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I was thinking, what is the rarest Oldsmobile part? I guess there are many ways to define rare.
Surely, any parts needed for a car like the Oldsmobile F88 would have to be custom fabricated.
On the other hand, I think it would be nearly impossible to find the hood and grille for a late model Olds Custom Cruiser. I see many more Cutlii than OCCs in salvage yards and as parts cars.
What do you think?
Post pics if you can. Also, let us know if you have this super rare part. That way we can pester you asking if you want to sell it!
I am sure when the 62 and 63 Jetfire were new the parts were easy to come by but now there are NONE to be found. Not that it is rare, it is the fact that there are not any at all. Just try to find a cap for the turbo rocket fluid tank. Or a check and relief valve. If not for Jim Noel reproducing some of the gaskets and diaphragms this model would already be dead. This is why I love the model so much, I have had to learn how to rebuild things that were never meant to be rebuilt and reproduce things that no repop place will make.
Excluding the Jetfire model, The 70 NOS 442 grills are among the top rare parts. Far more rare the the W-27 rear end even. I would be willing to bet they are more rare than the high dollar NOS weatherstripping.
"Rare" from the standpoint that few survive today is not the same as "rare" meaning that few were ever built. And obviously parts for a hand built showcar are not in the same league as parts for a production car.
Parts for unpopular cars like full size wagons are "rare" today because they all either got scrapped or went to demo derbies. There were tens of thousands made, they just didn't survive. Contrast this to the O.A.I. shroud for the 1966 W-30.
"Rare" from the standpoint that few survive today is not the same as "rare" meaning that few were ever built.
Indeed. I couldn't guess how few pre-war Oldsmobiles like this 1937 Oldsmobile still exist today (even though there were plenty of them built in 1936/1937). Finding parts; especially solid panels, would be a nightmare.
Even more rare would be parts for a low-production car like a 1940 Oldsmobile 4-door convertible (I asked about these cars in a thread recently).
I guess parts for cars like these make finding front discs for a 1970 Olds Delta 88 look easy.
As you all know, pictures are necessary. Don't tell me the parts/cars you all mentioned are that rare!
How about a factory rear swaybar to fit a 1965-70 fullsize Olds? They were pretty much relegated to certain police cars, so good luck finding one today. After following up on countless leads, I found one back in 2002 when I saw a guy on Ebay selling a disc brake setup for a late 60s fullsize Olds (cannot recall the year or exact model) said to be a former police car. I asked if by chance the car also had a rear sway bar (which it did) and bought it for peanuts. I later sold the '65 Starfire I installed it under, and when I saw THAT car offered for sale on EBay a couple years later (by a different guy from the one I had sold it to), I made the seller an offer to remove and sell me just the swaybar (for somewhat more than I had paid for it the first time) and he did. It is now installed in my '65 Jetstar I (which I bought the year after I sold the Starfire after realizing my love of big Oldses was not over).
Then there are the special Y75 police rims offered circa 67-68 that accept similar era Toronado centers. Found a set of those too about a decade ago, from a member of this site (2blu442 I believe).
I'd say one definition of a rare part is if it meant you practically had to buy an entire car to lay your hands on it. Or another definition is you would be unlikely to see one even at a national Olds meet.
Last edited by aliensatemybuick; August 28th, 2017 at 09:46 AM.
I thought about the hemi Olds head. Wasn't it DOHC?
The W-43 motor never made it to production. Of COURSE hand-built experimental parts are rare. And there were both pushrod and DOHC versions of the W-43.
Ok, here's another one...back in the early 2000s, I bought a real nice 1990 Olds 88 Royale FE3 coupe as a daily driver / beater car. Some idiot in a BMW 5 series rear ended me about a year or so later. Part of the lower bumper that joins the upper rear quarter was apparently unique to coupes, and being a 1990 model, it was specific to that year and 1991 only. Was not easy to find. I believe they made just over a hundred Royale coupes in 1991 for example (the last year for 88 coupes).
On the subject of 88 Royales, circa 1987 you could order a front fascia / spoiler and rear side window louvers as used on the NASCAR versions of those cars being raced at the time. It was called the W88 package. The front end wouldn't have been compatible with my '90, but I did try without luck to find a set of the louvers before finally selling that car. Someone responded to an ancient post of mine on the AACA forum a couple years back who found and installed an NOS W88 front spolier on his car (pic appended below). Apparently he bought it on Ebay for $80. Obviously, rarity does not always translate into value.
