American Musclecar Evolution - The Travesty Of Oldsmobile 

Naw, dude, I was there and NOBODY thought Olds sucked because the name included "Old" or "mobile" 😂

Speaking of Oldsmobile, here is a little-known piece of trivia that your subscribers may appreciate: As we know, Ransom E. Olds founded the Oldsmobile car company. At some point in time he sold the company to General Motors, and as a part of the sale he had to sign a "no compete" agreement, which took him out of the car manufacturing business. However, he was a very creative man and wanted to get back into the vehicle building business. What to do, he couldn't build cars any more because of the non-compete agreement. So he decided to build trucks instead. Have we ever heard of "REO" trucks.? REO stands for Ransom E. Olds, that's what. He built REO trucks until his death, whereupon the company was sold by his estate to some other buyers, and for years it held a competitive position in the larger truck market. Now we know.

MY ALL TIME FAVORITE CAR WAS MY '65 OLDS CUTLASS WITH A 330 4BbL. I NEVER KNEW TILL RECENTLY IT CRANKED OUT 300 H.P. I USED TO SMOKE Z28 CAMARO'S ON THE PKWY. THAT 2 SPD. JETAWAY TRANS WOULD WIND OUT TO 75 MPH BEFORE I HAD TO SHIFT OUT OF LOW! WHAT A GREAT CAR!

Many of the Olds short comings are easily remedied but perception is reality. I’ve always been an Olds guy, I’ve also only ever built an Olds motor to maximize to do what it does best, build massive amounts of low end torque. They’re brutes. My biggest gripe with the Olds, is there is a limited amount of guys with knowledge how to build them correctly and the prices are stupid astronomical. They’re awesome and smooth, they’re the ultimate cruising engine. Great video and perspective from an Olds “outsider”

“Some men are Baptists, others Catholics. My father was an Oldsmobile man.”

In the mid 70's I bought a 70 Cutlass with a bad 350 in it. Swapped in a 425 from a 67 98. Sweet road car , pulled up steep grades like a freight train.

Tony, keep the old-school/history coming! You've hit upon something. Even the youngest hot-rodder has heard of the good old days of hot rodding and want to know more.

In 49 when the OHV rocket came out the dealers got a clear acrylic hood to display the new engine, but the dealers didn't want to put it on a car and then switch it back to move the car. So they put them in the back room and I have one that was never installed.

This "series" if awesome man!!! Please turn this into a "whole thing" We all need periodic reminders of our roots. Our collective history as hotrodders is PARAMOUNT to the survival of our hobby(lifestyle).

If memory serves correctly. Oldsmobile had first horn on a car and seat belts. As an owner of a 64 & a 65 cutlass, thanks for this video. I had a 330 with 2 bbl, I put a lot of cars in the dust.

My Dad had a 72-73 Oldsmobile Delta 88 coupe with the Rocket 350. Said it was gutless until he ripped off the smog stuff then it ran like a champ!

I had a 442 with a 455. Smoothest acceleration ever :)

I had a ‘74 Olds Omega Hatchback. At 16 years old I learned everything about cars on it- rebuilt the Rocket 350 and did every thing I could to that car !!

Olds video... My favorite street big block is a Oldsmobile 455. Built many and they always run VERY good.

My uncle bought a new 1970 442 and stored it in my dad's garage and told my dad to take it out once in a while and clean the cobwebs out of it and I went with when I was 10 years old. Good memories

FYI, for some on here who claim oldsmobiles are slow and have no race pedigree there are two 1970 442 w30’s out there today that were former NHRA record holders. One is a survivor (gold) the other one is a white convertible that set an E/stock record. Any factory muscle car with basic day two mods that can break into the 11’s/ low 12’s is no doubt a runner. The gold one became a tow vehicle after it was thrashed on and still looks great and runs strong today. Pretty impressive durability wise for a car over 50 years old.

I am a die hard Olds guy and it is so cool to hear you give them some love. Also, I am building my ‘71 Cutlass the same way as you described at the beginning of the video. I picked up a 355 Olds with Edelbrock heads and a lot of other goodies for $2500. Looking at the receipts that the guy who built it for, it cost him a $9500

Thank you Tony, this is one of the greatest reasons I watch your videos. Prospective of the mechanic whom actually worked on the vehicles . Going over real experiences with solutions and explaining how your working on these projects are full time learned lessons.

