grandam3400

I am doing a lot of searching for 1954 Oldsmobile. I believe it was a Super 88, but I could be wrong. My grandfather past away in March of 2004, and the car was sold to help cover funeral cost. I am now (and have been for sometime) trying to track down this vehicle. I know it’s like searching for a needle in a hay stack, but I have to try. It was purchased from my uncle in Jefferson City, MO in 2004, from an out of state purchaser.

It was a teal color with a white top if I remember correctly. It had 4 doors and I think a 3 speed. I remember the breaks being bad and the paint not being the best condition. If anyone knows anyone that could have been the purchaser, please, please, please; just send me an e-mail. I will do everything I can to track it down. It really means a lot to me.

Thank you for your help.

59-59-59

Do you still know the VIN number? If it is REGISTERED, maybe there is a possibility to track it down. Maybe you can run it by the cops to do a search. If not, maybe you can pay them off in donuts to produce some results

grandam3400

No, I don't have the VIN#. My uncle says that he doesn't have information whats so ever for the car. Not sure how that is, but I trust him. He is also a police officer too. Thanks for the idea though.

Oldsguy

Good luck in your search.

Olds64

That would be a difficult search. Good luck. That would be similar to me trying to find my dad's (Oldsguy) 71 Cutlass S he sold 26 years ago in SanFrancisco, CA. We have 3 or 4 pictures and the name of the guy he sold it to but that is it...

grandam3400

Update: I now believe it to be just a Delta 88, not a Super 88. I remember it having a straight 6. Any leads or suggestions would greatly be appreciated!!

(I'm not sure why I thought it was a Super.)

-Thanks guys!!

grandam3400

There is a small chance it could be a 1953 as well.

I know I am grasping at straws here, but its all I have right now.

NorTown Olds

WOW! We feel for you; but you never know! It's truly a SMALL World at times! Posting on here can help -- people can "keep their eyes peeled"...a '53 or '54 Olds like you describe is pretty rare; I never see them and I go to LOTS of shows & cruises etc. etc. Teal color is rare too; MOST of these vintage I see are shades of Gray usually or black or yellow...

Yes, tough search indeed, but keep trying. (do you have ANY old papers or documents of his that might have an old Insurance card that would have the description of the car and most likely the VIN # as well!? TRY going to the Local DMV there in Jeff. MO where he last like registered it and see IF they can do a search by his Name and Address/Year of the car and that way you can at least get a VIN and discover the exact Year and Model of the car...watch the auctions too...it's got to be around still somewhere!!)

Good Luck and keep up posted. (There's just NO substitute for the SENTIMENTAL VALUE in cars that close Relatives used to own!)

grandam3400

Ya, thanks. I was think of also trying the Herritage Center here in Detroit. I guess that's where the Oldsmobile Car club has been moved to. Anyone think that they would have anymore information?

NorTown Olds

Wow, it's worth a try I guess; but unfortunately you don't have enough info. right now for them. Keep searching and have relatives search for an old picture or two of the car maybe -- even IF it's just the car in the background of people or something; it can narrow down the exact year and Model of his car..

I still say your best bet IF you live in Missouri or near Jefferson City is to go to the DMV there and plea your case and see if maybe they might help you and look under old records by his name and address there etc. I think that's your best bet really; Jeff City is still "Small Town" enough to where they might give a darn and at least try for you!

Good Luck and keep searching!

John

doobie23

or if he had insurance on it go to his insurance company they keep records of that stuff. tell them your case and just maybe they give you the info you need

NorTown Olds

Exactly! GOOD CALL Dobie! There's simply GOT to be a way...the thrill is in the hunt! GOOD luck in your Search!

Bluevista

Hire a gumshoe, the fee and daily expenses for bourbon, coffee and smokes can get up there though, Joe Mannix would of found it.

I would join the OCA and put an ad in the club magazine Journey with Olds. The guys that have them usually know where the others are or can say where they've seen one if another collector is driving it or it's anywhere in site. Somebody may even know of or own the car if it isn't a Toyota or a refrigerator by now.
There are also OCA model year advisors listed in the magazine that may be able to help.

Bluevista

Hire a gumshoe, the fee and daily expenses for bourbon, coffee and smokes can get up there though, Joe Mannix would of found it.

