Was The 1949 Oldsmobile 88 America’s First Muscle Car?
April 11, 2014
1949 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 SedanIts top speed was just 97 mph, and it took a full 13 seconds to accelerate to 60 mph from a standing start. Still, it was arguably America’s first muscle car. The 1949 Oldsmobile 88 combined a new overhead valve Rocket V8 engine with a lighter, more streamlined design to offer a truly exhilarating ride. Compared to the big 98 series cars of the time, the 88’s proportions were decidedly more modest. America’s first muscle car was just 202-in long and 75.2-in wide.
The engine design for the Rocket 88 came from GM’s chief researcher, Charles Kettering. He saw the potential in an engine design offering increased compression. For the Rocket 88, Oldsmobile came up with a 303 cubic inch V8 capable of a maximum 135 hp and 283 lb-ft of torque. The overhead valve engine concept offered both power and efficiency, with an improvement in fuel economy (estimated at about 10 percent better than prior engine designs).
The Rocket 88 could be purchased with a deluxe trim package that added chrome and a clock to the interior. However, a buyer had to come up with even more cash to get a radio… a lot more. Adjusted for inflation, the $100 radio would cost $980 today.
Some at GM wanted to see Kettering honored by having the car named after him. However, top execs would have none of it, as the company had a strict policy against naming anything after an individual that was still alive, and Kettering was very much so at the time. The “Rocket” name was rumored to be hated by many GM executives at the time. Little did they know how successful the name and the car would become, with the 88 produced by Oldsmobile until 1999!
By the mid-fifties, other overhead valve entries from Dodge, Pontiac, Plymouth and Lincoln would kick the Oldsmobile Rocket 88 to the curb in the performance category. However, by then, the Rocket had secured its place in history, as America’s very first muscle car.
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Photo Credit: 1949 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 Sedan by Sicnag (CC BY 2.0).
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I just happened onto this Pomona swap meet talk—I’ve owned Olds all my life sense High School, I am 81 years old and have about 12 old school Olds from not running to running like new– 1949 t0 1966 but do own 2 1990 Toros 1 is a convertible – in which Olds didn’t make conv’s in these- when the owner bought the car new he had the dealer sent it to Florida for a convertible conversion cost $10,000 I have the paper work- car is for sale—-1949 OLDS TRANSMISSION TRICK–on the driver side of the trans is a about a 13/16″STEEL PLUG –back this out and a 1/2 steel rod is made onto the plug–take the spring off the rod and drop a ac spark plug washer on the rod then put the spring back on and plug back in the trans. if you floor board your foot fed it normally shifts out at 65 mph but now it will shift out about 80mph–a poor boy soup-up—if it floats your valves you will to shim your val. sprs. or get strong ones—I DON’T LIKE THE WAY GM DID US OLDS LOVERS. JC
It was copy of an Italian sports car. Prone to steering gyrations..
I I had the rocket as senior in school 1955. 1949 Olds cpe Outran every thing in town
My dad had a 49 olds California highway patrol special fast car in 1954.
The yellow car in the photo above is a 1949 Oldsmobile Futuramic Series 76, not a Series 88 or 98.
Thanks forr finally writing about >Was The 1949 Oldsmobile
Rocket 88 America’s First Muscle Car? <Loved it!
There’s only ever 1 first when someone famous enough coins a term and it catches on. The 1950 Olds Rocket 88 was “the hit of NASCAR’s 1950 season, winning 8 of the 10 races.” Nascar announcer’s coined the term “muscle car” so the writer Wikipedia and other sources are only slightly off when they say 49 but the phrase wasn’t actually used until 1950. Any more powerful or faster v8 RWD car made after 1950 is another muscle car and anything made before was made before the muscle car era.
It was actually 12 seconds to 60 and would run over 100. It was defiantly the first muscle car and started the horsepower wars. The hudson hornat, hemi and others shortly followed. without the 49 olds cars like the 64 GTO wouldnt have been made. the 1949 oldsmobile 88 rocket was the fastest car in its day.
The “88” was far and away the hottest thing going on the main street (Polk) of Amarillo Tx in the late ’40s/early ’50s. Right off the dealer’s floor with no mods at all that V-8 OHV eng easily blew away any other production vehicle and even highly modified V-8 “”flat-heads”.
I have a special memory of the 1949 Olds 88. Back in 1959, it was the first car with an OHV V8 and an automatic trans that I ever drove, and felt like a jet compared to the 3-on-the-tree side valve inline sixes that I drove up til then!!!
I improved my ’49 88 as follows, 4 bbl. carb. from ’53 88, cam from 55 88, solid lifters and adjustable rockers, replaced 3:23 rear with a 3:64, higher voltage ign. coil, and ball bearing breaker plate. Results, 0 to 60 in 8 seconds, speedometer needle went past 110 mph and beyond, no opportunity to clock top speed. I really miss that car.
2015 marked the end of muscle cars. Muscle cars (non-European, high-performance vehicles) were a five-decade trend in America. They had big, loud, and dirty V-8 engines, the first of which roared in the 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket.
“GW says:
July 3, 2016 at 4:43 PM
Never wrote a song about the Kaiser.”
– THE KAISER WAS A STINKING PIECE OF S—!!!!!!!
Never wrote a song about the Kaiser.
My candidate for 1940s best performing car would be the 1949 to 42 Buick Century. As the name implies it was a true 100 mph car with a 165 hp straight eight overhead valve engine wit twin 2 barrel carbs.
As far as the days of the flatheads being over, not so fast. It was the 6 cylinder flathead Hudson Hornets that dominated NASCAR for 3 years AFTER Oldsmobile did.
j.r. Lakers – Noted! And we’ve given the author another 50 lashings for not checking his work!
The mid fifties NEVER had an American produced car with an overhead camshaft engine. Several manufactures did produce overhead valve engines. By the end of the fifties L head engines were history.
1953 Kaiser Dragon the first muscle car…I think not. 0-60 was 15 seconds versus Rocket 88 at 13 seconds.
Others claim the Rambler Rebel was the first muscle car. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambler_Rebel
Kerry Bourne – a mile a minute? So 60 mph? 😉
The Dragon was definitely a solid car, but I’m not sure too many people would consider it to be the FIRST muscle car.
Really grasping at straws saying that brick was the first muscle car…I think the only person that thought that is the writer of this article. The first muscle car was a 1953 Kaiser Dragon ..I drove mine 4hrs straight doing a mile a minute!
Did not have overhead cam. Was a overhead valve engine. Cam was in thr block.
The 49 I had in 59 with a 2 barrel carb would do 119 MPH. Wish I still had it.
awesome
the car pictured is not a 49
Get a picture of a 49……………….that green thing is a 52 or 53
It looks like a lump to me, I owned a 67 GTO. What do I know.
And the 49 model had something akin to a posi–traction rear end as mine would spin both wheels and drift sideways on hot Texas turtle back roads. Also the transmission was hot. I upgraded to a 50 model and it was a huge disappointment — detuned tranny and differential and maybe even the engine (camshaft).
Bill, I believe you’re absolutely right! That’s a gold star for you, and 10 lashes for the writer to ensure he doesn’t screw up again!
I think the writer of this article mixed up the terms ” overhead cam engine”….it should be “overhead valve engine”….very big error on the writers part.