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. 17, No. 46-52; Testing the 212 HP Packard Patrician, Science and Mechanics June 1954, reprinted in Packard Gold Portfolio 1946-1958, ed. By contrast, both the Cadillac and Oldsmobile V8s were oversquare, with a wide bore and a short stroke. 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. 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. The LG8 was a modern 307cuin (5.0L) High-Output derivative of the LV2 produced from 1983 to 1987. Assuming your car has its original engine, its the version Oldsmobile called the Skyrocket, which was differentiated from the base Rocket by its four-barrel carburetor and gross ratings of 330 hp and 440 lb-ft of torque. Until 1951, Oldsmobile offered a choice of fastback and notchback body styles, as well as the convertible. Classic Oldsmobile Rocket 88 for Sale - ClassicCars.com Some auction action surrounding 1956 Oldsmobiles tells a similar story: You shared that mileage ranged from 12 MPG 18 MPG depending on the year. All 425 engines were fitted with forged steel crankshafts with harmonic balancers. 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). Since the valves of a flathead are also in the block, the camshaft can actuate the valves directly. The Rocket Engine Story by One Who Was Thereby Gibson Butler. During those few brief years, both the hot rodder and the racers weapon of choice was either the Cadillac 331 c.i. This was not an official assignment; he was simply exploring ideas for his own interest and amusement. Set an alert to be notified of new listings. $8,888 or BEST REASONABLE OFFER. Each of those engines had its own peculiarities, but they were all in the mold of the Oldsmobile Rocket engine. In 1985, roller lifters, floating piston wrist pins, and swirl port intake runners were added. & Tm. Even a heavier 55 Super 88 with the later 324 (like the one tested by both Motor Trend and Motor Life it looks to be the same car) could manage up to 19 mpg at a steady 60 mph, dropping to 1213 mpg in mixed use. 1951 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 VIN: 517K2919 - CLASSIC.COM Contact. Biggest mistake I still think about that automobile. A Detailed Look Back At The Oldsmobile Rocket 88 Phone: 480-285-1600. I am almost 79 now and remember that like it was yesterday. 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. [citation needed] Compared to the V6, the 260 was also smoother-running, and far more durable. Coincidentally, Cadillac had been working since 1936 on a very similar OHV engine to replace its familiar monoblock flathead V8. 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 engine is also known for its reliability, smoothness and quietness. The Cadillac and Oldsmobile V8s represented the start of several major trends in American engine design. For sale 1967 Oldsmobile Delta 88 custom, 2 door hardtop. If better fuels became available, both the Cadillac and Olds engines had the theoretical potential for compression ratios as high as 12:1. In development, the high compression ratio combined with the charged load created problems with spark knock on hard throttle applications, which led Olds to develop and utilize a novel water-injection system that sprayed metered amounts of distilled water and methyl alcohol (dubbed "Turbo-Rocket Fluid") into the intake manifold air-stream to cool the intake charge. About six weeks after he started work, Burrell showed his designs to Oldsmobiles chief engineer Jack Wolfram and Oldsmobile general manager Sherrod Skinner. 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. (Ten of the 13 88s that entered that race managed to finish, itself an impressive feat.) 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. [citation needed]. 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. 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). Its a super 88 sedan 4 door. 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. 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. 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). Fabulous article. 1968-1974 350s were painted gold; 1975-1976 350s were metallic blue like the 455; 1977-1980 models were painted GM Corporate Blue. Power was 81 hp at 3000 rpm. Each engine in this generation is quite similar with the same size block and heads. Inevitably, the 88 overshadowed Oldsmobiles cheaper 76, which still used a 257 cu. The Rocket 88 would see consistent improvements over the next two decades or so. 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 Rocket 88 model name was dropped after 1957. 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. Overhead valves did not suffer the same problem, which gave them the potential for much higher compression ratios. 1956 Oldsmobile 88 4dr St Rod, new gas tank, new brakes and tires, rebuilt front end, good body, new paint, nice patina, good original interior, rebuilt . 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). This 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 has the Deluxe trim with a dashboard clock; Deluxe models cost $78 more than the standard-trim version. "Kelly", Jr. Baechtel, John. GM embarked on a vigorous campaign to persuade the major oil companies to offer higher-octane premium gasoline for civilian use. Most 425s were painted red, though the 1966 and 1967 Toronado units were light blue. Clarke (Cobham, England: Brooklands Books Ltd., ca. 1956 Oldsmobile Classic Cars for Sale - Classics on Autotrader 1750 Enterprise Way Suite 109 Marietta, GA 30067. spark ignition engine for high-compression studies. A popular modification made to the 403 to increase power was to swap on early Oldsmobile 350 heads to boost compression. The engine built in the 1955 Super 88 and 98 models delivered 295 horsepower. It was used by every domestic GM automobile marque except for GMC and Saturn. 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. In an OHV engine, by contrast, the valves are a fair distance away from the crankshaft, which makes operating them far more complicated. 10-17, 56; Richard M. Langworth, 1954 Packard Pacific: Last of the Great Straight Eights, Special Interest Autos #51 (May-June 1979), reprinted in The Hemmings Book of Postwar American Independents: driveReports from Special Interest Autos Magazine, ed. 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. They may persist for up to two years. The Super Eighty-Eight wasnt particularly rare when it was new Olds sold about 150,000 of them in 1951. The practice of keeping model names alive even though applied to a vehicle with little in common with the original seems to annoy no one but me, [example Impala], why not keep division names alive and apply them to selected models. Made of diecast with some plastic parts. hi, i have a engine with thename oldsmobile rocket on it, where can i see what sizethe engine is, 305, 394 plse i need this info as i want to rebuild this engine, thanx. For anyone interested the 1950 Mexican road race where 12 Olds 88s entered and 10 finished, eight of the 10 were beaten by a flathead Nash. Some consider Rocket 88, recorded by Jackie Brenston in 1951, to be the first rock and roll song. Sending my 53 olds to Dallas for overhaul. To learn more about the specific cookies used and/or to fine-tune your available choices, click "Privacy Preferences" at the right. (5,880 cc) engine was a massive straight eight with nine main bearings may have played a role in that!) Since the advance design group envisioned a 1949 introduction for their new engine, the project was dubbed SV-49. 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. Bore was 3.75in (95mm) and stroke was 3.4375in (87.31mm). These were wedge-head engines with a unique combustion chamber that resulted from a valve angle of only 6. The Cadillac engine and the Chrysler FirePower had more power out of the box and as much or more potential. This very open and flat chamber was fuel efficient and had lower than average emissions output. These cookies manage your cookie and privacy preferences. The 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88s were considerably cheaper than the 49s, although that was largely because Hydra-Matic, which had been standard equipment on all 1949 V8-powered cars, reverted to being a $185 option. Just didnt have any power. For 1957 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket 88 Battery Cable SMP 68152PP 6.1L V8 The 403 is fundamentally the exact same block as an Oldsmobile 350 V8, however it features a larger bore.