Last edited by aliensatemybuick; August 28th, 2017 at 11:06 AM.
That W88 front spoiler option on the 87 88 Royale is BAD@$$! I didn't even know that was an option Olds offered.
Here are some wheels that are also quite rare now. In fact, I think the Olds Custom Cruiser wheel is more rare than the SS IV. I've seen SS IVs for sale from time to time, I've never seen a complete set of the OCC wheels for sale.
Here are some wheels that are also quite rare now. In fact, I think the Olds Custom Cruiser wheel is more rare than the SS IV. I've seen SS IVs for sale from time to time, I've never seen a complete set of the OCC wheels for sale.
The wheel for the Custom Cruiser was also used on the Buick Estate wagon and the center cap reflected Olds or Buick... But even with two GM brands the wheel is still limited availability...
[QUOTE=Olds64;1039388]I was thinking, what is the rarest Oldsmobile part? I guess there are many ways to define rare
On the other hand, I think it would be nearly impossible to find the hood and grille for a late model Olds Custom Cruiser. I see many more Cutlii than OCCs in salvage yards and as parts cars.
[IMG]https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/classicoldsmobile.com-vbulletin/275x183/80-olds2_9704248fd4a08a3935bbc5e600000fd963a9833f.png[/IMG
The hoods for '91/92 Custom Cruisers are typical for '91/96 Impala/Caprices and Roadmaster wagons... Fairly typical.... However these Olds specific Custom Cruiser grilles are more rare than krugerrands. I have two of them available if there is interest..
I may be thinking of some other mfg., but did olds make some aluminum 455 blocks for can am racing? Did James Garner get special parts for his race car?
The rad. shroud on a 65 400 442 in plastic. Now that's rare. Another one is the gasket used on the bottom of the hood tongue on a 70 Cutlass 442 wagon. I have seen one in all my time doing Olds. I saw a Omega like a 77 but had F-85 on the fender. Ya I should of taken a pic to show you. Back in the day I got two W-27 rear ends and one went under my 64 Cutlass drag car in the 70's and 80's a 3.91 and a 3.42 both off W-30 cars. Found a pair of F heads on a 71 Vista looked like they were there for a long time maybe after the 70 run they got them to close out the F heads for change of year.
Maybe Joe P knows.
Last edited by Gerald Nickels; August 29th, 2017 at 12:16 AM.
The wheel for the Custom Cruiser was also used on the Buick Estate wagon and the center cap reflected Olds or Buick... But even with two GM brands the wheel is still limited availability...
I forgot about the Buick wheels. That Buick Estate wagon in the pic you posted is nearly identical to the one my wife and I purchased when we were first married. Unfortunately, I didn't have the rims.
Originally Posted by Funkwagon455
The hoods for '91/92 Custom Cruisers are typical for '91/96 Impala/Caprices and Roadmaster wagons... Fairly typical.... However these Olds specific Custom Cruiser grilles are more rare than krugerrands. I have two of them available if there is interest.
That's good that you have spares. I've seen 1991/1992 Olds Custom Cruisers for sale that have a Chevy Caprice grille instead of the Olds grille. No doubt because they were in a collision and couldn't find an Olds grille as a replacement. I think the Olds grille is more classy, but of course I'm biased.
I may be thinking of some other mfg., but did olds make some aluminum 455 blocks for can am racing? Did James Garner get special parts for his race car?
Yes, but again, factory experimental and not production. These were to support the CroSal CanAm racing team in the late 1960s.
I saw a Omega like a 77 but had F-85 on the fender.
Not rare. With the OPEC gas crises of the 1970s, automakers were downsizing nameplates. In some cases they shrank the car (think 1976 to 1977 full size cars). In other cases, they just reassigned nameplates to smaller cars. The F-85 X-body was one of the latter cases. Note the bottom of the second column.
Every so often I see replica Olds Runabouts for sale. I guess they were made as parade or Shriner cars. I think they have a small Briggs & Stratton engine. I don't believe I've ever seen an Olds for sale that was older than 1920 or so.
Front bumper guard with impact strip for a 1971 Delta 88 Royale. I personally haven't come across another 1971 Delta 88 Royale convertible. I could be wrong and everyone is tripping over them.
Front bumper guard with impact strip for a 1971 Delta 88 Royale.
I've seen a few 71 Delta 88 convertibles. In fact, I seem to see the 71-76 Delta 88 convertibles more than I see the coupes. I don't recall if I've seen one with an impact strip on the front bumper.
