Most gearheads know Pontiac’s Tri-Power, the Dodge “Six Pack,” and other classic muscle car triple two-barrel carburetor setups. Now check out the Oldsmobile factory or dealer “J-2” setup on this 1957 Oldsmobile Super 88! The Massachusetts classic is a true barn find, coming up for sale after a long hiatus… last registered in 1969! Thanks to reader Rocco B. for spotting this hopped-up Olds. After posting your comments below, take a digital walk and catch the YouTube video by Steve Magnante that covers some interesting details on this rare ’50s drop-top. That video is also the only source of our pictures, so apologies for the lack of photographic awesomeness.
Just like triple deuce setups on muscle cars, the J-2 Olds utilizes the center two-barrel for normal driving, cracking open the two outer carbs for aggressive acceleration, rewarding a light foot with decent economy while saving the big stick of additional air and fuel for when things get serious. Neither the VIN nor the cowl tag can decode whether this 88 came from the factory with the J-2 setup, and it probably doesn’t matter much at this point. While a hotter cam came with the J-2 when purchased across the dealer’s parts counter, the factory simply bolted the 3 x 2 induction to an otherwise stock engine, according to Hemmings.
The convertible top doesn’t look too bad, including the original or similar-to-original rear window. Power seats and power windows with the J-2 show the original buyer’s willingness to pay for comfort and performance in their stylish ragtop.
Despite the available of Oldsmobile’s Jetaway four-speed automatic transmission, this ride came with the three-speed manual gearbox and column shift. The driver’s door appears to have come from a salmon or metallic pink-colored car, but the 41-41-60 color codes on the fender tag decode to what we see here: Artesian Blue Metallic upper and lower body with an Alcan White stripe. Interior style spreads door to door on the all-metal dashboard, with plenty of shiny bits to show off Oldsmobile’s upmarket flair.
Check out a bevy of brochures from 1957 at lov2xlr8 for a look at what this long-parked ride looked like when new. How does this J-2 Oldsmobile rate on your list of high-performance convertibles?
Where is it for sale and what price
Watch. the. video.
Tony sounds like a real buyer.
I may have missed it sitting stashed away in the pics, but if it’s missing that front “bumper”, that’s going to be about, oh I don’t know, a whole lot of American dollars for, oh I don’t know, about 4,000 lbs of chromed steel. Kind of central to this model. Just saying.
Is he selling the car or the model? If he’s selling the car, he needs to get out of the way.
Neither. He features interesting cars in his channel, typically found in junkyards. This particular one just happens to be for sale, which he mentions for the seller.
Well 10 years ago it might have been worth restoring but at todays cost for materials labor you would be up side down sorry
four speed automatic available in 1957?? I didn’t think you could a 3 speed back then.
Likewise the tri power seems like a novelty. No power benefit over 4 bbl, just better fuel economy. And harder to balance.
Still something not everyone has.
The jet away was actually a 4 speed automatic.
Pontiac also had 4 speed auto in 57
The four speed hydramatic came out in 1940 or 1941. Setting up three deuces is easy I have had several of them. Front and rear carbs are closed except for when you have your foot in it. The only balancing that needs to be done is the throttle adjustment between the front and rear carbs, so that they are closed at the same time. There is no idle circuit in the secondary carbs so they must be closed when not in use. I just love the sound of three deuces wide open
Harder to balance? There is no “balancing” to be done. The center carb is the primary and the two end ones are the secondaries.
Yes Olds had 4 speed automatics,,1st would shift about 10 mph I had a 60 olds bubble top and counted the shifts often,,it was neet I thought
You don’t “balance” a 3-2 setup, the outboard carburetors are only used at full throttle, your everyday normal operation is on the center 2 barrel carb only. The outboard carbs don’t even have idle circuits. Balancing comes in with typical British multiple carb applications, Corvairs, early Z–cars, and many other makes. 3-2 barrel setups are simple in operation, but suffer from many myths regarding tuning and operation. They did in the early years have a power benefit, they flowed more air than the 4 barrel carbs of the day. The 3-2 setup flowed 860 CFM, a typical Rochester 4GC only flowed 450 CFM. Heck, A 1970 Olds W30 Quadrajet only flowed 750 CFM.
4bbl was 277 hp, J2 was 300 hp.
Not the only multi carb setups. Cadillac also had three deuce and dual quad arrangements in the 50s.
so did Chevy starting in 1958 on the 348 ci engine
Try ’56 dual quad 265!
Ford had dual quad 312 Chevy had dual quad 283 I think Plymouth may have had a dual quad 318 I know Chrysler 300 had a dual quad setup
Surprised Steve called it a 370 a couple times and a 372 near the end, should be a 371; and the model is “friction” drive, not gear drive.
Bunkie Knudsen was still stripping Pontiacs of their old fashioned “Silverstreaks”, but improvements were in the wind. Still, at the end of the decade, the 371 and 394 Olds were the ones that everyone wanted. J-2 just made them better.
Silver streaks? You mean hat bands, lol.
Love Steve Mags channel. Not sure why there’s some odd comments regarding it and confusion over the sale of the car. He’s just featuring the car as something interesting for his channel. He clearly states the owner is in MA and provides their contact info.
Steve is pretty sharp, sharper than a lot of guys, but, nobody is the “expert” on every car ever made. He makes mistakes, the writers here make mistakes, and we make mistakes as BF members and commenters as well.
If its for sale? Mention the price! Saves a lot of wasted interest and unnecessary calls by casually interested looky loo’s?
Multi carbs are great if you have enough camshaft for them.otherwise it doesn’t really any have benefit overall and will just use that much more gas.just like in this case,the tri power has a matching cam for it.most street engines only have a volumetric efficiency of only 85% anyways and don’t use the full cfm capacity of the carburetor they come with.
That’s true. It applies to any increase in carburetion. Going from a 650 cfm four barrel to an 850 cfm four barrel is the same. Over-carburetion is very easy to do. Tailoring the opening rate of the secondaries is also important.