Hey everyone, I am new to this site, but not not new to the love of Oldsmobiles. I have a 61 Super 88 since 1978. My grandparents purchased it new, and I learned to drive with this car. It was restored 11 years ago. I love the 1950's and 1960's Oldsmobiles!

 

Welcome aboard! Sharp looking car in your avatar photo, we'd love to see more photos when you're able to post them.

Awesome that you still have the car from your grandparents and your childhood, I know it's dearest to your heart.

Again, welcome to CO!

 

Welcome to CO.... SUPER COOL to have your granddad's car- you feel like the luckiest person in the world when you drive it!! I know- My fathers '62 means everything to me.... I drive the car that brought me home from the hospital after i was born. How many people get to do that? * Sharp lookin Olds, you must be very proud!! *

 

Welcome aboard

Now How cool is that.

 

Hey! Thanks for the warm welcome, all! I am looking forward to getting to know you guys, and your cars. BTW, there are a few more photos of my Olds in my "album" if you want to check it out.

Rick

 

Welcome to the site

 

Hi there rickr Out of all the pics in your album, I liked this one the best. The color is absolutely amazing on that car! You keep it in beautiful condition


I was also surprised to see you have factory cruise in that beast! It's a stunning and classy looking machine. Somehow though, I can't get over the back end styling. To me it looks like it's upside down. But definitely retains the Harley Earl influence of wings and bubbletop styling.

 

Hi Allen, Love your 72 Cutlass! Looks like a brand new car.
I worked at an Oldsmobile dealer from 1986 until 1998. So I remember when your 98 was brand new.
I love the 61-64 Olds full size cars. The 61 and 62 were much the same, and the 63 and 64 were styled much the same. I replaced a leaking pinion seal on Olds today, and as long as the drive shaft is off, I will replace the u-joints as well. My Oldsmobile has 208,000 miles on it now.

 

Beautiful car rickr. Welcome to CO.

 

Thanks rickr. You worked for an Olds dealer? Kudos. I wish I had bought that 98 new back in 95. It turned into such a money pit. This June was it's last day; after too many problems the final straw was perforated rear rocker that collapsed and the jack went through the r.s. brake line. It was just the straw that broke my patience with it. I expect it's in a better place now, donating good parts to other Oldsmobiles. It had 300,000 km on it when I let it go. The flatbed operator who picked it up looked at me like I was crazy. All he said was "You're nuts, this car looks brand new". Looks can be decieving though. Wish you were on board when I went through all the hassles with the engine idle.

 

Welcome to the CO. Great looking '61.

Scot

 

The cruise control on the '61 and '62s were a dealer installed option then. Be nice to know just how many survive now. I always wondered why mine didn't have it. The man that ordered the car new was in his early seventies and chose most of the power accessories, but not that. I doubt the cost would have been a factor at that point.

 

IMO, Cruise serves 2 main purposes. Reduce driver fatigue and increase fuel economy (relative to speed) by keeping speed fairly constant. I suspect that most people didn't order cruise simply because gas was relatively cheap back then, and half the fun of a trip was proving what a great driver you were by regulating your speed according to what your foot and brain dictated at the time. Of course, way back then a lot of cars were featuring automatic transmissions as a more expensive option to a standard. Would be interesting to know what the ratio of automatics to standards was then too.

You're right, cruise was not a very expensive option to buy back in the day. For my 72, it would only have cost $62.00 (option K30). Try buying a complete one now, whether OEM survivor or an NOS and you're looking at serious coin if you can get it at all.

I'm lucky. I bought an NOS unit complete, and a survivor complete several years back, but it was $$$$$ . Nowadays, you have to put a cruise unit together piece by piece, or settle for aftermarket.

 

That's one sweet ride, what a great hand-me-down. You're one lucky guy