Early Personal Luxury: 1962 Oldsmobile Starfire
While Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick all introduced personal luxury cars in the early sixties, the Pontiac Grand Prix would be the one to endure many years. The problem with the Oldsmobile Starfire and Buick Wildcat is that the Oldsmobile Toronado and Buick Riviera would be quite capable of handling that market. This 1962 Oldsmobile Starfire 2 door is for sale here on Craigslist in Easton, Connecticut. Thanks to Barnfinds reader Fordguy1972 for bringing this car to our attention.
While the Starfire was on the same 123-inch wheelbase of the Eighty-Eight models, it shared the rear styling of the Ninety-Eight and had its own grille. It also featured a unique brushed aluminum side paneling. The 1962 2 door hardtops also featured a hardtop styling imitating the convertible top of most models. This car was also available in a convertible. The Starfire is all original and in clean condition. It has been garaged for many years.
The interior is in good condition except for a split on the upper portion of the driver’s seat. The car uses two-tone red leather bucket seats with a sports type control console that includes a tachometer. Power steering and power brakes were also standard. It appears to have power windows as well.
The engine is a 394 cubic inch engine originally having 345 horsepower. The seller states the car has low mileage but doesn’t tell what that mileage is. The seller is asking a reasonable $6,500 for the car. Are you in the market for one of GM’s early personal luxury cars?
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Comments
Dig the red with white on the exterior. Not so much the red with red on the interior. Stick out in a crowd, though. I’ve heard tales the 394’s horsepower was underrrated and the torque rating even more so.
an excellent, excellent mill, about to replace the 350 in my model a
The Starfires are really special and this one is at an attainable price (suspect it’s negotiable too). It’s a little tattered and there aren’t enough pictures. Connecticut is salt country and there are rust signs on the right door, so I’d like to see a bit more of the quarters and rockers, as well as the frame. We also don’t know if it’s a running driving vehicle. I think I prefer the 1961 version with a less eclectic front end (those wings around the headlights look like rust traps, similar to the brows of the 1957 Fords), but even so, the trim appears to be all there (except for the small piece of chrome on the right front). It stands out in a crowd, that’s for sure.
Loved the big chrome and engines of the early olds’
My moms uncle was an Oldsmobile guy all the way.
Looks like some rusty areas on the passenger side. I would want to inspect it before I made an offer. Dash pad cracked, missing chrome on front end & who knows what else. Parts would be really hard to find for it. I’d low ball it. Love that steering wheel !!!!!
That is not white paint on the exterior, it is brushed aluminum.
Looks exactly like the one I had my
sophomore year in Highschool. Mine
was that beautiful medium blue metallic
with a contrasting light and dark blue
interior. Never got to drive it, but the
young ladies I dated sure did! Got it in
the spring of ’70, just before I got my
’54 Ford 3/4 ton pickup. It also had the
394 V-8 with a 3 deuce manifold from the
factory. Man, what a hot rod that car was! Scared the crap out of me once
when the linkage broke on the carbs and
they stuck on open going down route 66.
My buddies and I nearly crapped ourselves as the speedo climbed to just
over 120! We got it stopped, and I called
Dad, who came out and took us to get
some new vaccuum hose to fix the problem. Seems that vaccuum line
worked all three carbs and when it broke,
it hung the throttle wide open! Dad liked
my car so much that we used it for our
vacation trip to Kentucky that year. I can
tell you firsthand that these cars were meant for the open road as mine seemed
to cruise effortlessly down the highway as that big 394 stretched its legs and loafed along. Thanks folks, you just made my morning with this one!
I like this car. It seems reasonably priced for what it is. One caveat is that it has been listed for a very long time, so there may be some hidden issues that have turned off prospective buyers. Then again it could just be that it’s an unusual model rather than a Camaro, Mustang, or tri-five.
– John
A true work of art. Oldsmobile really got it right. This and the 64 are my two favorite. And, love those 60s GM interiors. The color combinations were outstanding. So much different from the ho-hum of today’s cars. If this one proves to be as solid as it looks, it’s a bargain.
I had a buddy in highschool with a ’62 Olds dynamic ’88’ white 4-door sedan ( red vinyl interior ). It had as few options possible . That car pulled like a freight train!
My father sold Chevrolets and Oldsmobiles in a small midwest dealership back then. Our town was celebrating a sesquicentenial in 62 and Oldsmobile sent about 10 of these to be used by certain townspeople, like the mayor,etc.and treated like ‘demos’.there were only a couple 2dr.coupes,the rest were 4dr,sedans and hardtops.All the ones we had were maroon in color, with that beautiful stainless trim. Most of the cars were bought afterwards and stayed in the area. One such car, a 4dr.sedan was owned by a friend of my dad’s who worked as a mechanic at the dealership. He sold me this car around 1973-4. It was in really nice condition! Stipulation was not to sell it to just anybody. So when my family decided to move to Texas, I couldn’t take it with me, he bought it back…..never saw it again. Boy were those things pretty.
For any Olds fan this ’62 Starfire is a steal. It’s condition appears to be much better than just a core for restoration. Obviously the rust question needs to be asked if not pursued, but holy cow guys, a bonafide, unmolested Starfire…. just Delicious!
I totally agree.Regardless of the rust,if it runs and drives this is a steal.These cars are NOT cheap and I would love to have this baby sitting in my drive way!!
My mother drove one exactly like this brand new for 2-3 years. It was gone before I got my license in 1966, but I recall it would easily burn rubber at every light when my dad drove it. If I had a good place to keep this…
my friends mom had one and he used to drag race it on dodge street in omaha till the tranny went away
Nicest offering today.
Been for sale for a while someone said ?
Offer him 4 grand
Sexy….my fav year of the Starfires…..priced right too !
Looks like a perfect place to start any kind of restoration that a person wanted to do. Unusual, is that appears to have a signal seek radio and the foot switch to operate it. That is rare on an Olds.