Horsepower: 135 hp at 3,600 RPM Torque: 263-lb.ft. 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. Shop 303 Oldsmobile V8 parts and get Free Shipping on orders over $149 at Speedway Motors, the Racing and Rodding Specialists. 9, No. Submitting a comment signifies your acceptance of our Comment Policy please read it first! 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. Even modest restorations can quickly get out of control, cost-wise, so be careful that a $2,000 bargain doesnt become a money pit. SAE gross power was 150hp. 16, No. Until 1951, Oldsmobile offered a choice of fastback and notchback body styles, as well as the convertible. $22,000 (OBO) 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. Being ahead of your time or having a short season is not the same as being overhyped, and since the muscle car category in general is as much about hype and point of view as substance, I think thats an important consideration. This 1952 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight is a well-priced classic that gives you some of the best styles around. Initially the paint was red, except for metallic blue in the Toronado applications; 1970-1976 versions were metallic blue at first, then nonmetallic blue. [22] The 260 V8 received VIN code "F" and had a sales code of LV8. This car has the pushbutton radio, which cost about $96. ), When you list the OHV Detroit engines that came along after the Rocket, the DeSoto Hemi of 1952 and Plymouth Poly of 1956 may merit mentioncant recall if the 1955 Packard V8 got its curtain call. A BRILLIANTLY written article! 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). 98. It has been noted to go up to $100,000 at some auctions. Lakeland, FL 5 years at classiccars.com 3 28,500 1955 Oldsmobile 88 gasoline blue manual New interior paint and re-chromed bumpers. 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 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. Comes in plastic display showcase. A slightly larger 307cuin (5.0L) version was introduced in 1980. 88. 324 rocket v8. Whether you are looking for a Rocket 455, a 350, or maybe an Oldsmobile 403 engine for sale, we have the ideal replacements ready . Each PayPal payment or donation button may also incorporate a tracking pixel called "pixel.gif" (which loads from paypalobjects.com). If you look up the concept of MEP (e.g. Red Hat is a trademark of Red Hat, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. Crazy Egg is a trademark of Crazy Egg, Inc. Optimizely is a registered trademark of Optimizely, Inc. in the United States, EU, and elsewhere. 1959 and 1960 371s used green painted valve covers. In an OHV engine, by contrast, the valves are a fair distance away from the crankshaft, which makes operating them far more complicated. Phone: 480-285-1600. The V8 was standard in the new 1949 Oldsmobile 98, replacing the old 257 cu. (Vimeo and the Vimeo logos are trademarks of Vimeo.com, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Rockets, Vikings and Your Old Man. The means exist to do the same work while burning less fuel; the question is whether a meaningful number of American consumers will accept those means while theres still fuel left to burn. in. You must be at least 18 to comment. 1985), pp. Most contemporary road tests at least mentioned fuel consumption. Some early 307s were painted GM Corporate blue, but most were painted satin black. Off.).) 1952 88 and Super 88 V8s used a 4-barrel carburetor for 160hp (120kW) and 265lbft (359Nm), while 4-barrel 1953 versions raised compression from 7.5:1 to 8.0:1 for 165hp (123kW) and 275lbft (373Nm). When you submit a comment, you may have the option save your information for future comments, storing the info in these cookies. The Oldsmobile Cutlass, Rocket 88, and other classic models remain very popular among car collectors and Oldsmobile fans. Flory, J. The Rocket 88 won six of nine NASCAR late-model division races in the 1949 season and 10 of 19 races in 1950. Thanks! Both of the practical options available in the 1930s and 1940s a train of gears or a metal chain drive were complex, expensive, and noisy. It has gained popularity among young muscle car lovers. The 400cuin (6.6L) version was the second tall-deck "big-block" Olds. They were all painted Bronze and had V and G stamped on the cylinder heads. Vintage lovers are ready to spend any amount of money to get hold of a Rocket 88 of 1949. 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 popularity of the flathead Ford engines depended heavily on the first two qualities. I would assume a postwar Olds V-8 would have been a real high-rollers car. When the engine is running, transmission oil pressure disengages the pawl. The big-block engines initially used a forged crankshaft with a stroke of 3.975" for the 1965-1967 425 and 400 CID versions; starting in 1968, both the 400cuin (6.6L) and the 455cuin (7.5L) big blocks used a stroke of 4.25in (108mm), with crankshaft material changed to cast iron except in a few rare cases. Any interest in better fuel economy was quickly forgotten; gasoline was cheap and speed sold more cars than parsimony. 