stephenca118

Good day,
Thank you for the warm welcome in the newbie section. It was suggested I check in on this forum.
I just bought what I was told was a 58 Holiday 88 sedan from my neighbor. I could not see a lot of it because it was buried in his shop. So we got it out today and into my shop. Turns out it is a 98 and the door panels say Starfire. It has been sitting for almost 20 years.
Needs a lot of work, but I am retired and have the time. My goal is to keep it as original as possible, clean and detail it, get it running and drive it.
He has all the chrome and gave me a lot of extra parts but I have not been through the boxes yet.
My grand dad always drove an Olds. I remember his early 50s Olds, not sure what it was, but he also had a 61 Dynamic 88 then a 66 Dynamic 88 sedan with the 425, I think, for grandmother. I drove those when I was in high school. My dad kept wondering why he had to replace worn out rear tires too often. Dad had a 65 F-85 Cutlass two door hardtop that he never let me drive.
Here are some pics of my project.
Happy New Year,
Steve

oldcutlass

Looks really solid, the Vintage guys are a great bunch.

ignachuck

Nice car. You'll have a lot of fun researching and restoring it.

Tedd Thompson

Welcome to the vintage forum. That's a good solid car to start with and should make a fine restoration project. Not many 58's left to get restored. Keep us posted on your progress.... Tedd

redoldsman

You have some work to do but that is such a great looking car to start with. It will really make a nice car. For some reason we don't see many 58's on here. This will be a nice one when you are done. Welcome. Tedd and I (and others) love to see more 50's vintage cars on here.

WHIPOLDS

Welcome Steve! Nice car!
Rick

stephenca118

Thank you all for the nice welcome. I am anxious to get started on this, but first I need to set off a couple of bug bombs under it and do some serious cleaning to see what all I got. And inventory what all is in the boxes. It is still Christmas!
I will keep a picture progress as best I can.
Happy New Year all,
Steve

D. Yaros

Steve - Congrats on your acquisition. It does indeed look to be a good base on which to start. Biggest problem would be chrome. Hope all of it is there.

You mention Starfire. What, other than what seller said leads you to believe it is a Starfire? I ask, as there appears to be some question of whether Olds even had a Starfire model in 1958. "Setting the Pace" (the Helen Earley/Jim Walkinshaw bible when it comes to Oldsmobile does not list the Starfire in the 1958 model line.

I have read that Starfire may have been a trim package in 1958, available on the 98 model, which you have. It would have been exemplifed by Starfire emblems/script on the interior door panels. Does yours have that?

Other sources say there was no Starfire offered in 1958.

stephenca118

Hi Dave,


Thank you for the post. Unfortunately I have not been able to get all the stuff out of the car yet, just basically parked it and tending to other issues now. I did see a door panel that had a Star Fire Emblem on it, and I am sure it is for this car, but I will confirm that as soon as I can. And yes, it seems I have all of the chrome, plus some extra pieces. The guy I got it from got it all this way with a box of chrome, he laid it all out and he said it seemed to be all there, so it looks like I have quite the puzzle to put together. Thinking of removing the rest and getting it painted now that I see how bad the paint is, not sure yet. Still debating, but I have time.
Thanks much for the input.
Steve

Oldsfan

There was no Starfire trim package in '58.

All '57 98s were referred to as Starfire 98s in literature, but the Starfire name didn't appear anywhere on the car, even the convertible, which had been called a Starfire from 1954 through 1956.

In '58, none of the 98s were referred to as Starfires, anywhere. But, the Starfire name appeared on the door panels of certain models (Holiday coupes, Holiday sedans and convertibles). The interior Starfire script is listed in the parts book. But there was no special Starfire interior trim.

