949 model year, including exports and Canadian production, were almost 294,000, a 64% improvement from the year before. Phone: 480-285-1600. 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. 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. Ketterings team demonstrated that the higher compression ratio boosted power and gas mileage by nearly 30%. It has gained popularity among young muscle car lovers. Change Background Color (Note: This option sets cookies on your device to manage your color settings; see the Cookie Notice for details. 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. By 1952, the 88 was growing inexorably bigger and although Oldsmobile engineers had little trouble getting more power out of the Rocket engine by 1955, it boasted 202 gross horsepower (151 kW) newer, lighter cars soon surpassed its performance. The 403 is fundamentally the exact same block as an Oldsmobile 350 V8, however it features a larger bore. The Turbo-Rocket V8 was offered exclusively on the Oldsmobile Jetfire, a special version of the Cutlass compact hardtop coupe, which is noteworthy as it is one of the world's first (in fact the second) turbocharged passenger car ever offered for public sale. . Im not sure about the early Hydramatics but later ones, 54-56 you put in reverse to park. [citation needed] Production of the 260 V8 ended in 1982 when the 307 became the only gasoline V8 in Oldsmobile's line. They call mine the black ace and they have a club division in the oldsmobile club of america. 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). The introduction of the "Rocket 8" V-8 for the 1949 Oldsmobiles was perhaps the pinnacle of his achievements, incorporating in its overhead-valve design such features as five main bearings,. Even in markets where fuel is substantially more expensive than in the U.S., fuel efficiency is widely regarded in purely economic terms. Akamai is a registered trademark or service mark of Akamai Technologies, Inc. in the United States (Reg. 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. These carburetors did not open progressively; they were either open or closed. 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. [22] The 260 V8 received VIN code "F" and had a sales code of LV8. 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. (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. 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. The real standard of the world. Red Hat is a trademark of Red Hat, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. Well, are you presuming that the 88s actual career in stock car racing or road races like the Carrera Panamericana somehow dont count? OHV engines can also support much higher compression ratios. From 1950 through 1974, the 88 was by far the most lucrative line throughout the division, largely due to the entry-level versions like the 88 and the Dynamic 88. Off.).) Most 425s were painted red, though the 1966 and 1967 Toronado units were light blue. (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. The prototypes, which first ran in November 1946, were 287 cu. We are known for our high quality,attention to detail and meeting our customers goals. We are largest vintage car website with the. 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. 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. It was the first mass-produced OHV V8, in 1949. Following the Automobile Manufacturer Association ban on factory supported racing, power ratings went down for the 1959 and 1960 88 models: 270hp (200kW) and 390lbft (530Nm) for 1959 and 240hp (180kW) and 375lbft (508Nm) for 1960. 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. The Rocket, along with the 1949 Cadillac V8, were the first post-war OHV crossflow cylinder head V8 engines produced by General Motors. 1962 OLDSMOBILE 88 CORE SHORT BLOCK ENGING 8-394 860673. Your email address will not be published. Oldsmobiles companion make, the Viking had a horizontal-valve V8 with two-plane crankshaft in the early thirties. So, its not particularly surprising that a highly tuned flathead Ford would be stronger than a stock 1950 Olds 303. This car has the pushbutton radio, which cost about $96. 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. Two-door fastbacks, like this one, were known as Club Sedans; the four-doors were called Town Sedans. The engine built in the 1955 Super 88 and 98 models delivered 295 horsepower. 303 Oldsmobile V8 parts in-stock with same-day shipping. (5,880 cc) engine was a massive straight eight with nine main bearings may have played a role in that!) 