Stored 30 Years: 1955 Oldsmobile 88
The mid-1950s proved to be a boom for automobile sales, especially Oldsmobile which saw an increase of 65 percent just from 1954 to 1955. The 88 was the bread winner at Olds, including this dormant 1955 2-door sedan. Although stored indoors for 30 years, it had a mechanical rebuild just prior and will run with gas in the carburetor. The body and interior look to have held up well and it might not take much to get this car back out on the road. It can be found in Modesto, California, here on craigslist, and can be taken home for $9,200 OBO. Thanks, Ikey Heyman, for sleuthing this one out for us!
The 1954-56 Oldsmobiles enjoyed their first redesign after being all-new cars right after World War II. They were distinguished by longer and lower body shells and wrap-around windshields and rear windows. The styling of the ‘55s was softened further and the grille had a more oval shape with it its massive front bumper. While the rooflines were similar to the ‘54s, the ‘55s appeared even more slimmer and streamlined. Sales jumped by 230,000 cars from 1954 to 1955 for a total of more than 583,000 Oldsmobiles. Much of that was fueled by the new 2 and 4-door Holiday hardtops.
This ’55 Olds 88 is described as a family-owned and unmolested car, but we don’t know if it’s the same family that bought it new. Around 1990, the engine and transmission were rebuilt and then it went into hibernation for the duration. We’re told that if you pour some gas down the carb it will run, so hopefully the engine is intact after all these years. Once the fuel system is completely flushed out and new gas added, presumably the car will run fine on its own. Change all the rest of the fluids and rubber bits, including tires, and it may even be roadworthy once more.
The body looks straight and rust-free from the limited views provided, with just a hint of surface rust here and there. Perhaps the white paint might show a little shine with some elbow grease and wax. We’re told the car has never been in an accident or had any body work done. What we can see of the interior looks good and that it may need nothing more than a good cleaning with no visible issues with the upholstery.
Under the hood resides one of those Oldsmobile Rocket V8s. If original, it would be a 324 cubic inch engine that produced 175 hp with a 2-barrel carburetor. Super 88 models got an upgrade to 185 hp with a 4-barrel, but we think this one to be your standard 88. This Olds is paired with an automatic transmission which we will assume moves the car on its own, but the photos don’t show it anywhere but inside the garage/barn. The basic Oldsmobile 88 2-door sedan saw production of 37,500 units in 1955. Because its not the snappier Holiday model, resale values are lower at $6,900 for Fair, according to Hagerty, and $10,600 for Good. This car is probably a nice catch at somewhere in the middle.
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Comments
Dad had ’55 and used it to drive him and mom from IL to WA in 1960 to start a new life away from the chaos of family and relatives. After I went back to the Midwest a few decades ago to visit the relatives, I just want to say thanks dad for moving. Now I understood why he got the hell out of there. :)
Mike,
Illinois is a great place to be from. ;)
Good luck with the sale. Can’t see enough of it to make any determinations, except to say it does appear to be a standard 88 and not a Super. No telling what the upholstery looks like under those vinyl covers; hopefully saveable.
Is it just me, or does anyone else recall
seeing one of these with a 3 on the tree?
When my stepdad was courting my Mom, he had a ’54 4-door 88 sedan with a 3-speed with overdrive. Great car for
what it was. Too bad some knothead
ran a red light and T-boned it, totaling
the car and breaking 3 of Dad’s ribs. But
all wasn’t lost though, the next time he
came to court Mom, he showed up in a
’55 Cadillac 2-door HT. That was over
60 years ago and seeing this car brought
it all back. I’d like to see it saved and
restored to original spec down to the
dog dish hubcaps.
Ken, personally I’ve never seen any ’55 Olds with stick config but they definately were made. One forum I visited indicated some 5% of 50s Oldses came so equipped so you get the idea how many could be around today
http://topnotchvehicles.com/gallery/1955-oldsmobile-88-two-door-sedan/
…and if you find that one too mundane check out this ‘open checkbook’ restoration….
http://www.2040-cars.com/Oldsmobile/Eighty-Eight/1955-olds-super-88-convt-rare-manual-transmission-80k-restoration-950415/
Yup I had a 2 door sedan with a three speed on the tree, was told they would smoke the automatic both off the line and top speed.
