I'm Getting started on my recently purchased 59' Super 88 4-door hard top project. I purchased this car about a month ago from the original owners' family. The car had been parked since 1973, a couple of years after grandpa who originally purchased it passed away. It was supposedly stored, in good running condition, in the family barn for many years. It changed hands through the family a few times as people passed away. I was told it was moved outside about 10 - 15 years ago when the farm where it resided was sold. The car still has the 1973 license plates on it, the last year it was on the road.

As she sat when I picked her up.




A couple of pictures loading her on the trailer.





Almost ready for the ride home.





Ready to go!

 

As she sits today at my house. No, I do not have a garage. I do plan on building a garage in the next couple of years, until then, my work on this car will be somewhat slow and dependent on the weather. I live in the mountains above Denver, CO, at about 9000'. We do not get very many days in the winter that are conducive to working on a car outside. But today was sunny and in the high 30's so I took the opportunity to take a few "before" shots and start cleaning her up a little.

The "before" shots;


















The body is in fairly good condition with only a small amount of rust above the rear wheel wells and at the bottom of the passenger side front fender. All of the trim is intact but some of it will need some work or replacement.

The interior is another story. It has been a rodent playground for the last 40 years. It was full of mouse remains, nests and a bunch of other unmentionable things.









+

I spent a few hours starting to clean her up inside. It is by no means done, but already looks better. I was happy to find the floors in excellent condition! There is a small amount of surface rust in a couple of areas, nothing a wire wheel and POR 15 will not remedy. My welding skills are not the best and replacement floor pans are not readily avialible, so I am very pleased with what I have found so far.










The back seat area was nasty. There were a few large mouse nests in the foot well and inside the bottom seat cushion. After seeing the front seat uncovered and cleaner, I had thoughts of trying to stick with the original upholstery. After seeing what was in and under the back seat, no way will by keeping anything from the back of the car, maybe not anything interior related.

 

Under the hood she looks decent for having been sitting for so long. All of the fluids are reasonably clean, everything is there except the windshield washer jar. The previous owner drilled large holes around the air filter housing, otherwise it is unmolested.









The trunk does not close correctly we had to loosen the bolts attaching the lid to the hinges to close it for the ride home. I will need to look at it and see what it is up. I would like to be able to completely close it to keep critters and the weather out. I need to have keys made too. They could not find them when I bought the car. I'm hoping the trunk floor is in as good as shape as the interior floor pans. My next project will be cleaning out the trunk and seeing what I can do with the hinges.

 

My plans for the car;

Over the next couple of months I will finish cleaning her, inside and out. Change all of the fluids, rebuild the carb and fuel pump. Pull the radiator and gas tank, have them boiled and repaired as needed. Replace all of the important soft parts, belts, hoses, etc and see if I can get her to run. The motor is free, the odometer shows about 93k miles which is believed to be the correct mileage on the car. I'm hoping with some new fluids, filters, etc and a little bit of attention she will run. If not, I will pull the motor and trans for rebuilding.

Assuming it runs/shifts acceptably, I will completely go through the brakes, new tires and wheels and put her on the road for the summer.

Next winter I will start on the body work, paint and interior. My neighbor does upholstery for a living, he is excited to work on it. I have a someone lined up that will do the body work and paint for a reasonable charge.

My vision, wide white walls, nice period correct hub caps, 50's style custom interior, lower it a little, maybe aftermarket AC and a hidden stereo, just a nice mild custom cruiser that I can fit the rug rats in and have a good time driving. I'm already trying to decide what color I want to paint it and how I want the interior to look. It will take a few years and a few dollars, but it will be fun.

A couple of more shots from today that I liked;

 

Looks to be in very decent shape. Look forward on seeing it progress.

 

Take the lock cylinders out and get the code numbers from the cylinders and send them to Joe P. and he will cut you a set for a small fee.

 

Do you know how I would contact Joe P.?

 

Search-- Joe Padavano---Olds-fart on this site...

 

Looks solid!
Great patina too, fingers crossed the oily bits paly nice
Scott

 

love to see projects like this! im following!

 

Thanks! I will track him down.

I think she is fairly solid and straight for having been sitting around neglected for so many years. One of the advantages of living in a dry climate = fairly rust free cars.

I thought about sticking with the original paint and patina, but now I'm thinking I would prefer new paint. Just have to decide what color(s).

Thanks for watching - hope you enjoy!