This is truly were UTG shines, your knowledge that isn't regurgitated all over the tube!

425-cid Super Rocket V-8 engine. The base 425 offered 300 hp, though optional carburetion could boost that number as high as 370 hp

Oldsmobiles were always marketed at the mature adult crowd, like Buick. That's why Olds no longer exists. It never made sense for GM to have two divisions going after the same customers.

Awesome, thanks for the history lesson. I missed out on the muscle car era, but have fond memories of my Dad telling me stories of him and his brothers running cars, they all had chevys back in the day. Youngsters need to hear this stuff, including me , thanks again Tony.

yall have been putting out solid content lately, keep it up UTG! mechanical wisdom much appreciated

Just ran across these last couple videos of you explaining some of the things about cars, and you are bringing back so many memories from my earlier days. Got away from cars awhile ago but GTOs were my main love. I remember once my buddy and I ran across one of those aluminum block olds that we always wanted to fiddle with, but it was locked up. Could have gotten it for a song and a dance. Back when you could get a starter car for a few hundred bucks. Gave away 2 GTOs and sold the 3rd one at fire sale prices.. got back from the military and couldn't get one without a remortgage. Good old days..

Oldsmobile Built and Designed the Best Body Styles And The Best V8 Engines PEROID ......

I've owned a few Olds in my day, the most prominent were a '66 Dynamic with a 425 2 barrel, I paid $ 350 for it from the original owner who bought it new in 66 he had stored it in his barn for the last 30 years or so and the varmints had eaten the wiring under the hood, I asked him " why so cheap for this beautiful car?" He said he jus wanted to recoup what he paid to have the wiring fixed ! So, I bought this car, it fired right up with a prime because it had been sitting awhile, this car was a monster! And I noticed all these little cool things everywhere the longer I owned it such as the "s" mode on the shifter , the owners manual said " this is super overdrive" for performance use when you want to accelerate rapidly . Only in the 60s right? The other was a 72 Cutlass S with a 350 rocket which ran like a Nascar , I maintained it for the previous owner and always loved the car so later I bought it and enjoyed it for many years of trouble free miles

Great stuff! But, I'd like to see a series on each brand's GOOD points too.

If it wasn't for Joe Mondello, there really wouldn't have been any active aftermarket support for Oldsmobile. He was the true ground-breaker that opened the door for Edelbrock, Weiand, and even later DRCE (GM) to take hold of the Olds engines and bring them into a more competitive state with the Pontiacs and Buicks.

My dad has had many oldsmobiles and so have i. He has a 71 442 drop top with a 455 stoker and ram air hood. My cousin had a 91 Toronado with a blown 3.8 v6 in it. it was wild fun my whole family has a olds story.

That explains the "not your father's Oldsmobile" advertising campaign. We towed cars back and forth from Arkansas to Shreveport with a large 4-door Olds/Rocket 350 and a tow dolly. Car was solid

Yes Tony, please continue this series, I'm learning so much. We are a Chevy family but have owned a little of everything over the years and pretty much liked them all.

Another great vid, UT. It brings to mind 2 different thoughts. One is a memory of a friend of mine back in the late 80's who bought a black Olds 442 with a 350 Rocket, he challenged me to race him with my 1970 Charger w/383 Magnum and finally we did. We had at least 3 different go's at it and although I beat him each time, I was quite surprised how his 350 Rocket kept up. We'd be neck-and-neck until about 40 or 50 mph and I'd start pulling away from him. That 350 Rocket had some balls! The other thought is about what you said at the start of the video, about not being in a rush and taking your time to collect parts. My Charger sat in my garage (until this Christmas when it finally went for body & paint) for 2 and a half decades. But during all that time, whenever I saw a good deal on something--usually eBay, back when shipping from US to Canada wasn't such a righteous ripoff and even when the CAD was on par with the USD for a few years--I would snap it up. Sidemarkers, hood signal indicators, taillight finish panel, front valance, a front bumper at a swap meet, you name it...and although those things weren't exactly cheap in their time, they were a helluva lot cheaper than they are TODAY. So all those years gathering parts is worth a goldmine today and when it comes time to reassemble everything on the car. And just knowing that the car is mostly complete gives me peace-of-mind. So yes, if you have decades to wait, by all means start collecting your parts whenever you stumble across good deals. Don't wait until the end when you have to source all the hard-to-find parts, pay an arm and a leg and possibly a third appendage, because it'll kill you.

