I am thinking about picking up one of these cars locally, it has a pretty solid body but needs some help in the interior department.

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I'm sure the aftermarket for these is probably pretty bad. Is there any interchangability with Impalas? Headliner, dashpad, package tray, etc.

Could someone point me to some information about these cars; how many 2-dr HT were made, and what are some of the differences between the standard and the "holiday" version?

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Also, this car has a few things I've never seen before. What exactly does the "summer ventilation system" do? What is a "safety sentinel"?

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This is the first olds I've ever looked at. I currently have a chevy and a pontiac in the stable. I would appreciate any info!

 

that looks like monty dobson's yard in Montana

 

The Safety Sentinel is a pretty cool option.. you set a desired speed on the turn **** on the speedometer cluster...say 55 mph..once you exceed 55mph, a buzzer goes off and scares the hell out of you. The summer ventilation is nothing more than outside air blowing at you - dont confuse this with air conditioning. The only thing that I see missing is the downdraft tube thats supposed to connect to the valve cover on the pasenger side. If this is a Super 88, than only 7,009 were built.....plus its a 2 door coupe. Buy it before I do!

 

Plus its got a power trunk release due to the tiny vacuum canister on the firewall

 

BUY IT ! This car can only increase in value.

 

Looks Solid!....Air cleaner is not original....some interior pieces will need restoring/custom made by an upholstery shop. A few parts may interchange with other GM cars.....its not going to be cheap as it looks like most everything will need going thru....Oldsmobiles are not cheap to restore so if its not a "labor of love" leave it alone because ya may get halfway into it and then the project will go stale. If you can do most things yourself its a plus...if not you will have more $ into it than you could sell it for.

 

There is lots of potential there. Unless you are trying to restore it for competition, you can easily have an upholstery shop redo the interior, even the dash pad, but there are resources for much of that stuff.

http://www.kanter.com/

http://www.fusick.com/

 

Looks like a nice solid car for restoration. The interior parts are available at SMS interiors. http://www.smsautofabrics.com/
Good luck!
Pat

 

You can also check out the following website for info on restoring dashpads.

http://www.justdashes.com/Index.htm

I suggest you do some reading on the early automatic transmissions available in Oldsmobiles. Unless I am mistaken this car has a Slim Jim Rotohydramatic. There have been numerous posts on this website about that transmission. If you decide to test drive the car I suggest you let it warm up and check the transmission fluid before hand.

Other than that it seems to be an awsome car. If it was near me I would jump on it like a rat on a cheeto!

 

Wow, thanks for all the great info everyone. And, it does have a trunk release button in the glovebox, good eye!

For parts, luckily there is a 61 4-door sitting right next to it. The holiday does have one "owie" on it on the bottom of the right rear quarter where it appears it was hit by something and then rotted.
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Here's the parts car:
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Floor: (is that factory paint?)
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leftrearfloor.jpg

Left quarter:
leftqtr.jpg

Lower fender:
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That is a straight car! It appears to be a factory color. If you check around the door jambs and where the trunk meets the back of the car you might find some of the original paint peeking through if it was repainted; however, that looks to be an original paint job. You definitely need to jump on that like a hobo on a bologna sandwich.

 

That is a very clean car, buy it!

 

The guy wants 3K for it. I don't know if it runs or not but I would probably not fire it up because I don't know how long its been sitting. I am pretty mechanical so not too concerned about the task of getting it running again.

I did check out the frame arches you are talking about, and although they were rusty I didn't see any holes. But, only after they are sandblasted and clean can you really tell. I have learned how to do my own sheetmetal replacement on the 68 gto convertible I am currently restoring so I think I can tackle alot of minor to moderate rust issues just between me & my lincoln 180.

I was not necessarily looking for another project when I found this, but I fell in love with it instantly!

If the car is still here after today it will probably be mine. There are some guys from canada headed to the portland swap meet who are going to stop and haul some cars away. hopefully this isn't one of them. If they do, I still like the prospect of these cars:
hudsonsuperwasp.jpg
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That looks like a pretty cool salvage yard.

 

Chuck (Starfire61), your comments are spot on about this car. It is so rare to see a '61 GM bubbletop (of any make) that has not been modified, and these cars are flat-out beautiful when they're done correctly. I agree that this car is fully deserving of a careful and authentic restoration.

