So I'm cruising YouTube and come across a clip of a concourse restored 56 Olds Super 88 drop top, as I'm wiping the drool from my keyboard i noticed something different besides the obvious , it was a drop top and mine is a two door sedan, It was the trim at the door handle !! so I started to scour the net for other videos and stills of 56 Olds Super 88's and they were all the same as I saw in the video's (at least on the hard tops and converts) now its not easy finding photos of 56 Olds Super 88 2 door sedans, I found some reg 88's but their trim is a little different as the upper trim does not extend past the rear quarter on to the door like the Super 88's do, I looked and looked and could not find one like mine, on mine the trim piece crosses over the door handle and there is a notch formed in to the door trim piece I will provide photo's of what I'm talking about now as I said It was not easy to find any photo's of Super 88 2 door sedan just a artist rendering from a 1956 Olds sales brochure and it's inconclusive although it appears it may be like mine. the hard tops 4 door sedans converts in every photo or video I can find show the the door handle not as close to the trim or no notch in the trim,
This makes no sense to me why would they make a different trim piece for one body style only (2 door sedan) when the hard tops and converts use the same., this is kind of driving me crazy (it's a short drive)
maybe a forum member who is a little bored can find out ?? here are some pics of what I'm talking about (Frank I know your super 88 is a 4 door but whats yours look like?) Photo # 1 is my actual veh.photo #2&3 are from Super 88 hard tops and photo # 4 is the artist rendering from the sales brochure it appears it may be like mine but hard to tell, I dont know that I'll be losing sleep over this but it is bugging me. there are several YouTube videos for 56 Super 88s you can see what I'm talking about.

 

further research has me even more baffled !! as I continue to try and find answers I'm getting more confused I finally find a photo of another 56 Olds super 88 and it appears to be the same as mine with the trim butted up against the handle and then I notice the vehicle has a rocker moulding ! I have not seen this on any other photo's of any 56 olds 88's Super or non Super ?? then as I look a little closer does it not appear that on the two door sedans the door handles appear to be mounted higher on the door closer to the belt line ? maybe this covid staying at home thing is getting to me !! I just think it crazy to change these tings for 1 body style especially one that they produced only 5,645 of . photo #1 super 88 hard top,#2 Super 88 2 door sedan, #3 my door and handle trim,

 

Solly, here's my '56 Super 88 four door sedan door handle:



I can't find any other models that have the door handle integrated into the trim. Must be unique to the Super 88 two door sedan. Very interesting.
The rocker molding in that picture is after market. 56's did not have chrome rocker molding.

 

THANKS FRANK !!!, It's still a mystery to me why they would produce a different trim piece for a model that had a production run of only 5,645 not sure why the trim from the hard tops or converts would be different ? unless the door dimensions are that much different but I guess it will remain a mystery !! as for the rocker moulding my guess would be aftermarket also as I have not seen a single photo of another one.
Here is something else I have noticed all the 88's I have seen do not have the moulding at the bottom of the windows but Super 88's do, however while scouring the photo's I found one veh clearly a 88 that had the window moulding ? who knows
Also my 56 does not have back up lights so in there place is a pretty generic looking dummy plate as I see this guy doing a 360 walk around his non back up light equipped 56 I notice a star type pattern stamped in to his dummy plates nothing like mine.
So maybe I need to start getting out more and get out from behind this computer !!

 

Two door doors are longer than four door front doors .
The handle sets farther back on the body , hence the notch in the trim .
Holiday hardtops used different trim in this area than post sedans .
Here are a couple of '56 moulding charts ;

 

WOW, thanks Charlie, a moulding chart, now that's research !! I noticed that in the illustration of the sedan it clearly shows the the handle below the trim just like the hard tops however the trim pieces clearly have different part numbers for the sedans than they do the hard tops as seen in the charts.
I know the door dimensions are different for 2 door vs 4 doors, I still think it odd that trim piece would be different 2 door hard top vs 2 door sedan vs convert.
just one of those things I guess, I know one thing I guess I will take special care to protect those pieces because the chances of finding replacements should anything ever happen to them is slim to none.
P/S I noticed that as Frank indicated none of those illustrations show a rocker moulding, wonder where the guy who owned the 56 sedan got that ? thanks guys !!

 

My parts book (#573) shows '55's with rocker mouldings except 88's. 1956 has no mouldings for any model and only '57 98's have rocker mouldings. Maybe your car is an early build with the different door handle trim. My book shows no door handle close to the trim for that notch.

 

I've been looking and looking at a lot of my books too, and I also can't any door handle trim with that notch.

 

The illustrations in the parts books are just that , illustrations , not pictures .
They don't show a lot of detail .

 

According to the Oxford dictionary," idiosyncrasy - A distinctive or peculiar feature or characteristic of a place or thing" I'm hanging my hat on that !! every time I see my combination of handle and trim I'll think to myself , how cool I may never see another one like it !! (at least in person)

 

This is page 25 of the Body by Fisher 1956 Oldsmobile Body Information News. Although it's an illustration, it clearly shows the "notch" in the upper molding of model 3611D, otherwise known as the Super 88 two door sedan. The other illustrations in this publication do not show a "notch"

 

Looks faded, maybe pencil crayons would help.

 

Well there you have it a trim combination unique to one model /body style only !!! thanks to all of you ! better research than I could have done !!
Go to the right place and you'll get the right information . THANKS !!!

 

So found this picture posted some time ago by fellow member Oldsmoboggie, cleary handle and trim with notch, kinda closes the book on this, however I'm now noticing there appears to be no rhyme or reason to where Oldsmobile decided to mount Radio antennas, mine is on the pass side, I've seen them mounted on both sides.

 

Quite a few radios were dealer installed back then .
Some dealers would order cars for their showroom stock without radios .
If the customer liked the car but wanted a radio , the service department installed one .
Dealership mechanics would sometimes install them as they saw fit , or the side that the customer wanted .
A/C equipment also played a factor in antenna location in some years .