Summitwhite12

Hello. New here. Just purchased a 1 owner time machine out if southern va. 1988 CSC brougham. 79k, runs perfect, looks nearly new. Has a "last edition" badge on the deck lid. And a gm factory astro roof. Does anyone know how any of the 1988s received this badge?

rocketraider

I have been trying to find that number for years without success. Closest I have come is that the last 1000 or so 88 CSCs got that badge, and even that is only conjecture. Total 1988 RWD Cutlass production was 15568 Classics, and 12110 Classic Broughams.

Color, trim etc? From where in southern VA? since as you see by my location... There was a dark blue one here but it ended up donked several years ago.

Good friend of mine (now deceased) in King NC had the first one of these I ever saw. His widow offered it to me when he died but at time I had nowhere to keep it, and none of the other local Olds Club guys did either. Always wondered what happened to that car.

Summitwhite12

Its a white one with a Maroon landau roof and a GM astroroof. Original wire wheel car. 79,000 one owner, the original owners were out of Martinsville VA Gentleman decreased in 2010, wife deceased this past summer.

Only thing different from stock is I added rallys and BFG radial tires

Summitwhite12

rocketraider

A good closeup pic of the badge would be good for people here who have never seen one.

Take it you have Oldsmobile Super Stock wheels in the plan for this car?

I'm about 50 miles east of Martinsville. I'm guessing this car came from Riddle Olds?

Summitwhite12

I will take some better pics shortly, just got her home weds night and didnt have alot of time to tinker this past weekend. I iwll also get aclose up of the badge, as I too had never seen one until this car.

It was purchased from an Olds, Nissan, Caddilac dealer on 1/5/1988. I dont think it was Ridley, but it could have been...will check the papers when I get home

Summitwhite12

Summitwhite12

It was purchased at "nelson Cole" In Reidsville NC in 1988. Here is the pic of the decklid badge stating "last Edition" as requested

Allan R

Very nice documentation on your car.
I was going to go out on a limb here and suggest that pretty much ALL the 1988 CSC's got that badge, but decided to google the 88 CSC first. There are a number of images that claim to be 'all original' cars without that emblem, so it must have been as you guys suggested; just the last ones produced? Maybe the last day of production??? Here's a bit of info about these cars. According to Oldsmobile production numbers, only 2589 of these cars were produced for the 88 model year. So you have a relatively rare car if you compare it to the total Olds production in 88 - 764134 units. That's less than 1/3% of total production.

I know that some others look at it somewhat sarcastically as a money grub (from another website - "What was so special about them is that they were the last RWD Cutlii built and that was an attempt to tart them up and squeeze every last nickel out of the consumers"

I've read rocketraiders comments on Antique Automobile Club - possibly only the last month or 1000 got the emblem? Seems to be an elusive thing. Some even suggested it was a dealer incentive badge to sell a more 'unique' car - similar to the Cutlass GT which was a regional sales gimmick.

The 88 CSC was basically left over 87 stock that needed to be used up before the FWD CS came on stream to replace it. IMO it is one of the finest looking G bodies they built. Almost no change in styling between 87 and 88 CSCs.

Hope you enjoy your new ride. It looks great, but I still think it looks cooler with the chrome SS wheels. My 2¢

ent72olds

Allan, you say 2589 of these for '88....Glenn says 15568. Seems you are both talking about the CSC.....those two numbers are far apart obviously....who is correct here? If you are, this is a pretty rare vehicle!

Summitwhite12

I wish I could find some documentation as to how many recievd this badge......I have never seen one until I came across this car. I p,an on getting ssiii wheels in the future, it was an original wire wheel car and theese chevelle rally's were convieinient for now But darn the ss 3 wheels are pricy for steel wheels! In the interim I order some ss1 center decals to put on the center caps to make it appear more "oldsmobile" to the untrained eye.

Allan R

Erik,
I might have misread it, so I went back and checked. Ooops, the 2589 was the number of CSCs that were 'exported' and were included in the total production number of ... 12110 units. That's a little closer. So the 'exports' represent 1/3% of overall Olds production for 88. The CSC's that stayed in the local market would then be 9521. That would still represent only 1.25% of total Olds production for that year, so yes I would consider it to still be a fairly 'rare' car. Kind of like comparing the number of 1970 or 72 W30's to those years overall production numbers.

re: Glenn's numbers. The stats show a breakdown under the heading 'Cutlass'. The number that Glenn is referring to with 15K is the number of CS coupes produced, not the CS Brougham Classic which I believe is the OPs car. I don't think any of the CS coupes got that special badging from what I've been able to research - just the CS Broughams. The number he has for the CSBC is the same one I'm using that's now adjusted for export. Here's a pic of what I'm trying to describe for you..Hope it helps

Allan R

Au contraire my friend. These are the common SSIII wheels (14" X 7") you can buy at a wreckers for around 15 - 20 bucks each. New center caps are actually more expensive than buying the wheel. Buy some used ones, clean them up and get them powder coated in bright silver - it almost looks like chrome! Then you can skip putting on the trim rings and 5 opening bezels. IIRC the topic of powder coating costs came up back in March. Avg price to powder coat a wheel ranged from 55 - 70 per wheel. That's not bad considering the cost of chroming. You could also just paint them to match your car which would bring the costs down a lot.

