First generation Oldsmobile rocket engine family
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ก.ค. 2023
- Today on what it’s like engine episode Wednesday 1st generation Oldsmobile rocket v8. Introduced in 1948 for the 1949 model year and was produced until 1964 in four engine displacements 303 324 371 394. All these engines are Relatively the same. Using the same block and just boring and stroking it through out the years. Enjoy this one =) 
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The Real Me by The Who? Favorite Olds from these generations is easy for me - 1955 88. My dad had one, flashiest car he ever owned as it was red and white. I still want one. Thanks as always - still digging it! ~ Chuck
Yeah buddy you got it I was going to use just the bass and drums isolated Entwhistle was a monster on the base and he does not get the recognition he deserves. Glad you dig this episode =)
I’m gonna really try and get the Packers episode up tomorrow I’m not making any promises I got a lot going on in the next couple days
Well done 👏👏👏✌️
The same for Mopar
HI BROTHER MY OLDS WAS A 442 W30 BEAUTIFUL CAR 1968
GM really had it going on back then. Sad where it went, where they are..
I’m right there with you everything is so appliance like now
Thank CAFE and the Japanese.
Amen.
GM is not dead yet! Have you checked out the "C8" Corvette? Super car stats at a generic price!
Back in the early 50s when I was about 8 years old, my uncle owned a '50 Rocket 88 Club coupe & we went to Flint from Detroit with the Olds on US 23 at about 112 mph (he buried the needle & the gas pedal had room left to the floor pan). My aunt was sitting in the back seat & couldn't see the speedo but mentioned the telephone poles were going by awfully quick. He was the tool room foreman at Holley carburetor & being an early 303 V8 the folks in the dynamometer room did some "tweaking" to his 88. Getting out of the Olds to have lunch at the Howard Johnson's in Flint, the smile on my uncle's face was priceless.
You were 8 riding in a rocket 88 super cool story Thank you so much for sharing those memories
@@What.its.like.The great thing about growing up on the southwest side of Detroit in the 50s through the 70s was all the cars & trucks that friends, neighbors & relatives owned & listening to their praises & gripes. Most folks I knew worked in the auto industry & some drove some sweet rides. It was a gearhead's paradise & I've been one all my life. Back then they were easy to identify. Nowadays they all look generic. My first memory of being tested I was about 5 years old visiting another uncle & sitting on his front porch with him & his father in-law. I was identifying everything that was driving by. A car pulled up next door & they argued about the make. I said it was a '39 LaSalle (GM's base model Cadillac). If I was right they would take me out to lunch to a bar that had great burgers. They finally asked the owner the year & make. He said "'39 LaSalle". They did take me to the bar for a huge burger & fries.
@@robertchristie9434 Ha! Great story!
They were great engines and very durable. First car I drove was our 1963 Oldsmobile Super 88---394 Rocket V-8, 330 gross hp, 10.25 compression ratio. Car was 9 years old when I was driving it to high school. That car would move! One day I punched it while pulling out of the school's parking lot & laid a small patch of rubber. Ah...17 year old me with a powerful 2-ton Oldsmobile!
Driving that car was a completely different experience than what I drive today.
Great story thank you so much for sharing that great memory I honestly think that new cars are such a detachment from the actual driving experience I own a 52 Chevy 1 ton truck and I just drove it a couple hours ago I absolutely love driving that everything is mechanical everything is manual. I’d prefer a cable clutch over a hydraulic clutch Lol Cable/rod is the best way to feel everything that is going on like you can feel it in your foot what is going on and I absolutely love that when I make a gear change it clicks is the greatest
Yeah that's because they don't make em like they used to corporate pussies
I love Oldsmobiles.
The 1959 Daytona 500 the first on the new superspeedway was won by a 1959 Oldsmobile 394 with automatic transmission. Driven by Lee Petty. Back when stock cars were really stock the car was purchased by Petty at a Daytona Beach Oldsmobile dealer only a week before the race.
So true! This was real racing from the dealership.
I always thought that it had a manual trans.
I have a 61 Catalina and I found a vintage ad of one on the track with a caption that read, "The 1961 Pontiac, floating at 153mph." I'm guessing that was the marque that year and I can definitely see those cars being mostly stock with some super tuning, a few hot rod parts and a lot of room going that fast.
My grandfather had a 62 Super 88. After his passing we inherited it. I always loved that car even though it was a 4 door sedan and rusting out. Didn't want to be seen in it but loved driving it (as an underaged and unlicensed driver, no my parents never knew I did that) and watching that speedometer go from green to yellow to red. Exciting stuff for a 14 year old farm boy! Maybe the best part was that it always smelled liked Grandpa's cigars!
My dad also had a 1962 Super 88 four door sedan. When I got my learners permit and driver's license I early 1970, it was the first car that I legally drove. I loved the fact that it had air conditioning, something many of my dad's previous cars didn't have.
I also remember the left to right multi-colored speedometer, going from green to yellow and then red.
@@franknew9001 It was the most fun when it was red, which it did quite readily. (and often when I drove it). It was 10 years old by then and nothing to look at but man, that car loved to run!!
@ allenwayne2033-- Not very long after I got my driver's license in 1970, we took a family vacation from Maryland to Florida in the 1962 Oldsmobile. The speed limit in most states on the highway was 70 mph, so most of the time the speedometer was in the red. The car had plenty of power.
Another good thing back then was regular gas was 29 cents, and premium was 35 cents per gallon. Gas prices were very stable until the first oil embargo that started in October of 1973.
I have an RCA alarm clock/radio that I bought because it went with my color scheme and mostly because it’s an attachment to my late grandfather whose generation bought everything from RCA and it reminds me of his house.
You BAD boy. Driving without a license! I hot wired my Dad's '58 Studebaker "Silver Hawk" (NO, not the S/C one) while he slept. I was 14 in '58, got my license at 15 the following year. My dad checked the mileage, found out I was driving it and gave me a THorough "belt message", not because I took the car, but because he did not want me driving until I got a DL. Even after the "belt treatment" we STILL took the car , only this time we disconnected the odometer and made sure we brought it back with the SAME amoubt of gas! Those were FUN days. The '50s ROCKED!