Olds442redberet

That is one really cool ride. And it looks super solid. Congrats!
I found this site a couple years back and I believe it's one of the best Oldsmobile sites out there. It's easy to navigate, there's no BS, and there are plenty of real experts here to help with tech support and locating parts.
Welcome to the site.

stephenca118

Happy New Year all. And thank you for the replies on the Starfire issue. Yes the only place I see it is on the door panels. I guess they wanted to use up all the left over emblems.
I got the seats out and inventoried all the chrome that was loose.
There is some minor surface rust in some areas of the car and only one place I have found that has some serious cancer, next to the trunk lid anchor. I will attach a picture. The floor pans all look solid and so does the trunk pan.
I also attached a picture of some chrome and trim pieces. I do have the match for the chrome trim but missing the match for the brown trim. And I have yet to figure out where they go, any ideas? All the rest of the chrome seems to be here. Even a few extra pieces, all in fair to good condition. The interior had been pretty well stripped.
I will be pulling the wheels and lowering it so I can pull the plugs and see if I can turn it over by hand. But not yet, it looks like I have to go shovel snow.


Happy New Year
Steve

MDchanic

Nice car, but I see a lot of detail work in your future.

Your best bet on that trunk latch may be to buy the whole section from a desert parts supplier.

Best of luck with it, and Welcome!

- Eric

classicmuscle442

Nice solid project, still surprising to see how one car has rust in one spot and another has it in totally different areas. Saw a car in this color at the Olds show here in Lansing a couple of years ago, stunning with all the chrome.

D. Yaros

Steve, not sure which trim pieces you are not certain about in terms of location; the chrome or brown painted one? The brown painted one looks to me to be theleft A-pillar moulding (I think that is what it is called)? The piece goes in the lower corner of the windshield, at the bottom covering the bottom of the pillar and the dash pad.

Olds64

Very cool car!

rocketraider

Is that gold or that metallic lavender color they had in 58? There's a gold Holiday Sedan a few miles away that sat under a shed for years (local AACA guy had it and never got around to it) but last time I saw it, it was in the open and someone had shot the windows out.

stephenca118

Thank you Dave, yes the chrome ones fit the lower windshield pillar at the dash cover. Not sure about the brown one and only one brown. Spent some time looking for the mate either still mounted or in a box, no luck so far.
Rocketraider, I think they called it champagne, but it is a gold color.
I got the gas tank out. It is very bad shape. And according to the local GM salvage yard it is only for 58. Nothing else fits. And of course he does not have one. I will take it to a radiator shop tomorrow and see if they can perform a minor..no make that major miracle. The sender and pickup tube is a big ball of rust.
I pulled the starter and cleaned it up and now the engine turns over nicely with all the plugs out. I will see if I can get it to fire up in the next day or two.
I discovered the brake shoes are new, but the front hoses were left off for the last 20 years so new front cylinders probably, and 3 of four brakes are on backwards. And the master cylinder, who decided to put it there?
Oh and 3 of 4 power windows work, but I will clean up all the motors anyways.
Thank you all for the input and advice. This is a great site. I will try to do some pictures tomorrow.
Steve

MDchanic

If the tank is unobtainable, you may be able to resurrect it with a good sandblasting (cutting off the top to do the inside if necessary, then re-welding it), followed but a wrap with fiberglass and a slosh with a modern gas- and alcohol-proof internal coating to seal the moth holes.

- Eric

ignachuck

Has anyone suggested getting a Shop Manual?

And a Fusick catalog.

Here's a gas tank:

http://www.fusickautomotiveproducts....number=580FT98

MDchanic

I will admit that I ASSumed they were hard to find for '58, but a quick look at eBay proves me wrong.

Here's one that may go as low as $14 shipped.

- Eric

stephenca118

Thanks for the input. Thinking about that $600 gas tank. Looking at other options. Manual is on order.
Have a great day all.

D. Yaros

Wondering, do the door panels look like this?




Starfire door panel - 1958

stephenca118

Yes, pretty close. That is the only place I have found the starfire emblem. I guess they wanted to use up all the old stock?

Oldsfan

It was not old stock. Those emblems are specific to '58 98s.

holidaysedan

Welcome... nice '58!
We have one also, they are rare compared to other years due to a recession that year. Our Super 88 came out of SW Arkansas and it's super solid, almost no rust at all, with only 58k miles, but not on the road since '81 so there's a lot to do before she runs.