303 Oldsmobile V8 parts in-stock with same-day shipping. (For more information about our discontinuation of Google Analytics tracking on this website, see the "Online Tracking" section of the Privacy Policy. It used a 4.126in (104.8mm) bore and 3.975in (101.0mm) stroke. in. This setting is stored in your browser (or other user agent) in the gdpr[consent_types] cookie described in "Privacy and Cookie Preferences" above, so if you delete that cookie or access the Ate Up With Motor website from a different device, browser, or user agent, you will need to adjust this setting again if you still wish to hide the box. 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). Most commonly available premium fuels had an octane rating of only 80 RON, not nearly enough for the ultra-high compression ratios Kettering proposed. Naturally, GM was extremely interested in the potential of high-compression engines for passenger cars, but there were two hold-ups. Your email address will not be published. The demise of Olds is yet another dreary episode in the ongoing story of GM losing its way. I would have said, Your Father knew cars and I would have played up that heritage. This cars turn signals may be an aftermarket addition turn signals were originally a $15 option on this car. . See these additional Auto Museum Online articles on the links below OHV engines can also support much higher compression ratios. Brand new box. More Oldsmobile Classics 44. Bore was up to 4.0in (100mm) and stroke was increased to 3.6875in (93.66mm) for 371cuin (6.1L). 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. Both are well-documented, albeit relatively short-lived. in. The 324 was shared with GMC trucks. 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. The commonest type was the Super 88 4-door sedan, Hydramatic equipped. The output of the 307cuin (5.0L) wasn't particularly high in terms of horsepower. . 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. 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. 330s were painted gold and had forged steel crankshafts. They call mine the black ace and they have a club division in the oldsmobile club of america. At the risk of shameless self promotion, you might also be interested in the recently revamped article on the early Hydra-Matic, which most Oldsmobiles of that vintage had. Awesome vehicle many great high school memorys. I can see it now. 49 rocket 88 was my first car back in 1964. 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. . [13] It could also be fitted with high-compression cylinder heads from the Morgan +8. 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. [20] Parts peculiar to this system include a toothed disc between the harmonic balancer and the crank pulley, the "adjacent sensor" (an early form of crankshaft position sensor), a special distributor, an engine temperature sensor, and a rudimentary computer mounted inside the car, under the dashboard. The 1961 through 1963 Sky Rocket (and 1964 Rocket) was a high-compression, four-barrel 394cuin (6.5L) engine. Comments may be moderated. [19] The 403 was never featured with a manual transmission and the crank was never manufactured for a pilot bearing. Biggest mistake I still think about that automobile. GM embarked on a vigorous campaign to persuade the major oil companies to offer higher-octane premium gasoline for civilian use. Model: 1949 - 1960 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 Engine/Motor: V8 Horsepower: 135 Torque: 283 Pros Cons Design Let's try and forget the full-size Oldsmobile 88 models that were produced all the. The "Rocket" name disappeared from the air cleaner identification decal after 1974. 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 engine is also known for its reliability, smoothness and quietness. The 4 barrel versions had a larger diameter harmonic damper, the 2 barrel only a balancer hub without the rubberized outer ring. Many of the other listed cookies are associated with the Google Analytics service, the Google AdSense advertising service, and/or other Google advertising and measurement products, which are subject to the Google Privacy Policy; see their "How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services" page, the "Information for Visitors of Sites and Apps Using Google Analytics" section of the Google Analytics "Safeguarding your data" help page, the "Technologies" section of their Google Privacy & Terms site, and the "Our advertising and measurement cookies" section of the Google Business Data Responsibility site (which includes a detailed list of cookies associated with Google advertising and measurement products) for more information. 