I have owned a 1935 olds four door touring sedan for two years now and have found that parts and data on these cars are hard to come by. seems the 37 and up cars had a much higher servivial rate then the 36 and back cars . my question is why? is it due to all the wood in these cars or where they victims of low production numbers due to coming out of the great depression? i owned a 36 ford 15 years ago and i could find about every part i needed for it . nobody back then wanted flat head stuff back then.

 

Prob due to most of them being used for scrap metal during the war!!!

 

In 1937 it was one of the first to use alot less wood in the body. The earlier ones would literally fall apart in a pile when the wood rotted, there would be nothing left to hold them together. That is part of why you see more F**d's in the 20's and 30's, lots less wood than thier GM counterparts. I would love to see pics of your ride.

 

A guy in our club has a 36 sedan. When he takes it to Olds shows it usually is the only one there of the vintage. He has owned the car since the early 50's. They are really nice looking cars

 

I was really surprised how good the wood is in this old car. story goes original owner drove from 35 to 1950. bought new olds in 50 and parked this car up on blocks in his garage until 1979 ,which was the first time i seen the car. i was 19 years old and had never seen a car like this with four doors that opened from the front.car traded hands in 82 for a 55 chevy four door post sedan, my wife bought it for me for xmas two years ago,and we been loving it ever since.

 

Total Olds production through the 1930s and early 1940s:

1930: 55,188
1931: 48,762
1932: 20,144
1933: 37,291
1934: 84,271
1935: 132,042
1936: 205,498
1937: 206,086
1938: 103,051
1939: 137,249
1940: 192,692
1941: 270,038
1942: 67,999

I'd say your guess that low production has something to do with the relative scarcity of early '30s Oldsmobiles compared to late '30s is right on the money. If you figure on a 1% survival rate, there would be maybe 200 1932 Oldsmobiles still in existence today while one could expect to find more than 2,000 1936 or 1937 Oldsmobiles still around.

Your 1935 is kind of right in the middle as Olds was beginning its late '30s upswing.

Olds really suffered early on during the Depression, as everybody else did, I'm sure, but production came back strongly in the late '30s as the economy itself picked up. The country actually then fell back into another economic downturn in the late '30s, and production suffered again, but it never fell anywhere near as low as the early '30s. In looking at these numbers, with barely 20,000 cars in 1932, it's actually a wonder that Olds survived to see 1933.

 

What else would you like to know? For 1935, Olds offered both the F-35 line and the L-35 line in a variety of body styles for each. In the F-35 line, there was both a "4-door sedan" and a "touring sedan." Ditto for the L-35.

Base price for the F-35 touring sedan was $820, wheelbase was 115 inches, total length 188.34 inches, weight 3,285 lbs. The standard and only engine in all F-35 Oldsmobiles was an L-head Six, bore and stroke of 3.32 x 4.13, 213 cubic inches, 90 horsepower.

Base price for the L-35 touring sedan was $970, making it the most expensive Olds offered that year by $30 over the L-35 standard 4-door sedan. Wheelbase was 121 inches, total length 193.72 inches, weight was 3,530 lbs, which made it, along with the 4-door sedan, the heaviest Oldsmobile offered that year. All L-35 Oldsmobiles came with an L-head 8, 3 x 4.25 bore and stroke, 240 cubic inches, 100 hp.


Beautiful car, by the way!

 

Can anyone tell me where the vin # is on a 1935 olds?

 

I don't know for sure, but I would guess there wasn't one. At least not in the sense that we think of them today. There might have been a "serial number" and/or "engine number."

Why do you need to know? Are you looking to match a title to a particular car or get a '35 registered?

 

It should be on frame side rail.

 

Sharp looking ride!..My guess would be based mostly on wood construction and at least partially on scrap. Then again, when we entered the war your car was only 6 years old, and our world was a whole lot less disposable. AND, cars were not being manufactured, so aside from folks reusing aluminum foil, and using a Sears & Roebuck catalog or corn cobs in the outhouse, I would have thought that your car was still considered a valuable commodity and cared for like such. Fortunately for you it appears that yours in mostly intact, making most repairs a matter of finding a competent vendor for refurbishment. The forums, AOCA,OCA and getting acquainted with year/marque specific mailing lists can help a whole lot. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Have you looked for your serial number on the one you have Funkwagon? Keith texted me but the only info I could find is for a 39. I doubt it moves around a lot in the early days.

 

If I'm not mistaken, the only Oldsmobiles that had the cool looking suicide (front opening) doors was the 1935 model year.

 

The serial number on my '40 is on the drivers side frame horn just about even with the generator.

 

Thanks guys and yes I need the number because I am selling the car and need to locate for registration purposes for the buyer.

 

I'm gonna miss that '35! Got to find the number that matches the title for sale to go through. I'll check frame by generator when I get home Monday.

 

Do you not have a title that reflects a s/n?

 

Yes, but they need to match the number on the title to that same number somewhere on the car (for financing purposes). The lender is asking for proof the title and car match up. Got to send them a pic of proof

 

Check the engine number.

 

Yep, the number on the title matched the engine block. There was also a frame number right beside the steering box. Thanks.

 

Glad you found it, good luck with your sale.