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Oldsmobile History
Oldsmobile is the oldest continuing car marque in the U.S. The Olds
Motor Co. was incorporated in 1897 with an initial capital investment of $50,000.00!
In 1897 the company produced 4 automobiles. On September 21, 1997, Oldsmobile
celebrated it's 100th birthday! Were you there in Lansing?
The full name Oldsmobile was first used in 1900. Prior to that, the
automobiles were known simply as Olds, built by the Olds Motor Works of
Lansing.
In 1903 the Olds Pirate sets a World record at Daytona Beach covering 5
miles in 6.5 minutes. In 1905 two Oldsmobiles complete the first
transcontinental race from New York, NY to Portland, Oregon in 44 days.
In 1922 an Oldsmobile establishes another record, traveling 1000 miles in 15
hours. Cannonball Baker drives a 6 cylinder Model 30 from New York to LA in 12 ½
days.
Total car vehicle production:
- 2 millionth in 1941
- 20 millionth in 1978
Ransom Eli Olds also put his name on a line of trucks: REO's.
Rocket Era 1949 - 1990The Oldsmobile Over-Head-Valve (OHV)
Rocket V-8 was first produced in 1949. Originally named for its principal
designer, Charles Kettering, as Kettering Power. Corporate GM policy
disallowed that, so the powers that be, opted for Rocket Power. The plant
where these engines were built was named The Kettering Engine Plant. The Olds
OHV V-8 was the first to be produced in a sustainable quantity.
It was the second mass produced OHV V-8. In 1917 to 1919, Chevrolet produced
a 265 CID OHV V-8, but production ceased. In 1955, Chevrolet introduced another,
the 265 CID OHV V-8. The first Ford OHV V-8 was produced in 1954.
The first serious attempt at a commercially viable V-8 was by De Dion around
1910. Cadillac examined this design as well as the Hall-Scott aero engine, and
released their vastly superior engine in September 1914. Cadillac is generally
regarded as having the first successful production V-8 engine. They were also
the first to introduce an inherently balanced V-8 (quartered crankshaft with
integral counterweights vs. a flat 4 cylinder crank). However, none of these
were OHV designs.
Oldsmobile produced an L head or flat head V-8 from 1916 to 1918 and from
1919 to 1921, but it was a side valve engine, not OHV.
Oldsmobile also built the Viking V-8 in 1929 and 1930. A 90 degree, 81 bhp
260 CID V-8. It used a horizontal valve design with triangular type combustion
chambers. The block is a mono-block casting.
Some of the early V-8 engines are of fairly unusual design, beyond the early
connecting rods. I believe the 1917-18 Chevrolet Model D V-8 was made up of
two castings, basically split down the Center line of the crank. They were
identical castings that were simply bolted together. Mono-block V-8's didn't hit
until much later. Ford said they were the first to make a 'low cost' mono-block
V-8, with their inception in 1932. This indicates that one or some of the higher
priced V-8s must have been mono-block prior to 1932.
The Rocket engine debuted in 1949. It was termed the Rocket 88 engine.
This engine was big in NASCAR, in fact with the automatic (no manual trans
available early on), the Rocket won 8 out of 10 races in 1950. This engine had a
number of interesting features: overhead valvetrain, hydraulic lifters,
oversquare bore-stroke ratio, forged crank with counterweights, aluminum
pistons, full-floating wrist-pins, and a dual plane intake manifold.
In 1957 Olds released the J-2 Golden Rocket. This was a 371 inch engine with
a six-pack (it only came with a six-pack) that put out 312 horses.
I guess that once Olds hooked onto the Rocket name in '49 and people
associated it with Oldsmobile, they continued to use it for many years because
of that association. You could say that any Olds built V-8 from 1949 up
is a Rocket engine.
The word Rocket on the air/cleaner decals was dropped in 1973, except for,
(and I'm 99% sure) the '73, '74 and '75 H/O's. There were the ONLY ones that had
Rocket on them past 1973.
All Olds V-8 pushrod engines produced between 1949 and 1990 are considered
Rocket engines. The Rocket designation comes from the general design of
these engines, not the HP rating. Super 88's with Rocket V-8s won many races in
1949 and through the 1950's. The Rocket V-8 has been credited with starting the
quest for more power and hot rodding.
You may notice different variations of Rocket on air cleaner housings.
