Just seen this car is posted on eBay again. It sold a couple years ago on ebay but looks like the new owner is selling for health reasons.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Oldsmobile-O...m=201503666336

 

Nice!

 

Do you remember what it sold for?

 

Just north of $40K. I have always thought that was a fluke so with it back on there we will see. In my opinion it is in the top 5 most original Jetfire's out there.

 

Well, scratch that one off the list.

 

Just have to wait and see. Who knows what the reserve is set at. I hope it hits whatever his reserve is so we can see a real market value. I would be surprised if it hit as high as last time.

 

Kool car!

 

i have a couple questions...i have had parts and pieces to the turbo stuff over the years...i still have some..

ive never seen one that ran and drove...has anyone driven one back in the day or a restored car how peppey are they with the turbo...no offence intended here.....or are they gimmicky like the early turbo regals?

i know where one is..all orig..and pretty cheap...with a little input and some motivation..id drive back to nebraska to get it..i just dont know alot about them..and have never really met many fans of them

tell me about them...are they fast...are they special?

 

Our Automatic car is much faster than I thought it would be. It is not even close to our 70 W-30 but it may surprise you how fast it is for a 215 ci engine. The turbo does not make the traditional noise that is expected froma turbo but it sure is not a gimmick. You can feel the turbo big time and has very little lag like most do. These cars had 10.25 compression and then 6 psi of boost on top of that. The higher compression and small turbo makes the lag minimal. From a dead stop I am already boosting under 2000 RPM.

The problem is finding parts for the turbo system. Most of the major parts can be found without much trouble but the diaphragms and gaskets are not available. You have to send the entire system to Jim Noel to be rebuilt because he is the only one with the parts and he will not sell them without him rebuilding the system. It is at least $3000 to rebuild the system. After it is fixed they last well. It is a very complicated system and I have 3 years in studying it and just now have a real good grasp of how all of it works.

The other problem is body parts. You either make them or find a rust free car.

If you have parts you want to sell let me know. If I am not interested in them I may be able to hook you up with someone that will. Also, if you look at that Jetfire you know about let me know. The market on these cars is very unpredictable and more often than not, one needing restored will be priced to high.

IF the car you know about is a factory 4 speed car then I would highly recommend looking into it. There were around 50 of them made in 62 with a 4 speed. Most people convert them to 4 speed because the automatic is not very good.

http://www.tctc.com/~park/mph/pageCL...2JET/62jet.htm

 

And just an added note, I would sell all our cars before I sold the Jetfire. These cars are very unique but not for everyone. VERY rare also but even though they are rare don't make them high priced like some of the owners think. Also most of them were converted to 4 bbl and don't have any of the turbo stuff left. This also drops the price more. Only ones that bring reasonable money are the ones that are nice with a working turbo and if the turbo system has never been rebuilt it should be considered non working.

 

The Jetfires are a work of art and very special. No other car was engineered to this degree. Oldsmobile did not have a hardtop in the F85 line at that time so they took a convertible body and welded on a Buick Skylark hardtop roof. Very cool. It's also the first Turbocharged production car in the World. Today, there are lots of Turbo cars that owe it all to Oldsmobile. The all-aluminum engine was so good it was sold to Land Rover in England and used there for 40+ years.
My car is fast also, the key is a proper timing curve. You must use an adjustable vacuum can and advance springs in the distributor. Mid-range and top end are incredible. These things only weigh about 2700 lbs.
I just got this one running this weekend. And my first trip to the gas station turned out to be an hour long as about a dozen people were asking question and standing there looking at it. NO ONE knows that these were even built and what these are!

1%20TURBOROCKET%201024x765_zpsrjjcity7.jpg

IMG_0692_zps22kmx7rj.jpg

 

I didn't know you were that far along with it yet. Glad to see another one with a working turbo! I am attempting to get out 4 speed cars turbo system to work without getting it completely rebuilt. I have gathered some parts over the past 3 years and I believe I found enough parts to make it work.

 

Kool cars no doubt, but Chevrolet introduced the Corvair turbo for the same model year as Oldsmobile, so does a tie still count as the first?

 

Oldsmobile beat them by two weeks, lol. The Oldsmobile version was way more complex than the Chevy. They used low compression and an uncontrolled boost. Olds used high compression with a controlled boost and fluid injection. In the end chevy had the more reliable setup but it was no comparison in power to the Oldsmobile. The chevy had a sick amount of turbo lag also. The Oldsmobile engineer said they wanted a mid range street performer and not a drag race car. the chevy boost was way up high.

 

ok. i see..the car i know of is a 4 speed and has been in a building for 30+ years according to the owner...i went to look at a Riv GS and we started talking about the olds sitting next to it....was a nice little car..fortunately its in bone dry storage..

next time im in the area ill see what i can do with the Olds...if i cant do something with it..i will pass the info along

 

If it is a factory 4 speed car it is MUCH more desirable. Especially if he has the protect-O-Plates and it is rust free. In this situation it would not matter if it was converted to a 4 bbl much. That one should be returned to turbo if it is not.

 

"It don't matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winnings winning."
-Dominic Toretto

Even the GM Heritage Center says Olds Jetfire was the Worlds 1st:
https://history.gmheritagecenter.com...charged_Engine

 

Eric, if anyone can figure it out, it will be you my friend. These cars have always held a special place in my heart although I really don't want one.....(now). Also, that same basic engine design (sans turbo) has been sold and used in various other makes including Range Rover.