I'm new to Oldsmobiles and am looking at a "57 Olds 88 2 dr, hardtop that is advertised with a J 2 package. I would've thought you could tell if the car left the factory with this package by the VIN but am having no luck decoding the vin. Can anyone out there straighten me out on this issue? Should I assume it is original equipment?

Many Thanks

 

Nothing in the VIN will tell you anything about the engine for that model year.

 

So does the vin tell you anything or is it kind of like a serial #? The vin on this car I;m looking at has an M in it. Other than that they are just numbers.

 

I assume you are going for an original car? What is probably more important are the air cleaners there and are they original, They are worth as much as the intake manifold and harder to find. Doubtful you will find a judge that will know or care if the manifold and tri-carb setup was born with that car. Just a guess on my part...Tedd

 

The M just means it was built at the Lansing, MI assembly plant. The first two digits will be "57" for 1957. The third digit is the series (model line) - 7 = Eighty Eight, 8 = Super Eighty Eight, 9 = Ninety Eight. The last five are the sequential serial number.

 

Very cool: thank you, I tried too decode my vin butt it's too old to get much info.