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My 54 is a Rocket 88 and has it on the valve covers. It also has a rocket emblem on the trunk. I love it and will never get tired of it. I can see how you might get tired of people referring to the engine as a Rocket 350. I don't refer to the engine in my 72 Cutlass as a Rocket 350 but just say it has a 350.
Last edited by redoldsman; Feb 13, 2016 at 04:12 AM.
it only annoys me when people think a "rocket" 350 was something above and beyond a 350, or if its a "golden rocket" motor
Actually, from everything that I have read, the Oldsmobile "rocket 350 and 455" was better than a regular chevy 350 and 454. Something about Olds put more nickel in their blocks which made the engines last longer and operate better under high temps. That is why racers loved 'em back in the '60's and early '70s.
I have no metal analysis records, but I will say that i was wondering why the service manuals for engines in general show removing a huge ridge at the top of the cylinder before bringing the pistons out, whereas the Olds engines I worked on had at most a barely detectable ridge. Toronado blocks, pretty much nothing but a bit of carbon.
I have no metal analysis records, but I will say that i was wondering why the service manuals for engines in general show removing a huge ridge at the top of the cylinder before bringing the pistons out, whereas the Olds engines I worked on had at most a barely detectable ridge. Toronado blocks, pretty much nothing but a bit of carbon.
You can muddy the waters anyway you want! The facts is no proof anywhere.If there is someone needs to show the proof.JMHO
I have just the opposite outlook on the term rocket.
I enjoy when the non knowing make a big deal over my engine being a rocket engine.
They act like it's a big deal and something very special and legendary,I just let them believe it's a big deal. It's Oldsmobile's claim to fame,so to speak.
The term that annoys me is "cutty",I can't stand that term,I associate this term with being "thug" and "ghetto".
I have just the opposite outlook on the term rocket.
I enjoy when the non knowing make a big deal over my engine being a rocket engine.
They act like it's a big deal and something very special and legendary,I just let them believe it's a big deal. It's Oldsmobile's claim to fame,so to speak.
The term that annoys me is "cutty",I can't stand that term,I associate this term with being "thug" and "ghetto".
Wow, this is one I don't get. "Rocket" is Oldsmobile's own term for these motors.
Just to pull one example out of about a zillion, here's the engine specs page out of the '67 brochure. What is that funny word that keeps appearing in the first column under "Engines?"
Toronado "Rocket"
Super "Rocket"
Jetfire "Rocket"
442 "Rocket"
"Rocket" 400
It also says "The Rocket Action Cars Are Out in Front Again" on the lower left.
The original Oldsmobile Rocket engine of 1949 was one of the most significant developments of any kind in the entire history of the automobile. I think Oldsmobile owners can be forgiven for proudly and rightly calling the engines in their cars "Rocket" this and "Rocket" that.
There are many things in life to get worked up about. This isn't one of them.
She had a 455 Rocket, the biggest block alive
Couldn't hardly wait just to take my turn
She was made for the straight aways
She grew up hatin' Chevrolets
She's a rocket, she was made to burn!
I have just the opposite outlook on the term rocket.
I enjoy when the non knowing make a big deal over my engine being a rocket engine.
They act like it's a big deal and something very special and legendary,I just let them believe it's a big deal. It's Oldsmobile's claim to fame,so to speak.
The term that annoys me is "cutty",I can't stand that term,I associate this term with being "thug" and "ghetto".
I like the term Rocket and yes I am a "thug" and I am "ghetto" .
I am glad that I can annoy people like you with nothing but my user name, it gives me great pleasure.
Cutty is what they call them around here in SF Bay area. My whole life growing up it's always been Cutty for Cutlass, ragtop or drop top for convertible, etc.
What really ticks me off is shallow people who don't understand that we come from different places and that not all Olds owners are as old as Bernie Sanders.
Oh yeah, I forgot another thing that pisses me off is when somebody pulls up next to me and yells out "nice Chevelle".
Well. There you go! I stand corrected and actually like the fact Olds used it in their own literature. I will never call my engine a "Rocket 455" though. Sounds gay as hell to me. Cutty is like a nickname to me. I won't use it but it doesn't annoy me like, "Rocket!" Looking at a used car ad and it says, "Has the Rocket 350!" As if it's something bigger and better than a low comp 2 barrel. That's what I'm sick of.
If the term "ROCKET" keeps the average spectator (Oldsmobile or Non-Oldsmobile) interested in the hobby, it's fine by me... It's the non-interested individuals that need to be drawn into the hobby... If the term/phrase "ROCKET" can help promote/educate people into the Olds hobby, so be it.... As others have sited, Oldsmobile Division has used it for years with very successful results...
I absolutely agree. I think it helps to instill spectator's interests in our cars. It helps in setting them apart from the Chevys & Pontiacs. I like to hear the guy say to his girlfriend ---"Look, it's not only a 455, it's the Rocket".
Just a marketing term. I have had non Olds guys argue that the Rocket engine was special, and was different from other Olds engines as if it were an option. I get annoyed by the flippers and Ebay'ers that use the term to sell their car.
