1951 Oldsmobile - going like a rocket

"Oh gawd, honey, I can see a ballistic missile in the rearview mirror; no it's not aimed at us"
"Someone must have got upset about something, I suppose, dear."


Most people will have heard of the car model from the song Rocket 88 from March 1951, made famous by Bill Haley that year, some of whose lyrics were -

"V-8 motor and this modern design,
My convertible top and the gals don't mind
Sportin' with me, ridin' all around town for joy.
Step in my Rocket and-a don't be late,
We're pullin' out about a half-past-eight.
Goin' on the corner and-a havin' some fun,
Takin' my Rocket on a long, hot run.
Ooh, goin' out,
Oozin' and cruisin' along."

Actually the Rocket 88 was a reference to the engine. The Oldsmobile 88 (Eighty-Eight) from the division of GM was produced for 50 years from 1949 until 1999. From 1950 to 1974 the 88 was the division's top-selling line, particularly the entry-level models such as the 88 and Dynamic 88. The 88 series was also an image leader for Oldsmobile, particularly in the early years (1949-1951) when it was one of the best performing automobiles thanks to its relatively small size, light weight and advanced overhead-valve (OHV) high-compression V8 engine originally designed for the larger and more luxurious 98 series but dropped into the smaller six-cylinder Oldsmobile 76 body, creating what some consider as the predecessor of muscle cars of the 1960s.

The Rocket V8 was the first post-war OHV V8 at GM. Production started in 1949, with a new generation introduced in 1964. All Oldsmobile V8s use a 90° bank angle, and most share a common stroke dimension: 3.44 in (87.3 mm) for early Rockets, 3.69 in (93.7 mm) for later Generation 1 motors, and 3.39 in (86.0 mm) for Generation 2. Like Pontiac, Olds continued building its own V8 engine family many years, finally adopting the corporate Chevrolet 350 small-block and Cadillac Northstar engine only in the 1990s. It was the first mass-produced OHV V8 in 1949; and was the last carbureted V8 passenger car engine in 1990. The factory painted "small-blocks" gold or blue (flat black on the late model 307 cu in (5.0 litre)), while "big-blocks" could be red, green, blue, or bronze. All Oldsmobile V-8's were manufactured at plants in Lansing, Michigan.