I own a 1958 Oldsmobile. Ask me anything...

[RetroLounge]

It's a 1958 Oldsmobile Super 88 4 dr Hardtop

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. Does the cigarette lighter still work?

I had a 59 copper colored one and that thing threw flames and the radio was pretty cool too...took some elbow grease to turn corners though with those huge wheels and NO power steering. :D

[RetroLounge]

3. It has a lighter, but not sure if it works.

I'll find out when I buy a new battery for it.

The car was originally Bronze Metallic before some yahoo painted it blue.

and it has Power Steering...

[Kenneth ken]

2. nice car!

where's the front bumper?

[RetroLounge]

4. In the garage, rechromed and still wrapped in paper.

Haven't gotten around to putting it on yet.

The car came taken apart due to an front-end accident and has been in storage for 20 years before I found it. Just got the frame straightened out, and am ready to get it back together and running.

[newyawker99]

15. Hi Kennethken!! 600 posts

:toast:

[Kenneth ken]

5. so are you

going to go for the fresh-off-the-showroom-floor restore look?

or

are you going to slick it up some? fancy wheels, etc.

[RetroLounge]

7. Well, I think I will just drive this one for a while

to see if I like it. It only has 56000 original miles.

I have another 1958 Olds, a 4 dr Hard Top Fiesta Wagon in the garage and we are doing a frame-off restoration on that one. It's pretty rare and needs to be completely restored.

But I've never actually drove either car. Sounds weird, to buy 2 cars but to never have driven them.

I will probably use the engine from the 4 dr as a donor for the wagon, and then hot rod this car, slick it up, fancy wheel, lots of rockabilly touches, fuzzy dice, etc.



edited: added pic of wagon as it looked when I bought it.

[procopia]

6. That's almost my dream car

Someday I want to own a '59 Caddy, but right now I'm having fun with my '65 Mustang convertible.

[RetroLounge]

9. While I really like the '59 Caddy, if I were to buy a Caddy

it would be the 1958. I have totally fallen in love with the whole 1958 GM line of cars. It was their 50th anniversary, and they plunked 300lbs of chrome on every vehicle.

The buicks are gaudy as hell, and I love the grill.
The caddys have great fins.
The Pontiacs are under appreciated.
The impala is a classic, since American Grafitti.

now that Mustang sounds sweet! Picture?

[procopia]

24. My '65 Stang

This is the pic I saved from Ebay, where we found our Stang last May. We were not disappointed! '58 Caddies had great fins, but the '59 had the ultimate fin!

On edit: Sorry, I couldn't get the photo to post :(

[newyawker99]

16. Congrats procopia!! 200 posts

:toast:

[Blue_Chill]

8. how many miles does it have

and what size oil puddle does it leave when you park it?

[RetroLounge]

11. 56000 original miles, and no oil leaks.

It's been in a garage for the past 18-20 years. The only thing done was the paint job about 20 years ago. It was originally bronze metallic with a white roof. Three-tone interior, cloth, vinly and leather, with no tears or rips.

I got it running, but have not driven it. So it may leak oil.

But I doubt it. It's got a nice solid 371cid V-8 with 305hp and I hope to get it on the road soon, maybe before the snow covers Wisconsin.

[ronzo]

10. Hey, retro rolled over!

congrats.

[RetroLounge]

12. Hey, I did! Woo hoo!

(actually, I was watching the count today and posting a lot...)

[pansypoo53219]

13. stop it

now i miss my sweet pea, the 73' delta 88 more. of course to make me really happy i want another 72' delta, my ss Victoria. But i sure would love to drive one of those babies.

[RetroLounge]

14. Nice big land yachts, those Delta 88's

Long and low...

[yorgatron]

17. do you need help with part #'s?

i have a '54 olds,but i have both body and chassis parts manuals from '58.

[RetroLounge]

20. Thanks for the offer! I like the 54 Olds...

I like the 54 Olds...

My younger brother has a '55 Olds 98.

I already have the '58 Shop Manual and the Body Parts Manual already.

I'm going to a big car show swap meet next week looking to buy the Chassis Part manual...

[slackmaster]

18. How long does it take the tubes in the radio to warm up?

A friend back in high school had a 1960 Cadillac limo. The radios (yes, it had two) took about 3 minutes to get up to working temperature.

It had two separate air conditioners too BTW.

[RetroLounge]

19. The AM Radio take a few minutes to warm up

but the antenna is broken, so I need to replace that.

I LOVE tube radios..

[midnight armadillo]

21. Beautiful!

If you get in an accident, watch out for that non-padded dash ;-)

[RetroLounge]

22. Ah, but it *has* a padded dash!

It was standard equipment on the 1958 Super 88 and 98.

The Dynamic 88 came with as an option.

They added many safety features in '58, including removing the Chrome horn ring replacing it with horn buttons, as the ring tended to break in an accident and spear the driver in the chest.

They also had an option called Safety Sentinel, which was a knob on the Speedo that you would set at a certain speed, and then if you were speeding, it would beep at you until you slowed down.

[grilled onions]

23. Seriously

my favorite car was one like yours but it was kelly green with white. I have looked for years for a photo of this make and year of car. Do you have any suggestions of where I could find one? Color would not be important!

[RetroLounge]

25. Best way to find a picture would be to go to eBay

Do a search on 1958 Oldsmobile.

You'll find Ads, manuals, sales brochures, all kinds of stuff.

Also, try this site for a nice scan:

www.ephemeranow.com