Where are these Olds at?

I can honestly say I don't think I have ever seen one of these in real life.

1958 Oldsmobile DYNAMIC 88

 

58 was a helluva year for Olds and Buick... they went way over the top... still not sure if I like them or not...

 

I dont know what model mine was but I had a white with red top four door 58 olds with a 371, that thing was way over the top with trim and body lines!

 

I dig the 58 Olds, but I could leave the 58 Buick

 

never did care for the Olds (to this day) but if I ever find a 58 Buick Limited Convertible (that I can afford) it's mine! talk about a chrome barge.

 

judging by the license plate I'd say Georgia!

I've never seen one either... but then again I never looked.

 

I like that is shares the same silloutte at the the same year Chevy. Man that's al ot of chrome. It seems like it would be night mare to find replacements.

 

I assume you are planning on becoming a millionaire. How else will you ever be able to afford a Limited convert???

 

Are you asking where they all went? Junkyards. There was a period of time in the 1970s all the way into the 1980s when they had NO value at all (Seriously. Look in an old Old Cars Price Guide - they were valued at a few hundred in #1 condition!). You couldn't give away anything from 1958 or 1959. Consequently, they all got junked the minute anything at all went wrong with them. Back then cars only got saved if they were valuable, really cool, or had sentimental value to someone. I remember a '59 Olds that sat for sale all summer long around 1983 for $500. It never did sell. (I also remember a friend of my Dad who wanted to sell me a rusty but solid '58 Impala convertible with 348 and stick shift for $350, and I was horrified that either of them thought I would consider driving something so ugly!! That was early '80s, too, and it took him a long time to sell that car. If it had been a Buick or Olds, I don't think anyone would have bought it at all.)

 

I guess so. That makes sence. It's a shame really. Sometimes you have to take a step back and realize just how many cars new and old are junked everyday.

 

Then why are so many Edsels left around?

 

I'm building one. 1958 Olds 88 4dht. It's a rustbucket, but I'm slowly putting it back together. I got it running and stopping for the first time in 18 years last spring and the next day drove it 4 hours one-way to the cinematic. I actually like ours, but the upline models need a bit of dechroming, in my opinion. Plans are a mild custom, molded lake pipes, shaved handles, flaked roof, and installing the J-2 setup I have for it. With anything 1958-60, you have to be careful about what you add, it was the era of the 'factory custom' after all...

 

I've seen a few over the years. Biggest frickin' chromed out 2 door I've ever seen....

 

Back in the late 80's there was one of these running around in a small town I worked in...I talked to the feller that owned it and he was the original owner and he told me ' when they start making cars that I like again, I'll buy a new car, but for now, this IS my new car'...I had never seen one before and I rarely see any today.
The heavy-looking designs of the 1958 GM lines were the catalyst for replacing Harley Earl with Bill Mitchell as VP of Design..they both were great designers but of different eras and the '58 line signaled that Earl's era had passed.

 

Maybe Edsels never broke down?
Actually, I think guys were collecting them even back then because they were "rare." I know I met a guy around 1980 who had one of every model produced. Also, they have that sexy, sexy front end!

 

man o man... how'd you like to see that bumper coming up behind you doing 80 while you are stopped in traffic? it's like a battering ram.

 

I remember back in about 1964 a friend had a '57 Chevy that was fast, so fast that he got a number of tickets for speeding.... Well his Dad got fed up and sold the Chevy and bought him a '58 Mint Green Buick hardtop. Talk about getting ribbed.... this guy did.

 

I think the reasons the Olds' disappeared are twofold - brakes and transmission. The treadle-vac brakes issues are well known, but I'll cover em anyhow.

Brakes - the treadle-vac brakes are prone to failure and hard to rebuild correctly. Add in that they're overboosted, so a simple m/c swap makes for a pedal far too firm to use. I bet this parked lots of cars, it did mine.

Trans - it's a hydramatic and, from what I hear on this board, not the good one. I like mine, but a lot of people don't. There's supposedly 40 bolts holding it on and 4 gears, so rebuilding it costs a bit if you're paying for labor.

 

I love those cars.

 

One of the reasons you rarely see any 1958 GM models of any type is supposedly because GM changed it's painting process and reportedly some of the 1958 lines starting rusting very early and thus disappeared faster than say for example, AMC/Hudson/Ramblers that had a pretty good painting process in the late '50's and thus seem to still be around in good numbers, especially when you consider their much lower volumes than GM's.

 

I had a '58 Olds too, from 1966 to around 1968. My dad gave it to me when he bought a '59 Buick.

Mine was a four-door hardtop and I don't remember what model it was but it had even more chrome trim on it than the one in the photos above. (If you can believe that) It had a 371 and it was a tank. Slow as hell off the line but once you got all that weight moving it wasn't too bad. I drove it through my senior year in high school and then from New Jersey down to Jacksonville, Florida after I enlisted in the Navy.

Once in Florida the thing just seemed to fall apart and I couldn't keep it running right. So I sold it to a buddy and he put the entire drivetrain in his '55 Chevy and we cut up the remains.

 

They're so heavy and long, that when you use the Included bumper jack in the rear the back door jambs will touch when jacked up in the air.... Ask me how I know.....

 

lp says georgia

 

all the '58 Ninety-Eight Holidays went to my dreams.

one day, one day....

 

Really rather have a 57, but my 58 will do for now.

 

Here's an original unrestored '58 at the Little Rock Cruisefest last fall

 

Now, I'm not real familiar with Olds Rocket motors ... but what is that silver cylinder in the back of the lifter valley?

 

There is a super88 in my driveway right now...it belong's to my wife....it has rust in some weird places but I don't think that's why you don't see em anymore. Been having fun patching holes when I have time. Beautiful cars.

 

My brother had a baby blue '58 he bought new from Leo Rule Olds in Compton. He called it the "Chrome Ghost," even back then. He claimed the J-2 engine was the quickest Olds he ever had, tho, even faster than his '63 Starfire with a 394.