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1949 Oldsmobile
There was plenty of
excitement for the 1949 Oldsmobile -- the year of "The New Thrill!"
"Dashing in design, flashing in performance," shouted the ads, for the
sensational new
V-8 was ready at last.
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The 1949 Oldsmobile was powered by the V-8 Rocket engine. |
Oldsmobile engineers reportedly wanted to call it the
Kettering engine, but General Motors chairman Alfred P. Sloan, Jr.,
decreed that it could not be named for a living individual, so they
called it the "Rocket." At first, the V-8 was employed exclusively in
the 98 series.
Departing from the customary practice of the day, the
Rocket engine -- designed by Gilbert Burrell, Oldsmobile's chief
engineer, with an assist from "Pete" Estes, who would later go on to
become president of General Motors -- was of over-square design. That
is to say, the bore was greater than the stroke.
Thus, breathing was enhanced through the use of larger
valves, while reduced piston travel led to decreased friction.
"Slipper" pistons nestled between the crankshaft throws, hydraulic
valve lifters were employed in the interest of quieter operation, and
five main
bearings promoted smoothness.
Experiments had been conducted using both L-head and
overhead-valve configurations, and with eight-in-line as well as V-8
layouts. However, Oldsmobile engineers determined that the practical
limit of the division's traditional flathead design was a compression
ratio of about 8.0:1. Beyond that, they believed, the engine would be
rough and noisy.
Oldsmobile's new engine plant came on line during
September 1948, and production was soon proceeding full-bore (pun
intended). The new Oldsmobile Futuramic 98 line was announced, along
with the six-cylinder 76, on November 27,1948, and appeared in
Oldsmobile showrooms during December, about a month behind the new
Cadillac.
Oldsmobile hyped its new engine this way: "But the
design of the 'Rocket' Engine itself is exclusively Oldsmobile's. And
its many advanced features and high-compression advantages are
available today. In all 8-cylinder Oldsmobiles for 1949, you will find
an engine that is practically vibrationless. You will find a power
plant that is so quiet that you don't even hear it from the driver's
seat. You will experience no sensation of effort when the engine goes
to work ... The car leaps into action as if it were 'air-borne' ...
You feel as if you were propelled by some magic force, instead of by
the engine under the hood. That's the 'New Thrill' of 'Rocket' Engine
power."
Source: GOOGLE
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