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Oldsmobile Club of America |
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Olds management persisted, however, and permission was finally granted. The result was a new 304-cid engine introduced in 1949 as the "Rocket V-8" in Oldsmobile's top-line 98 models. That car had debuted "Futuramic Styling" in 1948, which was applied to all Oldsmobiles the following year. A last minute decision to offer the Rocket engine in the lighter 76-series body in mid-'49 resulted in the 88. With that, Oldsmobile quickly became the undisputed king of the stock car circult. Not until Hudson brought out its thundering Hornet did the 88 begin to fade from glory But the Hornet didn't appear until 1951, 50 when Indy officials began debating their pace car pick for the 1949 race, the choice quickly became obvious. The overhead-valve Rocket engine displaced 304 cubic inches by virtue of a 3.75 bore and 3.438 stroke, making it a thoroughly modern oversquare design. With two-barrel carb and 7.25:1 compression, it produced 135 horsepower at 3600 rpm~nough to persuade 100,000 buyers to "Make a date with a Rocket 88."
Oldsmobile got off to a slow start in pace car selections. They first paced the 500 in 1949 and then again in 1960. However, they made up time quickly after that, and by 1988 they had paced eight SOOs. At over 4400 pounds and with a wheelbase of 126.3 inches, the 1960 Ninety-Eight was a large car to say the least. It was sort of a relic, left over from the latter half of the fabulous fifties-overly-styled and a little gaudy The engine was a 394-cid ohv V-8 that produced 315 horsepower at a conservative 4600 rpm. It featured a 10.0:1 compression ratio and a multi-jet Rochester four-barrel carburetor. Bolted to the back of the engine was GM's "Jetaway" HydraMatic three-speed automatic transmission. Fat-for the day-9.00 x 14 tubeless tires and super-wide drum brakes were featured at all four corners. All Ninety-Eights had a padded dashboard and courtesy lights as standard equipment. And, the interior of the pace car was upholstered in white leather Over the year Oldsmobile built 7284 five-passenger Ninety-Eight convertibles, and at $4362 they were second in price only to the Starfire 88 convertibles. Intenestingly this may have been the last year that a dealer supplied the speedway with the pace car-Stuart Oldsmobile, a local Oldsmobile dealer, delivered the actual pace car. Over the next decade, emissions standards and government regulations kicked in, and it became increasingly more difficult for the cars to be factory stock.
The muscular 455-cid V-8 had 10.25:1 compression and a free-breathing Rochester four-barrel carburetor. A four-speed manual transmission with Hurst shift linkage and anti-spin rear axle completed the powertrain. A heavy-duty suspension and beefy stabilizer bars in the front and rear helped harness the power going through Indy's high-speed corners. A weight-saving fiberglass hood included a pair of functional air scoops. The white exterior was accented with black and red stripes on the hood, rear deck, and sides. The wheels were painted white and shod with G7Ox 14 white letter tires. The convertible top also was white, while the interior had contrasting black leather. Oldsmobile built 624 pace car replicas for 1970. Starting with a 4-4-2, buyers checked off the Y74 option, and, for $385, got a special hood, Super Stock II wheels, sport style mirrors, special tires, and pace car decals. Of the 2933 4-4-2 convertibles sold, 269 were pace car replicas. At a price of $3945, they came with a 365-horsepower 455-cubic inch V-8 engine, a special hood, Super Stock II wheels, sport mirrors, speical tires, and the pace car decals. Olds also sold 355 hardtop pace car replicas. This was the last race held on May 30, the traditional Memorial Day, except for years when it fell on a Sunday
Starting out life as a Cutlass convertible with the W-30 package, the pace car engine was very similar to the 455-cid powerplant that powered the 1970 Olds 442 pace car. A functional hood scoop and Rochester four-barrel carburetor fed the engine, while exhaust gases were vented through dual pipes. However, it was detuned with a lower 8.5:1 compression ratio to meet emissions requirements and the advent of unleaded gasoline. Still, this eng,ine managed to 'pump out 300 horsepower at 4700 rpm. The car featured a Rallye suspension with white-letter Goodyear G60x14 Polysteel tires mounted on Super Stock III wheels. A Hurst Dual-Gate shifter mounted in the floor console controlled the three-speed Hydra-Matic transmission. Disc brakes were up front with drums in the rear. The white car was highlighted by gold stripes on the hood and down the body sides. A black leather interior completed the package. Oldsmobile built about 130 convertible and 499 coupe replicas for public sale. There were also about 50 Delta 88 Royale convertibles with Indy pace car graphics that were used as parade cars.