The guy at btr performance of bill popping wheelies in his sbo red cutlass was awe inspiring.

Oh please do something on the Buicks, especially thee 455. I was never a MOPAR guy but I watch you all the time because you are a walking encyclopedia of knowledge. Would love to hear your info there, even if it's just one episode,

many years ago my sister had a 67 with a 425?.a low rpm torque monster.the 2bbl carb was miniscule compared to the huge intake WIDE manifold.

The car I drove in high-school 1989-1991 , an affordable 1973 olds Cutlass S , swivel buckets console, Chrome hood vents 1 yr only car , 1 finger steering , the car would just float so smooth , 350 4 barrel dual exhaust , usually at least 5 kids cruisin in the Cutlass and it would still spin the tires and the intimidating sound of that dual exhaust with turbo mufflers and the quadrajet bog . It was so bad ass for us kids at that time , mostly the newly found freedom , cool parents , loss of virginity , mostly cool hippie era teachers ,man ( the 80's ) Shortly after high-school 1992 and up the kids went to the loud muffler 4 banger mini trucks and cars , cop's teachers and parents got more strict because society wasn't as cool as it was in the 80's and very early 90's I've had several 73 Cutlass's since and tried to recreate that time and place , not the same unfortunately So now I'm building a 50's hot rod pickup .

I think olds were probably some of the most reliable old v8s. The technology was defiantly being pushed by gm through olds. The valve rotators, building the first high compression ohv v8 in 49. The electronic ignition in 67. They run so smooth. I have a 455 vista, 350 cutlass and 425 delta. Also the combustion chamber design and valve angle made them very fuel efficient. Many people got 22 mpg with their 350 cutlasses. I personally have gotten 20.5 with my 2 barrel 350 cutlass. Oldsmobile was actually the only brand to still hit cafe standards in 1990 with a carburetor. Very efficient, reliable and could make some real power, but the oiling issue and the image issues didn’t help.

Your point about large, narrow journal size causing oil problems is something I've read before about the Ford FE V8 and others. It was in one of the best performance books ever written. Smokey Yunick's Power Secrets. All of your viewers should own a copy.

68-72 old's small blocks are a superior design compared to a small block Chevy in my opinion. if they had a better aftermarket I would build them over a Chevy. oiling problem is a myth

Oldsmobile was my first love, 1968 442... I miss that car.. currently have a 1969 olds cutlass holiday coupe. working on getting a Buick 455 like your buddy Dallas I think his name is, the AHRA guy. your videos really help me a lot!!! thank you uncle Tony!!!!

I had the impression reading some old reviews where they stacked the early-gen 442 against the GTO and the other GM cars on the platform, that the 442 was actually the better driver's car out of the box for those of us who like to turn, (Like, they bothered with decent sway bars and I think brakes and maybe choice of gearing. ) Basically could have been my choice out of those at the time. (Also cause I tend to like that bit-of-a-nicer interior you might get, a la Challengers over Cudas, etc. ) :)

We raced Olds engines for years and one problem we never had was head gaskets...

I love this. It's how I build everything. I'm about to toss together a motorhome 440 with boat pistons in the stock bore that I picked up for 100 bucks. Ballin on a budget over here

Uncle Tony keep the series going we are enjoying it. I think we are all grown up enough to know they all have good and bad. You don't need to keep defending or apologizing about any of it. You didn't design or produce the engines. Tell what you remember and seen it's great man. TY

Just caught a few of these segments and ton's of memory's came back. I once owned a 70 olds toronado. Bought it from my parent's"dad"for $500 back in 82/3. It sat for a short time back when gas jumped to 85 cent a gallon. Oh my!! By the way, my dad was good with a wrench.He could cold start a engine and tell you pretty much what's up inside. He kept it in "fine" condition. So then l put $1000 into up grade's like new boot's, new flywheel. you know the lope on the stroke. Put new exaust and a major tune up with a pair of THRUSH at the bumper. A new quad4brl, new brake system. First whte letter "COPPER'S"no less. IT WOULD FLY! It did'nt scare you like a camaro would but you knew you were moving swiftly.... Never in a spin. Ever. And it would boil the front if you stepped on it too. Just curious. Did you spend any time on the "TORONADO" ? In my opinion. This was DETROIT MICHAGAN AT IT'S BEST!!! That GM Feeling. 8 track, ac, tilt, power seat's. Push button wiper's. But sadly, like you said could fail. #3 passenger side cylinder died and so did my car. And l later let the car get away from me with help from my brother.pos. JUST IMAGINE. INDY CAR TYPE DRIVE TRAIN BUT IN FRONT. AND STEER! WTF! AND IN MY OPINION the 1970 OLDSMOBILE TORONADO 455 "HO"was the finest ULTIMATE sleeper hot rod that Old's ever made. sorry to ramble...

