Oldsmobile straight-8 engine

This was the company's top engine choice from 1932 until the 1949 introduction of the overhead valve Rocket V8, and was briefly exclusive to the Oldsmobile L-Series.

It was a conventional side-valve engine which started off life in 1932 with 87 bhp at 3350 rpm.

This initial variant ran for 5 years, from its introduction in 1932 until the larger 257 was introduced in 1937.

These early Oldsmobile straight eights have the distributor mounted on the cylinder head whereas the later 257.1 engine has it mounted down on the left side of the engine.

This series of engine was shared with the LaSalle during the 1934–1936 period, but its variant had a slightly increased capacity at 248 cubic inches.