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. Engineers today are wrestling with questions very similar to those faced by their counterparts of 70 or even 90 years ago. Have a 47 98 custom cruiser. An outstanding 350 Oldsmobile engine for sale would be perfect in a Cutlass convertible. I forgot this on one occasion when I was attempting to jump start my 55 Olds; after getting the car rolling backwards, I was rewarded with nothing more than a ratcheting sound when I shifted from N to R. The engine did not rotate and the car did not start. The top brass equivocated, but Skinner finally got the green light. The 324cuin (5.3L) version was produced from 1954 until 1956. The Rocket 88 would see consistent improvements over the next two decades or so. Original revolutionary Hydra-Matic SUPER DRIVE 3-speed automatic transmission, spare tire, and a couple of extra chrome wheel covers. It didnt have an actual Park position until the advent of the controlled-coupling Hydra-Matic in MY1956. The Oldsmobile V8, also referred to as the Rocket, is series of engines that was produced by Oldsmobile from 1949 until 1990. Oldsmobile was basically offering three full-size vehicles in 1949, but the 88 was a little bit special. Some auction action surrounding 1956 Oldsmobiles tells a similar story: The development testing, however, had been done using the smaller B-body Olds 76 as a test mule. Home / Cars for Sale / Oldsmobile / . During those few brief years, both the hot rodder and the racers weapon of choice was either the Cadillac 331 c.i. 18-23; Jim Richardson, Rocket Power: Oldsmobiles 1950 convertibles: The rocking 88 versus the jazzier 98, Special Interest Autos #188 (March-April 2002), pp. 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). 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. Each of those engines had its own peculiarities, but they were all in the mold of the Oldsmobile Rocket engine. Burrell examined a wide range of configurations, but the one to which he continually returned was a 90-degree V8, which he judged as offering the best compromise between power potential and physical size. Some competitors were a bit faster all-out and a few could beat the Olds off the line, but the 88 was one of the fastest cars in America in 1949. The Oldsmobile Rocket 88 has a current value close to $96,250 at some auctions. In an OHV engine, by contrast, the valves are a fair distance away from the crankshaft, which makes operating them far more complicated. Im currently writing a book on Yankee iron of the 1955-1973 period (the true golden age of the American Car in the modern era.) Initially the paint was red, except for metallic blue in the Toronado applications; 1970-1976 versions were metallic blue at first, then nonmetallic blue. Biggest mistake I still think about that automobile. PLEASE DON'T SUBMIT COPYRIGHTED CONTENT YOU AREN'T AUTHORIZED TO USE! 1948 & 1949 Cadillac Fastbacks, Special Interest Autos #11 (June-July 1972), pp. 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. Logging in sets the wordpress_logged_in_xx, wordpress_sec_xx, and/or wordpress_xx cookies, which store the user's login credentials to allow access to the administrative dashboard and other administrative functions; there may be multiple iterations of each cookie. (These cookies may not be set at all for administrative users unless they access the publicly visible portions of the website and/or update their consent settings e.g., by accepting an updated version of the Privacy Policy. A popular modification made to the 403 to increase power was to swap on early Oldsmobile 350 heads to boost compression. 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 The Oldsmobile 88 was introduced in 1949 as a replacement for the 70 series. 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. You must be at least 18 to comment. Oldsmobile like mine are real popular in australia. Call 800.979.0122, 7am-10pm, everyday. Since the valves of a flathead are also in the block, the camshaft can actuate the valves directly. The engine is also known for its reliability, smoothness and quietness. Classic Car Deals (844) 676-0714. However not practical to drive around pittsburgh, pa. To many hills for that single chamber master cylinder. One or more wp-saving-post cookies may be set while creating and/or editing posts or pages, to help manage version control and the autosave feature; these cookies normally expire after about 24 hours. Awesome vehicle many great high school memorys. The cookies normally expire in about 10 days, and are not set at all if you do not access any password-protected content. 26-31; Roger Huntington, 1965 Engines, Motor Trend Vol. This motor is blue which makes me think its been gone through. The engine was designed by Charles L. McCuen, who later had a hand in approving the Rocket engine for production. 15-16 MPG is great even by modern standards, for a 300+ HP engine. The Vimeo Cookie Policy does not currently disclose the normal durations of the cookies and similar technologies the Vimeo platform uses, but it appears that some may remain in your browser (or other user agent) for as long as your settings permit. 15 results per page. Sorry! Power was 81 hp at 3000 rpm. The super-fuels the engineers wanted would probably have added even more. Some consider Rocket 88, recorded by Jackie Brenston in 1951, to be the first rock and roll song. The Rocket V8 was the subject of many first and lasts in the automotive industry. It was the only GM engine to meet US emission standards using a carburetor all the way up to 1990. The Oldsmobile 350s made from 1968-1976 have heavy castings, beefier crankshafts, and better flowing heads. You make a good point about the L-head lifter. I will let you know soon. In certain cases, multiple iterations of either or both of these cookies may be set. Comments may be moderated. . The Oldsmobile Rocket 88 is a full-size automobile produced and marketed by Oldsmobile from 1949 to 1999. Overhead valves did not suffer the same problem, which gave them the potential for much higher compression ratios. 