I like all of the Olds.
I’m a huge fan of the early 50 Oldsmobile I’ve been looking I found one and I set up an appointment to go and shoot the car it was before the rocket 88 last year of the in-line flathead eight had it all set up guy fell off the face of the Earth never heard back from them.. so idk lol
@@What.its.like. Sorry to hear that. Better luck next time on doing a video on a '46-'48 Olds. The 1942 "B-44" Oldsmobile is quite unique, it would be a real treat if you got to shoot one of those rarities.
Oldsmobiles are really hard to find around here I’m going to meet them on Saturday in Harrisburg I might make an announcement I wasn’t going to say anything but I figured it’s a big event if anybody wants to hang out we can totally do that
@@What.its.like. Keep digging around my friend as your bound to find some as there's lots of them stored around in various places across the country. 🙂
Great observation about Oldsmobile being the division with all the firsts!
I never saw that even though it is in plain view!
A few corrections here.
1. Charles Kettering was the father of LEADED gasoline(tetraethyl lead, "TEL", or "ethyl" for short), NOT the inventor of unleaded gasoline, as stated at about 0:50. Unleaded gasoline was what existed when gasoline was first being made. Adding lead, i.e. making high octane gasoline, allowed for engine compression ratios to be increased, especially in the 1950s, leading to higher-horsepower engines.
2. As for overhead valve engines and General Motors, you are confusing coming out with V8 engines and the existence of overhead valves. For example, Chevrolet exclusively used an overhead valve 6-cylinder engine from 1929 through 1954, and then continued to offer the overhead valve 6-cylinder engine along with their new overhead valve V8 in 1955.
3. You say at 1:55 Pontiac and Chevrolet would go overhead valve in 1955. They went V8 in 1955, but as-stated, Chevrolet was already overhead valve with their 6-cylinder from 1929 onward.
Thank you so much for those corrections I really appreciate it I should’ve been more clear about the V-8 situation and I also should’ve mentioned that Buick went to v8 in 53 =)
And the Buick was also always OHV, except for it's 1930 companion car, the Marquette, and that car was a disguised Olds, not a true Buick.
The Chevy 4 cylinders prior to '29 were also over head valve engines. Chevy's first V-8 was in 1913, not very successful but OHV nether the less.
@@gootsch5940 never
never the less
And, don't forget Ford introduced their OHV V8 in 1953..
My Dad worked at Fisher Body in Lansing Michigan in 1953 until he retired in January of 1986
He owned several used Oldsmobile cars including a1956 Olds 88 that was parked in the front lawn tor years and he bought a new’63- ford custom and I really wanted him to give me the. ‘56 Oldsmobile but I was too young to own a car but I did get to solo in the Oldsmobile , I was about 10 and he let me drive it to my friend’s house and I was thrilled.!
Later on in my life , I worked at the same factory that he worked at and in 1980, I bought and restored a 1956 Oldsmobile…
So that’s my Oldsmobile story! I hope I have entertained you!
He got to build all the best ones!!!!
Thanks for the info. In high school, in 1954, I owned an Olds 88 Hydramatic - as did 3 of my buddies. Historically today the 1950 88 is considered the first 'muscle car': great V8, impressive power-to-weight ratio, rugged, fast. Mine was a Crest Blue Club Sedan. Typical problem: with high mileage, engine hot, the engine would crank over but would not start. Diagnosed to be the timing chain stretch, altered valve timing so both the intake an exhaust valves open slightly - the 6 volt starter could not spin the engine fast enough to gain compression. [Olds changed to 12 volt system in 1951]. Problem: unless the engine oil was changed frequently, replaced with a quality detergent oil, the hydraulic lifters would stick resulting in very noisy engine. Problem; The Rochester side draft carb was difficult to set-up and adjust. Performance was greatly improved with a Carter down-draft carb and dual exhausts. [All more than most folks care to know]
"Vapor Lock" was very common with carbureated engines in those days. Fuel injection pretty much eliminated those problems, except in the first gen Taurus. Running heater hoses right next to fuel lines is NEVER a good idea. Ford had to learn the hard way! LOL
Did the first generation/first year Olds V8 have hydraulic valve lifters that were especially subject to oil varnish fouling them causing Oldsmobile to redesign the valve lifters?
@@davidpowell3347 Yes they were hydraulic lifters. If you failed to use a nigh grade detergent oil and change frequently [about 1K to 2K miles] the lifters became sticky and very noisy.
My sister had a ‘55 Super 88 convertible. I had to replace the lifters , because the engine sounded like a typewriter. Red and white. A real collector item. Not all that fast, though. My father’s 2 barrel ‘56 Pontiac could leave that Olds in the dust.
Hello. I have the 324ci in my Alcan White and Cirrus Blue 1956 2dr Super 88. It is just undergoing cam and lifters(flat) replacement after not keeping the right oil(need high zinc/zddp content. Fingers crossed this will now last. It still looks great and does well in shows. Can't wait to get back in it.
A great video, Jay. You are right -- Oldsmobile was GM's division that pioneered a lot of new technologies.
Thank you glad you did this episode made a couple mistakes I have to try to fix them =)
Yeah, Dr. Oldsmobile created a lot of interesting designs. My favorites were the '62 Olds F-85 Turbo 3.5L aluminum V8 ( it is still in use by the British, minus the turbo) and the famous "442"!
My dad and uncle took a 53 model 88 engine and Hydramatic transmission and stuffed it into a 46 Chevy half ton pickup. The engine got a J-2 cam upgrade and 4 barrel carb. The heads were milled to up the compression and dual chrome exhaust stacks up the back of the cab. The Transmission got Cadillac clutch packs and stiffer springs in the valve body to make it shift harder. A Pontiac rear axle took the torque to the tires. Fast old truck for it's day. My dad could tell you the stories as he has to me many times.
