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There is a 63 98 coupe on Ebay with a dual quad and a 4 speed? This can not be factory, can it? I do not ever recall any 98s of this era to have a manual transmission.
Nice looking car. I did not read it but I don't think it was 4 speed from the factory. I know the shifter is not original. That would be a really cool car to drive around though.
I figured it was going to be that black 98 Custom Sports Coupe. Yeah, one-of-none is pretty rare...
That car has been discussed here before, and the owner at the time even told us it was fabricated. No manual trans was offered in the 1963 Ninety Eights. As with all one-of-none cars, the lack of any documentation should be your first hint. And yes, I realize it's a hardtop. Olds called this particular model a Custom Sports Coupe in 1963. Note hydramatic was the only option.
As Joe said , It's "one of none" .
Olds did , reportedly , experiment with T-10's in full size cars unsuccessfully . However, the T-10 just wasn't strong enough for a two ton car with an engine with gobs of low end torque . Read post #39 in his thread on the H.A.M.B. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/....711270/page-2
Whomever did this was pretty slick . They even managed to find a set of Olds pedals. From the looks of it though , they are 61 or 62 pedals by the shape of the upper bellcrank .
The seller's claim that the car has power brakes is probably not true . The upper bellcrank goes where the power booster should be .
The Edelbrock intake and carbs are obviously aftermarket . As well as the "Offy " valve covers .
The cruise control , while still installed , probably doesn't work either . It doesn't appear to be connected to the throttle linkage .
Here's a shot of the Olds "mousetrap" clutch linkage .
I won't say for sure but this sure looks like the car my wife and I looked at 2 or 3 years ago here on the South side of Indianapolis. It was a black 98 with dual quads and a 4 speed that someone had fabricated. I put pictures and information on this site and its in the general discussion forum 1-16-'16. If I remember right the paint was not this nice or shiny but seemed to have some weather checking and maybe a little bit of rust here and there but over all a very very solid car.
Last edited by oldspackrat; January 1st, 2019 at 06:38 PM.
I won't say for sure but this sure looks like the car my wife and I looked at 2 or 3 years ago here on the South side of Indianapolis. It was a black 98 with dual quads and a 4 speed that someone had fabricated. I put pictures and information on this site and its in the general discussion forum 1-16-'16. If I remember right the paint was not this nice or shiny but seemed to have some weather checking and maybe a little bit of rust here and there but over all a very very solid car.
I don't really think that it matters if it was fabricated. I think it is presented well, is very unique and would be loads of fun. I don't know if the seller will move it at the listed opening bid, but more power to them if they can.
I don't really think that it matters if it was fabricated.
It matters to the extent that the seller is implying (without actually saying it) that the car is a rare factory build. This photo from Scott's 2016 thread makes it pretty obvious this isn't a factory install.
I figured it was going to be that black 98 Custom Sports Coupe. Yeah, one-of-none is pretty rare...
That car has been discussed here before, and the owner at the time even told us it was fabricated. No manual trans was offered in the 1963 Ninety Eights. As with all one-of-none cars, the lack of any documentation should be your first hint. And yes, I realize it's a hardtop. Olds called this particular model a Custom Sports Coupe in 1963. Note hydramatic was the only option.
Hydramatic was standard there was no optional transmission on a 98.
I missed where the seller implied it was a factory 4 speed car, nor do I think he implied anywhere that the "Dual 4 Barrel Edelbrock Carbs with progressive linkage" specified in the auction description were factory installed. If someone wants to assume any of that, I don't think he's obligated to convince them otherwise in his auction description, esp. if he's not an Oldsmobile historian or doesn't know the history of the car. He could simply shrug.
On the flip side, I've had people accuse my factory 4 speed Jetstar I of being "cobbled together since Olds ever made one", and I have never tried to convince them otherwise.
Big Olds with manual transmissions were rare indeed but in the summer of 61, my dad was working a pipeline job in Western Iowa, just out of Council Bluffs. The Olds dealer there had a 61 Super 88 bubble top with a four speed. Don't know if it was factory or if the dealer had replaced the three on the tree with the T10 but it had the same shifter as the Chevy four speeds of that era.
While the op references a 98, edzolz's post (#13) of "Big Olds with manual transmissions were rare indeed" did not limit the discussion to the 98 model.
I was merely pointing out that in 1960 one could get a "big Olds" with a manual tranny.
It's nice to see a Oldsmobile big car with correct Oldsmobile pedals. A few of the cars around purported as factory builds have Chevy pedals, which is a glaring error. The one observation I would add to this discussion is SM trans is also base equipment on S-88 as well as D-88 in 1963. Also, no 'heavy-duty' clutch option in '63, now standard equipment.
I think the most relevant part of this is the rear axle ratio chart that shows Synchromesh as N.A. on the Ninety Eight.
Also too, no four speed in big cars in 1963 evidenced in facts book. You can see the aftermarket adapter alloy bell housing in addition to the home brew steel plates to pick up the rear motor mounts in the one view of four speed transmission in the sale car. The adapter BH's do not include factory located motor mount hole provisions for factory Oldsmobile applications. Three speed is the monkey-motion selector column shift trans, while this build has a nice efficient transmission mounted floor shift, four speed with adapter BH has a front bearing retainer bolted on the transmission, the selector box still has the floating front bearing retainer captured in a machined recess in BH in 1963. Fun to see and drive but four speed in no way factory on many points.
The one observation I would add to this discussion is SM trans is also base equipment on S-88 as well as D-88 in 1963. Also, no 'heavy-duty' clutch option in '63, now standard equipment.
Reference: Oldsmobile Facts Book - 1963
Making the SM standard equip on the D88 & S88 was a smart move by Olds. Since nobody wanted one, it allowed them to get another $200 (+ or -) for the hydra-matic on each car sold.
January 1st, 2019, 11:49 AM
