Newbie's first Oldsmobile 1961 98 Town Car
Hello to all,
Just joined your site and certainly looking forward to learning about this great car. I'm not sure if you would call it a barn find but I recently purchased this 1961 98 Town Car from the second owner.
It has almost 100k on it and is definitely showing some of the miles. Great news is that it is still all original. Runs and drives smooth although I believe it will need a rebuild on the engine and trans soon. Also missing a couple pieces of trim on the passenger side door.
Loving the feel and ride of this old beauty.
Just joined your site and certainly looking forward to learning about this great car. I'm not sure if you would call it a barn find but I recently purchased this 1961 98 Town Car from the second owner.
It has almost 100k on it and is definitely showing some of the miles. Great news is that it is still all original. Runs and drives smooth although I believe it will need a rebuild on the engine and trans soon. Also missing a couple pieces of trim on the passenger side door.
Loving the feel and ride of this old beauty.
Very nice find.
Be careful on the name. No Oldsmobile was ever called a "Town Car." Lincoln offered a Town Car.
Your car is a Town Sedan. Oldsmobile made three different sedan models in the 98 line in 1961. The cheapest was the car you have, the Town Sedan, at a base price of $3,887. Next up was the Holiday Sedan, a four-door hardtop style with a base price of $4,021, and the highest price sedan was called the Sport Sedan, also a hardtop style but without the rear "opera" windows (or whatever they were called), with a base price of $4,159. All 98s came with a 325 hp version of the 394 V-8 called the "Skyrocket" as the only engine available.
The Town Sedan and Holiday Sedan were known as "six window" styles because that rear opera window on each side gave each side of the car three windows (not counting the front vent window), for a total of six. The Sport Sedan was a "four window" style.
Oldsmobile callled all of the 98s "Classic 98" in 1961. So you officially have a 1961 Oldsmobile Classic 98 Town Sedan.
Here's the relevant page out of the 1961 Olds Full Line brochure. Your car is the middle one on the right.

So tell us more about how this is almost a barn find!
Be careful on the name. No Oldsmobile was ever called a "Town Car." Lincoln offered a Town Car.
Your car is a Town Sedan. Oldsmobile made three different sedan models in the 98 line in 1961. The cheapest was the car you have, the Town Sedan, at a base price of $3,887. Next up was the Holiday Sedan, a four-door hardtop style with a base price of $4,021, and the highest price sedan was called the Sport Sedan, also a hardtop style but without the rear "opera" windows (or whatever they were called), with a base price of $4,159. All 98s came with a 325 hp version of the 394 V-8 called the "Skyrocket" as the only engine available.
The Town Sedan and Holiday Sedan were known as "six window" styles because that rear opera window on each side gave each side of the car three windows (not counting the front vent window), for a total of six. The Sport Sedan was a "four window" style.
Oldsmobile callled all of the 98s "Classic 98" in 1961. So you officially have a 1961 Oldsmobile Classic 98 Town Sedan.
Here's the relevant page out of the 1961 Olds Full Line brochure. Your car is the middle one on the right.

So tell us more about how this is almost a barn find!
Last edited by jaunty75; Sep 22, 2015 at 04:28 PM.
Thank you for the correction on the proper name. I will mind my P's Q's and all other letters in the future. (to the best of my ability)
Based on the title that I was given when I purchased the car the second owner had been issued the title in 1988. I'm not sure how many miles were on the car when he purchased it but in August of 1988 he had an oil change performed, it was due for another oil change at 100,700 miles. At the time I purchased the car it had 98,690 miles on the odometer. With all that I am making the assumption that the car has been driven less than 1,000 miles since 1988.
That is my "almost a barn find" story.
Based on the title that I was given when I purchased the car the second owner had been issued the title in 1988. I'm not sure how many miles were on the car when he purchased it but in August of 1988 he had an oil change performed, it was due for another oil change at 100,700 miles. At the time I purchased the car it had 98,690 miles on the odometer. With all that I am making the assumption that the car has been driven less than 1,000 miles since 1988.
That is my "almost a barn find" story.
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