Awesome stories thank you so much for sharing your dad’s memories with us =)
I have always been an Olds man. They were great cars to own and drive. 😊😊😊😊
Sweet =)
Right on my main man thanks again dude I'm a fan
I've started out with them back when I was in high school and I still have 2 old Oldsmobile cutlass type car's around and both are doing well with age and mileage ,a 69 w31 f85 build up and also a 76 cutlass salon both of them are drive able for the most part at least so far today
First generation Olds V8 I'd pick is the year of my birth 57 Olds 98, any body style, triple carbs.
Read up on the history of Louis and Gaston Chevrolet when they started building race cars,
their engines were overhead valve like Buick, Nash and Dusenberg, Neat history . Keep the engine episodes coming.
Thank you so much for that correction I’m gonna go back and try to fix that I don’t know what I was thinking I think my mind got in a V-8 mode and that’s why I said that but yeah you’re right somebody else made that comment as well
Since 1951 is my birth year. I'd go with a 51 Oldsmobile Deluxe Coupe with the 303 Rocket hooked to a Hydra Matic. Never really been a GM guy but love those Oldsmobiles from the 50-60's.
I was born in 1959 but I don't care for that year at all, so I would probably go with a 1951 Oldsmobile 98 Holiday coupe. I saw one parked at at supermarket a few years ago and was very impressed by its dashing looks!
Sweet choice =)
Some additional items.
1. Charles Kettering was a prolific inventor. He also invented turn signals.
Two additional names play major roles in the electric self-starter. Henry Leland and Byron Carter.
Leland was founder/president of Cadillac. Carter was president of CarterCars. They were best friends. Carter was fatally injured in 1908 trying to start a woman's stalled car when the hand crank kicked back, breaking his arm and jaw.
Leland then approached Kettering to develop a workable starting system.
2. Buick was OHV inline-8 hrom 1931 thru 1953 when they got their first v8.
3. Pontiac was flathead-exckusive thru 1954 when it jumped onto the OHV v8 in '55.
4. Chevrolet was always OHV from the first car built till now. Their most famous v8 started life in '55. Chevrolet also built a v8 1917 thru '19. Few were built and not many know of them.
Thank you so much for sharing all that additional information as well as those corrections those ones somehow slipped through.. Chevy was pretty much overhead valve from the beginning as well stovebolt six came out in 1929
The first real successful NASCAR engine.
Makes sense Oldsmobile would be the experimental division, if anything went wrong you wouldn't want to damage the prestige of Cadillac, and Chevy was always the every man brand so they wouldn't want anything too experimental.
Very true =)
This is long but read the whole thing if you love 50's GM cars. When I was 5 my dad drug my Uncles '54 Olds 88 to our farm south of Kansas City and put it in the barn lot for me and my 2 sisters to play in. He had bought it for his brother to drive while he was in college in the 60's and after he graduated the transmission went out. This was 1972. My sisters and I drove all around the world and had wonderful adventures over the next couple years in that non running car. It was a light blue 4 door and my oldest sister found some silver paint my Dad used on the barn and shed roofs and painted "Love Old Blue" on the hood. From then on the car was known as "Ol' Blue". In 1974 my cousin who was 15 came for a summer and he fell in love with Ol' Blue. He convinced my dad to let him try and fix it. I got drug to every local junkyard as we sourced the missing tail light lense, a piece of quarter panel trim and some odds and ends that had been lost during years of faithful service to my Uncle. He even found multiple good transmissions but the $10 to $12 price was too much money for him at that time!! He left, went back to Boston and I didn't see him again until 1978. By then my parents and divorced, we all moved to new homes and Dad sold Ol' Blue to one of the junkyards I had helped retrieve parts from years earlier. My oldest sister cried, I was amazed that my Dad only got $25 as I had told him I wanted to fix it up so when I was 16 I could drive it.
I tell this story because today, 2/10/2024 I went to an old junkyard that the new owner is cleaning out and I bought a pair of 54 Olds 88's. These are 2 doors and I think between the 2 I have everything to make 1 really complete one. Except that 324 Rocket. Both are missing the engines. I assume from the mentioned piston skirt issue, the engines were probably sourced for other cars after these hit the yard. I have dreamed about having another one after the loss of Ol' Blue almost 50 years ago. And now I do. If anyone is interested there were still many 50's/60's Olds and also a ton of Buicks, Pontiacs (including a 421 Bonneville 4 door, already sold though) Dodges, Chryslers, Plymouths, ECT. They started with almost 700 cars a few months ago and are down to 500 or so. Just look up Yates Center, Kansas on Facebook Marketplace. Super husband and wife and they are selling them at realistic prices.
That’s a great story. I’m sorry your dad sold the car from underneath you whenever they got divorced but you know it’s never too late 54 Oldsmobile four doors are out there on Facebook marketplace and find one. =)
Alot of people consider the 49 Olds Rocket 88 as the first muscle car.
I built a rat rod with a 403 Olds put old valve covers and an air cleaner off a 324. Looking forward to the second generation Rocket video.
Your rat rod sounds awesome it probably sounds even better in person =) i’m not sure when we’re gonna get to the second generation video to be 100% honest there’s a lot of engine episodes we have a cover before we can get into that one.. i’m not sure what the next one’s going to be I might do the Studebaker V8 episode because this one in that one were neck and neck.. but another really big part of me wants to do the Cadillac V 16 engine.. I might make a poll to see which one you guys want to do. =)
@@What.its.like. Stude engine would be cool. The v16 would also be interesting.
Dude I was just looking for a good Oldsmobile rocket history video a few days ago then this popped up. Awesome. Glad to know I’m not the only young guy into Oldsmobiles. I’ve got a 71 98 with a 455 that I hopped up a bit. Peace 🤙
Awesome car what color and what do you think about it
@@What.its.like. black exterior black interior 4 door. I love it, it’s my daily and for a while was my only car. I’ve had it for 7 years and got it from the second owner (my neighbor) for a really good deal. I drive it all over Southern California to go camping. It’s a ridiculously well built car. Such a joy to drive. It handles well, accelerates, and feels indestructible. It got hit by a semi truck in my work parking lot on the front bumper and they pushed the car like two feet back before they noticed. I pulled the bumper back into position and you can’t even tell something happened 😆. Friend of mine has an f150 with a small block ford that dynoed 630hp at the wheels and we lined them up and I actually gapped him pretty good with the 98. All I’ve got over stock is raised compression, intake, cam, and exhaust not sure what it puts down power wise. I could write a novel about the car but yeah anyway great car I love it. 🤙
A friend of mine had a 1964 Olds 442 with 3 two barrel carburetors, and 4 speed with positive traction rear end. He could lay rubber for hundreds of feet.
