Historic Hot Rod Club Revived! est. 1936, reborn 2007.

[cowboy76]

Mr Newport there are several variations on that theme with differences in what liquid is used to unfreeze a stuck engine. Very often they will I hear. It's always worth a try!

Speak of "straight" engines, how about my straight 8?

Twitch...

Is that a Packard straight eight? I notice its a flathead configuration,...packard comes to mind.

 

[Twitch]

Oh, sorry, yes it is a 1950

 

[Speedster]

Here's a site that might be of interest. It's the Northwest Vintage Speedsters site: http://www.nwvs.org/index.shtml

They have scanned quite a lot of old articles on modifying your model T and A Fords.

 

[cowboy76]

Here's a site that might be of interest. It's the Northwest Vintage Speedsters site: http://www.nwvs.org/index.shtml

They have scanned quite a lot of old articles on modifying your model T and A Fords.

yep familiar with those guys,..very neat site! thank you.

 

[Thunderbolt]

a 238 six?? I know an inline six in the mid 30s late 40s was a 216 CI engine,...later they came out with 235 CI in the late 1940s/50s....GMC had the 228, 248, 270 ,298 and later in the mid 1950s the 302 inline six. What's the 238 from??

1948 Oldsmobile, entry level engine. The optional extra was a strait eight. The 238 is a flathead with 100 horses. The eight had 110. These were used from 1946-1948 untill the futuramic design in 1948 and 1949 took over. Interestingly, the traditional fat fender and the futuramic were in production at the same time in 1948. The futuramic I beleve started use of the legendary Rocket 88 in 1948 or 49.

 

[Flivver]

1948 Oldsmobile, entry level engine. The optional extra was a strait eight. The 238 is a flathead with 100 horses. The eight had 110. These were used from 1946-1948 untill the futuramic design in 1948 and 1949 took over. Interestingly, the traditional fat fender and the futuramic were in production at the same time in 1948. The futuramic I beleve started use of the legendary Rocket 88 in 1948 or 49.

The first Futuramic Olds was the 1948 98 Series. It shared the all new GM C-Body with the '48 Cadillacs and "49 Buick Super and Roadmaster. The '48 Olds 98 continued to use the old L-Head straight 8.

For 1949, the smaller 70 series Oldsmobiles began using the new GM A-Body (shared with Chevy and Pontiac), and the 98 got the all new 303 CID OHV Rocket V8. The 76 series stuck with the old L-Head 6 through 1951. All Oldsmobiles were called "Futuramic" in 1949.

For 1950, Olds added the Rocket V8 to the A-Body calling the new series the 88. By stuffing the powerful (135 HP) Rocket Eight into the relatively light A-Body, Olds created an early version of what we now call a muscle car. The so-called "Rocket 88" served Olds well for years.

As a kid growing up in the 1950s, I loved all Oldsmobiles of this era. I thought the name "Futuramic" was the neatest name on any car. And I was amused at how you could identify an Olds at a stoplight by the tic-tic-tic-tic-tic of the valve lifters on the early Rocket V8s. There was a problem getting enough oil to the top of the engine on those early Rockets.

But I remember my dad was not at all amused by those valve lifter problems. He was a real Oldsmobile fan but he refused to own one until GM fixed that lifter problem.

 

[David Conwill]

I wonder whatever happened to the Hot Irons? They were a big influence on the Barnstormers.