Many car enthusiasts think of the 1950s as the decade of bulk. Bigger really was better, and too big was just right, especially in an era when it was frequently joked that most American cars required their own zip codes. However, this was also a decade of performance, when engine technology began to produce more and more horsepower and that magic number became a bone of contention between automakers. Americans finally began to appreciate the joy that came from flooring the gas, and the Big Three answered accordingly, by helping out participants in the newly popular sport of stock car racing.

The 1957 Oldsmobile, for instance, could be had with something known as the J-2 option. It began with the stock Olds Rocket V-8, which had been enlarged that year to 371 cubic inches and came with a higher 10:1 compression ratio. Oldsmobile’s mad-scientist engineers then removed the standard four-barrel carburetor and installed a new intake with three Rochester two-barrel carbs. Under standard operation, only the center 280 CFM carb was functioning. When it came time to hit the track, or leave the stoplight, the driver would put “pedal to the metal,” and the outside carburetors, working off the windshield wiper motor, would open up, each flowing 290 CFM. Breathing through dual exhaust, the result was 300 brake horsepower and 415 foot-pounds of torque.

Lee Petty’s J-2-outfitted ’57 Olds sailed down Daytona Beach at 144.9 mph. Bill France Sr., recognizing an unfair advantage when he saw it, complained that Oldsmobile wasn’t offering the J-2 to the public, and he was right. Oldsmobile responded by putting the J-2 on the options list for Mom and Dad’s new car, but the Automobile Manufacturers Association’s ban on factory support for racing came down not long after and settled the matter. The J-2 would last on the books until 1958, but they remained rarely ordered, as few people knew about it. Those “in-the-know,” however, likely never forgot it.

The buyer who knew about and desired the J-2 would likely have installed it on a stripped, lower-line model, which makes top-of-the-line examples equipped with it, such as this Starfire Ninety-Eight Convertible, all the rarer. According to information included on file, this car was restored by Mark Barker, of Mary-Wayne Motors, who performed a complete, frame-off, nut-and-bolt, rotisserie restoration. Later, it was acquired by well-known collector Dr. Edward Dauer and then added to the Andrews Collection.

In addition to the J-2 engine, the car is equipped with a dual exhaust, a power antenna and brakes, power steering, power windows, a power top, tinted glass, and an under-dashboard air-conditioning unit. The body is finished in the two-tone color scheme of Sapphire Mist and Victoria White, with a beautiful complementary interior, and overall, it has a wonderfully authentic appearance. It has been restored to an extraordinarily nice but not a total concours standard; instead, it appears just as one would have when it left the factory. It is still “fresh” in all regards, including its beautiful paint and interior, and it has been well-maintained, both cosmetically and mechanically, during its Andrews tenure.

This is a tempting highway and road car, with the power that NASCAR legends knew and NASCAR management feared.