I just ordered a carb kit and bought an NOS fuel pump of ebay for cheap. Looking forward to getting the new parts in my hands. If weather allows, this weekend I will continue clean up and pull the carb in anticipation of rebuilding it soon.

 

Really clean project car, I bet it will run. If the transmission shows any signs of working after you change the fluid and filter make sure you drop one of the cooler lines into a bucket and let it run into a bucket till it turns clean. Also a good idea to add an external cooler. My Olds fired up after a long rest too. Good Luck with it !

 

Thanks for the thoughts and suggestions on bringing the transmission back to life, I will be sure to flush it out. All of the fluids, including the ATF, are surprisingly clean. I did not know what to expect after sitting for so long. Really hoping it runs and shifts acceptably. Hopefully over the next couple of months I will know.

 

Great Find!

Wasn't this a one year only body style?

Can't wait to see the progress.

 

Nice project creepy olds guy. Looking forward toyour build, have you considered one of those harbor freight portable garages? Although you probably get too much snow up there in the mountains.

I have to say the gas filler in tge bumper is way cool

 

Thanks for interest in my car!

Yes, it was a one year only car. It shares some similarities with the 60' Olds and other 59' - 60' GM full size cars but is rather unique. Being unique is what first attracted me to it. I had been looking for a project car for awhile, never considered a 59' Olds, honestly I have always been more of a FoMoCo guy. Then I ran across this languishing on craigs list for a awhile and just had to check it out. I had never seen a 59' Olds before and have still never seen another in person. I like being different

 

Ha ha, creepy OLDS guy - never thought of my screen name like that, I like it

I have considered purchasing some sort of portable garage or maybe building something simple to at least get car under cover. I may look into one this summer. I can't do much now as far as erecting any portable structure or building as the ground is very frozen. I would need to anchor it securely, so I need to wait for warm weather unfortunately that does not come until mid June.

 

I dunno, I see some trees I would run a cable and get a big tarp then you coud use the big spikes they sell for landscape ties pound them into the ground with a bfh and kind of make an a frame tent ... the steep angle should shed the snow, june and your at 9000 feet without an airplane. your making south of the mason dixon look better and better

 

If it is clear its the original oil (10% Whale oil)

 

Yup, lots of trees and a little chilly, but okay with me. I do not care much for the heat.

I had read somewhere that GM used whale oil for ATF back in the day. Mine has the usual red ATF in it. Probably a good sign since that means somebody at least changed it.

 

Anybody know the story about the big holes in the side of the air cleaner? My '59's air cleaner has three small holes (about 3/4" diameter) in the same place. I'm assuming it was to let in more air but it didn't come that way from the factory. I'm surprised the engine designers would make the inlet too small.........

 

I guess our cars have a breathing issue as they are configured from the factory? My housing is drilled all the way around. At least they did a nice job, clean cut holes and evenly spaced.

 

I'm thinking early performance mods.

Look for 1959 Popular Science articles; was it Tom McCahill?

Remember, this was before K&N and all the aftermarket stuff we have access to today. Not quite the early hot rod days, but still before the advent of the avalanche of available products today...

 

Have not had too much time to work on the car. I did manage to pull the catb, a buddy is going to rebuild it for me. Have my new fuel pump ready to go in. Ordered hoses, filters, tune up and a few brake parts. If the weather cooperates tomorrow I will pull the radiator and fuel tank.

 

Its the first car I remember growing up in...My Dadswas painted a two tone blue...Beautiful

 

my dad had a 59 98 that my sister ended up driving for awhile back in the 70's.she quit driving it and got a vw.couldn't afford the gas,and it liked it.it was lilac and white with grey interior.but it was a 4dr sedan not the hardtop like yours.wish it was those back wrap around windows are the coolest. but sadly it ended up in the scrap yard.

 

I have not been on here for awhile.......thanks for sharing the memories. I hope to make some of my own in this car soon

Unfortunately, I have not made too much progress. The carb is rebuilt and I have accumulated quite a few parts to install. Now that it is starting to warm up a little, I'm hoping to find the time to work on it. I figured out what I want to do with tires and wheels and the brakes....just need to get busy. I still hope to have it on the road sometime this coming summer.

 

Unfortunately, family and work commitments have kept me from doing much on my car. I did manage to purl the radiator, picking it up from the radiator shop tomorrow. The radiator shop said the radiator looked amazing inside! I still had it gone through, cheap insurance. Hoping the engine internal are as happy as the radiator.