FWIW the OEM wire wheel covers for the CSC DO make it look more elegant. The SS wheels give it the more sporty look.

Here's a e page of the 87 CS Brougham. Very much like the car you have as an 87 model. Just change the model year and color. Voila! Just clik the image and it will come up full size. Cutlass, Cutlass S, Cutlass Salon all shared the same body. Just different trim/interior appointments.
http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/old...m/87oldsm.html

ent72olds

Thanks Allan. I thought CSC was referring to "Cutlass Supreme Classic"....maybe Glenn meant "Cutlass Supreme Coupe".

rocketraider

Nope. All RWD 88s were called Cutlass Supreme Classic to differentiate them from the W-body FWD Cutlass Supreme that debuted that year.

Difference was base were Cutlass Supreme Classic and high-line trim was Cutlass Supreme Classic Brougham.

Nelson Cole is a good guy and sponsored Mid Atlantic Olds Club for many years, until he closed the dealership around 2000. He has a Saturn Gold 72 Supreme convert and the dealership had a 95 CSI convertible stuffed around back for a long time. Nelson was also a NC state legislator and helped the car folks out a lot in his position. Bought a lot of parts from that dealership and had some service work done there too as its predecessor, Carl Johnson Oldsmobile, sold my Toronado as a new car in June 1969 and in the early 90s there was still a mechanic there who was there when the car was delivered.

I knew he knew my car when he asked if I found the two dents in the lower doors that happened when they unloaded it off the transporter.

Allan R

Glenn,
So which of the RWDs would have got the CSC last edition badging? Could it have been any of the model line up? I find this really intriguing because all the coupe models in the classic lineup had the same body style. I tried finding that badging doing some on line searching but it just doesn't come up with anything for visual references.

Summitwhite12

Thanks guys, im intrigued too, you would think if it was just a dealership thing that it would be more a sticker (like the cutlass GT)

So what my ultimate goal is to get to how many 88 CS classics recieved the badge, were broughams, and had a factory astro roof. I would assume this is a very low number?

TO answer the previous quetion on Olds ssiii wheels, I meant the 15 x 7 chrome ones are pricey! I agree the painted 14 x 7 are relatively cheap......not to mention the center cap package prices!

Allan R

You do know the bolt pattern for 15X7 is the same as 14X7? Personally I'd have no issue with picking up some 14's and putting just a little taller rubber on them. As mentioned ^^ some of the new powder coat finishes can come out looking darn near like chrome. Should check out your local industry and find out if that's a path you can follow?

Much as I'd love to know that info about the LE badging I sincerely doubt it is available.

Summitwhite12

Yes I know the bolt patterns are the same............I have 4 brand new BFG radials on it that are 15s.

Allan R

okee dokee. I knew there was a reason. Still, should be some 15 X 7's kicking around in the wreckers for the same price. 15's are a little harder to get though.

rocketraider

All Last Editions I've seen were Broughams. Not saying the base Classic didn't get the badges, I've just never seen one.

Whoever came up with the LE badging idea probably never dreamed there'd be people trying to figure how many were produced, twenty-five years later. I think they knew there'd be collector interest in the 2004 Final 500s.

Summitwhite12

HEre are the Chevelle Rally's with the OLDS ss1 senter cap decal. This is a temporary Countermeasure until I can find all chrome 15inch SS1 2 or 3 wheels at the price point I want. I think these look passable for the time being...........

1970cs

Not to hijack this thread, from my info don't look for Vans above 363 or in fact can you find the number badge which is on all of the other final 5's.

Pat

Rob delta

Where can I find these center decals??

Summitwhite12

I got 4 of them for 16 bucks at Thornton reproductions out of Quaker town pa. You can google their website, but must call them to place an order by phone

Summitwhite12

What's that mean? Vin numbers above 363?

1970cs

Look a little closer! If you read the above quote about the 2004 Final 500's and look at my wording VANS (Silhoutte) things should fall in place for you.

Badge example from a Final 500 Alero.

Pat

Summitwhite12

[QUOTE=1970cs;487852]Look a little closer! If you read the above quote about the 2004 Final 500's and look at my wording VANS (Silhoutte) things should fall in place for you.

Badge example from a Final 500 Alero.

Ok, thought that was an autocorrect issue. Doesn't appear they are numbered sequentially on my 88 cutlass