Now that's a cool car for me to own people who know what performance is all about,hell yeah that's right
The green 394. My favorite. In a 1961 Ninety-Eight.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. TOTALLYAWSOMEDUCATION. I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT OLDSMOBILE MOTORS. THANK YOU FOR DOING YOUR HOMEWORK. IT SHOWS.
Thank you glad you dig this channel and episode
The artwork for the advertising is fantastic.
Thanks 👍
My favorite era of advertising 1930s through early 60s I love the illustrations and the watercolor totally agree
My name is Rodney Hopper and I am a proud owner of having owned or have owned at least 3 Oldsmobile muscle cars in my life and still own 2 currently 1 st one is a low mileage surviver a 69 f 85 with 62000 miles on it w31 w 4spd radio delete a and rubber flooring and a bench seat
Sweet =)
My brother had a '61 Olds Super 88 two door hardtop with the fastback(bubble?) style roof, 394 eng/automatic trans. What a cool car! I had modified the original chrome air cleaner from my '64 GTO to breath from the underside on the air cleaner base instead of only through the single oval snorkle and put it on his Olds. When you stood on the gas pedal in first gear that AFB carb was wide open and when that ol' trans shifted to second the rpm dropped so much that it made CRAZY induction noise- whooooh, whoooh, whooh, waaaaaah! We liked that car very much.
Thanks for sharing those great memories
Oh hell yeah that's right.
Lee Petty, driving a 1959 Olds Super 88 with the 394, won the first Daytona 500.....February 22, 1959.
Great information
@@What.its.like. Thank you!
I used to do gardening work for an Oldsmobile salesman back in the day in the 60's. He told me that Oldsmobile has always been the experiment car for Cadillac. GM would test it on an Oldsmobile, and put it on a Cadillac, what ever it was. Note that Oldsmobiles and Cadillacs were basically the same car. @ the time, this salesman drove nothing but Oldsmobiles, and I remember he had a 1962 Oldsmobile a 1964 Oldsmobile and a 1966 Oldsmobile and all of them were 4dr cars. The 64 Oldsmobile had a 394 ci V8 engine and it was blue in color.I myself has owned 4 new Cutlass Supremes, a 1972, a 1976, a 1978 and a 1980 Cutlass Supreme. On this day, 1/09/2024, I have a 1974 Cutlass Supreme and a 1978 Delta 88 Royale Brougham. The 74, I bought in 2016 that had just over 33,000 original miles. That car was in storage from 1977 to 2016. The Delta, I bought in 2021 had 11,033 original miles. It had been in storage from 1981 until 2021. Both these cars were purchased from elderly people who bought these cars brand new. They passed away and their children put them in storage.
Great story until the ending they show drive his cars
I like my Olds based diesel cars. They work well with knowlegable owners.
Yeah well I got a project on the back burner I want to tell you about I've gotten plans I'm going to get a loan together for this build up I have been trying to get done for a very long time now and I'm saying it is time to do it. A 69 w31 f85 build up
Yes, GM DID have many things mechanical that cross-referenced to the other GM brands.
The "GM cross-refference" manual lists 1,000s of parts that interchange.
For example, the spindles from a 1956 Olds can be found on about 4 years of Caddys from the same era.
Can you use anything from a 1953 Cadillac v8 on a Pontiac engine parts =)
@@What.its.like. ...I have no idea, I didn't memorize the book.
Pontiac and Cadillac are entirely different engines.
@@kenb1376 ...That doesn't make my statement any less TRUE.
In December of 1952 my family picked up a blue demonstrator 98 from Doran dealership in down town Dallas. I will never forget the people watching us as we went along Elm street!
Awesome memories =)
As a lucky owner of a 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham coupe with the 350 gas V8, I anxiously await your equally enthralling discussion of the Second Generation Oldsmobile engines. Thank you for your excellent insight. I find that the fuel efficiency is strangely comparable to an array of modern vehicles at estimated 25 mpg. I've only driven it since November and I find it growing on me 💘
Sweet
Our family car from 1949 to 1956 was a Olds Rocket 88, I loved that car, mom made dad trade it in on a 56' Ford Country Squire Wagon.
Awesome how did you guys like the Ford wagon versus the old rocket
I was just a kid, I was five when we got the station wagon, it had a 312 Y block with a three speed on the tree with overdrive, dad would run it up to 110 to "blow the carbon off the valves, every once in a while. for the family it was more practical, had lots of room and never broke, @@What.its.like.
That’s awesome my grandpa used that line
Also said don’t take any wooden nickels thank you so much for that memory =)
0:47 Kettering was the one who developed LEADED gasoline.
Thank you so much for that correction
Converted a few Olds diesel in the 80’s over to gasoline, most if not all well went over 350k . The bottom ends couldn’t handle the diesel compression ratios but once converted to gas they were bulletproof . They were cheap to convert and didn’t need to be smog checked under California registration because they were exempt. You just didn’t tell dmv it was changed! Lol
Awesome information =)
I would love to have a 57 Oldsmobile 2 door hardtop with the J2 371. Done up in either patina or mate black and dual exhaust with smithy glas packs. Hauling ass on the back roads with the song "like a Rocket" by Reverend Horton Heat blasting on the radio
Awesome =)
The 57 Olds is just a straight up looker! The J2 motor with 3 deuces was the motor. You should do this type of review of the Pontiac line. They came out in 55 like the Chevy V-8's, but had a different engine displacement from 55 to 59.
