Oldsmobile Rocket 88 Futuramic. All original w/matching #s. Low Reserve.

1950 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight Description

The Oldsmobile Rocket 88 and the Dawn of the American Horsepower Race made it TheFirst Official Muscle Car!
Oldsmobileintroduced the 88 badge in 1949. It was named to complement the already-existing76and98, and took the place of thestraight-8 engined78 in the model lineup. The new car used the same new FuturamicB-bodyplatform as thestraight-6 engined76 but paired it with the powerful newRocket V8 engine. This combination of a relatively small light body and large, powerful engine made it a precursor to themuscle car. The Rocket 88 vaulted Oldsmobile from a somewhat staid, conservative car to a performer that became the one to beat on theNASCAR(National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) circuits. It won six of the nine NASCAR late-model division races in 1949, 10 of 19 in 1950, 20 of 41 in 1952 making it the first real "King of NASCAR."
In the mid-1950s, American automakers were engaged in a ferocious horsepower race. By the time the battle reached a temporary ceasefire at decade’s end, the average power of the typical passenger car had (at least on paper) more than doubled. The starting gun of that race was sounded by Oldsmobile, with its advanced new overhead-valve V8 and the new mid-size model that shared its name: the 1949-1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88.
The 88 enjoyed a great success, inspiring a popular 1950s slogan, "Make a Date with a Rocket 88", and also a song, "Rocket 88", often considered thefirst rock and roll record. Starting with the trunk-lid emblem of the 1950 model, Oldsmobile would adopt the rocket as its logo, and the 88 name would remain in the Olds lineup until the late 1990s, almost until the end of Oldsmobile itself.
The88 model was equipped with an ignition key and a starter push-button to engage the starter.The car was equipped with anoil bath air cleaner. At the bottom edge of the front fender directly behind the front wheel was a badge that said "Futuramic" which identified an Oldsmobile approach to simplified driving, and the presence of an automatic transmission.1948 Oldsmobile Futuramic introduction
The 1950 model included the replacement of a two-piece windshield with a one-piece unit. Also a three-speedmanual transmissionwith column shift became available as a "delete for credit" option to the Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. The 1950 model won the1950 Carrera Panamericana
ThePanamericanawas a nine-stage, five-day race across the country of Mexicoorganized by the Mexican government to advertise thefeat of its new highway and to attract international business into Mexico. The race ran almost entirely along the new highway, which crossed the country from north to south for a total distance of over 3,300 kilometres
Racers from the US, Italy, France, Spain, Venezuela, Colombia, Guatemala, and obviously, Mexico. The Formula 1 driversPiero TaruffiandFelice Bonettotook part in the race. AlsoBill France, the founder of NASCAR. OtherNASCARdrivers participated asHershel McGriff,Curtis Turner. The sporcar racer Jean Trévoux took part too.
The first race ran from north to south, beginning inCiudad Juárez,Chihuahua, across theinternational borderfromEl Paso,Texas, and finishing inEl Ocotal,Chiapas, (now known asCd. Cuauhtémoc) on theGuatemala-Mexico borderopposite fromLa Mesilla,Guatemala. At least one stage was run each day for five consecutive days. The elevation changes were significant: from 328 feet (100m) to 10,482 feet (3,195m) above sea level, requiring amongst other modifications re-jetting of carburettors to cope with thinner air. Most the race was run between 5,000 feet (1,500m) and 8,000 feet (2,400m).
The winner,Hershel McGriff, drove anOldsmobile 88at an average speed of 142km/h (88mph)
This Rocket 88 is a part of American History.