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1957 Oldsmobile 88 Barn Find Hides Rare V8 Banned by NASCAR Under the Hood

Most enthusiasts agree that the Pontiac GTO, introduced in 1963, was the first muscle car. But while that's correct regarding vehicles advertised with a focus on performance, muscle cars can be traced back to the 1950s or even the late 1940s.
1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 J-2 8 photos
Photo: Steve Magnante/YouTube
1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 J-2 barn find1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 J-2 barn find1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 J-2 barn find1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 J-2 barn find1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 J-2 barn find1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 J-2 barn find1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 J-2 barn find
Powered by a 331-cubic-inch (5.4-liter) V8 rated at 300 horsepower, the 1955 Chrysler C-300 is an excellent example of an early performance car that's often overlooked. Then there's the Hudson Hornet, which entered production in 1950. Granted, the latter featured an inline-six instead of a V8, but it dominated NASCAR with the same mill from 1952 to 1954.

A few months before Hudson introduced the Hornet, Oldsmobile launched the 88. Powered by a then-new 303-cubic-inch (5.0-liter) V8 called the "Rocket," the 88 became the car to beat on the NASCAR oval. Can it be described as America's first muscle car? Well, it's not an intermediate, so it's best to call it America's first full-size performance car. Either way, the original Olds 88 kickstarted a new era.

But I'm not here to talk about the first-gen 88 and how Oldsmobile dominated NASCAR for a couple of years. I'm here to tell you about the company's attempt to return to racing with a notably larger and heavier version of the full-size. It happened in 1957 when Olds introduced the third-generation 88 and a special engine that few people remember.

It's called the J-2, a beefed-up version of the 371-cubic-inch (6.1-liter) "Rocket" V8 that the firm was offering at the time. Fitted with a trio of Rochester carburetors, the powerplant generated 300 horsepower. That was 23 extra horses compared to the regular 371 V8 and an impressive figure at the time. The engine was quite torquey, too, at 415 pound-feet (563 Nm).

The J-2 was created mainly for NASCAR duty. Following a narrow win in 1955, Oldsmobile was out of the championship fight in 1956, which was disputed by Chrysler and Ford (and won by the latter). In 1957, the company hired Lee Petty to drive the J-2-powered 88. However, the engine's NASCAR campaign came to an abrupt halt when the sanctioning body outlawed multiple carburation mid-season.

But this wasn't the end for the J-2. The engine remained on the options list through 1958. It wasn't exactly popular, though. Most experts agree that only 2,000 to 2,500 Oldsmobile 88s were ordered with the NASCAR-spec engine, so the J-2 is rare. How many of them are still around? Well, it remains a mystery without a proper registry, but you'd be hard-pressed to see one in the metal, especially since many were retired and left to rot away.

Remember the four-door sedan that YouTube's "Old Skool Rides" discovered in a junkyard in 2022? It was the first J-2 I've seen in a very long time. It's been nine months since then, and barn-find hunter Steve Magnante stumbled upon a two-door convertible version somewhere in Massachusetts. And it's been parked in a barn since 1969.

Hidden for 54 years as of 2023, the drop-top has seen better days. But even though it's covered in a thick layer of dust and the original blue paint has faded away, the car appears to be complete as far as trim goes. Moreover, the soft top doesn't show as much damage as expected for a car that spent most of its life in a barn.

The interior is just about the same. It's dirty, and the upholstery shows wear and tear, but the floors have no significant damage or rust holes. Despite the grime and cracks, the dashboard is still gorgeous in its two-tone, blue-over-white finish.

Finally, the rare J-2 engine is still resting under the hood. It's not 100% complete, and it won't run without a lot of work, but we're probably looking at one of fewer than 500 powerplants that are still around. Speaking of rarity, the J-2 convertible is much scarcer than its two-door coupe and four-door sedan counterparts.

Oldsmobile sold a little more than 300,000 88s during the 1957 model year, but only 13,551 units were convertibles. This one appears to be a range-topping Super 88 version, narrowing it down to 7,128 examples. And given that fewer than 0.4% of the 1957 88s got the J-2, it's probably safe to say that Olds sold fewer than 30 drop-tops with this mill. We'll never know for sure, but we're looking at one of the rarest 88s ever produced. It's also one of those classics that's definitely worth saving. Check it out in the video below.

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About the author: Ciprian Florea
Ciprian Florea profile photo

Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
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