I totally agree that engine is very sexy looking engine already have the opportunity to review one last year and the owner told me that he hast to take it out on the highway every so often just to get the carbon blowed out of the other two carburetors I can’t remember if he said that up for progressive linkage because he was having issues with it
Not many know it, but that Pontiac V8 was originally supposed to come out in the 53 cars, but protests from Oldsmobile got it pushed back first to 54, then 55, as the new for 54 Pontiac Star Chief and Pontiac's exclusive in-dash air conditioning were making their cars into competitors rather lower cost cars.
My father always said that Oldsmobile was GM's experimental division
That would make sense
Cadillac also got a overhead valve V8 in 1949!
Yes both olds and Cadillac went ohv in 49 =) Chevy was ohv with 6s I screwed that up
Jay does mention that fact at 1:47. Cadillac's new "fishtail" design and Oldsmobile's new "Futurama" design were introduced in 1948 and then both cars got OHV V8's the following year. It is true BTW what he says at 1:52 that Buick got their first OHV back in 1904, the company invented it in fact and several years before they became part of GM, but they didn't get their first OHV V-8 until 1953 when they introduced their new Nailhead V-8, but that's an engine story for other time.
I think the deal was that Cadillac was allowed to copy the joint accomplishments of Kettering and the Oldsmobile engineers,also only after the new automatic transmission wwas proven roadworthy in Oldsmobiles did Cadillac offer it
I owned a 54 Olds, my second car.it had 7 pistons with cracked skirts, other than removing the skirts from the pan, I did nothing, drove it another 25-30 thousand miles. Ran great, sold it to a kid for 50 bucks, told him about it, he drove it for 2 years, then he sold it. As a mechanic I saw a few 54's with the issue, but far more 55's
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. It’s awesome that engine still ran fine without the skirting on the Pistons
It will run the same, for awhile, but will soon wear out both the cylinder walls and the piston by allowing piston to twist from left to right.
I enjoy these presentations of "What's it like", since I have been a lifelong car buff and at 78 years old remeber things from my earlier years wandering thru showrooms as a youngster. I have not a criticism, bur a suggestion, some research on your part would eliminate some minor "oversites". Olds was the GM model that initially tested public acceptance of new items. Just to correct a few of your comments. Chevrolet had Overhead valves back into the 1930's and I believe in 1929 as well. Your comment that Chevrolet and Pontiac received Overhead valves in 1955 was only half correct as I just mentioned. Pontiac was ready for a modern OHV V-8 in 1953, and redesigned the engine compartments for a V-8, but Oldsmobile did not want the competition and convinced GM management to not allow the Pontiac to go OHV V-8 until later. Cadillac was not afraid of Chevrolet or even Pontiac having an OHV V-8 as they did not compete with each other. If they were so concerned, they would have blocked Oldsmobile's V-8 but did not, as they didn't compete in the same class as Oldsmobile. GM's 5 divisions were well spaced so that Chevrolet drivers would be the bread-and-butter -ine, and would have a place for Chevrolet Drivers to move up to Pontiac, Olds, Buick, and Cadillac as their income allowed, and as long as GM was controlled by car guys and not bean counters, it worked well. While they were 5 distinct lines, GM vehicles did share components such as common body shells from Fisher Body. Chevrolet bodies were used on Cadillacs, but the shells for Chevrolets were used on Pontiacs, and Olds, etc, some transmissions, and accessories from GM owned subsidaries such as Saginaw for Power Steering, etc.. Chevrolet had Powerglide Automatics; Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Cadillac all shared Hydramatic transmissions and Buick had the Dynaflow early on as each line got Automatics. Of note, in 1953, GM's Hydramatic plant burned down due to a spark from a welder starting a fire. Right after the Fire, GM provided Hydramatics to several independents to fulfill contracts with them. Pontiac's got Powerglides, Olds got some Hydramatics and some Cadillacs got Dynaflows from Buick. in the 1955 and later Chevrolets, they shared a designe developed by Pontiac for individual valve rockers to be mounted on individual studs instead of all rockers on a single rocker shaft. Sharing of common sourced components got more and more wide spread into the 1970's and beyond.
Again I look forward to each of these, as you show us vehicles that I have not seen for a long time, if ever.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share all that information for some reason it slipped my mind that Chevy was overhead valve even though I knew at least they were overhead valve since 1929 with the stove bolt six but they made overhead valve engines that predated that..
Glad you dig the channel i’m finishing up the episode for the second time because the first time it deleted but I can assure you this upcoming episode is going to blow your socks off in the video Department. i’m going to try to post it tonight 1940 Packard Darrin
rocket 88 one of the very first R&R songs.Ike Turner before Tina
I don't know if I'd say Olds was the "guinea pig" brand of GM...Oldsmobile was definitely very innovative and wanted to be the 1st at "x.y.z"... back then, the individual GM Brands were very much their own entity and for lack of a better term. Competed with each other.
I have a 1962 Olds Dynamic 88 Holiday Coupe optioned with the rare (at no additional cost) Regular Rocket 394. I added true dual exhaust and It runs super smooth on any grade of gas.
I'm kind of keeping my eyes out for one of these engines. I've got a 47 olds with the flathead 6 and hydramatic, and since Olds used both these engines for a few years in the same cars (with that same transmission) odds are it would be close to a bolt-in upgrade.
I still drive Olds 1960 Dynamic 88 and a 1947 fastback two door
Both awesome rides curious where are you located?
Oregon
Thank you for sharing this information 😊👋🐿
Great info ❤
Dad had a “58” rocket 88 , loved it, true land yacht
That’s was a big car =) It probably floated down the road
I don't know what I would pick. So many cool choices!
Excellent video, well-made and informative and looks great. Thank you.
Thank you so much glad you dig =) I absolutely love all the advertisement pieces able to uncover while doing this episode
So cool , just and other treat !
OLDSMOBILE’S DIRECT COMPETITOR at CHRYSLER CORPORATION was DeSOTO.
DeSOTO COUNTERED in 1952…with the FIRE DOME HEMI V-8 in a New model of the SAME NAME .
The DeSOTO FIREDOME matched Oldsmobiles 160 Horsepower from smaller displacement…
and on REGULAR GAS, VS Oldsmobile’s Premium Fuel !!