98s are gorgeous and have beautiful interior materials. You can get all the original cloth and vinyl from SMS, well worth doing.
I'm slowly gathering all the materials as they are expensive, but it's worth doing right. Feel free to PM if I can help with info! I started the OCA Blue & Gray Chapter back in '84.

Here's 3 pics of ours, and lastly a pic of a mint '58 dash I saved for reference, in your car's color scheme!
Roger in NY

stephenca118

Hi Roger, Thank you for the note. I was wondering why they did not make so many 58s. You 88 looks great. I know what you mean by lots to do since it had not run in a long time. Is that the A/C under the dash? Mine does not have the A/C, I guess that helps with working under the hood. Lucky you do not have any rust problems. I have found a few more, minor but they are there. I have the engine and trans out. Doing some major cleaning. The interior will be last.
Thank you for the offer of info. I will keep it in mind.
Have a great weekend,
Steve

Rocketowner

I was not familiar with the Starfire emblems on a '58 ,but your neighbor was correct saying it was a Holiday.The 4 Dr.Holiday (without post between the post)was introduced as a mid year model in '55 and was a huge boost in sales.All Holidays both 2 door and 4 Doors had the "chrome headliner bows" and when all windows were down left them a completely open feel.,with no center post. Nice car, and good luck with the Build.
In '55 there were 11506 4 door Holidays sold in the last half of the year . Larry

holidaysedan

Steve - no a/c in mine, that would be nice! What you see on the r side under dash is the heater. However the Rose Mist & White '56 98 Holiday Sedan <--- in my avatar pic does have a/c, as it come out of Phoenix. My '58 Super 88 is a bit of a weird bird, in that it has PB but no PS! Fortunately I have a friend with a parts car and I was able to get all of the parts needed to add PS to mine, but it's a big job, I may drive it with manual steering for a while.

I found no-one makes a new original type radiator, so I had to have mine sent to out Minneapolis to get a new brass core installed using the original upper and lower tanks, the next step is to put it back in with a new water pump... when it warms up here!

Production of your 1958 98 Holiday Sedan, as it's known, was 27,063.
Oddly, being the Top of the Line series, the 98 4 dr hardtop actually outsold the 4 dr sedan that year, of which 20,418 were made. But very few 4 dr hardtops in general have survived, as they tended to leak more, thus floors rusted out more readily than more weather tight 4 dr sedans. My sedan has literally no rust in the floors at all, which will help make restoration a bit easier. The chrome has survived very well also.

stephenca118

Well here it is 8 months later. I will not say how much $ later but just to know I have just barley exceeded my boss's established budget. But thank goodness she likes it so I have been able to do a few more things, like installing an after market radio. I may get the original one rebuilt, see how things go.


I have been driving it a bit the last few months, in town, in between repairs. Yesterday I took it out on the freeway, up to 70. First time. With the recommended tire pressure of 22 psi. (I am running 25) it is a very smooth floating ride. I need to get seat belts installed for a bit more of a secure feeling.


I do have it listed for sale, so far only one interested party, from Sweden.


Sunday I will take it to the local show and shine for hunger and see if there is any interest.


I have completed all of the mechanical issues so far. I have not done any body or interior work, except for installing all the removed items that I could, like original door panels, all the interior trim pieces, exterior trim, which the neighbor came over a few weeks ago with a box of trim he found in his shop, contained all the pieces I was missing. So the trim is complete. The interior is rough and original.


I got the clock to work! And it is keeping time after two weeks.


Larry mentioned the "chrome headliner bows" which I am lacking to install the headliner. They are external, not the internal usual bow you see in most models. Anyone have an idea of a source? I see one source online has a bow conversion kit but I would like to install the original board headliners I have, maybe paint them or cover them with something.


Steve

Tedd Thompson

Just a gorgeous big boat. Too bad you can't keep it and enjoy it.Chances are you will never get your labor out of it and it is at the stage now where all the good memories start... Just saying... Tedd

holidaysedan

Hope it will not go to sweden, too many have already! They do a great job restoring but these cars were made here and belong here! Imo!

Russ P in MD

If it does go across the pond, make sure you let them know the trick to filling it with gas/petrol . I have fond memories of riding in the back of my grandfather's black/white 58 Super 88 as a child.