page_title: Oldsmobile V8 engine
section_title: Turbo-Rocket
hierarchical_section_title: Oldsmobile V8 engine / Aluminum 215 / Turbo-Rocket
caption_attribution_description: Oldsmobile Turbo-Rocket V8 in a 1962 Oldsmobile Jetfire, photographed at the 10,000 Lakes Concours d'Elegance 2016
context_page_description: The Oldsmobile V8, also referred to as the Rocket, is series of engines that was produced by Oldsmobile beginning in 1949. The Rocket, along with the 1949 Cadillac V8, were the first post-war OHV V8 engines produced by General Motors. Like all other GM divisions, Olds continued building its own V8 engine family for decades, adopting the corporate Chevrolet 350 small-block and Cadillac Northstar engine only in the 1990s. All Oldsmobile V8s were manufactured at plants in Lansing, Michigan.
  All Oldsmobile V8s use a 90° bank angle, and most share a common stroke dimension: 3.4375 in for early Rockets, 3.6875 in for later Generation 1 engines, and 3.385 in for Generation 2 starting in 1964. The 260 cu in, 307 cu in, 330 cu in, 350 cu in and 403 cu in engines are commonly called small-blocks. 400 cu in, 425 cu in, and 455 cu in V8s have a higher deck height to accommodate a 4.25 in stroke crank to increase displacement. These taller-deck models are commonly called "big-blocks", and are 1 in taller and 1.5 in wider than their "small-block" counterparts.
  The Rocket V8 was the subject of many first and lasts in the automotive industry. It was the first mass-produced OHV V8, in 1949.
context_section_description: In 1962 and 1963 Oldsmobile built a turbocharged version of the 215, designated Turbo-Rocket. The turbocharger fitted to the V8 engine was a small-diameter Garrett T5 model with integral wastegate, manufactured by Garrett AiResearch, and produced a maximum of 5 psi (34 kPa) boost at 2200 rpm. The engine had 10.25:1 compression and a single-barrel carburetor. It was rated at 215 hp (160 kW) at 4600 rpm and 300 lb⋅ft (410 N⋅m) at 3200 rpm. In development, the high compression ratio combined with the charged load created problems with spark knock on hard throttle applications, which led Olds to develop and utilize a novel water-injection system that sprayed metered amounts of distilled water and methyl alcohol (dubbed "Turbo-Rocket Fluid") into the intake manifold air-stream to cool the intake charge. If the fluid reservoir was empty, a complex double-float and valve assembly in the Turbo-Rocket Fluid path would set a second butterfly (positioned between the throttle butterfly and the turbocharger) into the closed position, limiting the amount of boost pressure. Unfortunately, many customers did not keep the reservoir filled, or had mechanical problems with the turbocharger system which resulted in many of the turbo-charger installations being removed and a conventional 4 barrel carburetor and manifold installed in its place.
  The Turbo-Rocket V8 was offered exclusively on the Oldsmobile Jetfire, a special version of the Cutlass compact hardtop coupe, which is noteworthy as it one of the world's first (in fact the second) turbocharged passenger car ever offered for public sale. The Chevrolet Corvair Spyder Turbo, likewise a forced induction i.e turbo-powered car, predated the Oldsmobile Jetfire Turbo, however by only a few weeks, thus being the world's very first turbocharged commercially sold vehicle.
caption: Oldsmobile Turbo-Rocket V8 in a 1962 Jetfire. The turbocharger, painted red, is clearly visible.
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