They really were beautiful cars! As far as american muscle I've always been a Mopar guy but I've always had a soft spot for Oldsmobile, they were monsters on the street!

I use to go over all this with Joe Mondillo over & over. Truth be told, the real draw back with the Olds motors can be corrected BUT you MUST start off with the right parts. From 1964 to 67 the Olds 330 & 400 & 425 ALL came with really strong steel forged crank & rods. After 68 they all had cheap ass cast iron cranks & rods witch limited RPM to under 6,900 rpm max. However, with the 330s 400s & 425s, they had rotating assembly's we twisted over 8,500 rpm by doing nothing more then loosing up the side clearance between the rods from the factory's .004 to .006 up to .015 to .018 to allow all the oil from a hi pressure standard volume oil pump to get the heat out of the rod bearings much faster making things better for the thin main bearings as well. The early 394 Olds motors from 1960 to 64 did not allow you to use any modern transmissions behind them because the back of the blocks were half of the bellhousing cast into the block, so you were stuck using that ungodly BAD roto hydromantic (slim Jim) trans which was always NFG for nothing. In closing the Olds 425 from 1965 to 67 was the most under rated V-8 of all times if you knew what to do with them. The 455s were the most overrated in my opinion and by 1974 the 455s were a whopping 190hp because of the damn EPA tree hugger bastards and GM kissin their butts. P/S the one year 1969 Olds 442 /400 motor was the motor with the different bank angle cam and bigger bore lifters. They also ran way to HOT, put out no horse power and were a total nightmare as by 69 they were the worse of the worse with cast iron crank & rods. In 1970 all 442s came with 455s with a cast crank & rods.

The 442 option package meant a 4 barrel carb, 4 speed manual trans, and 2 exhaust pipes

My Momma still has her first car ever when she was 16. A 1969 Hurst Oldsmobile 455. All matching numbers and dope.

She had a Four Fifty-Five Rocket --- Biggest Block Alive! I couldn't hardly wait just to take my turn.

Great stuff in this unintended ‘series’. Lets not forget Rambler/AMC. Now we’d really be getting to some of the less ‘popular’ muscle cars. I had a 1968 AMC Javelin SST. It was probably only about 3-4 years old when I had it. It had the 343ci V8 with a 4bbl. It actually wasn’t that bad and could hold it’s own against a vanilla 350 Chev with a 4bbl. But of course I wanted what my buddy had. A 1968 Javelin AMX with the 390. Like me, he never had it built, but it was faster than mine.

Always enjoy these videos! I am a Ford guy but love all American steel. Your videos for some reason remind me of when I was a teen in upstate NY. We tore cars and engines apart with little to no understanding what we were doing but, that is how we learned. One of my buddie's Dad was an old school gas station mechanic (remember those guys?) and we would bend his ear for advice. If we had enough beer, he would even come down and supervise. You are a mopar guy, you might like this: Winter of 1982, I think it was January. My friend Chris had a '70 340 challenger. Of course, we drove these cars year round and they got rusty. Anyway, He wanted a big block. We go the local junk yard and pull a 440 out of a 70 newport (I think it was). Over a weekend, in his driveway while snowing we changed engines. Adjustments had to be made and we could have been arrested for poor welds, LOL But, the 440 was eventually in. I was a bit more savvy and new the power a '70 340 could have. I bought it for $50 and in February again outside, we pulled the 318 out of my '71 Satellite Sebring and put the Challenger's 340 in. That went much smoother! LOL I miss those days. I never had an Olds. Plenty of Ponchos and Chevies though. Btw, we drove those mopars until rust ate them completely. The mopars would fall apart before those motors ever quit.

Oldsmobile. I remember one drag racing magazine with a picture of Old's launching with one of the front wheels about 2" of the ground and the other about 18". Left an impression. Oldsmobile power pretzling a 442. Early 80's.