My 71 98 doesn't have an impact strip. Is it available through Steele Rubber or Soff Seal? If not, it is probably quite rare since the Delta 88/98 front bumpers were different each year between 71 and 76.
What would be really rare/cool would be a 71-76 98 convertible or a 71-76 98 sedan. Too bad they are cars that Olds never made.
The W-41 engine cover. They made 204 of them for the cars made but no replacements. If you needed one from the parts counter it would come as a standard Quad 4 cover. I tried to buy the cover the same year the car came out. I wanted to put it up and save it even though I did not have one of the cars at the time.
The W-41 engine cover. They made 204 of them for the cars made but no replacements. If you needed one from the parts counter it would come as a standard Quad 4 cover. I tried to buy the cover the same year the car came out. I wanted to put it up and save it even though I did not have one of the cars at the time.
I didn't know that there were no replacements made. That's interesting.
How about any Oldsmobile original equipment AM broadcast receiver prior to 1936?
How about surviving Oldsmobiles with Automatic Safety Transmission, 1937-1938 predecessor to the Hydra-Matic, never numerous even when new.
How about surviving Oldsmobile 288" test engines? Unlike the later racing stuff, these actually were built, offered and made available primarily to research concerns ca.1950-51. Last count I knew of, four known today.
How about big car back-up light deletes? I have the only pair I ever saw for 1961 for my car, and had a pair in my hands for 1964 98 which are the smaller of two types for big cars that year, and like a idiot didn't buy them.
How about 'dry type' four barrel air cleaner/silencer assy for 1952-56 Oldsmobile? Looks just like the oil bath type everyone wants for hot rods, but has only oil impregnated gauze element, no chamber for liquid oil. I have one which came on a 1952 98 I had which was not equipped with heavy duty filtration option, which probably 99% of production had. Dry AC, engine draft tube with no filter, small dry cap on oil fill tube on engine. Also has different stenciling. Have seen only one other on a very low option one-owner 1956 88.
How about the power steering bypass package available 1952-53, for which not much paperwork other then installation instructions has surfaced to date. A electrically operated bypass valve mounted on back of pump, and under dash switch assy of slide switch and red jewel light, STEERING embossed in to metal. Same design as SPEAKER, COURTESY and ANTENNA underdash switches seen in those years.
How about any of the 'Valiant' Oldsmobile offered vehicle controls for the disabled, offered specifically in response to the many injured war veterans at that time. I have the hands controls for a 1954 88, which will work on many years with a round mast jacket, from old dealer stock.
How about factory made and correct 1964 442 air cleaner assy not already on a car, of two seen types. I've seen two I know were not home made for sale over many years.
How about Delco Pleasurizer air shocks with under hood pump, and controls with air pressure gauge mounted on arm rest of back seat, behind driver in 1964 98 conv. Don't know option code, perhaps dealer accy.
How about transportable AM radio assys, 1958 and 1959 types?
ONCE RARE BUT NO MORE: Until the flood of bumped 1957 valve covers hit the market, after having been being sold by Ron Iskenderian to primarily three people from his dead Terminal Island warehouse stock, then re-sold to many buyers, those covers were considered moderately rare. I think therefore a NOS set in GM boxes even now must remain rare.
Honorable mentions: Signal seeking Super Deluxe radio 982700 1952 all. Only a handful known due to Korea war shortages. Any of the GM items in the year specific dealer offered accessories pamphlets are pretty rare, then and now.
How about Delco Pleasurizer air shocks with under hood pump, and controls with air pressure gauge mounted on arm rest of back seat, behind driver in 1964 98 conv. Don't know option code, perhaps dealer accy.
I actually have one of these setups. This was RPO G67, apparently only offered from the factory in the 1966 model year, on both A-bodies and full size cars. It was also available over the parts counter as a dealer-installed item. Yes, G67 was available in the 1980s using an electric pump, but the 1966 version used a vacuum operated air pump that looked like this:
Important: Notice the pedal arms are painted a coordinating interior color, same as dash in that car, perhaps the carpeting was also blue in what looks like original condition. Pedal arms not painted black as is commonly seen.
Originally Posted by Charlie Jones
Stick shift clutch and brake pedals and clutch linkage . Took me 6 years of watching E-Bay daily .
August 28th, 2017, 05:53 AM
I didn't even know that was an option Olds offered.