 

For $3k, the sedan needs to come with it as a parts car. You'll find with early 60s Oldsmobiles, having a spare never hurts, even if it is a different bodystyle.

KQQLCAT, Starfire61, Centurion and Oldsfan know as much about these cars as anyone currently alive on the planet, so pay attention to their advice.

I like the 61 a lot, but in all honesty I've always been afraid to tackle one simply because they're so difficult to find anything for. But a car that straight and complete would be awfully hard to pass up.

And a Datsun 2000 roadster in there too. Thought all those had gone back to elements by now.

 

The datsun is rock solid. I didn't see any rust in the external sheetmetal but couldn't see the floors. But, it is very arid here.

The 88 is still there. The yard is closed today but I saw it.

I am going to negotiate with the guy that if I get the car that I can swap the parts off the 4dr that I need. The only rust I can find is where that right lower quarter got bashed in. But, the 4-dr has a perfect section. I even felt behind the quarters on the trunk drop-offs and there are no holes or even scale. You can see where the front bumper has a dent but the bumper on the 4 dr is straight as an arrow, or dare I say a rocket. Not even a dent in this car, not sure how that happened. BTW I looked at the door jambs and apparently the car was originally white. I really like the power blue color this apparently used to be at one point so It'll probably stay that color.

I am surprised my wife actually agreed to this since I already have a pantload of cars. Guess I'll have to keep her around a while longer.

1970 chevelle
1968 GTO convertible, factory m-21
1967 el camino (anybody want one? )

 

I wont say its inoperable in the sense that it doesn't look like it would take much to get it running again. I would say "inoperable" however due to the fact that I wouldn't start it due to the fact that it has been sitting for lord knows how many years and has fuel in it that may be older than I am.

I am probably going to trade him a car for it, so it doesn't really matter what he's asking for it. I presented the idea to him and he seemed keen on the idea, actually slightly enthusiastic. I have a newer car that I don't really need since I work at home and have a pickup for a daily driver for what little driving I actually do. I would rather take in a car and keep it from suffering from the elements rather than rotting away like you so often see a la carsinbarns.com. I like cars and am not a "brand loyal" (GM) fan of any one particular line. I guess I could get a buick one day and have a fair representation of all the lines. Wildcat!!

 

ARE YOU CRAZY????? 3K for the 2 door alone is a bargain - at least to us in the Northeast! Were used to seeing cars this vintage with no rockers, floors that disappeared, trunk sections that dont exist and bumpers that rotted away. Stop complaining about minor surface rust in the trunk and 1 dent in the car !If I had the room, I would gladly pay 3K PLUS another 1K just to get it shipped here.

 

Seems like a good deal to me too, but I suppose its all subjective. There are a lot of restorable cars in this yard, its like walking back in time. I'm going to talk to the owner again tomorrow and hopefully it will be safe and sound in my garage this week.

 

My trade is worth 2.5K max and would be much easier to get rid of like this than selling it outright.

My way of thinking is this - if I get to a point where I have put an extra 10k into the car above what I paid, the fact that I should have gotten it for 2K or 3K seems less significant to me. Plus, I can do 95% of the work myself, saving even more money. Above that, lets say I found another rust free example in New Mexico for 2K. By the time I have it hauled up here, there goes my savings!

I hope this doesn't seem like an argument, I'm just trying to get some of you folks to see it my way. If you think I'm delusional with this thinking, feel free to let me know!

 

That is cool that you are happy with the deal. BTW, what kind of car are you trading him? If it is a 1992 Ford Festiva with a blown head gasket then that is an AWSOME deal.

It doesn't seem like it would take much to get the car running. You might want to get a big wrench and make sure the engine at least turns. Either that or crank it over with a good battery. It makes a world of difference if an engine will at least turn.

 

The trade vehicle is an 02 monte carlo with 195,000 miles on it.

Is it a 5/8" crank bolt on these too?

 

UPDATE I just talked to the guy at the yard and while he told me if it was still here after this weekend we'd trade, apparently the guys with the truck had no more room. They paid him a deposit down on it and will come back again this saturday.

If this is as over-priced as what some have said, I don't see the profit in driving a big rig all the way down from canada to come back and get it!! Apparently the guys that are buying it own 3 yards up there.

 

All the 394's i have take a 1 1/16 or 1 1/8 socket for the crank bolt - I forgot exactly which one.