Man Oldsmobiles, liking them like I do is a sickness.

Oldsmobile and Buick (442 and Skylark GS) were not targeted to youth. They were targeted to the upwardly mobile executives that could afford them. They WEREN'T cheap!

I had few Oldsmobile ‘65 w/425 , ‘72 442 w/455 and ‘74 w/350 all great engines and solid build no rattles smoothed handling

Great series and for “not an Olds guy”; you pretty much nailed it! There’s still enough interchangeability among the olds engines you can put together a pretty decent engine. I’m on my 2nd SBO that has Big Block heads (milled and running flat tops), it’s not as cheap and easy as a SBC though.

I had a 1972 Hurst Olds Indy 500 Pace Car convertible for decades. 455 cubic inches of torque ! After headers, Edelbrock intake, Holley 3310 (the original dual block 4150), bigger pipes and dual "turbo" mufflers the thing was fast despite its 5,200 pound curb weight. The Turbo 400 (with the Hurst Dual Gate shifter and a TransPack) and 3:23 gears helped. I could boil the L60-14s at will. The first to second shift usually resulted in a satisfying chirp at anything above babying it. I loaded it with 4 6x9s and a separate equalizer amplifier. I even added a headphone jack for my Koss Pro4AAs (which I still have). I really loved that car despite 12-15 mpg. Then Hurricane Andrew got to it. I kick myself for the hot cars I've let go. '69 351W Mustang. '84 Mustang GLX convertible (302, factory Holley, 5 speed, limited slip diff).

Hey Uncle Tony, how about talking about the Olds Starfire? The gentleman's muscle car. The 65 in particular with the ultra high compression 425 and the Th400 switch pitch transmission.

WENT to 2011 Carsile GM show and talked to a 68 442 owner, and told him about the 425 should have been factory installed in late 60s 442. HE told me they were a popular install with 442 owners.

Thanks a lot for giving your experience to the world! I know there’s always other people that may know more and or have more experience but you are contributing to car the car community by putting out these videos. I don’t know much but really appreciate your time. My father grew up a few years before you in a junk yard/racing environment but never talked about it.

Good video, but your whiskers are not gray enough to compare early 1950":s cars. The Olds was known then as the hot car on the street or on the strip. They did not "fail tp launch". Every car came, and went, in its time. Please don't compare SBC with something built years before.

"Death Pledge" lol you continue to amaze me, Tony. you're my kind of people..

Oldsmobile was GM test brand. Olds Diesel program is one of many examples

My father was always a proponent of the early Olds Rockets and nailhead Buicks. In the late 50’s he built a 1938 Pontiac Coupe, it had a straight eight originally that was worn out. So he replaced the motor with a 303 Olds, trans with a Cadillac LeSalle 3-speed as they were the strongest at time. He also replaced the rear gears with Olds gears because Buick, Pontiac and Olds used same axle, but Buick and Pontiac used Cast Iron gears while Olds used Steel. The car would pull the front tires on a hard launch. He sold the car in ‘57 when he went in the army, always regretted it.

Yes do Cadillac next. I had a Cadillac Eldorado with a 500 that I applied uncle Tony's modification techniques too. This was like 1991 nothing really available for it. I ported and polished the heads port matching. Hei. Dual exhaust. I knew a guy with a head shop who did a 5 angle grind on the valve seats. It would smoke both front tires and eat 5.0 and IROC's all day. In a 5000 lb car.

UT youre absolutely right, when i was a kid i associated "Oldsmobile" with big and slow and boring, until i grew a little more and learned how special they really were.

I built Olds engines for years, still have a huge stash of Olds parts and engines now. They had a few peculiarities about them that needed addressed, but if ya take the time and put the effort into them, they definitely can run. I've had several 455s that ran in the 10s and I drove them on the street like a normal car. Also a couple 425s that would scream. I've had them turning 6500-7000rpm and live. Fixin to build another 455 here soon. I've owned 25+ Cutlass's since the 80s. Always liked the Oldsmobiles. Back in 49, a 303 Olds was the best engine available. A person can bolt a stock late 60s 455 into a 260/307 equipped G-body Cutlass and have a easy musclecar build that runs hard. Of course it'll need a T400 and a 8.5 rearend at the minimum. The parts interchange ability with them is real good. Drawback to the Olds engines is the cost and availability of parts. Not as many choices as the favorite brands. But hardcore race parts so exist for the Olds, I've seen a NA 455 that made 850+hp. Seen smallblock Olds engines making 750-800hp NA. Prostock smallblock Olds engines were making 1000hp back in 1982. That mid 80s DRCE Olds Prostock engine was more less a bigblock Chevy with Oldsmobile on the valvecovers. Badass engine for sure. I've seen them making 1500+hp with carbs NA at 500ci. 3hp per cube for a 500 inch engine is damn good by any standard.

