Oldsmobile Rocket Service Sign: Rare Vintage Neon “Model 88” Ad – NS6498

Oldsmobile (Rocket) V8 Engine History

Oldsmobile Turbo-Rocket V8 in a 1962 Jetfire. (Photo By Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA - 1962 Oldsmobile F-85 Jetfire) Oldsmobile (Rocket) V8 Engine History

The Oldsmobile V8, also referred to as the Rocket, is series of engines that was produced by Oldsmobile from 1949 until 1990. The Rocket, along with the 1949 Cadillac V8, were the first post-war OHV crossflow cylinder head V8 engines produced by General Motors. Like all other GM divisions, Olds continued building its own V8 engine family for decades, adopting the corporate Chevrolet 350 small-block and Cadillac Northstar engine only in the 1990s. All Oldsmobile V8s were manufactured at plants in Lansing, Michigan while the engine block and cylinder heads were cast at Saginaw Metal Casting Operations.

All Oldsmobile V8s use a 90° bank angle, and most share a common stroke dimension: 3.4375 in (87.31 mm) for early Rockets, 3.6875 in (93.66 mm) for later Generation 1 engines, and 3.385 in (86.0 mm) for Generation 2 starting in 1964. The 260 cu in (4.3 L), 307 cu in (5.0 L), 330 cu in (5.4 L), 350 cu in (5.7 L) and 403 cu in (6.6 L) engines are commonly called small-blocks. 400 cu in (6.6 L), 425 cu in (7.0 L), and 455 cu in (7.5 L) V8s have a higher deck height (10.625 in (27.0 cm) versus 9.33 in (23.7 cm)) to accommodate a 4.25 in (108 mm) stroke crank to increase displacement. These taller-deck models are commonly called "big-blocks", and are 1 in (2.5 cm) taller and 1.5 in (3.8 cm) wider than their "small-block" counterparts. The Rocket V8 was the subject of many first and lasts in the automotive industry. It was the first mass-produced OHV V8, in 1949.

About Oldsmobile Model 88

The Model 88 was produced by Oldsmobile from 1949 until 1999. From 1950 until 1974, the 88 was the division's most profitable line, particularly the entry level models such as the 88 and Dynamic 88. With the large, high performance V8, the Oldsmobile 88 is considered by some to be the first muscle car, although this title is disputed.

Naming conventions used by GM since the 1910s for all divisions used alphanumeric designations that changed every year. Oldsmobile starting after the war changed their designations and standardized them so that the first number signified the chassis platform, while the second number signified how many cylinders. A large number of variations in nomenclature were seen over this long model run — Super, Golden Rocket, Dynamic, Jetstar, Delta, Delmont, Starfire, Holiday, LS, LSS, Celebrity, and Royale were used at various times with the 88 badge, and Fiesta appeared on some station wagons in the 1950s and 1960s. The name was more commonly shown as numerals in the earlier years ("Delta 88", for example) and was changed to spell out "Eighty Eight" starting in 1989.

Read More At: Oldsmobile 88 On Wikipedia