I believe in 1918 Chevy had a overhead valve v8. It was in a car called the model d.
Yeah overhead valve was always a part of Chevy’s DNA That was a mistake
Chevrolet's V8 came out in 1955 yes, but all those sixes they'd been making for decades before then, were also OHV
Yes for some reason that totally skipped my mind both when recording it going over it before it got released
Boss Ket. An American automotive legend!
He was, he designed a ton of stuff and to think he invented the starter at 14
You TOTALLY skipped over the '62 F-85 with the 3.5L V8 and optional turbo (first ever in a production American car). Don't remember the HP/torque numbers, but they were substantial. You just had to remember to add 'turbo fluid" to the reservoir under the hood. It was probably an alcohol/water mixture to keep the CCs temp down. The British bought the tools and dies from GM, they are still using that engine (minus the turbo) in Rover and other British cars/vehicles. A truly revolutionary engine for it's time, put out 200HP (N/A) with 4-barrel and weighed a mere 320lbs with flywheel attached!
It’s not in the same engine family
Excellent
Man Jay!, I just LOVE these engine episodes! I learn something new every time. Even though I have been interested in automotive history for years, one tends to specialize in their interests somewhat. I had heard, of course, of the rocket 88. I also realized how important and engine this was for General Motors. I had never delved deeply into the history of that engine and it is fascinating! Probably GM's most groundbreaking and long lived engine, next to the SBC.
I love doing the engine episodes when base gets bigger going to start dropping in people
Great vid!!! 👍👍
My second cousin hopped a train to Detroit and got one of the first Rocket 88's to run moonshine with. Cops sere running V8 Fords and couldn't touch him.
What a great story thank you so much for sharing those memories with us I was born way too late I would’ve loved to have a car that nobody can keep up with it I mean nobody could you imagine hauling ass down some of those country roads if you hit a pothole it would be like suicide I would think
In the late 50s, the "hot ticket" was a '49-'50 Olds coupe or fastback with a '37 Cad-LaSalle top-shift box. The hydro was quicker, but the stick was cooler. Like WAY cooler!
GM fastbacks is where it’s at. =) such a great body design
@@What.its.like. The coupe had the weight advantage.
If I were to build an early Olds today I'd use a fastback and use a '37 Cad top-shift box, a 394 bell-housing engine and a 56 Olds rear end. (The '57 is too wide for a '49-'50.) Raced a '51 98 4door in NHRA's N/Stock. (It was just heavy enough to run N stock . A two door 98 would have been better looking but it would run M Stock with no possibility of ever winning. The advantage of running the early Olds was the fact that the engines were severely factory under-rated, and so because cars were classified by dividing the advertised weigh by the advertised horsepower and that made the under-rated Olds a natural winner. My '51 303 was rated at 135HP. It would make easily 150+. With gears as low as 4.56 and a built 3000 RPM stall B&M torus, the Hydro on good rubber would easily embarrass Chevy 6s and Ford flatheads which had to run N/Stock because it was the lowest stock "formula" class.
37 times out, 37 wins....Then NHRA caught on and "Factoring" began. That's when we told Partridge to shove it and went back to racing on the street and never looked back.
Heads up- First one to the other end gets the money.
NHRA - No Hot Rods Allowed.
You didn’t mention Oldsmobile was the first in 1955 to put the evaporator and blower for air conditioning under the hood as it is today allowing the AC vents to be placed on the dash board . up until this time the evaporator and blowers were located in the trunk with vents either on the back rear sill or with ducks in the headliner.
Not so. The 54 Pontiac was the first GM car with in-dash AC. The 54 Nash also had an in-dash system.
@@michaelbenardo5695 Good research! Thanks for the info!
Have a 53 olds 303 in my Model A Ford coupe. Has good amount of torque for the displacement.
That’s awesome =)
The "Kettering engine" is a slang term that I still use to describe any of the excellent GM pushrod v8's of the last 3/4 century. The amazing success of the LS engine owes its life to "Boss Kettering" and his work at GM from the 1920's thru the 1940's, culminating in these first generation Olds, Cadillac, and later Chevrolet and Pontiac OHV v8's.
While not even high tech in their day, the formula of simple, but excellent engineering providing endless tuning and hot-rodding potential, with reliability and a very compact package size meant success right from the start.
Even though the LS pales on paper compared to most other modern engines, it is this exact same "refined simplicity", compact dimensions, and endless tuning potential that have made it such a success story.
When you look at the architectural similarities between these first generation GM OHV v8's and the LS v8's , you'll see why I call the LS family the last of the "Kettering engines"
Another great subject would be the first "monoblock casting" v8's (NOT the often credited flathead Ford) that GM introduced in the late 1920's. The Viking v8, the Oakland v8, and the Pontiac version !! These were introduced at just the wrong time and being middle priced offerings, the depression killed them. Very cool engines and pre-date Ford on the one piece v8 block casting often credited to the Ford flathead.
Thank you so much for all of that added information and insight I got a little mixed up I’m dyslexic and usually I catch things when I like proofread it but I didn’t catch it that time I need to figure out a way to fix it..
@@What.its.like. Hey, It's super cool that you are pulling out and sharing all this interesting stuff with an automotive community that often suffers from tunnel vision and is ignorant of all the cool stuff that led to where we are today. Keep up the great content !!
He didn't invent Unleaded gas, he invented Leaded gas to increase octane.
Thank you so much for the correction I read it wrong
My favorite Olds was the 1962 Starfire. I would want a black exterior with red interior.
Sweet
Did the "Starfire" have the Turbo 3.5L V8? If so , what was the HP rating of that engine?
@@TheOzthewiz
Had a few of these (Buicks mostly)
With the exception of the turbo engines Buicks were rated 5-10hp more then the Olds versions
If I'm not mistaken the turbos were rated at 215hp,
Buick 4bbl was 185hp in 61 and 62 with 10.25 compression. 63 4bbl went to 200hp with 11 to 1 compression.
Not sure how they did that because the pistons had the same part number and heads had the same casting numbers.
Olds engines had flat top pistons in both 2bbl and 4bbl, but different cc heads. Buick had two different pistons 2bbl and 4bbl and the same head.