Many people say the Oldsmobile was the gentleman's muscle car. A little more classy interiors and had a little more tuned suspension than the Chevy or Pontiac

These videos are bloody fascinating! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

These fatal flaw videos really taught me a lot. Thank you! I hope you tackle Buick and especially Ford.

I wonder how many of the Olds problems UT found years ago had to do with the part of the country he's from. On the west coast we never had the head gasket or sludge problems (the latter not until the engines were decades old and neglected). Infact, assuming the timing chains were done, they were the most long-lived engines (307 through 455; minus the 403) one could buy. 200K miles, w/o overdrive, was not rare.

The Olds 455 was a common jet boat motor matched with a Berkly jet drive in the 70's. Hope you cover AMC and the "other" 360 in a future video or Ford 460 why they don't live long in a boat but a 454 Chevy does.

My favorite automotive writers growing up in the '70's were Joe Oldham, Marty Schorr, and Rodger Huntington. They made me feel like I was privy to the behind the scenes honest information about what was really going on at the factory, and they weren't beholden to the advertisers. That's the feeling I get with this "series" you're doing. This subject gets to the heart of the matter as to why things are the way they are. I know there's a lot of work involved, but please keep going with this!

My dad had an 65 cutlass. Not just a cool name but great road feel too,solid!

I never really thought about an Oldsmobile as a kid. My older brother had a 64 of some kind and Delta's later on. Fast forward to 2015 when I kept seeing a hardtop coupe of some kind in a field for sale. My kid and I looked at it and saw the 72 Cutlass S up close. Not sure about the history of this car but saw a rear spoiler, fiberglass hood with scoop, traction bars, gauge pod, tach and a B&M shifter. It had a 455 once that was put in a boat. $1800 later it was on my trailer headed home. My wife was not a true fan until she saw that it kinda looked like my 69 Camaro from inside. She then said to buy a new engine for it. 350 Chevrolet with 700R4 tranny makes it scoot down the road 75 mph at 2100 rpms. Yes I believe it could be called a "Bankers Chevelle". My wife loved our weekend cruises in it. Bright orange with black stripes makes it look a little "Judgey". I may even be able to drive it again this spring. Between her dying and Biden's gas prices I wasn't really feeling it'

I love Oldsmobile. But you are right with the name. Very hard to market.

These are fascinating videos and I look forward to more of them soon!

Miss the 76 Cutlass S 455 I had about ten years ago. Was $450 - missing orig. 455 was replaced by a warmed over ‘72 engine- what a great torquey cruiser! Car was stored inside and had great original paint after many hours of detailing and had a new set of all interiors plastics inside the trunk (not reproduced- totally lucky score).

Also I had a two door Buick park Avenue that had a 403. I had that motor overhauled I went to advance to buy the parts for it and got into a argument with the guy behind the counter. Because this guy said that Buick didn't have a two door parkavenue even though I had it in my possession. It was so bad that I went to Autozone to buy my parts.

I always thought the Olds 350 with best in class short stroke would have been an interesting engine. Aside from main bearing issues and head gaskets, expensive to build however.

Uncle Tony's Tech Talks....UTTT.... That would be awesome! I would even help with production on something like that just to preserve your knowledge!

OLDSMOBILE WAS THE EXPERIMENTAL ENGINE DIVISION OF GM . OLDSMOBILE HAD A HEMI ENGINE AND ALL KINDS OF EXPERIMENTAL TWIN TURBO ENGINES . .....THE GAS CRUNCH OF THE 70 S PUT THE BREAK'S ON PERFORMANCE ENGINE'S OF LARGE CUBIC INCH ENGINE'S.

