Tedd,


My '55 will charge my phone. The lighter socket is just a bit larger, and won't ground along the side. So, if you wiggle it, it will charge. also, the contact at the bottom can be corroded. If you remove the battery, you can clean it off somewhat with the tip of a pencil eraser.


I find it rather ironic, navigating with this digital marvel, and it has the only computer in the car!


Also, at least for '55, pulling up the carpet for brake reservoir service, the floor has a light overspray of white. It's White top over powder blue. But the main color is just the medium brown primer. No real attempt at painting the floor boards on the interior. Underside of the transmission tunnel was the same. Primarily brown primer. Kansas city car. Base model Holiday.

Just a quick update, I'm planning to go out to see the car by the end of the month, but I also have some exciting news!

I managed to find out about the history of this '56 in particular, and here's what I found:

1. This car was originally bought in Midland, Texas, the A/C actually IS factory ordered, but was added at the factory after the car itself was done. The Power Brakes were also added by the factory after completion.

2. This specific car actually got on a 1993 GM Parts Calendar.

3. In 2014, the car was put on an auction in Palm Beach, Florida and sold to the dealership for $18,700 (USD) after which it was shipped up here to Peterborough, Ontario were it now resides at the dealership on sale for $23,900 (CAD).

4. I found a photo of the cars engine from shortly before it went on auction in 2014: https://imgur.com/a/r3D5MnB

5. An interesting fact was that the buyer asked for the colors to be reversed in the factory. (It was originally red in front and black in the back which is why in the spot were the black is fading on the side of the drivers door, you can see the original red paint underneath)

6. Here's a photo of some of the inside shortly before going on auction: https://imgur.com/a/CLwTgsR (NOTE, the drivers side door handle is a little damaged, and the spare material is sitting on the dashboard in this photo and that the plastic cover was added before being sold to the dealership and that the same)

7: The original 1956 spare tire is still in the trunk according to the auction site who sold it to the dealership, the dealership confirmed this. It's definetly too old to drive on now! But I might just get a special stand for it.

8: Here's some more 2014 photos (NOTE: At the time, it had different tires than it has now) https://imgur.com/a/dUWzqEM

9: I'm very lucky to have come across this information! Here is the old auction page with the Oldsmobile in 2014 https://azure.barrett-jackson.com/Ev...HARDTOP-170186

10: I just learned that everything on the car is original and nothing has been added aside from the factory add-ons, so it will be nice having one thats not been modified!

To put it simply, this '56 in particular has alot more history than I thought! (I still can't believe it actually got on a GM calendar!)
Thebrightlyfancy

Edit: After putting 2 similar photos next to each other, I just noticed that the windshield sticker in the 2014 photos is the same one in the 2018 photos, just felt like mentioning that

Not that it matters and I could be wrong but to me it looks like a dealer installed AC unit not a factory original type set up. Ether way it's a very nice car. I would be proud to have in my garage if I only had room for another car....Tedd

Looks like a very nice '56, nice to see a rust free car in such good condition.

Agreed! I was so surprised when I found out it was unrestored!

I don't know much, but I have a '56 with factory CAC (car air conditioning) and as Tedd says, yours is dealer/after market installed.

None the less, a great car. Thanks for saving it!!

After doing a little more research, I just discovered that it actually was installed at the dealer, guess the old auction site was misinformed, either way, it's great to have the A/C anyways! (The Canadian summers are quite hot!)

I am shocked...shocked I say to hear that Barrett-Jackson would exaggerate in a catalog listing.

Not to defend Barrett-Jackson but they are probably so ignorant of Oldsmobiles (especially earlier Oldsmobiles) they thought this was factory air. Then again, they are Barrett-Jackson.

Glen, I find that concerning early Oldsmobiles, that ignorance flows freely on the Internet.A big percentage of items sold on EBay that state (fits 1955 Olds ) would only fit if you could find a suitable place somewhere on the frame where you could weld them onto it.
Also if you google 1955 Olds images, when you scroll through them, there may be anywhere from '49's -'59.
Didn't aim to take anything away from the '56 Olds,it is a georgous car,but does not have factory installed air condition. Larry

Larry, you are correct on the ignorance of the 50's Oldsmobiles. I think a lot of these guys include models on their listings so they will get more hits. The air conditioner on this 56 is no doubt not factory but it is interesting. I have never seen one anywhere close to it. The know on each side of it look like they are mounted to the bottom of the dash. I assume these are the fan and the temp control. It would be interesting to know who made the unit.

