Need help does a 1955 98 deluxe holiday coupe 3 speed exist

 

I was a car dealer full time from 1960-1999 and sold many mid fifties Olds and I never saw a "98" stick shift,and it was rare in a "88".Understand that I don't say it wasn't made (some of these models came with odd options,because you could ( special order )with many choices.I stated in a post on C.O. recently, that we sold a '54 Super "88" that was Dark Blue with all green interior, but I never knew of but one,and if another had come along I would not have bought it, it took a while to find a buyer for the first one. Larry

 

HydraMatic was standard on Ninety Eights by that time, so unless someone had some pull at Oldsmobile, doubtful a stick 1955 98 was ever built.

 

OK here it is I recently acquired a 1955 98 with a three speed so I am trying to find out value and rarity

 

 

That means it also doesn't have power Brakes?Can't tell if it has A.C. I know NADA Classic Car Value Book adds 10% For Automatic and 5% for A.C. On a Super 88. Larry

 

Welcome to the site. I'm wasn't sure but since you have one and it looks factory I'm assuming there was. I do know back as a young lad, that a lot of my older relatives were apprehensive towards automatics as probably a fair amount of the buying public. So although this may seem impossible now, it was probably more common place than we think.

 

It has power steering

 

And it's a deluxe model

 

Olds 98 wiki shows that both a 3-speed synchromesh manual and a 4-speed Hydramatic automatic were available. Maybe someone has a brochure they can post.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_98

 

that is cool. I worked for the owner of a large greenhouse growing operation. He had a 1957 Cad that he special ordered from the factory with a three speed on the column. He was In his 80's when I worked for him from 62-64. Did not trust auto's.

 

That is one unusual car. It had to be special order by some eccentric person. I bet they took a beating on it when they sold or traded it back then. I wonder how many three on the tree 98's they sold that year. I would have bet it was not available. Very unusual.

 

That one really i surprising. I thought Cadillac went to nothing but automatics in like 1952.

 

Good looking rust free floors in that 98. Unusual yes but just remember many station wagons were equipped with sticks. Not much to change from a wagon to a 98 in fact hardly anything needed changing as it traveled down the assembly line, supers were even the same as a 98 from the B pillar forward and though scarce they show up from time to time also. Would I want one, don't think so love my 4 speed hydramatic.... Tedd

 

I have everything new old stock including doors

 

how do i go about finding out how many of these car where stick

 

Unfortunately there is no way to find out. I bet way less than 100 but that is just a swag. There was probably more 88's and Super 88's but very few 98's.

 

The first Olds 98 that came standard with an automatic transmission was 1957 . It was entirely possible to get a '55 with a stick

 

I'd bet more than 100.

 

I understand that it was possible to get a stick but we were trying to figure how many were actually produced with a stick

 

I don't think there's any records of production numbers and such on this model GM. I've heard that they were destroyed when one GM plant was totally destroyed by fire. So I guess you will just have to say it's rare,and none of us would disagree. Larry

 

88's and Super 88's I would say yes for sure. 98's, I will stick with my number. Then it is just a guess on both our parts and no way to prove or disprove it.

 

Wow, you learn something every day...


My best guesstimate based on statements in Standard Catalog of Oldsmobile and Standard Catalog of American Cars 1942-75 is that from mid-50s on, less than 2% of Oldsmobile's total yearly production had standard transmissions. That figure includes 88s and 98s and all assembly plants. Assuming they built 400,000 cars a year back then, that figures to about 8000 stick-shift Oldsmobiles made each year. Rare beast by any definition.


Ya gotta remember that, having invented the first functional and reliable automatic transmission, Oldsmobile was rightfully quite proud of their HydraMatic and pushed its installation.

 

No such production records exist for your Oldsmobile, or at least not as of this date. They are less common today largely because they were considered hard to sell as used cars, as the use of the selector trans has been well known since these cars were new. The 1950 Oldsmobile 88 standard shift mania thing has sort of rubbed off on all subsequent Oldsmobile SS cars since they became collectable, other then 442. Think of the Buick guys having to live with a Dynaflow transmission all those model years, standard shift Buick cars are huge news.

Let's see a pic of the instrument cluster, and a view under the hood on the drivers side showing the column mast jacket.

 

I don't know much about that era, but I was involved in helping someone move a MT 50's Olds to a new home. I would rate it "hella rare". Whether rare equates to desirable is up to the owner. I recall the no-PNDLR [or whatever the order was] dash part was prized and not easy to find at all.

PM me for the man's contact info.

 

From the 1955 dealer brochure:

 

Yes, standard base offering, but VERY few Olds buyers opted for that level of fitment.

One of my favorite rules: "Last time seen..."

Just about never, for this configuration.

 

Guesstimates are worth very little, have to wonder why people continue to offer them year after year.

And again with the old "records lost in a fire" story...

 

Understand, just verifying that it WAS a factory-available configuration. Likely about as common in it's day as the three-on-the-tree Cutlass Supremes.

 

Just curious, does (at bottom of instrument panel just below speedometer) does It have (N D S L R) . If it don't that would be a strong indication it came from the factory with the stick shift. Larry