In about 1969 my friend in high school needed a car and his father had a friend who worked as a Oldsmobile factory official in 1962 was given a car for test runs but never turn the car back in it was a 62 four-door hardtop 98 Oldsmobile in plum paint and was sitting in his backyard my friend was given the car when we lifted the hood it had a air cleaner about 2 ft in diameter All Chrome that said experimental rocket V8 455 a lot of guys challenged him in 1969 but he never lost a race.

Yess been waiting for the next utg video.... I'm late to the party. I just started watching but I've been binge watching all the past video so I'm pretty caught up. Love the videos man and your point of view on things.... we need to keep these old ladies running down the road!!!! Plymouth definitely is the best branch of Mopar in my opinion

Been a machinist on and off for 30 years, I always knew if we got a Pontiac in the rods would be tore out of it. On the contrary, if we had an Olds the mains would be tore out of it. The Pontiac which you already covered, had cast rods so they would be egg shaped. The Olds didn't have any main cap registers; which led to cap walk, of course more prevalent in the large main "big block 425,455" engines. (People always refer to them as big blocks; though they weren't, just a tall deck with big mains) I always thought that if I built one for myself I would pin the main caps like Pontiac did.

Gave 60-bucks for a HURST Lightning Rods setup still in the box complete with shifter cable...and it works!!!

I am fan of these videos explaining the differences from the design point of view of the engines. These little details that even engineers that do not work on cars don´t realize. I cant wait for the Ford V8s video.

Like your opening..."Begin with the end in mind." Had a 55 Olds with 324. GREAT engine. You are on the money-the first gen Rockets really were rockets.

Great video Uncle Tony 👍

We were an Oldsmobile family, starting with my Mom who had a beautiful Blue & White 1955 Olds Delta 88. Even the name sounds COOL ... as compared to today's science fiction names "prius" "yaris" " et al. We then had a brand new 1968 Olds Vista Cruiser which had the iconic bullet proof ROCKET V-8 350 which purred and was powerful.. After that, the salt in the CNY Market ate the car away, and then we went with the early 80's Olds Station wagons...which seemed like warmed over and left over Chevy's with spare parts and badges thrown on them. WE WERE HEARTBROKEN when the jerks at GM (who cut lines and then left GM grrrrr) CUT PONTIAC and OLDSMOBILE. WHAT a great BRAND NAME which is very valuable to our US Domestic Automobile Industry. I say we bring back MERCURY, PLYMOUTH, PONTIAC, and definitely OLDSMOBILE.

The Oldsmobile story told me a few things I didn't know, even though I own several. Yes, I do have a bit of oiling fixes and cam/valvetrain mods as well. Now you mentioned Buick. "When a better car can be built, Buick will build it" or so 50's ads said. As I happen to own a few 350 Buick cars, one is an oddball.350. Former US Marshall LeSabre. Q-Jet with 68-70 only heads and intake. Intake and heads are not interchangeable,unless you bring them both to the 'new' short block. Other than that, everything else will interchange. Wouldn't you rather have a Buick, Mikel

The Oldsmobile funny car bodies when they went to the W body Cutlass looked pretty good in my opinion... But I am one of those weirdos who likes W body cars.

I have heard that the larger the diameter of crankshaft bearings,the more oil volume and/or oil pressure are needed to make them live,at least at high RPM.

love the knowledge drop, had a guy build a couple of 383's for me back in the early 90's, i hung on his every word, one thing that stuck was his impression with the amc 401, he said he had never sonic tested a block with thicker cylinder walls. i also worked with a transmission guy who had a buick 455 in every thing he drove-im talking dodge and chev trucks, fastest car he built was a 70 cutlass with a buford and 4 gear- never forget it!

Oh man - loads of great info. Thank you!

A guy at my high school had a late 60's Firebird with a 455 Olds in it. Pretty strong runner......

Iam Pontiac guy but the top dog out of the box torque monster was the Buick 455, Pontiac then Oldsmobile All 3 made great street performance Small block Chevy was over out Done against these brutes unless It was a 454 LS 6 which had torque And Rpm

Good points early on. I managed to score a set of used Hooker sidepipe headers that way; 1300 dollar set of headers, I got them for 150 bucks. Chrome is aged and it's got some surface rust poking through in a couple places but there's no cracks and the flanges are still flat. Can't go wrong.

Olds eventually failed, but they put up a good fight. My parents both remembered the Rocket V8 as something close to the pinnacle of performance at the time of release, and there are plenty of mentions in rock and blues songs to secure its eternal fame.