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Old 07-01-2007, 01:38 PM   #2 (permalink)
joe_padavano
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Northern VA
Posts: 1,752
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I'm really new here , I have a 1975 delta 88 ragtop. Some people asked me if it was a 455 rocket or a plain 455. Could you please tell me what to look for?
Look for friends who aren't so heavily influenced by marketing BS. (sorry, I couldn't resist...)

ALL Oldsmobile V8 engines were called "Rocket" in some form or another, dating back to the original in 1949. It was a marketing term, pure and simple, and has no relationship to the horsepower of the engine. In the 60s some of the high compression big blocks were called "super rocket", but by 1975 the 455 had been strangled to a measly 250 hp.

Trivia note: The 215 cu in aluminum V8 used in 61-63 was called the "Rockette". I am not making this up.
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Joe Padavano

64 Jetstar 88 Conv
66 442 L-69 Conv
68 W-30
69 H/O
69 442
70 W-30
72 442
84 Custom Cruiser
86 Caprice wagon (w/307 Olds)
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