The 1955 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight car was first introduced to consumers at an open house on October 11, 1954, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. It is one of America’s most famous and longest-living cars and is still alive and well today as a collector’s item. The car has been called “America’s Most Exciting Car” because of its technological advancement at the time (it was also one of America’s fastest cars).
Some men are Baptists, others Catholics. My father was an Oldsmobile man
– Jean Shepherd –
It set records for 85 miles per hour; the 85 was only available with a Hydramatic automatic transmission. Many consider the Oldsmobile to be one of the most beautiful cars ever made. In fact, the Eighty-Eight has become an American classic.
Eighty-Eight Design
The style was unique for 1955. It featured a classic American design that had no tarted-up fins or grille. It was simply but elegantly designed. The styling of the body is upright and smooth, with no visible chrome except for the beltline molding on each side of the car, which is all chrome (the car really wasn’t all chrome, though; it had solid steel body panels). The hood had a gentle forward slope, and ten small cold air inlets were placed on each side of the front fenders.
The first Eighty-Eight only came in one style, a four-door sedan. There were three body colors that were available for 1955: Dutch Blue Metallic, Dark Olive Metallic (which was originally called Harvest Gold), and Light Blue Metallic. The wheels on all models were painted to match the car’s body color. At this time, the front fenders were square, but all future models had a more gentle forward slope.
The car was painted in Oldsmobile’s brand new Aqua paint. It was an unusual look for that era due to the lack of chrome trim and the very bold pattern that it had. It also featured a split ‘Eighty-Eight’ grille in place of bumpers, just like the styling on the front fenders.
The 1954 Oldsmobile Features
The 1954 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight had four options: 2+2, 2+4, 2+6, and 4+4 (which is actually an option still available today). The choice of a two or four-door sedan was up to customers; it could be ordered with fixed front windows or power windows. In 1956, “Eighty-Eight” was dropped from the car’s name, and it became just “Olds. The 1955 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight is one of America’s most celebrated cars. It has a long and very colorful history.
The car had several different trim levels for 1955. The Standard level was the lowest, followed by Delray (for 1955 only), Power glide (a two-speed automatic transmission), and RS (for ‘Regular Style’). The most desirable trim level was the Custom Cruiser, which was only available in Delray or RS appearance. It featured an Ultra-High-Mileage instrument cluster instead of part of the gauge cluster that was originally standard on the other models. This made it easier to read the car’s speedometer and odometer at a glance. It also featured a chrome-plated grille and jewel-like dash plaques. It was one of the most powerful cars ever assembled in the U.S., and it was designed to appeal to both men and women. The car was light, attractive, and very comfortable.
1955 Oldsmobile Engine Details
The Eighty-Eight was powered by an all-new engine called the Rocket V8. It was an overhead valve engine that had a displacement of 346 cubic inches. The power plant revved to 4,300 rpm and produced 195 HP at 3900 RPM, which made it one of the most powerful engines available for American cars in 1955. The engine weighs 550 pounds. It was originally made in Detroit and was manufactured by the Detroit Diesel Division of the General Motors Corporation. The engine block, cylinder heads, and valve train were all made of plain steel; all other parts, like the pistons and exhaust manifolds, were aluminum.
The Rocket V8’s big innovation was its use of a four-barrel carburetor with dual-throat fuel injection, making it one of the most advanced engines ever produced. It had a deep relief intake manifold that bent up under the hood so that it completely covered the top half of the motor instead of just the bottom half, as did many other engine designs at that time. This design reduced drag and improved airflow through the motor. Two small injectors, known as D1 and D2, were installed with dual-throat fuel injection on each carburetor.
A very interesting system that was originally designed for the 1955 Oldsmobile 88 was the Hydramatic automatic transmission. When compared to other automatic transmission systems of that time, it was superior because it had a low engine idle speed (about 900 rpm), which greatly reduced the amount of air turbulence inside the motor and created less heat in the motor. This made for smoother operation inside the motor and more horsepower produced by it. The electric controls for changing gears were located under the dash, so there were no cables hanging down from under the hood.
Eighty-Eight Performance
The 1955 Oldsmobile 88 had dual exhaust outlets with chrome tips that were very stylish. This made the car more powerful than any other American car of its time. Its horsepower rating was better than most full-sized cars on the market, which included the Chrysler 300F, the ’55 Cadillac Eldorado, and even some of today’s top sports cars.
The 1955 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight was one of America’s most exciting cars. It was just smooth and elegant. Although it used a lot of aluminum components to reduce weight, the car wasn’t all that light by today’s standards. The Eighty-Eight weighed just over 5,000 pounds. The power plant gave the car a top speed of over 100 mph.
The 1955 Oldsmobile 88 was one of the most innovative cars ever produced in America at that time, and it remains so today. It has never lost its popularity or its legacy. The car is amazingly successful today–it outsells the Ford Thunderbird, the Cadillac Eldorado, and even some of today’s top sports cars. The 1955 Oldsmobile 88 is one of America’s most popular cars. Some people consider it to be one of the best factory-built cars ever made. It is truly one of the great classic American vehicles.