The Hurst/Olds came with Oldsmobile's massive 455-cid V-8, which had a Rochester four-barrel carburetor, dual exhausts, and 275 horsepower. A Hurst Dual-Gate shifter allowed the 3-speed automatic transmission to be shifted manually for maximum performance. An Olds Rallye suspension and 15-inch Goodyear Polyglas tires with raised white letters put the power to the pavement. The tires were mounted on five-spoke alloy wheels. Only 380 pace car replicas were built in 1974 (option code W-30), and all of them hardtop coupes. The Indy 500 decals were furnished separately so all street versions didn't wear the "Official Pace Car" stickers. However, all were painted white and trimmed with Hurst gold and black with an interior finished in black leather.
The reason Olds chose the 88 was probably that they had just introduced the new downsized model for 1977. These cars were shorter by a foot and nearly 700 pounds lighter than their comparable models from a year earlier. In addition, they were more fuel efficient and offered more interior room. The pace car was a highly modified Delta 88 Royale coupe that was fitted with a unique removable top. The entire center section of the roof could be removed-leaving only the windshield header and a rear hoop. Continuing the silver-and-black tradition from a year before, the '77 pace car was mostly black with a silver stripe running down each side and a silver trunklid. Inside, the Olds featured Firethorn red velour front bucket seats and a custom sport steering wheel. Powering the pace car was a highly modified version of General Motors' 403-cid
ohv V-8. Fitted with heavy-duty valve springs, a high-performance camshaft, ported and
polished cylinder heads, and dual exhausts it made more than the advertised 185
horsepower.transferring this power to the pavement was GM's Turbo Hydra-Matic three-speed
automatic transmission. Chrome Super Stock wheels with red spokes were shod with Goodyear
raised white-letter tires. Since the removable roof panel was not a regular production option, Oldsmobile offered a Royale hardtop coupe with an optional electric sunroof as a pace car replica. If buyers wanted, they could also order the Indy 500 decals.
The heart of the Calais 500 was a modified version of the stock four-cylinder engine. Bored out to yield 165 cubic inches, the engine was also given special heads, a high-performance camshaft and crank, and custom pistons. The compression ratio was increased to 9.5.1 and premium fuel was required. These changes netted 215 horsepower at 6500 rpm. Because this was more than double the normal horsepower, special engine mounts with urethane bushings had to he manufactured. Transferring all of the power to the track was a modified GM three-speed automatic transmission. The body was lowered one inch and the springs and shocks were stiffened. Special 225/50~6 V-rated tires were mounted to 16-inch rims. While the exterior was rather understated in its maroon-over-silver paint, the interior featured silver leather seats with matching red trim. A unique feature was the "Auto Calculator". It was located below the radio and was a predecessor of today’s trip computers. Even the floormats had "Calais 500" stitched into them. Another interesting feature of this pace car was the neat integration of the pacer lighting system into the trunk-mounted rear spoiler. Since the actual pace car was a one-of-a-kind model -- Olds did not have a convertible version of the Calais -- a limited run of coupe pace car replicas were offered to the public through Oldsmobile dealerships 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
GM's Hydramatic Division's Motorsports Group beefed up the transmission Since Indy rules call for acar with no top, the Cutlass Supreme was modified by Cars and Concepts, a well known custom-body firm. Now, a deeper front air dam complements the International Series aerodynamic body panels. Though the Pace Car and its four test and backup models certainly fall into the one-off category, Cars and Concepts also made 50 street-legal convertible replicas and Oldsmobile made 200 coupes in Pace Car trim. The interior uses specially upholstered stock front and rear bucket seats, plus three-point competition seat belts for the driver and passenger. For safety, there's a Halon gas fire extinguisher system, a fuel cell and a removable roll-over bar. The five Pace Cars and 50 convertibles are the first production cars to have a Head-Up Display (HUD) designed by Hughes and Delco. Its fighter-plane technology prolects the instrument display onto the windshield, in the driver's direct line of sight.
