4naffairs

Hello all. I am helping a friend sell his collection of classic cars and could use some of your expertise. Included in the collection is a very nice 55 olds 88 2 door convertible. I am trying to figure out what exact model it is and any other information about the car. Where is the vin plate and can anyone decode it? I'd like to know if it is the original color combo. I am still in the process of getting everything together so I don't have any very good pictures but are a couple. Contact me at scottwooldridge1@yahoo.com

jaunty75

Well, given that it's a '55, it's an 88, and it's a convertible means that there's only one model it could be, and that's a 1955 Super 88 convertible. The only other 88 line that year was called simply "Series 88" or just "88," but no convertible was offered in that line, so it can't be one of those. Other than that, the only other convertible Olds offered was the 98 Starfire convertible, and you would probably know if it was one of those.

That's a very nice car, by the way, at least from those photos. It's probably worth $50,000 to $100,000, depending. It looks like something we would see cross the block at a Mecum auction or something like that.

Tedd Thompson

The color combo is correct for the car and it's a Super 88,(I almost painted mine that color). The body number Olds code is DCR engine number is stamped on a machined pad located on the top left hand cylender bank of the block.

The body ans style number plate is located under the hood on the front of the cowl and near the left hood hinge.

The serial plate is located on the left hand body pillar.

I think your body color is# 70 turquoise and # 60 polar white.

If you post your body style plate we can decode that for you.

The 55 super 88'S convertibles are getting quite rare and you shouldn't have much trouble selling it for your friend. Where are you or the car located?...Lost in the fifties ..Tedd

4naffairs

Wow! thanks for the info. I will get the info from the car and post it tomorrow.
The car and I are in Lexington, Kentucky

4naffairs

Got the numbers from the Olds.
Vin 558b7821
and attached is the picture of the plate by the hinge.
I couldn't find the number on the motor.

jaunty75

That VIN decodes to a '55 Super 88 built at Framingham, Massachusetts.

Someone else will likely chime in with a decode of the body plate.

Russ P in MD

Here's an example of the motor ID location. This may be a 56 but I believe they are the same. Driver side, can't recall exactly which plugs it is between (front or back) but I think maybe between #1 and #3?

IMG_1675.jpg

4naffairs

Finally got the olds washed and took some better pictures. I am trying to put a price on the car now and can't really find any others that have sold or are for sale. Hagerty's site has a pretty good price guide and shows the car to be worth about $40,000. I know without seeing the car in person no one can put an exact number on it, but let me know what you think. Here is a link to all of the pictures.
http://s852.photobucket.com/user/sco...55%20olds%2088

20130526_122800_zps8149dc2a.jpg

jaunty75

You could be underpricing it at $40K.


The latest (June) issue of the Old Cars Price Guide puts the value of a '55 Super 88 convertible in showroom condition at $60,000.

In "car show" condition, which means it will show some slight wear but is nothing you would be ashamed to show at the local cruise-in, the value is in the $40K range. We can't see every detail of your car, but if it is in nice-enough shape, I have to believe that you're closer to the $60,000 end than the $40,000.

You can always lower an asking price if you're not getting any interest.

Have you considered consigning it to an upcoming Mecum, etc. auction? You can always set a reserve, and it won't sell if the car doesn't bring what the owner thinks it should. But those auctions do get a lot of views, so people will know that the car will be crossing the block. Of course, you have to get it TO the auction site, etc. But selling at auction like that would give you a true sense of what it can bring, and if the seller's primary goal is to see the car gone, put it up for auction with the $40K as a reserve, and if you get that much or more, great. If not, you can always drop the reserve if the bidding tops out at $30K or $35K and the seller think "close enough," or you can just not sell it.

You're not dealing with an everyday collector car here. You've got a true classic there and one where similar vehicles at auction might easily get into the high five-figures. You should consider carefully exactly how you want to go about marketing it.

Tedd Thompson

Hard to tell the price of any car with out seeing / driving it but 55 super 88 convertibles are getting very hard to find on the open market and the cost to restore something like it would run near $60.000 if done correctly. The reason pricing on such a car is hard is because so few are sold to achieve an average price.There are probably less than one hundred survivors in all conditions left.

Using my car as a guide, and it's a show car that I drive way to much, I wouldn't sell it for anything less than mid fifties money.A few years ago when the market was strong a good 55 Super 88 would sell for the mid 70's but the market has soften up quite a bit in the last five or six years. an auction may be a good way to find what it's worth in to days money as mentioned above....Tedd