I always liked the '64 Dynamic 88
Sweet =)
1965 Oldsmobile Starfire for me
Sweet That car has one heck of an interior for an Oldsmobile if you covered up all the automobile badging in the car you could probably stop a car guy in there it doesn’t look like an Oldsmobile interior it looks like a Buick there I see Cadillac interior and sometimes Oldsmobile did interior is better than Cadillac
Hi Jay, I really enjoyed your presentation. I currently own a 1949 rocket 88 Oldsmobile with an automatic very smooth running engine you portrayed it very well thank you as always look forward to more take care. I live in North Carolina I tried to respond your email, but it said failure
Awesome your car sounds absolutely amazing question where are you located I’ve been looking for one to do for the last year almost 2 years really ever since I started the channel that was one car that I really wanted to do
@@What.its.like. I live in North Carolina I tried to respond to your email, but it came back as failure undeliverable
That’s weird
@@What.its.like. I would be happy to send you a picture of my 1949 Oldsmobile, but replying to TH-cam will not permit it is there another way I can get it to you
North Carolina is a bit far but if I’m ever down that way I don’t understand why it’s not letting people send it to email maybe I’ll just have to get a Google email address I have another email address you could try that one
Anderson_pictures0130@yahoo.com
I got an email from yahoo the other day saying I had too many emails and I wouldn’t be able to get any more emails from people but I looked suspicious It didn’t look legit.. but if that’s the case I’ll just go over to google I don’t want any BS
Thomas Midgley, Jr. working with Charles Kettering is the actual inventor of Freon it was invented to solve an issue with GM refigerators. 1928
Awesome thank you so much fir that information
Great work,always been a fan of the 49-64 Olds V-8,by the way the Olds V-8 was also used in 55-59 GMC mediums and heavy duty gas trucks,a long with the Pontiac V-8.
Great information thank you so much for sharing that =)
@@What.its.like. Thank you,for your great work,good information and well researched topics.
Thank you it means the world to me =)
The olds diesel v8 project wasn't a total loss...the blocks were the choice for higher performance gas engines...
Yeah that's right I'm thinking about doing it into a stroker conversion for a project car in the future coming up in the new year hopefully
It's really something the way designers do that.
Ya get points for enthusiasm. Chevrolet, like Buick had overhead valves almost from the start. The "Space Race" with the Soviet Union did not start until 1956 so you need a better reason for the :"Rockett" name. The real key to the 'Kettering engine' was high compression that took advantage of high octane fuel which had been available after WW2. The Kettering engine was designed to have a bigger bore and shorter stroke with a high compression ratio. The large bore allowed larger valves and better breathing than common in earlier overhead valve engines. The last ad you showed was for the F85 aluminum V8 that was available in 1962 and 63 in the F85 and was only slightly different from the Buick 215 aluminum V8 that was in the Special and Skylark those same years.
Thank you so much for that correction for some reason it slipped my mind that Chevy was making overhead valve sixes from 29,
I was trying to take two birds in one stone talking about overhead valve and when every V-8 came out but it didn’t work out right
I thought the last ad was interesting that’s why I saved it for last even though it doesn’t really apply to this engine
Thank you so much for those corrections =)
The senior Nash was also OHV from the 2nd year of the Nash, about 1917.
I’m a huge Nash fan that is an engine that I definitely want to cover one day it’s just finding information about that Nash made three engines for a long time
Look up Hillbilly Duncan and the "Original Rocket". I used to watch him race at National Trails.
I agree with you, the 50 model wagon is a very nice ride.
Honestly you can’t go wrong with any GM early 50s wagon I really love the Pontiac tin woody from 1953. But my favorite wagon of all time 1959 Ambassador cross country wagon super underrated wagon I’ve never seen the ambassador version they have a 327 in them they could go 0 to 60 in 8 1/2 seconds one of the most underrated engines of the 50s..
Especially sweet is their hardtop wagon. No center post, convertible-style doors! But only a few hundred were made.
I think that one was called the country club I could be mistaken though I have never seen one in person I’ve never seen an ambassador in person I saw a buddy of mine has the Rambler version which was stellar to get to do that. I have another friend who has a 62 and he let me drive it and it wasn’t as underpowered as the critics say. It’s not a speed demon by any stretch of the imagination it feels like driving maybe a Toyota Prius but it has a little bit more definitely has more get up and go out of the hole than a Toyota Prius
That 135 horsepower rating of the 49 - 50 engines has always been suspect to me, as those who remembered them brand new felt that it was too fast for only 135 horses. Plus, the 51 had slightly higher compression, yet couldn't keep up with the 49 - 50.
I often wondered that myself because that engine was so legendary I never drove a car with an original rocket in it. But from the stories I heard legendary engine
Well they were not that huge in displacement and only had a 2 barrel carb.
@@edwardpate6128 Maybe so, but they were faster than, say, a late 70s Chevy of about the same weight and a 305 engine. That Chevy 305 was rated at 140 horsepower net, which means probably about 156 - 157 brake horsepower, but a taller-gear rear end, so the 49 - 50 Olds probably had close to 150 horses. The 51 had slightly higher compression, same advertised horsepower, but would lose in a drag race to a 49 or 50.
Did the '51 get a taller (lower number ratio) rear end than the '49 had? @@michaelbenardo5695
My first car was a 1965 Cutlass!...I bought it all original from two nice older ladies who worked for the same company as my dad…they were the original owners…It had a two-speed automatic…apparently called "Jetaway" back in the day!!…The strange thing was it also had a V-8 4-barrel carb engine and the red air cleaner had a decal that read ULTRA HIGH COMPRESSION!!!...Did you run across anything like this in researching your awesome video?
Yes that was the second generation of the rocket engine which will get covered in its own video one day your car sounds awesome though
Thank you Jay!...Looking forward to the second generation rocket engine video!!...The 1965 Cutlass would make for a great video too…loved mine…they’re typically found today with 442 badging whether original (or not)!!!
