The First Turbo V8 production car, the Oldsmobile Jetfire

The Olds Jetfire had a V8 with a turbo charger and methanol:water injection from the factory. It was a very exciting car in 1962. The car was ahead of it's time and should be remembered.

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For information on the MW50 methanol:water injection system used by the German in WW2, please watch this video:

[johnsill]

Back in the mid seventies I worked for a good guy that owned an Amoco gas Station in West Ttenton New Jersey. He found a 62 Jet Fire for sale and I went with him to help tow it back with the company roll back. The car ran well and I was able to drive it around the station. The Turbo fluid was empty and no one at the time seemed to know anything about it. I was a reservist working on helicopters at the time and then moved on to becoming a Flight Engineer on C-141 A, B, and C models for 29 1/2 years and though I kept in touch with him I never knew what happened with that car. Another friend owned a company called British Miles and was putting non turbo F-85 215 motors in MGB's Great fit and a blast to drive as that motor worked so well in that car. Thanks for bringing back such great memories!

[gcrav]

Interesting bit of Formula 1 racing history related to this car. The Jetfire block, sleeved down to 2.85 liters, was used in the Repco engine that powered Jack Brabham to a championship in the 1966 season. It was the only truly successful engine produced for the new 3 liter engine limit the year it went into effect. The Oldsmobile provenance of the Repco block has been disputed because it was assumed that the more common Oldsmobile F85/Buick Skylark aluminum block, with a different head bolt arrangement from the Repco engine, was the one being referenced. Instead it was the Jetfire block with the same head bolt arrangement as the Repco.

[davidewhite]

ironically Rover developed this exact engine without any turbo or methanol and got the same power using electronic fuel injection for their SD1 Vitesse and Vanden Plas models, the SD1 was for homologation for "Group A" racing, the ultimate version being a "Twin Plenum" Vitesse; these had two throttle bodies mounted on the plenum chamber instead of one and produced 220 HP in road going form

[DFSJR]

I owned a 1962 Jetfire I paid $500 for that was originally owned by my grandparents neighbor. I had it from 1977 to 1982. I ran out of the Oldsmobile Jetfire turbo lubricant so I made my own from a mixture of methanol and distilled water . I had it for 5 years until I bought a new car. The man I sold the Jetfire too had it for another 5 years. After that I lost track of the car. Do not know if it was scrapped or sold to another owner.

[willzgn]

In 1962 I was 10 years old, a friend of mine's Dad was an Olds Mechanic. He brought home one of these cars and we got to have a ride in it. I was suprised at how the little car ran! My Dad had a 59 Buick Invicta with the 401 nailhead. I still remember how quickly the Oldsmobile accelerated. Years later in 1987 I order and purchased a Buick Grand National and still have it.

[korgeth]

Love 60's era cars. One of my first cars (my 4th if I remember correctly) was a 67 Dodge Coronet 440. Loved that thing, it had the interior chrome, even the interior A-pillars were chrome.

[rollingtones]

Excellent channel and clean voiceover audio. Thank you for being professional. Great info too.

[robertphillips]

Jay Leno drives one on his Garage Channel!

[alexanderrswaim]

Having just watched your series on muscle cars, I’m now going through the back catalog of automobile related content, and I have not been disappointed. This was a very interesting video.

On a side note, US auto makers, and GM in particular are often criticized for not building interesting cars. That’s definitely been true at times, but in the early ‘60s GM would sell you a car with an alloy V-8 up front driving a transaxle at the back with independent suspension all around (Tempest), a car with a turbocharged all-alloy V-8 with water/methanol injection (Jetfire), or an economy car with an air-cooled flat 6 in back of a unitized body with independent suspension all around (Corvair). And they were all nice looking machines that didn’t cost a fortune. They had some flaws (usually the result of penny-pinching), but they were certainly not boring machines.

[Sierra]

In the mid-1960's used to look for discarded F-85 Jetfire turbo assemblies in a junkyard on Skillman Road in Dallas. Owner had a thing for specialty car parts. Used them on Vetta Venturas assembled in Tom Johnson's Performance Incorporated on Mockingbird Lane. Vettas had similar 215 and 300 cubic inch Buick engines and with a little modification the Oldsmobile intake and turbo worked.

[roygunter]

When I was 16 a fellow I knew had a 63 Jetfire, it had a four speed The car really ran great, the fellow who owned it drove the hell out of it. He would burn the back tires off it and then he would move the front tires to the back. I rode with him a few times and the car would pull great at 110 MPH and picked up like a big V8. He finally cooked the engine and traded it in to the Chevy dealer who put a short block in it and got rid of the turbo. It is the only one I ever actually rode in or knew a person who owned it. The 3 speed automatic was junk, it didn't last and not any of them were good for anything more than 50, 000 miles.

[pauldupouy]

I actually had the unique pleasure to drive one of these mythical beasts back in 2017 to and from the auction block. Burgundy over white 4sp car with an intact turbo setup. Sold for 50k IIRC.

[cdjhyoung]

The guy across the road from us when I was growing up, had one of these and screwed up the engine by using fluids other than the actual Olds recommended stuff. I know he used water and then antifreeze, not sure what else. Car died undramatically in his driveway one day. He also managed to kill a fairly new VW 412, one of the first cars with electronic ignition, and a big sign in the engine compartment saying "DO NOT JUMP START". So one cold winter morning, he jump started the car, and later that week had it hauled away. The guy didn't have much on the ball, but his four teen daughters were cute.

[DoudD]

Enjoyable video, well presented info.

Decades ago I worked at an Olds dealer. One day, rummaging around in the storage attic, I came across the tech bulletin on removing the turbo and installing the normal induction system. Wish I had kept it as a novelty item !

[pastorart]

The 4-4-2 was my dream car in the late 60s, along with the Cougar.

[Rift]

Saw one at the GM National show in Carlisle, Pa in 2010 I think. Looked like it was all there and well kept. Had never heard of it till then

[justsumguyu]

The early to mid 60's was such an interesting time at GM, so much experimentation going on that made it's way into production

[machineethics]

Thanks for this sweet exposition concerning my first car! Bought used in the late sixties, it actually came with a cardboard box of bottles of TRF. I thought it was rocket fuel haha. Remember a friend driving behind that I would leave in the dust in Turbo Boost Mode. It had other issues and I knew nothing about cars so I couldn’t have had it more than a year or two. Had no idea how rare it would become.

[twh]

Wow! Never even heard of this car. This vehicle is now my favorite! Thanks Mr. Greg

[FabioQuadrana]

I love videos of these cars. So sad they don't developed the turbo concept, they were way ahead of it's time.