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. The engine proved so popular, the division's 88 models were popularly called Rocket 88s. 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. 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. BMEP, IMEP), you will immediately see that bore/stroke ratio does not directly effect engine power. Hoo, boy, you better run away right now). Power increased the final Rocket was rated at 345 gross horsepower (257 kW) but fuel economy eroded. [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. [13] It could also be fitted with high-compression cylinder heads from the Morgan +8. It was advertised with gross power and torque ratings of 312hp (233kW) at 4600 rpm and 415lbft (563Nm) at 2800 rpm. [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. 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. 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]. 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. The company later introduced a new vehicle, the Oldsmobile Aurora, with a new generation V8. The difficulty presented by an OHV layout is finding a way to operate the valves. Flory. Shop 303 Oldsmobile V8 parts and get Free Shipping on orders over $149 at Speedway Motors, the Racing and Rodding Specialists. 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. In the mid-1950s, American automakers were engaged in a ferocious horsepower race. 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. Cadillac used a distantly related engine which appeared in three different sizes through to the 1962 model year; though the Oldsmobile and Cadillac motors were not physically related, many lessons learned by one division were incorporated into the other's design, and the result were two engines known for their excellent power-to-weight ratio, fuel economy, and smooth, strong, reliable running. The Buick version of the 215 V8 went on to become the well known Rover V8, which still remains in limited production, utilizing the Buick-style pistons, heads, and valve train gear. (Those pages do not currently discuss the storage of data in your browser (or other user agent) using technologies other than cookies, e.g., in web storage.) As is the case with all pre-1972 American passenger car engines, published horsepower and torque figures for those years were SAE "Gross," as opposed to 1972 and later SAE Net ratings (which are indicative of what actual production engines produce in their "as installed" state - with all engine accessories, full air cleaner assembly, and complete production exhaust system in place). A tracking pixel, sometimes known as a web beacon, is a tiny image file that loads from a remote server; it's a type of embedded content (as is the button itself, which loads from the same domain). 1955 OLDSMOBILE 88 CORE ENGINE ASSEMBLY 8-324 V-8 879042. 16, No. From your research, do you have any information on Bouvy? R.M. (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. Get a Oldsmobile crate engine for cars like the cutlass, 88, 98, or the 442.GTO. Using the 5 liter Rover block and crankshaft, a maximum displacement of 317.8cuin (5,208cc) is theoretically possible.[14]. To learn more about how Google may use information collected by the Google Analytics service, 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, and the Google Privacy Policy. 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. Inevitably, the 88 overshadowed Oldsmobiles cheaper 76, which still used a 257 cu. 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. That never happened; by the fifties, the industry was far more interested in advertised horsepower than gas mileage. 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 first generation of Oldsmobile 88 was introduced in 1949. 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. 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. 442 . (Thats a lesson that many Jaguar and Porsche owners have learned the hard way.)[/quote]. 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. Powered by the rocket 2bbl. (Thats a lesson that many Jaguar and Porsche owners have learned the hard way.). 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. 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. For engines built during the first part of 1955, the 324 skirted pistons had a reputation for failing due to the cast aluminum skirt separating from its steel interior brace. I would assume a postwar Olds V-8 would have been a real high-rollers car. 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. The first second-generation Oldmobile V8 330cuin (5.4L) "Jetfire Rocket" introduced in 1964 and produced through 1967. in. Coincidentally, Cadillac had been working since 1936 on a very similar OHV engine to replace its familiar monoblock flathead V8. Clarke (Cobham, England: Brooklands Books Ltd., ca. Thank you! I came here to pick up some information for a book Im writing and was pleasantly surprised to find more than I bargained for. "Alternative Engines: Part 2--Buick V8", in, Davis, Marlan. Lakeland, FL 5 years at classiccars.com 3 28,500 1955 Oldsmobile 88 gasoline blue manual New interior paint and re-chromed bumpers. (Valve spring, spring seat / retainer placement too? They were all painted Bronze and had V and G stamped on the cylinder heads.