Recently a friend of mine bought a 58 olds 88 holiday coupe, nice car but I was telling him the super 88 has more chrome on the front fender and roof and he said that the 88 was what he wanted because the car already had slot of chrome. I agree. What do you all think

 

I know Oldsmobile used different names on the 88 through the years (Delta, Dynamic, Super, Delmont, Fiesta). I don't know the differences and specific years though.

I do know that 58 was one of the best years for Oldsmobile IMHO. Make sure you post a pic; otherwise, we can't be sure that your friend actually got an Oldsmobile.

 

See if this helps.
http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/olds/58o/58o.html

 

The 1958's (BOP) had more chrome than anything. The Super 88 had more chrome on the front fender that included the "Suprt 88" name. Dynamic, Delmont were mainly 88's. Super 88's were upscale interior and exterior trim between 88 and 98.
"Fiesta" was an earlier year upscale convertible based on a 98.....if I remember correctly. In 1957 and 1958, the station wagons were called "Fiesta's". The 1957 and 1958 Fiesta wagons came in 4 door hardtops and 4 door sedan's.

 

Didn’t the Super 88’s have 4 barrel carbs and 88’s have 2 barrel carbs?

 

I think that was generally true, until they began offering "optional engines". I believe the J-2 (3 X 2) was available on all 88, Super 88 and 98's.

 

ad had a few, 88, super 88 and a 98 what remember as the super 88 had bac up lights in the bumper and the vertical lens as red the others the vertical was clear for backup lights. the super did have extra chrome on the fenders.

 

There were two 88 series in 1958, the Dynamic 88 (which was the first year for that name) and the Super 88. Interestingly, the Dynamic 88 did not have the word "Dynamic" anywhere on the exterior of the car. The script said simply "Eighty Eight" on the front fender on each side above the wheel opening.

On the Super 88, the "Super 88" script was placed on the front fenders above the wheel openings.

Regarding chrome, here's both Super and Dynamic 88s from the '58 Olds brochure. The Super 88 has a third, thicker chrome spear running along the side of the car between the two smaller spears that come together on the front door. The Dynamic 88 has only the two smaller spears that come together. That is the only difference in chrome between the two models as far as the front end goes that I can see. As noted, the Super 88 also has more chrome lining the lower edge of the roof above the windows, including the rear window.








Regarding engines, the only engine offered in any 1958 Olds was the 371 V-8, now in its second year. The base engine in the Dynamic 88 was a 265 hp version of this engine using what Olds called the Econ-O-Way carburetor. My guess is that that means a 2-bbl.

The standard engine in the Super 88 and 98 was a 305 hp version of the 371, which I assume means it had a 4-bbl carb.

Optional on all three series was the J-2 version, which used three 2-bbl carbs and put out 315 hp.

All versions of the 371 had the same 10 to 1 compression ratio.