I am not aware of any "Space Race" between the US and the USSR when Olds named their awesome engine the "Rocket." That would come about 10 years later. The last new car my father bought was a 1953 Oldsmobile Super 88 2 door sedan with 3 speed stick shift. Dad said more stick shift cars were built that year than usual because the GM Hydromatic plant burned down.
The space race was with satellites at first
@@What.its.like. - The first satellite was launched in 1957.
I got a lot of information from Wikipedia which is really hit and miss
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_V8_engine
I WANT TO BUILD A FIRST GEN OLDS MOTOR IN THE FUTURE.
1955 is when Chevy introduced their small-block OHV V8. But Chevy had OHV long before that, starting in 1913 with an inline 4, then in 1929 with the Stovebolt inline 6. Lots of other makes, including Cadillac, were using flathead engines decades later, Chevy and Buick were basically OHV from the start.
Thank you so much for that correction for some reason it totally slipped my mind that Chevy was overhead valve since 1929 with stove bolt six and even have engines that predate that
Virtually all Chevs had overhead valves except Louis' early Chevs with T heads.
Correct, but we're talking ohv v8 here
This was mostly good, and the pictures were great. A few mistakes I noticed were: 1. In reality, Chevy engines were OHV almost back to the beginning. All Chevy 6s featured overhead valves from job one on, as did the 4 which the original Stovebolt Six replaced at the end of the 1920s. What happened in 55 was that Chevy (and Pontiac) went to modern short stroke OHV V8s. Also, many 56 324s were 240 hp. All of the 4 barrel ones were. (all 98s and all Super 88s). There were a number of other "in passing" little mistakes, like referring to the "Olds 88 division". All of Olds was a division. there were models within it. Anyway, good effort mostly.
I do everything on an iPad I have to find a PC so I can fix that it won’t let me fix it from my iPad which I think is stupid but yeah that was my mistake I knew Chevy was overhead valve from at least 1929 I know they had engines before that it was two thoughts merged into one thought V-8 engine I’m dyslexic so sometimes it happens most of the time I catch it that was one I didn’t catch..
@@What.its.like. More power to you bud.
Impressive 300 hp 5000lbs cars
440 lb-ft from a 394... that’s where it’s at
If I’m not mistaken, Buick designed, developed and manufactured the TH425 front wheel drive transmission for their Buick Riviera. Buick decided this front wheel drive configuration would be too front end heavy for the type of car they were looking for in the Riviera.
Buick gave the front wheel drive drivetrain to Oldsmobile and Cadillac. The Riviera maintained the rear wheel drive platform.
I do love your channel by the way and have subscribed. Keep ‘em coming!
RustyFuryIII
That very well may be true I’m not that good at GM products at that point in time I was always told Oldsmobile was the first all the advertisement said it was the first so I just thought that that was the first one but that would be a really interesting story to cover when we eventually do a Buick Riviera I always wondered why the El Dorado Toronado were front wheel drive whereas the Riviera was built on the same platform and wasn’t.
Welcome to the channel I’m glad you dig this community
I bought a ‘70 Buick Electra 225 Custom four door sedan in Coronet Gold 1 1/2yrs ago. Absolutely love the car!
She’s a good survivor with just under 75k miles. A good 10 footer as up close one can see her dents n dings.
Sold new in November of ‘69 in Scottsbluff Nebraska. Garage kept, undercarriage, rockers and suspension virtually rust free.
Been working on her to get her back up to snuff as she sat in a warehouse for 15yr and only drive 5k miles.
Maybe if you’re in VA somewhere down the road, you can stop on by.
Take care.
For sure what part of Virginia are you in I’m going to try and go out to DC
My grandpa had a 1964 Jetstar
Sweet what did he think of it
@@What.its.like. that's been a long time ago I think he liked it , he traded in a 52 on it
The studebakers was the only thing the Olds could not catch on the high end
AMC 327 v8 was another one that could take it in 57
@@What.its.like. packard amc and studebaker shared the same engine design
Rocket v8 introduced in 1949 several years prior to the idea of a space race.
Yeah - on paper. But the US didn’t hire that Nazi von Braun to be part of their diplomatic corps …
Amboy Dukes --Journey to the center of the mind ?
Great guess but no I almost use just a baseline in the drums for the song because if I used anything else it’s not like a crazy hit but it’s one of the bands biggest songs if that makes any sense
THE OLDS MOTOR IS OLD SCHOOL ALL THE WAY!!!!
I was just thinking, a good one for this series might be the Rover V8. Originally a Buick design utilised by Rover and various other makers in the UK.
I may be wrong, but I believe that was the longest production run of any v8
Lest not forget the turbo f85. First turbo. Sorry corsair
I thought it would make a good one since it was first conceived in the early 60s and didn't stop production until the early 00s.
Yes! The 3.5L V8 was advanced for its day. In the Buick, it put out 200HP (N/A) and weighed a mere 320Lbs (145 kg). The British bought the tools and dies from GM.
@@TheOzthewiz Rover also cross drilled the main bearings, then fitted EFI and took it out to 5.0 (As found in a TVR Griffith 500)
SUGGESTION: AFTERMARKET PARTS AVABLE TO KEEP THE FIRST GEN OLDS MOTOR ON THE ROAD.
My favorite would be a 58 Olds 98 two door hard top. I already have a 57 Buick.
Sweet =)
I remember the CHROME on that car! The chrome front end weighed MORE than a Hyundai Elantra! LOL
You should have mentioned the Turbo V8 before the Toronado. The beat the Corvair by a few weeks with turbocharging
That engine is in a different family if I did it that way it would turn into going down a bunch of rabbit holes and never getting to the actual point..
Excellent video ! I wish we could all go back to saying "foot pounds" of torque instead of " pound feet " of torque. Just doesn't sound right to me.
I totally agree but I was corrected early on and now I’m 350+ videos and I can’t change lol
These were the years when GM built some really great cars. No stupid computors & you could actually work on your car yourself. Now it's all high tech....& a nightmare if anything goes wrong!
Totally agree machines vs appliances
I think eventually when we make shirts I’m going to make shirts that say I’d rather drive a machine =)
In gray polo form of course