I kinda dig the term as it seems to be a carry over from the 50's when every option had a really cool name like the 'Autronic eye' or 'RotoMatic steering'.
Scott
around here...if its not a chevy or a pontiac engine...and is a v 8 its a rocket motor...if in a GM car...ive looked at more rocket 350 buick motors than you can imagine...even the later 307 olds motors are called rocket motors around here...i just shrug it off
I kinda dig the term as it seems to be a carry over from the 50's when every option had a really cool name like the 'Autronic eye' or 'RotoMatic steering'.
Scott
X2
I get get a kick out of it when someone says that doesn't sound like a 350? Then I say it's a Rocket 350. ..... Oldsmobile. Alot of young people don't know anything about Olds'.
Railguy
I may not like cutty, but got no problem with rocket. Its the same as turbo fire or super commander. Just doesn't matter. Its all marketing...hot one moment, gone the next like a superbowl commercial.
Keep in mind, the car model is named after a sword or sabre. Its not a cutty.
Remember, the space race was on in this time frame. It was a big deal to have these names, like F85 or starfire. Fighter jets and rockets.
WOW, we were going places. To the moon Alice.
Now we have the internet. You can do it from home.
As soon as I see an ad with the term used or one like it I know the person selling knows ZERO about Oldsmobiles.
I think you nailed it for me. That was what I was trying to say all along but couldn't find the right words. That's what I meant. Not that I didn't like the term but that it's used by people who don't know Jack about Oldsmobiles. Thanks.
Last edited by z11375ss; Feb 13, 2016 at 11:23 PM.
It's a promotional holdover from the post WWII days when the operational relative success of the V-2 and the dreams of the V-10 thrust the world into the age of rockets. If it hadn't been for a corporate prohibition the new V8 engine probably would have been named for Charles Kettering. While he deserved recognition for all his accomplishments, in the long run "Rocket Engine" or something similar probably helped sales better than "Kettering Power" or something similar. I don't really find it very offensive, though perhaps a tad of embellishment for a comparatively good design for the time. The Olds and Cadillac OHV V8 engines started a avalanche of similar designs in the industry.
It's a promotional holdover from the post WWII days when the operational relative success of the V-2 and the dreams of the V-10 thrust the world into the age of rockets. If it hadn't been for a corporate prohibition the new V8 engine probably would have been named for Charles Kettering. While he deserved recognition for all his accomplishments, in the long run "Rocket Engine" or something similar probably helped sales better than "Kettering Power" or something similar. I don't really find it very offensive, though perhaps a tad of embellishment for a comparatively good design for the time. The Olds and Cadillac OHV V8 engines started a avalanche of similar designs in the industry.
I like the term Rocket and yes I am a "thug" and I am "ghetto" .
I am glad that I can annoy people like you with nothing but my user name, it gives me great pleasure.
Cutty is what they call them around here in SF Bay area. My whole life growing up it's always been Cutty for Cutlass, ragtop or drop top for convertible, etc.
What really ticks me off is shallow people who don't understand that we come from different places and that not all Olds owners are as old as Bernie Sanders.
Oh yeah, I forgot another thing that pisses me off is when somebody pulls up next to me and yells out "nice Chevelle".
I guess I struck a nerve with you with my comments.
I'm sorry I offended you enough that you felt the need to consider me shallow and as old as bernie.
Please don't attempt to get me banned from the board
The difference between you and me...I would never call out a person for using the term "cutty",it does not annoy me that much.
I'm man enough to just mind my own business and scroll on by it.
btw,it's hard to tell in your small avatar pic,is that a gold chevelle next to the blue impala?
Last edited by w-30dreamin; Feb 14, 2016 at 10:06 AM.
If you were nicknamed "Bubba" at birth think how hard it would be to start expecting people that have known you all your life ,to change and start calling you by your real name. Oldsmobile "Rocket engines" have been called that since 1949. They will always be called "Rocket engines" . Larry
Last edited by Rocketowner; Feb 14, 2016 at 04:53 PM.
Reason: Corect
I kinda like the term "Rocket Engine" myself. It may sound cheesy but I also dig all the little rocket emblems that are all over my car... I'd rather have little rockets decorating my car then let's say a running horse or a bow tie. Then again that's just my opinion... Nothing against the other 2 automakers (I've owned both). The term "Rocket" & 442 are unique to Oldsmobile as far as I know & I kinda like it.
The Rocket name doesn't bother me much. I hear very few people, especially Olds people, who use the name. Maybe it's a regional thing. What bugs me is when people feel the need to use the terms small block or big block when telling me their engine's displacement, like "My Cutlass has a 455 big block."
I think the term "Rocket" used to describe an Olds prior to 1965(?) sounds cool. But when I see an ad for a 1970 two barrel four door Cutlass that includes the term, "Rocket 350!" Well, that just sounds lame. It's like lipsticking a pig. Even if it is in the brochure from the dealer. It should read, "350 two barrel." That's it. IMHO.
have you ever seen an ad that states a car is a 442 with "The W-30 Rocket V8?" Me neither.
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