'55 Olds Turbo Diesel

[Arquemann]

Up for auction in Helsinki:

https://huutokaupat.com/3938647/oldsmobile-holiday-88-om606-st-1955

~400hp Mercedes OM606 turbodiesel, ZF 5-spd and 4-linked Ford 8.8. Mercedes steering rack, bagged and disc brakes all around.
Dunno about you guys, but I think that's cool as hell! I guess you don't know of the MB superturbo fad, but it's pretty popular here.

[friskyfrankie]

Had a '56 Olds Holiday but it had the original powertrain so this is interesting. Mine had power steering, power windows and power antenna. Ran like a top even over twenty years old at the time. Never seen this type of powertain, however in this type of car.

[sly]

Interesting car for sure.

[gadget73]

Cool, a diesel Oldsmobile that isn't the terrible diesel Oldsmobile we got here.

[Tiggie]

Four door hardtops for the win. Cheaper buy in price, easier access than the less door version.

Certainly an interesting powertrain. I don't see many Mercedes Diesels around after the 80's around here. Maybe it's just me not paying attention.

[Lutrova]

With that color you'd never lose it in a parking lot.

[jaywish]

True, otherwise it would blend right in.

[gadget73]

Certainly an interesting powertrain. I don't see many Mercedes Diesels around after the 80's around here. Maybe it's just me not paying attention.

diesels pretty much died in this country after the 80s, but you could still get one in a Mercedes at least. Probably less common than an AMG though.

[Arquemann]

You guys are definitely getting shafted with the whole no diesel cars thing. I've seen an american youtuber have a W211 diesel, but I dunno if you got any of the newer ones. And you probably got zero diesel BMWs. And we all know what happened with diesel VWs
Anyways, the MB OM606 engine is considered kinda as the 2JZ of diesels, the factory turbo internals hold 600+ hp. Slap a bigger turbo and a modified injection pump and you can crank out 400hp from a clapped out stock 606.

[gadget73]

There were about 1600 total BMW 524td brought to the US between 1985 and 1988 I think. Not sure we got another BMW diesel until probably this century.

a lot of this can be blamed on the Olds 350 diesel. GM made a ton of them from the late 70s through the mid 80s and it was pretty much a stunning heap of shit. It was so bad that for many years people heard "diesel" and associated it with horror stories of all the blown up Olds engines and they just wanted no parts of that.

[friskyfrankie]

There were about 1600 total BMW 524td brought to the US between 1985 and 1988 I think. Not sure we got another BMW diesel until probably this century.

a lot of this can be blamed on the Olds 350 diesel. GM made a ton of them from the late 70s through the mid 80s and it was pretty much a stunning heap of shit. It was so bad that for many years people heard "diesel" and associated it with horror stories of all the blown up Olds engines and they just wanted no parts of that.

Some interesting info on the Olds diesel.....

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/oldsmobile-diesel-v8-the-engine-that-swore-americans-off-diesels-for-the-next-40-years-199787.html

[Mainemantom]

" lot of this can be blamed on the Olds 350 diesel. GM made a ton of them from the late 70s through the mid 80s and it was pretty much a stunning heap of shit. It was so bad that for many years people heard "diesel" and associated it with horror stories of all the blown up Olds engines and they just wanted no parts of that."

I remember working at a wrecking yard during the GM diesel era. We could buy those GMs with low miles and cheap. Every good running 350 motor we had got sold for top dollar for people who would do the 350 swap.
Remembering back in about 1982-84 working at a new car lot trying to sell Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles with the diesels. There was a brown Cadillac in the showroom that stayed on the lot for at least a year. Fully loaded car but no one wanted it. That was the time of the Cadillac 4/6/8 system too. Don't remember too many details but that was another GM dog.

[Arquemann]

Pffft... Olds diesel. I want one.

[gadget73]

" That was the time of the Cadillac 4/6/8 system too. Don't remember too many details but that was another GM dog.

oddly enough despite its bad rap it wasn't too bad of an engine. The variable displacement part was clunky but unhooking one wire made it just a Caddy V8. The HT4100 that came after it, that thing was a mess.