The Oldsmobile brand took a step upmarket in 1932 with the introduction of the L series, powered by a modern new straight-eight engine.

When the L series was introduced in 1932, Oldsmobile was no stranger to eight-cylinder engines. In the ‘teens and again in the early twenties, Olds offered a number of V8s, produced both in-house and by the General Motors Northway division. The Viking, Oldsmobile’s premium companion brand of 1929-31, was a V8 of ambitious design, but when it was cancelled due to poor sales, GM’s Lansing division was in need of a new flagship model. (See our Viking feature here.) Following the industry trend of the moment (Ford V8 aside), the new 1932 L series was not a V8 but a straight eight.

Created under the direction of Oldsmobile chief engineer C.L. McCuen, the straight eight was of modern but conventional design with a classic L-head valvetrain. (McCuen was soon promoted to general manager.) Not that much larger than the division’s 213.3 CID six, the L32 eight boasted a displacement of 240 cubic inches with a 3.00-inch bore and 4.25-inch stroke. Output was rated at 87 hp at 3,350 rpm, compared to 74 hp at 3,200 rpm for the six. While the 18 percent gain in power was significant, the straight eight’s real selling point was greater smoothness.

The fully counterweighted, 87-lb crankshaft ran in babbit-lined bearings in the straight eight’s inaugural year, but it was updated to the latest shell inserts for ’33. Up-to-date  features included a Bendix-Stromberg downdraft carburetor with an automatic choke, full-pressure lubrication, and mushroom valve lifters for improved valvetrain geometry. Between 1934 and 1936, Cadillac’s junior LaSalle brand used a variant of the Olds straight eight, a testimonial to the engine’s sound design.

The L32 straight eight ran on the same 116.5-in wheelbase chassis as the F32 six, with Hotchkiss drive and parallel leaf springs front and rear. Actually, the bodies are essentially identical as well. Reportedly, the only difference is that the eight has a pair of windshield wipers as standard equipment while the six makes do with one. The three-speed Syncro-Mesh transmission included a short-lived feature called Free Wheeling. Here, a dash-controlled one-way clutch disconnected the engine from the drivetrain when coasting, ostensibly a fuel-saving gimmick, But the feature proved to be spooky and unpopular and was soon discontinued.

The straight eight wasn’t a big seller in its first year.  Ravaged by the Great Depression, the Olds division produced fewer than 20,000 cars in 1932, and all but a few thousand were sixes. But as sales continued to improve, the inline eight was continually updated as well, with a switch from cast-iron to aluminum pistons and a boost in displacement to 257 cubic inches in 1937. Also that year, the distributor was moved from the cylinder head to the left side of the block to allow a lower hoodline. In this essential form, and eventually producing up to 115 hp, the straight eight remained in the Olds lineup through 1948, when it was finally replaced by the famous Rocket overhead-valve V8.