Your wording in the flathead section (acts directly) suggest the valve stem tip rides the cam lobe in a flathead. Although production of the 455 ended in 1976, a small number were produced through 1978 for power equipment use, such as motorhomes, boats and irrigation equipment.[15]. From your research, do you have any information on Bouvy? Liberation is a trademark of Red Hat, Inc. registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and certain other jurisdictions. Unless youre building a rod, its often worth it to spend more upfront for a car thats in better condition. [13] It could also be fitted with high-compression cylinder heads from the Morgan +8. Output ranged from 160-325hp (119-242kW). 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). There were 64 1st Gen sold in the last 5 years. 1957 also offered the "J2" option, with three 2-barrel carburetors atop the 371 cubic inch V8; making this a true luxury performance . iThemes is one of the Liquid Web family of brands; iThemes and Liquid Web are trademarks of Liquid Web, LLC.). 76. Clarke (Cobham, England: Brooklands Books Ltd., ca. Output for 1983-1985 was 180hp (130kW) and 245lbft (332Nm). Millionaires would drive the few Cadillacs. Plus, there is a cool mix of a preserved chrome cruiser with the right upgrades to make it more enjoyable for modern times. So, its not particularly surprising that a highly tuned flathead Ford would be stronger than a stock 1950 Olds 303. Compression ratios never approached the 12.5:1 level that Kettering had proposed, peaking at about 10.5:1. 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. The wahFontColor and wahBgColor cookies, which are set if you alter the site's color scheme, normally expire after about 14 days, but you can remove them immediately by clicking the "Restore Defaults" button on the sidebar. I think current brand-management logic would probably consider Oldsmobile rather hopeless. 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. They were all painted Bronze and had V and G stamped on the cylinder heads. (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. [21] It produced 110hp (82kW) net and 205lbft (278Nm). It was used in most Oldsmobile models, as well as those from Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Pontiac. 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). A diagram of where the hydraulic or solid lifter fits in a flathead might be helpful to readers. Set an alert to be notified of new listings. Nice Article thank you for preserving our history. in. 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. Awesome vehicle many great high school memorys. The V8 was standard in the new 1949 Oldsmobile 98, replacing the old 257 cu. R.M. 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. Note the quadrant for the Hydra-Matic atop the steering column. 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. This very open and flat chamber was fuel efficient and had lower than average emissions output. (. This car has the pushbutton radio, which cost about $96. The early Repco engines produced up to 300bhp (220kW), and featured new SOHC cylinder heads and iron cylinder liners. Vintage lovers are ready to spend any amount of money to get hold of a Rocket 88 of 1949. Did G M make a 1949-50 olds 88 or 98 4 door fastback ? A long piston stroke gives more torque, which means better engine response at low speeds. In 1962 and 1963 Oldsmobile built a turbocharged version of the 215, designated Turbo-Rocket. "Alternative Engines: Part 2--Buick V8", in, Davis, Marlan. Oldsmobile was basically offering three full-size vehicles in 1949, but the 88 was a little bit special. Im not sure about the early Hydramatics but later ones, 54-56 you put in reverse to park. The super-fuels the engineers wanted would probably have added even more. 1955 OLDSMOBILE 88 CORE ENGINE ASSEMBLY 8-324 V-8 879042. The prototypes, which first ran in November 1946, were 287 cu. These cookies manage your cookie and privacy preferences. Initially the paint was red, except for metallic blue in the Toronado applications; 1970-1976 versions were metallic blue at first, then nonmetallic blue. Complete Engines for Oldsmobile Delta 88, Motor Mounts for Oldsmobile 88, Fuel Injectors for Oldsmobile 88; Additional site navigation. In a flathead engine, the camshaft is in the block, driven directly by the engines crankshaft. Any interest in better fuel economy was quickly forgotten; gasoline was cheap and speed sold more cars than parsimony. 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. In the mid-1950s, American automakers were engaged in a ferocious horsepower race. 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. Simplified diagram of the cylinder of a wedge-head OHV engine. 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. 50,000 cars were imported in 1952, US brands comprising some 90% of that total. 425 motor, super rocket. A smaller 260cuin (4.3L) V8 was created for the new Oldsmobile Omega in 1975 by decreasing the bore to 3.5in (89mm). [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. Completely restored it, all original. This was much flatter than the 23 of the small-block Chevrolet and 20 of the Ford small-block wedge heads. ), 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. Road tests were conducted later that year and the new V8 went into production a few days before Christmas 1948. The second generation of Oldsmobile V8s was produced from 1964-1990. 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 cylinder head is little more than a cover for the top of the cylinder, which is why L-head engines are commonly called flatheads. When it comes to Oldsmobiles from 1957, the hardtop was the second-most-popular body style, with 49,187 units produced. From 1949 until 1951, the 2-barrel carburetor 303 produced 135hp (101kW) and 253lbft (343Nm). Olds were very popular in Brazil but I can t give you any numbers. 