I would join the OCA club and put an ad in the club magazine Journey with Olds. The guys that have them usually know where the others are or can say where they've seen one if another collector is driving it or it's anywhere in site. Somebody may even know of or own the car if it isn't a Toyota or a refrigerator by now.
There are also OCA model year advisors listed in the magazine that may be able to help, they really got their fingers on the Oldsmobile pulse.

65olds98

if it's in the same state, and if you could remember or find someone who remember's the license plate number, would that be a possibility?

66ninetyeightls

If it were in my area I would go to the local licensing office and get a transcript for my grandfather. They should be able to tell you all the vehicles & VINS that your grandfather owned.

jaunty75

Oldsmobile didn't start using the name "Delta" until 1965, so don't go around telling people you're looking for a '54 Oldsmobile Delta 88 or you'll NEVER find it.

In 1954, there was only the "Series 88," "Series Super 88," and "Series 98." If you know the car wasn't a Super 88, then it was just an 88.

jaunty75

No. They have no info about any particular car prior to 1977. Even if they did, it wouldn't be current owner information. It would be only original selling dealer, original invoice, that sort of thing. They certainly don't keep track of the current whereabouts of every Oldsmobile out there! That would be an impossible undertaking.

By the way, it was the Oldsmobile History Center, not a car club, that was moved to Detroit (Sterling Heights), in 2003, where it became part of the newly-formed GM Heritage Center. What remained at the time of the Oldsmobile Heritage Center, which was more of a museum, was donated to the R E Olds Transportation Museum.

66ninetyeightls

Actually it would be a very easy undertaking for them as they do it all the time. There are companies out there that sell this info as well as the Federal governments. Thats how they know who to send the letters to when a specific vehicle has a safety recall.

jaunty75

A couple of comments.

1. I've never gotten a recall notice on a car that I didn't buy new, and it came from the manufacturer, who would know that I'm the owner of the car through my purchasing it through one of their dealers. In fact, I have gotten recall notices on cars I no longer own with a postcard asking me to return it with the name of the person or dealer I sold the car to if I'm no longer the owner.

Why would they need to ask me that question if there was some service out there keeping track of every car ever sold and who currently owns it? In fact, why would they send ME the recall notice at all if there was a company who could tell them who the current owner is?

Obviously, how accurate a car manufacturer's records are as to who currently owns their cars can be very hit-or-miss as the cars get older and possibly change hands as up-to-date records depend on how good former owners are about returning that postcard. I'm guessing the return rate on those postcards is not high.

2. Even if there are companies that keep track of car ownership so they can sell the information to governments and manufacturers, I would be very surprised to hear that they have information going back to 1954, which is now 56 years ago. After all, I doubt that car manufacturers are still issuing recalls on their 1954 models, and if the primary market for this kind of information is manufacturers who need to issue recalls, there would be little incentive for a company to track vehicle ownership once a car gets beyond a certain age. I'm not sure what that age would be, but I'm guessing that 56 years is well past it.

66ninetyeightls

How up to date the information is depends on the jurisdiction you live in and how often they release updates of their records. I work in the compliance department for Kia Canada and I just need to make a phone call to get all the records of current ownership. I know my counterparts in the US can do the same thing. Like I said though many states do not update this information on a regular basis. Some are even behind by years.

jaunty75

So doesn't this take us right back to the OP's original question? He wants to know if there's a single repository of information about who owns what cars. I said no there isn't. You disagreed with me and said there is, but it's not in one place but instead is at the motor vehicle offices (presumably) in each of the 50 states, which means he would have to contact up to 50 different places (jurisdictions, to use your word) to inquire about the car instead of just one. You're also saying that this information can be years behind. So exactly how is this helpful to him?



What about these companies you mentioned that compile and sell this information?

Can you give us the name of one of them? A website?

jaunty75

Ohio does have a site where you can search for a vehicle by title number or the vehicle VIN.

https://www.dps.state.oh.us/atps/


You don't get the name of the owner. You do get the date the car was last titled and the county (by county number) in which it was titled. You also get the sale price at the time the title was issued, the mileage at the time, and a list of all the previous titles issued for that car in the state of Ohio. Searching on any of those old title numbers, though, brings up the most recently issued title for that car.

Of course, to use this service, as I said, you need a title number or a VIN, neither of which the OP has. Also, if the car leaves Ohio, you don't know where it went nor when it left.