It sure would! I'll be sure to see if I can find any logos or anything when I see it soon, it's nice to finaly know were it was installed though I noticed there is a **** on each side too and on the drivers side there appears to be levers (I don't know for sure, but the other side might have levers too). But thanks for the info! I'll try to figure out who made it.

In 1955 and 1956 Oldsmobiles with factory A.C. They had (as Tedd stated earlier ,the Fish Eye type vents in the lower section of the dash) as pictured below. If memory serves me,they also had a small vent centered under the glovebox door.
In a '55 I saw one one at the National Show in Bowling Green that had the trunk mounted AC and it had 4 chrome vents in the headliner just above the passengers head,but in all '56 models they were as the one in the picture. Larry

Larry are you sure it was a 55 and not a 54 with the lexlan tubes. I know 55 switched to the newer condenser mounted in the front of the car to get rid of the huge box condenser taking up space in the trunk and the need to pipe the cool air forward through the clear tubes.

AC was a very new thing in the early fifties and the transition from rear mounted to dash mount may have been a mid year thing for all I know but I have seen 54's Buick's (I had a Buick)and Oldsmobile's equipped with rear factory installed AC systems but never a 55 so equipped ,Doesn't mean it didn't happen..... Tedd

Larry I know that you know you Oldsmobiles pretty well so I won't say it is impossible. Unlikely but maybe not impossible. Maybe it was a very early 55 model or somebody installed it. The rear AC was why there were no air conditioned convertibles in 54. They were probably pretty rare in 55 since most people back then thought and air conditioned convertible would be stupid. A few years ago when I was getting ready to install AV in my 54, somebody in St. Louis had a 55 parts car with the complete AC in it. For about a nano second I thought about buying it and pulling all the AC our of it and installing it in my 54. Then I could come up with one of those cockamania stories that it was a late model 54 and a factory exec car and the only 54 convertible to have air conditioning. The only things that kept me from doing it was (1.) the car was in St Louis (2.) he wanted $1,400 for the car (3.) it would have cost a fortune to ever get it to work (4.) I have no place to put a parts car and (5.) I came to my senses. You have to admit it would have been pretty neat. Then I would have one of none.

No,it was a '55 Red and white Super 88 Holiday coupe and I have pictures of the vents in the headliner somewhere.It had 4 chrome vents about 5" long by 1&1/2" tall mounted in the headliner just above the passengers heads,if it had 4 passengers in it.
I had never seen this in a '55 either,and that is the reason I took pictures.
I went to the Bowling Green Olds Nationals to see how the ones that had air ,had mounted their compressors, because this was prior to mounting mine,so I inspected every '55 that was there with air conditioning.
When I saw this I knew it was a rarity, so I made pictures,and I'm sure They are still here somewhere. Larry

Larry. the only way I see it could have happened is (1.) if it was a very early car or (2.) somebody installed it from a 54 parts car which would really be odd. When you get into this old stuff there is no way to prove or disprove some of the stuff we see. I have corresponded enough with you and never doubted you saw it.

Thanks for the confidence. I will be very busy for the next few weeks because we are flying to California to see our grandson graduate from Pepperdine Law School.I had 2 way tickets,but he called and wanted to know ,if I would ride back home with him. I of course said yes,but we would have to cut over on parts of Route 66! So the ride is on.,
When I return ,I will se if I can find those pictures. Larry

Congrats Larry. I know you are very proud. Enjoy the trip. It will be something you both will always remember.

Sorry for the late reply. I just went out to the garage and snapped some pictures of my '56 CAC.. I only showed the right side vent, but there is another on the left side. Never heard of them called "fish eye" before. The picture on the far right shows a single heater ****, which is found only on CAC cars.

Hope this helps

Ya, thee second picture down is it. I've always herd them called that because you can rotate them like a fish eye does. And If I remember correctly (that's getting harder and harder to do) The 55 vents were a different size than the 56... Tedd