The Aurora pace car is powered by a dual overhead camshaft, 32 valve, 4.0-liter V-8 engine that makes 250 horsepower. A version of this same engine, producing upwards of 650 horsepower, will be used to power over half the field at Indy this year. If the Aurora engine wins at Indy it will be the first time the same engine was used in the pace car and a race winner. Other than the United States Auto Club (USAC) mandated safety equipment, the pace Aurora will be a stock production model. Modifications for pace car duty include strobe lights, seat harnesses, an on-board fire extinguisher, and in car cameras. Oldsmobile outfitted three Auroras in pace car trim and is supplying another 60 to the Speedway for use as parade vehicles. A fourth pace car was built and is now touring auto shows across North America. The Aurora pace car features white diamond paint with black and gold highlights and Indy 500 graphics. A power sunroof, 3.71:1 axle ratio, chrome plated aluminum wheels, and Goodyear Eagle LS tires with a 150-mph speed rating round out the pace car package. Oldsmobile did not produce any replica versions of the pace car, however the car is sure to be a collectible in the fact that it is the first 4-door sedan to pace the Indy 500 since the 1947 Nash Ambassador. Not to mention it was the first time that the same engine design both paced and won the race. 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora (for the 2000 Indy 500)
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Oldsmobile had to wait until 1949 for their
first Indy pace car with their mid-size, V-8 powered 88. In the early days of stock car
racing, the Oldsmobile 88 established itself as the car to beat. The Olds was also
arguably the first of what later became known as the "muscle car." It all
started with SV 49, an experimental short-stroke, high-compression V-8 designed by Gilbert
Burrell based on principles developed by GM engine whiz Charles Kettering. Though it ran
well, GM forced Olds to can the project-probably because Cadillac, which was secretly
developing a similar modern V-8, didn't want any intramural competition.
The Sixties was all about horsepower and
performance. The roadster was being replaced by the lighter and faster rear-engined models
on the track, and the family sedan pace car gave way to the muscle car.
Oldsmobile hadn't supplied a pace car for ten years, but the 4-4-2
it delivered for the 1970 race proved that the division hadn't forgotten what it takes.
The 4-4-2, the high-performance version of Oldsmobile's mid-size Cutlass, was a white
convertible with a 365-horsepower 455-cid V-8-more than enough to qualify for pace-car
service. Previous versions of the 4-4-2 came with 400-cid V-8s, but GM allowed Olds and
other divisions to boost displacement on their mid-size muscle cars for 1970. 
For the first time in pace car history an automotive
supplier's name was included in the pace car title. Hurst Performance Products had been
making aftermarket automotive performance parts for years-specializing in improved
transmission shift linkages. Lately they had been working in close cooperation with
Oldsmobile to develop performance-orientated versions of several production models.
Hurst Performance and Oldsmobile, which had combined
forces for the 1972 pace car, teamed again for 1974. This year, the two companies fielded
a coupe with a removable roof panel that was based on the Cutlass S.
The fourth in a series of four pace cars over the past
seven years from Oldsmobile, the Delta 88 got the call in 1977. The previous two had been
Hurst-modified Oldsmobile Cutlasses.
The last time an Oldsmobile paced the
500 was back in 1977. The car was a 3600-pound, 18-foot, rear-wheel drive, V-8-powered
Delta 88 that GM was calling downsized. In 1985, Oldsmobile used their compact Calais. It
was nearly four feet shorter, weighed over 1000 pounds less, had front-wheel drive, and
was powered by a four-cylinder engine. Not to take anything away from the 88, but the
automotive world had come a long way in eight short years.
To stand
up to the severe duty on race day, Oldsmobile engineers designed a turbocharged version of
the Quad 4 engine that produces 250 horsepower. It was built at the Delta engine plant and
is a prototype for future Quad 4 turbo engines and almost all of its components are
off-the-shelf parts. The modifications to the engine were done by General Motors' B-0-C
Lansing Powertrain Division and consists primarily of an intercooled turbocharger and a
custom made stainless steel exhaust manifold. The engine was tuned to accommodate this new
equipment.
Nineteen-ninety seven marks the 100th anniversary of
Oldsmobile making Olds the first U.S. automaker to reach that plateau. That, and their
eight previous pace cars, would be enough for the Speedway to give Olds nod as the pace
car for '97. However, Olds involvement doesn't stop there, they will be providing the
engines for half of the race cars running in this year's race and are a major sponsor in
the new formed Indy Racing League.