Here are some:
Name
| Years
| CID
| Notes |
Golden Rocket
| 1957 - 1958
| 371
| 3x2 |
Rocket
|
|
| |
Rocket 88
| 1949
| 303
| |
Sky Rocket
|
|
| |
Super Rocket
|
|
| |
Ultra High Compression
|
|
| |
The Musclecar War started when Oldsmobile introduced the first overhead valve
V-8 in a relatively light body in the 1949. The war became hot when Pontiac
brought out the GTO and Olds countered with the 442. As the decade of the
sixties ended, more of the corporate limits were removed until they were
building almost all out race cars. From 1968 to 1971, the 442 was a separate
line that could be identified by it's VIN. The 1970 model year had more trick
parts than almost any other year.
General differences among the power ratings of Rocket V-8s produced between
1949 to 1964, and 1964 to 1990 are in the manifold, carb, and air cleaner. Some
small bracketry and the like is also different, of course. The distributor is
slightly different in terms of either vacuum or mechanical advance, but nothing
major. The main internal difference is in the pistons, with the 4-barrel
hi-compression pistons having a more shallow dish than the 2-barrel ones. Heads
and camshafts are pretty much the same, with W machines and 442's
(hi-performance applications) using different heads and camshafts.
[ Thanks to Joe Padavano, Kevin Wong, Mike Van Auken, Cliff Feiler, Bob
Barry, Greg Beaulieu, Mark Cornea, Kurt Heinrich, dj for this information ]
Generations
Oldsmobile engines can be basically broken into the following generations:
- 1949 was the beginning of production of the Oldsmobile Rocket V-8 engine.
- 1964 represents a new generation of engines. This was the last year for
the 394.
- 1990 was the last year of the two valve OHV Oldsmobile V-8s.
- 1995 represents another new generation - the Aurora DOHC V-8 - the A8.
First Year Items
- 1926:
- Oldsmobile starts using chrome plating.
- 1931:
- Starts using a synchromesh transmission.
- 1953:
- The complete Olds line changes from 6 volts to 12 volts.
- 1956:
- Disposable spin on oil filter?
- 1963:
- PCV system in use on all Oldsmobiles, no more down draft tubes for
crankcase ventilation.
- 1967:
- Disc brakes are an option on full size Oldsmobiles. Ultra High Voltage
(UHV) system available. This was the forerunner of HEI.
- 1972:
- First year for a factory coolant recovery bottle.
- 1973:
- EGR is added to Olds engines.
- 1974:
- HEI was offered as an option in 1974 Oldsmobiles and became standard in
1975.
- 1975:
- Catalytic Converters are added to all Olds exhaust systems.
[ Thanks to Graham Stewart, Joe Padavano others for this information ]
Indy Pace Cars
Oldsmobile automobiles have paced the Indianapolis 500 more than any other
car manufacturer.
Year
| Car
| Driver
| Comments |
1949
| 88 Conv.
| Wilbur Shaw
| Last time he drove the Pace Car, w/Olds chief engineer Jack Wolfram
riding shotgun. Same as could be bought at dealership. |
1960
| Ninety-Eight Conv.
| Sam Hanks
| Last pace car delivered from dealership. Same as could be bought at
dealership. |
1970
| 442 Conv.
| Roger Ward
| Same as could be bought at dealership, but engine tweaked. |
1972
| H/O Conv.
| Jim Rathmann
| Same as could be bought at dealership, but engine tweaked. 50 88 conv.
done as parade cars. |
1974
| H/O Targa
| Jim Rathmann
| Targa not available, but sunroof was. |
1977
| Delta 88 Targa
| James Garner
| Targa not available, but sunroof was. Modified 403 w/dual exhaust. |
1985
| Calais Conv.
| James Garner
| Convertible not available, nor Centerline wheels, headlight cover,
lowered suspension, rear spoiler w/lights or 215 hp 4 cylinder engine. |
1988
| Cutlass Supreme Conv.
| Chuck Yeager
| Replicas did not come from Oldsmobile, but from Cars & Concepts.
Produced 50 conv. & 200 coupes for local distribution. Quad 4 Turbo
not available. |
1997
| Aurora
| Johnny Rutherford
| No replicas planned. First FWD 4 door to pace the
race. |
[ Thanks to Brad Nicholson for this information ]
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