I have a 1963 rocket 88 4 door all origional hydrolic trans. This was completlely running a few years ago. Now the trans is inop.
I have been doing some research and can find very little about this car...
Can anyone provide any information about the car in general, or where to look.
Any information on common issues causing the trans to not work. This car was driving less than 5 years ago.
The car has 88,000 miles, original paint, original everything, in good condition for being all original and the year. Any information would help, cannot find anything on the internet.

Thank you for the help in advance.

 

Can you post a picture of the car? I've never heard of a rocket 88 for 1963. I have a 1963 Dynamic 88. There are super 88's, and others that I probably don't even know of. I've only had my car for about 4 years. There are allot of very knowledgeable people on this site that I'm sure will jump in here to help you out.

 

Welcome to the forum. The 63 Olds used the Roto-Hydramatic "Slim Jim" transmission which gets a lot of verbal abuse but is actually not bad if it is working correctly. It sounds like your car has not been driven for a long time, which is the worst treatment any car can get. Does the trans have fluid in it? Check with the engine running, you want the fluid up to the lower "add" mark on the dipstick cold. You may want to change the fluid before doing anything just to see how bad it is. Does it go into any gear? Is it making noise when it's running? With clean fluid in there let it run awhile then shift back and forth through the gears and recheck fluid level, sometimes it takes awhile to get the circulation and pressure going. Good luck.

 

You are correct. I don't think any Olds was ever called "Rocket 88" as far as the model name. "Rocket" refers to the Olds Rocket engine, first introduced in 1949. All Olds 88s that house an Olds-made V-8 engine can rightfully be called a "Rocket 88."

For '63, there were two 88 lines, the Super 88 and the Dynamic 88, so the OP's car is one of these. Later 88 models introduced over the years included the Jetstar 88, Delmont 88, and Delta 88. By the early '90s, Olds stopped putting a word in front of the 88 and simply called the cars "Eighty-Eight" with the number spelled out in letters like that.

 

Do not overlook the obvious: Is the gear shift linkage connected?

 

The best troubleshooting and repair instructions are in the 63 Olds service manual. Here. http://wildaboutcarsonline.com/membe...Section_3A.pdf
X2 on fluid levels and linkage and throttle rod adjustment. After that, maybe pull the pan and a new filter. Another troublesome item was the "damper" . It looks similar to the center of a manual trans clutch plate, and bolts to the flywheel. The trans input shaft mates with it. It can be accessed by removing the trans from the engine.