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. With a 4-barrel carburetor and 10.75:1 compression, the Olds 215 made 195hp (145kW) at 4800rpm and 235lbft (319Nm) at 3200rpm with an automatic. Clarke (Cobham, England: Brooklands Books Ltd., ca. 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). 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 bore was so wide that the cylinder walls were siamesed, as in the Chevrolet 400 V8, with no space for coolant to flow between the cylinders. Free shipping for many products! 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. The Ford/Mercury flathead V8 was of course a popular choice up until the early part of the decade (and had been since its introduction in 1932) but the introduction of the new overhead valve V8s Cadillac and Oldsmobile in 1949 and Chrysler and Studebaker in 1951 were a game-changer for the performance crowd. In a flathead engine, the camshaft is in the block, driven directly by the engines crankshaft. ), These third-party cookies may be set in connection with embedded video players for content hosted on the Vimeo video platform, for purposes such as (without limitation) managing video settings, storing video preferences, providing certain functionality (e.g., allowing you to pause a video at a particular point), associating your video viewing and other activity with your Vimeo account (if you have one), showing you advertising, ensuring proper functioning of the service, preventing abuse, and/or compiling user analytics data. The Cadillac and Oldsmobile V8s represented the start of several major trends in American engine design. I had been running a very healthy flat head that had several modifications such as a stroker crank, racing cam an two stromberg 97 carburetors. 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 Its a true barn find. (PayPal.com, PayPal, and all logos related to the PayPal services are either trademarks or registered trademarks of PayPal, Inc. or its licensors. Note the quadrant for the Hydra-Matic atop the steering column. The Rocket 88 would see consistent improvements over the next two decades or so. I came here to pick up some information for a book Im writing and was pleasantly surprised to find more than I bargained for. Get the best deals on Complete Engines for Oldsmobile 88 when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. You shared that mileage ranged from 12 MPG 18 MPG depending on the year. 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. ), Diagram of a typical pushrod/rocker-arm layout of an overhead-valve engine. 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). 425 motor, super rocket. (4,214 cc) L-head straight eight. Bore was up to 4.125in (104.8mm) for the largest first-generation Rocket, the 394cuin (6.5L). Fabulous article. 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. 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. 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. SPECIFICATIONS Engine: OHV 90-degree V-8, cast-iron block and heads Displacement: 303-cu.in. 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. 74-81; Bob McVay, Oldsmobile Starfire Road Test, Motor Trend Vol. Flathead engines are easy and cheap to manufacture, but they leave a lot to be desired when it comes to performance. Apart from the Oldsmobile Aurora, the Aurora V8 was also used in the Shelby Series 1. Total Oldsmobile sales for the 1949 model year, including exports and Canadian production, were almost 294,000, a 64% improvement from the year before. Most 425s were painted red, though the 1966 and 1967 Toronado units were light blue. Making its debut in 1957 as standard equipment on all Olds models,[4] the 371 was produced through 1960. The cookieconsent_status cookie recorded whether or not you consented to analytics tracking and told the website to hide the notification banner; this cookie normally expires after about one year. 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. 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. Learn more. (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. [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. All full-size 1962 Oldsmobiles had the 394. By late 1956, many Olds dealers learned about the problem. 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). 