Скачать с ютуб The Iconic Game Changer: 1950 Oldsmobile Futuramic 88 - The Rocket в хорошем качестве

The Iconic Game Changer: 1950 Oldsmobile Futuramic 88 - The Rocket

At the end of a car show Saturday, this car pulls up......and you know the car is gorgeous when everyone left at the show, stops and watches it pull up. Simply beautiful....... Music: Without Your Love Artist: Brian Culbertson Please subscribe to be notified of future automotive slideshows Oldsmobile's new post World War II cars were so advanced that Lansing adopted an edgy-sounding adjective to describe them: "Futuramic." Olds intended its big, powerful, flagship Series 98 to be the most futuramic of all Futuramics. But the smaller, lighter Series 88--a car no one expected from conservative Oldsmobile--stole the 98's thunder. The 88, which made its debut in 1949, is significant because it served as a blueprint for the classic big V-8 engine in an intermediate car formula that defined the 1960s muscle car era. The 88 borrowed its body and chassis from the cheaper, smaller Series 76, but in place of the 76's flathead six-cylinder engine, Lansing inserted the all-new Rocket V-8 from the bigger 98. The Rocket was clearly a game changer: a high (for the time) 7.25:1 compression ratio, overhead valves, short stroke, and 303 cubic inches, all of which conspired to produce 135 hp at 3,600 RPM and 263-lb.ft. of torque at 1,800 RPM. The Rocket was an over-square design with a 3.75-inch bore and a 3.43-inch stroke. Its larger bore and overhead valves afforded airflow far superior to L-head engines, while its short stroke allowed the Rocket to rev more easily than older long-stroke configurations. The Rocket V-8 was first conceived by Gilbert Burrell, chief draftsman of the Oldsmobile Engineering Department's Motor Group. Burrell, in his spare time, sketched several new engine, drivetrain and body concepts, but focused a lot of attention on the 90-degree V-8 because its compact shape allowed it to fit easily into a wide variety of chassis and bodies. When Oldsmobile Chief Engineer Jack Wolfram saw Burrell's sketches in early 1946, he was impressed and showed them to Oldsmobile General Manager Sherrod Skinner. Skinner soon set up an advance design group to build a new 90-degree V-8 engine and put Burrell in charge. The group's design was heavily influenced by experiments Charles F. Kettering was performing at the GM Research Center with high-compression, short-stroke, stiff-crank engines. Kettering's work showed that a boost in compression from 6.25:1 to 12:1 could improve fuel mileage upwards of 40 percent and horsepower by 25 percent. Oldsmobile's first step toward the Rocket was a 288-cu.in. V-8 prototype known as SV 49. Four of these engines were successfully built and tested before higher-ups within General Motors yanked funding for the project over objections from the Cadillac division which was working on a new V-8 of its own. Oldsmobile changed tack and developed a V-6 as well as 60- and 70-degree V-8s, but GM brass soon relented and, by March 1947, greenlighted the Olds 90-degree V-8 project out of which the Rocket was born. The Rocket found the perfect home in the engine bay of the 88, with its Harley Earl-inspired styling that drew cues from wartime fighter planes. Up front, there were pontoon-like fenders, with the headlights mounted above air intakes and a full-width grille. The roof was rounded like a cockpit canopy, and there was an abundance of glass with curved panes front and rear. The 88 dominated NASCAR's inaugural 1949 season, winning five of eight races that year and carrying Red Byron to the series' first championship. An 88 convertible paced the field at the 1949 Indianapolis 500, and, with Hershel McGriff behind the wheel, an 88 won the inaugural Carrera Panamericana in 1950. If all of that weren't futuramic enough, the 88 played a starring role in the future of rock and roll music when the song "Rocket 88" topped the Billboard charts in June 1951. This month's feature car, a 1950 88 Holiday Coupe, first appeared in the August 2008 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines. It's restored to better than new as it appears here, but in the 1960s, owner/restorer Keith Berg drove the car to a stock class victory at the 1962 NHRA Winternationals and claimed numerous NHRA/AHRA records. The engine has been bored to 4 inches, compression raised to 8.25:1 and it's equipped with a three-speed manual and 3.64:1 gears. Its racing days are over, but it's a winner on show fields, including winning AACA Grand Champion honors. SPECIFICATIONS Engine: OHV 90-degree V-8, cast-iron block and heads Displacement: 303-cu.in. Horsepower: 135 hp at 3,600 RPM Torque: 263-lb.ft. at 1,800 RPM Transmission: Three-speed manual standard, Hydra-Matic optional Wheelbase: 119.5 inches Suspension: Knee-Action front with rear coil springs, front and rear stabilizer bars and double-action hydraulic shock absorbers