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. 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. Like the test mules, the Rocket 88 was, in the parlance of a somewhat later era, a real bomb. Oldsmobile engineers originally wanted to call this the Kettering Engine, after GM research vice president Charles Kettering, whose work on high-compression engines helped to inspire it. 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. For more information about how Akamai may collect, process, and/or use personal data, visit the Akamai "Privacy and Policies" page and Privacy Trust Center. The image file itself contains no personally identifiable information, but the loading of that file may be used to help identify and/or track you. 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. The top brass equivocated, but Skinner finally got the green light. Comments may be moderated. (Valve spring, spring seat / retainer placement too? If you change certain aspects of the site's appearance using the accessibility sidebar, it may set these cookies to manage and remember your settings. The L34 used a 4-barrel carburetor and produced 160170hp (120130kW) and 275ftlbf (373Nm). Displacement swelled from 303 Ci or 5 liters all the way to the gargantuan 455 Ci 7.5 liter V8 in the early 70s. I was aghast at the ad campaign, This is not your Fathers Oldsmobile. They normally expire after about one year. Ate Up With Motor's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy may be revised from time to time. The 307 "Y" produced 148hp (110kW) and 250lbft (340Nm) in 1980-1984 models and 140hp (100kW) and 250lbft (340Nm) in 1985-1990s. ), These cookies were previously used by the Google Analytics service to collect information about visitors and their use of the Ate Up With Motor website. Around the end of that year, the project nearly ground to a halt due to objections from Cadillac. Uniquely in the 1977 Toronado, the 403 engine was fitted with a crank triggered ignition system. Earlier 50s and(I believe)all 49s had the split windshield. 1750 Enterprise Way Suite 109 Marietta, GA 30067. [12] The Oldsmobile engine was very similar to the Buick engine, but not identical: it had larger wedge combustion chambers with flat-topped (rather than domed) pistons, six bolts rather than five per cylinder, and slightly larger intake valves; the valves were actuated by shaft-mounted rocker arms like the Buick and Pontiac versions, but the shafts and rockers were unique to Oldsmobile. (I quess that would be total Olds minus Olds 76 model.). Oldsmobiles companion make, the Viking had a horizontal-valve V8 with two-plane crankshaft in the early thirties. Email or call Mark at 217/390-8500 with questions, or to inspect or test drive. Displacement was 259.5 cubic inches, with almost square bore and stroke. Monday - Saturday: 9-5. It was offered in the Hurst/Olds version of the Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais and in the 4-4-2 version of the Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon. $300.00. 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. It always featured the 4A 83cc heads with 8:1 compression, and a Rochester Quadrajet 4 barrel carburettor. 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. Oldsmobile used the popular LV2, a 307-cubic-inch (5.0L) engine, commonly known by the VIN code "Y", from 1980-1990. Oldsmobiles reign as the hottest performer in the land proved to be short-lived. You shared that mileage ranged from 12 MPG 18 MPG depending on the year. Free shipping on many items | Browse your favorite brands | affordable prices. This 1952 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight is a well-priced classic that gives you some of the best styles around. A popular modification made to the 403 to increase power was to swap on early Oldsmobile 350 heads to boost compression. The Rocket, along with the 1949 Cadillac V8, were the first post-war OHV crossflow cylinder head V8 engines produced by General Motors. The shape of a flatheads combustion chambers also limits its maximum compression ratio (the amount the fuel mixture is compressed before burning). 1956 Oldsmobile 88 Rocket The engine design for the Rocket 88 came from GMs chief researcher, Charles Kettering. 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. This is incorrect, in the context of wider vs. narrower bore sizes with the same displacement. 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. Thanks! (5,880 cc) engine was a massive straight eight with nine main bearings may have played a role in that!) (We have now DISCONTINUED our use of Google Analytics tracking on this website; see the "Online Tracking" section of the Privacy Policy for more information.) Some auction action surrounding 1956 Oldsmobiles tells a similar story: 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. 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. 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. 1988), pp. Phone: 480-285-1600. Call me a square,[I am a square], I say you dont denigrate a proud heritage. 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. This was not an official assignment; he was simply exploring ideas for his own interest and amusement. That never happened; by the fifties, the industry was far more interested in advertised horsepower than gas mileage. Sunday - Closed. Powered by the rocket 2bbl. Nonetheless, both Oldsmobile and Cadillac deemed it a good compromise. 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. 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? Sending my 53 olds to Dallas for overhaul. In short, the flatheads breathing ability is only mediocre. I would assume a postwar Olds V-8 would have been a real high-rollers car. If you look up the concept of MEP (e.g. Using the 5 liter Rover block and crankshaft, a maximum displacement of 317.8cuin (5,208cc) is theoretically possible.