Well I searched this site and others trying to get the VIN on my 1953 Oldsmobile 88 decoded but I've had no luck. Can someone here help?


VIN=538M93729


Thanks in advance.


EDIT: BTW I'm not really sure the model. I know its an 88 but is it a Holiday, Delta, Sedan ??? I'm a little lost on how to tell all of that. I'm new to old cars.

 

1953 Oldsmobile Super 88 built at Lansing, Michigan.


VIN's back in the '50s and '60s didn't tell you much about the car that you couldn't figure out just by looking at it. About the only thing it revealed that you couldn't tell is where it was built.



This is the link you want to keep handy:

http://www.v8cars.hu/oldsvin/decode.php

 

What's the body style? Two-door? Four-door? Hardtop?

It's not a Delta as that name wasn't used by Oldsmobile until 1965. "Holiday" was simply Oldsmobile's term for a hardtop (no center pillar). A two-door hardtop was called a Holiday Coupe while a four-door hardtop was called a Holiday Sedan. For '53, though, there was no 4-door hardtop, so the only "Holiday" offered that year was the 2-door hardtop Holiday Coupe, and it was offered only on the Super 88 and 98.

The base 88 came in only two body styles, the "2-door sedan" and "4-door sedan." This can be a bit confusing when compared with other years as the term "sedan" was often used to mean a four-door car, regardless of whether it was hardtop or pillared, not to distinguish between pillared and pillarless.


All '53 Oldsmobiles came with the 303 V-8 that Olds first introduced in 1949. For '53, the base 88, called the "Deluxe 88," came with a 150 hp version while the Super 88 and 98 came with a 165 hp version. A 170 hp version was standard in the 98 Fiesta convertible.

 

Here's a few pages out of the '53 Olds brochure showing the various Super 88 models.


4-door and 2-door sedans:




2-door Holiday Coupe and convertible:





Rocket engine:





12-volt ignition:





Specs:

 

Thanks. It's like the Yellow one so its a "super 88 Sedan" correct.


below is a couple of photos.


20130728_202337_LLS2_zps6840becf.jpg


Where I found it sitting. had been here for 6+ years. Whole ran and drove when parked thing.


IMG_3607_zpsfad67ec3.jpg


had it towed home and then I pulled it from behind my shop to my house to clean it up (no water at shop)


IMG_3608_zpsee819044.jpg


Simple green bath.


IMG_3609_zps11dcd907.jpg


CLR bath!!!!!!


IMG_3614_zpsc1624f34.jpg


Passenger side close up after simple green but before CLR & scotch bright.


IMG_3620_zps6146ec9b.jpg




After CLR and Scotch Bright!!!

 

Yes, that's a Super 88 2-door sedan. Very nice car. Congratulations on saving it. Looks like it will make a nice restoration. Thanks for the photos.

 

One more question........... for this thread anyway.


Does it have points or a true electronic distributor?

 

Electronic ignition wasn't introduced by Oldsmobile until 1974. Your car was born with a breaker-point ignition system.


http://www.gasenginemagazine.com/gas...n-systems.aspx