When I do a search on my '67 Delta 88, which I bought from a seller in Ohio last summer, I turn up info on the current title, which describes me, but also the fact that 11 previous titles have been issued for the car since 1985, so it has certainly done its share of changing hands over the last 25 years. Records don't go back beyond 1985, so I assume the car came into Ohio that year. Also, unfortunately, the site doesn't show any other details about those old titles, such as what county the car was titled in and what was paid for it.

66ninetyeightls

OK so lets see what I actually disagreed with.

I disagreed when you said... "They certainly don't keep track of the current whereabouts of every Oldsmobile out there! That would be an impossible undertaking."

I said that the manufacturer ie. General Motors COULD get that information. Mainly because they actually have the VIN for the vehicles they are searching for. They don't perform searches based on peoples names which is all the OP has.

What the OP needs to do is go to his local DMV or whatever it is in his state and get his grandfathers vehicle history. I don't know what the local laws are there but in most places with proof of death ie (Death Certificate) you can get this info without too much trouble. They should have that info since his grandfather did own it in that state only a short time ago.

Then once he has the VIN he can go to many different companies like CARFAX or even his own insurance company and have them perform a VIN search. The DMV is not the only source of information, there are many companies like CARFAX that track vehicle history by compiling information from State Licensing offices as well as insurance companies. He will not get the current owners name but he can get where that vehicle is currently registered either through DMV records or insurance records for that VIN. Then he can go to the State Licensing office where the vehicle is registered. There is usually one form or another that can get this information.

In Ontario its called a "Used Vehicle Information Package". It will give you vehicle information like if there is a lien as well as the current owners & all previous owners name and city. Not the address, which is no big deal since that is what a phone book is good for.

D. Yaros

I can tell you that privacy laws in the U.S. prohibit the DMV from giving out owner info, even if one has either/or/both the VIN/License Plate Number.

66ninetyeightls

Most privacy laws don't apply to dead people. Hence the requirement for the certifiacte of death.

jaunty75

I wondered about this right from the start. Even if what 66ninetyeightls says about ownership info being compiled by agencies and companies like carmax is true, I would be surprised if I could walk into my local DMV office, give them a name, even of a relative, even if that relative is deceased, and ask them to give me a list all the cars the person had ever had titled in the state along with their VINs. Even if this information is compiled, I wonder how easily it can be accessed by the general public. Laws in Canada may permit this, but the U.S. may be different.

All the OP has in this situation is the name of the former owner (his now deceased grandfather), the state in which the car was titled when his grandfather owned it, and the make and model of the car. No VIN. No name of the person who bought it. He knows the car went out of state, but apparently not which state. All this happened six years ago.

Can he go into his local DMV office and get information about this car, such as the VIN? Unless the records were destroyed, I would think the DMV would have it. Would they give it to him? Has the OP tried to do this?

jaunty75

So he might be able to get the VIN of the car through the local DMV. With that info and some detective work, he might locate the state in which the car is titled. But can he go any further than that?

As I said above, I can do title searches in Ohio online. For instance, I plugged in the VIN of a 1990 Ford Taurus wagon I owned until late 1995 (yes, I have those kinds of records--I'm **** retentive, ok?), when I traded it. I got a hit. The car is still in Ohio and is titled to an owner in Cuyahoga County (Cleveland). But that's as far as I can go. I doubt very much if I could walk into a title office in that county, give them the VIN and title number for the car, and have them give me the name and address of the current owner. That would be a significant violation of the current owner's privacy.

I suppose I could drive the streets of Cuyahoga County, peering into driveways and open garages, looking for the car.

66ninetyeightls

It really depends on what state he lives in which is a crucial peace of the puzzle that we don't have. I know some states do offer vehicle transcripts that show the names of all the previous owners and cities they lived in. A friend of mine in Washington did this last year. With that information its just a matter of making some cold calls LOL

jaunty75

Cold calls is what it will ultimately come down to, no doubt. But there's one crucial point still here. He doesn't really need the names of previous owners, he needs the name of the CURRENT owner.

The biggest problem he has in this, I think, is that the car went to another state, and he doesn't know which one. With a little calling around or requests made in person at the DMV office in the city or county where his uncle lived, which is apparently Jefferson City, Missouri, I bet he can come up with the car's VIN. After that, I would start in the states adjacent to Missouri and work my way outward, searching for a title search service like Ohio offers that, if nothing else, would at least let me pin down the state the car is currently in. For states that don't offer an online service, he'd have to make a phone call or write a letter.

