Re: Did Chevy consider Packard V8 BB Design?

Posted by Rusty O\'Toole On 2008/10/4 22:47:27
Quote:

chuck wrote:
Having nothing to do with Packards, but since the Oldsmobile Rocket V-8 came up I thought I would mention a rumor I heard many years ago. After Olds came out with the Futuramic Olds 98 in 1948, they were faced witrh a real problem. The 98 straight eight was the original "gutless wonder". I owned a 1948 Olds 98 convertible and it wouldn't pull the hat off your head. The rumor is that GM management asked Olds if their V8 was ready for production. Olds said it was not. The board then ordered Buick to turn their V8 over to Olds, since the Buick straight eight was much stronger and could keep going a little longer. Anyone else hear this rumor?


I believe this is true. Road tester extraordinaire Tom McCahill told the same story many years ago.

It seems he tested the 1948 Olds 98 and was not impressed. He described it as being "as exciting as a pocket full of wet pancakes" and said "when you step on the gas you get a squish instead of a swish"

Oldsmobile owners and dealers screamed blue murder. But years later, an Olds insider thanked him!

It seems Olds was lobbying for the new engine, and the McCahill article was the clincher they needed to convince top management to give the new engine to Oldsmobile instead of an unnamed rival. But it seems logical to conclude that the rival was Buick.

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