1955 Oldsmobile Super 88, 324-V8, 4 bbl carburetor, engine free, I have owned this since 1973, good 4-speed hydramatic transmission, interior useable, nice dash. [citation needed] Production of the 260 V8 ended in 1982 when the 307 became the only gasoline V8 in Oldsmobile's line. $8,888 or BEST REASONABLE OFFER. Although Oldsmobiles official involvement in racing was limited, the Rocket 88 promptly proceeded to clean up in competition. . Talk to the experts. Around the end of that year, the project nearly ground to a halt due to objections from Cadillac. A cheaper solution (pioneered by Buick back in the days before General Motors was formed) was to leave the camshaft in the block, as in a flathead engine, but add long metal pushrods to allow the camshaft to actuate the valves remotely. And just where is this crazy car heaven where Rocket 88 Oldsmobiles and Avantis are parallel parked on the street side by side? Oldsmobile charged $83 for the J-2 option with the three-speed manual (or in the 98),[7] $314 dollars with the automatic.[8]. For additional technical information about the cookies used by the analytics service, see their "Google Analytics Cookie Usage on Websites" page; for your reference when reviewing that page, we did not use Google Analytics 4. Displacement was 259.5 cubic inches, with almost square bore and stroke. You could say the same thing about the original Century, if you were so inclined, which I am. Free shipping for many products! Runs great. Depending on carburetion or use of turbocharger. The 324cuin (5.3L) version was produced from 1954 until 1956. I am almost 79 now and remember that like it was yesterday. 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. This 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 has the Deluxe trim with a dashboard clock; Deluxe models cost $78 more than the standard-trim version. Oldsmobiles reign as the hottest performer in the land proved to be short-lived. 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. I never had one apart to that extent, but my understanding from the theory of operation is that there is a pivoting pawl that will engage a toothed wheel when the engine is stopped with reverse selected. Note the stylized rocket chrome trim on the front fender. 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. Some of the photos in our Avanti article, and those of our story on the Packard One-Twenty, were taken at the same time. Classifieds for Classic Oldsmobile Rocket 88. Maybe just intake or vacuum leak. [1] 400cuin (6.6L), 425cuin (7.0L), and 455cuin (7.5L)[1] V8s have a higher deck height (10.625in (27.0cm) versus 9.33in (23.7cm)) to accommodate a 4.25in (108mm) stroke crank to increase displacement. The following year, 88s won 10 out of 19 Grand National races and set a new speed record at Daytona. It also used the .921in lifter bore size of the Toronado Rocket. It used a very oversquare 4.057in (103.0mm) bore and Oldsmobile small-block standard 3.385in (86.0mm) stroke for 350cuin (5.7L). Made of diecast with some plastic parts. The difficulty presented by an OHV layout is finding a way to operate the valves. Full instrumentation is standard Olds had not yet succumbed to the allure of warning lights. The Oldsmobile V8, also referred to as the Rocket, is series of engines that was produced by Oldsmobile from 1949 until 1990. Each engine in this generation is quite similar with the same size block and heads. Where is the plate located? 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. Set an alert to be notified of new listings. 442 . 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). 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. R.M. 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. the hydra matic trans was it used in both the OLds and Caddy of 49 and on.I have a 1950 series 62 Caddy. The super-fuels the engineers wanted would probably have added even more. wider bore provides a greater surface area on which the forces of combustion can act, improving power During those few brief years, both the hot rodder and the racers weapon of choice was either the Cadillac 331 c.i. (Author diagram). There were 64 1st Gen sold in the last 5 years. It was optional on 1964 98s and Super 88s. A very significant and, at this point, often misunderstood transmission that had a big influence on the character of the cars that used it. Generally, getting up to 1819 mpg on the highway was not unusual for early 50s Oldsmobiles even with Hydra-Matic, although that required a lot of steady-speed cruising at reasonable legal speeds. Now heres the rub vis-a-vis this article: granted that the Rocket 88 gained a reputation as something of a factory hot rod in its day (helped, no doubt, by Ike Turner aka Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats little ditty of the same name), nonetheless in my research I have been hard-pressed to find anyone who used it as a performance powerplant. Ate Up With Motor's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy may be revised from time to time.
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