I'm guessing that with some luck and legwork he can pinpoint the state and maybe even the county or city, depending on how the particular state houses its records. After that, though, I don't know. Privacy laws may prevent him from finding out the name and address of the current owner.

Two other problems could be that the car moved not only out of state but out of the country, such as to Canada, or that the car has since been destroyed and is not currently titled anywhere. I doubt this second case would be true as a car that managed to survive from 1954 to 2004 would probably make it to 2010.

If I were a bettin' man, I'd say there's a 50-50 chance that he can ultimately find the car's current state and county. Then I say 1 chance in 100 he actually finds the car.

marinus_

If you do find the cars location, try not to sound too eager or the current owner might try to get you to pay more than the car is worth.

marinus_

If he got the names of the previous owners or owners in the last few years he might be able to call them and get the name of the person they sold it to untill he gets to the current owner.

jaunty75

What?! I think you're dreaming!

First, I doubt that "worth" has any real meaning to the OP. He wants the car for sentimental reasons, which takes any objectivity as to its market value and throws it out the window. He doesn't want just any '54 Olds. He wants THAT '54 Olds.

Second, no way this guy can hide the fact that he's eagerly interested in the car after all the trouble he went through to find it. The current owner, if he's got any brains, would realize this. If I were the current owner, I'd laugh in his face if he tried to pretend otherwise!

I'd say, "if you want it, here's my price," and that's assuming the current owner is even willing to sell it in the first place.

jaunty75

Very true, but it depends on these former owners keeping records or remembering the names of the people they sold the car to. It also depends on these former owners being findable and even still being alive.

I sold my '75 Delta 88 convertible in 2001 to a guy from Illinois. I do not have any record of his name. I saw no reason to keep the information.

I bought my '67 Delta 88 convertible a year ago from an 80-year-old man in not the greatest health. Somebody 10 years from now trying to track down what happened to a car he once owned might find the trail gone cold if this man is no longer alive then. Even today, if someone asked him who he sold the car to, I bet he'd say, "I don't remember, some guy from such-and-such town."

All kinds of things are possible as the OP starts the search for the car. The most likely outcome is that he'll hit dead ends here and there along the way. If he's lucky, or, in my opinion, very lucky, he'll find the car.

I think one thing in his favor is that the car was sold not that long ago. Six years ago is recent enough that the chances are reasonable that whoever bought it still has it and is still alive. If he was looking for a car that had been sold, say, 20 years ago, tracking it down would be correspondingly tougher as the chances that whoever bought it has since sold it go up.

marinus_

A friend of mine had a 1932 Ford that he was working on about 16 years ago and ran out of money. He was forced to sell the car to pay some bills.

He always regretted selling the car but did what he had to do at the time.
Two years ago he located the car and gave the current owner a call and asked if he was interested in selling it. The owner of the car thought this was a golden opportunity and wanted way too much money for the car and gave him some story about how he didn't want to part with it. My friend told him thanks and gave him his phone number and told him if he ever wanted to sell it for a realistic price to give him a call.

A few months ago my friend got a call from the owner who told him that he was ready to sell the car. He went down to see it and after 16 years not a thing was changed on the car. It was just as it was when he sold it to him. Obviously the new owner was not as attached to the car as he let on the first time he was contacted and with a little patience my friend bought the car back for a decent price.


All I am trying to say is good things come to those who wait....

jaunty75

Very true, for sure.

I want the OP to keep us posted on this search!

2blu442

Dio you have any old family photos that show the license plate number? Maybe dig through his old valuable papers to see if there's an old registration? I know in Oregon the vin number is printed on the registration. If you had some of that information you could post with all the Olds websites and clubs that may help located it. John

grandam3400

I've gone through most of the paper work and found nothing. I hadn't thought of old pictures though. That would at least get me some info to call the DMV in Missouri.

I really appreciate everyone's comments and suggestions. I am still searching. I think I'll talk to my aunts and uncles and see if any of them can remember what insurance company he used. Maybe they do have a record of it still.

Rickman48

I think I'd go to the DMV, look for someone on the older side, and tell them you believe there was something left in the car that's important to the family!
[a harmless fib]
Offer money to do the search - even ask for a supervisor - ask how - be nice, as there has to be a way!