[14]. In a flathead engine, the air-fuel mixture has to go around several corners to make its way into the combustion chamber and burned exhaust gases have a similarly circuitous route out of the cylinders. Will drop by again. Bore was up to 4.0in (100mm) and stroke was increased to 3.6875in (93.66mm) for 371cuin (6.1L). The Vimeo Cookie Policy also provides information about how Vimeo users can control the use of third-party analytics and/or advertising cookies in connection with embedded Vimeo video players. A slightly larger 307cuin (5.0L) version was introduced in 1980. or is that not an Avanti peeking into the frame on the right side of the last photo? You are correct its even a Studebaker Avanti, not the later Avanti II. 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. 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. 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). Well, are you presuming that the 88s actual career in stock car racing or road races like the Carrera Panamericana somehow dont count? All other trademarks and/or service marks are the property of their respective owners. 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. Can you point me to any information on GM camshaft design methodology? 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. Power was 81 hp at 3000 rpm. 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. The output of the 307cuin (5.0L) wasn't particularly high in terms of horsepower. The Rocket would only get bigger, not smaller. Some people fit these motors into a modified classic car or muscle car because of Oldsmobile GM reliability and performance horsepower advantages. (The idea of Olds as the import-fighter brand obviously had its own problems.) But I can block the blow by coming off the back of the block and it runs great. Even in markets where fuel is substantially more expensive than in the U.S., fuel efficiency is widely regarded in purely economic terms. All 425 engines were fitted with forged steel crankshafts with harmonic balancers. 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. Each PayPal payment or donation button may also incorporate a tracking pixel called "pixel.gif" (which loads from paypalobjects.com). Larry Young. All full-size 1962 Oldsmobiles had the 394. (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. 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. The Rocket 88 won six of nine NASCAR late-model division races in the 1949 season and 10 of 19 races in 1950. 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]. It uses a 3.8in (97mm) bore (in common with the Buick 231 V6 and 350 V8) with a 3.385in (86.0mm) stroke. I just wanted to know if I have a rocket engine and how can I check if its a 394. This motor is blue which makes me think its been gone through. Oldsmobile V8s can be grouped into five "generations.". Classic Oldsmobile Rocket 88 for Sale. In the mid-1980s, hot rodders discovered the 215 could be stretched to as much as 305cuin (5L), using the Buick 300 crankshaft, new cylinder sleeves, and an assortment of non-GM parts. 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). This cars turn signals may be an aftermarket addition turn signals were originally a $15 option on this car. Runs great. (Google, DoubleClick, YouTube, and other related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC. 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. True-to-scale detail. Were Oldsmobiles ever sold in Brazil in any significant numbers? Email: [email protected] Address: 7400 E Monte Cristo Ave . It was rated at 215hp (160kW) at 4600rpm and 300lbft (410Nm) at 3200rpm. All LV2s feature a 4-barrel carburetor. The "Rocket" name disappeared from the air cleaner identification decal after 1974. About six weeks after he started work, Burrell showed his designs to Oldsmobiles chief engineer Jack Wolfram and Oldsmobile general manager Sherrod Skinner. Anyway, thanks for making my visit here an enjoyable one. Change Background Color (Note: This option sets cookies on your device to manage your color settings; see the Cookie Notice for details. 303CI ROCKET V8, 4SPD AUTO, COOL, ICONIC 50S STYLING, 4-DOOR CONVENIENCE, CLASSY. What these activities have most in common was that there was an awful lot of engine-swapping going on. Thank you! Diagram of a typical pushrod/rocker-arm layout of an overhead-valve engine. The short stroke allowed the engine to rev more freely while the wider bore provides more room for larger valves, which further improves breathing. 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 LG8 was a modern 307cuin (5.0L) High-Output derivative of the LV2 produced from 1983 to 1987. The Oldsmobile Rocket 88 is a full-size automobile produced and marketed by Oldsmobile from 1949 to 1999. Yes, the Hydra-Matic had a parking pawl, which was engaged by selecting reverse with the engine off. Of those sales, 100,273 were the Rocket 88. Lets briefly examine each of them. (These cookies are not usually set for administrative users, since comments they submit while logged in are associated with their user ID number and user profile information rather than a manually entered name and email address.). "Affordable Aluminum V8's [sic]", in, Turbo Hydramatic 425 FWD 3-speed automatic, "1975-79 Cadillac Electronic Fuel Injection", "Oldsmobile 403 Engine - Car Craft Magazine", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oldsmobile_V8_engine&oldid=1138357918, 1968 and 1969 400s shared the Olds big-block standard 4.25in (108mm) stroke with the 455 but used a, 19681970 Oldsmobile Toronado GT (W34), 400hp (300kW), This page was last edited on 9 February 2023, at 06:46. 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 present mindset (with which I dont necessarily agree, mind you) is that all brands must either be Youthful or Aspirational or if possible both, so a brand whose name begins with Old and which is best known for decades of middle-of-the-road respectability isnt off to a good start on either front.