My first car was a 55 olds 2 door hardtop, manual transmission, 324 chin 2 barrel carb, a nice red and white with matching upholstery. Made me cry when I had to sell it when I was in Navy and shipped out to Vietnam. I actually beat a 64 dodge out of the toll gates of the sf oak bay bridge. My best car. If I ever hit the lotto, I would buy a beautiful 55 olds , totally restored in Tennessee, but has an auto trans, I would settle for that now.
When I was about 14 my dad took in on trade (for a used corn picker) a ’54 2 door 88 with a 3 speed manual transmission. I wanted it so bad for myself, but after test driving it, my dad announced that it was way too fast for me and he promptly sold it. A few years later he finally let me into a ’58 Chevy DelRay with a 6 cylinder motor and powerglide. What a letdown.
GM didn’t use a 3 speed overdrive Transmission until 55 and was available only for Chevrolet.
Yes they did exist. I worked at a service station in NC in the 50’s and 60’s. One of our customers had a ’55 Olds 88 with 3 speed and overdrive. Serviced it many times. Only one I ever saw.
My aunt and uncle bought a new Holiday 98 in 1955. Four door hardtop with all the options. They were the envy of all us kids. It was a beauty.
When I was an early teen in the late 60’s, friends older brother, who was a terrible influence on a young kid, had a car like this. It used so much oil, he was running it on almost straight STP. He lived on a hill, and he would roll backward, drop it in drive, it did great burnouts until the tranny eventually failed. We rearranged the letters in the front to say “LIBOOMSLED” and off to the crusher it went.
I know it’s not the same car but when I see these all I “kins thinks of” is WW and The Dixie Dancekings! Furry Lewis picking the guitar!
That was a great movie and I wish I could find a copy of it.
this is getting old ….every car is from California with no info and limited pics
Mike,
Illinois is a great place to be from. ;)
Unusual to see one of these without two-tone paint.
First car I bought after returning from overseas and discharge from the army in 67 was a 55 Olds holiday 98 four door hardtop. It was black/ white, with power steering and brakes and wonder bar radio with a button on the floor board near the headlight dimmer that automatically changed the station when stepped on. I paid $200.00 for it and drove from Tacoma, Washington to Redding, California with my then fiancée, stopping at Portland, Oregon for gas then back on I-5 through Oregon in the middle of the night topping out at 105 mph till we got to the Siskoyou mountains in southern Oregon over into California. We made one other stop for a little premarital love in that big wide front seat. We married a few days later on June 5. I drove that car hard and put it up wet for another year or so before burning the valves then selling it.
God bless America
I am an Olds fan and it’s nice to see another one. Someone save it and enjoy.
Best car I ever had was a 1960 Olds 98 convertible. Huge car, with the top down looked half a block long. Probably was, now that I think about it! Towed a 16 ft Mahogany speedboat from Pontiac MI to the Straits at 80+ mph and the car didn’t know it was towing anything. Great memories for this old man.
That car was 80 and a half inches wide and 5 inches short of 19 ft long.
If it was a hard top without the convertible top well it would probably hold 10 dead bodies
My college room mate inherited a ’54 88 from his grandmother with the big engine and 3 on the tree. Beautiful almost metallic green 4 door that we used for the midnight drags chase car out on the local highways out of town. He didn’t start to drop off until we were well past 130mph. Fun part was we were running race prepared Olds engines in the two cars we had. One was a ’55. As a little kid my family doctor had a fully loaded ’54 two door hard top with leather interior and AC that was fun for us as he really liked to hammer down with it… and it was fast.
Apparently sold already. No longer on C/L
Mom had a 2 tone light and dark blue 2 door hard top for a couple of months before she crashed it. A couple of years later Dad bought Grandmother a ’55 2 door hard top solid white. It had a hot cam, dual exhaust and a 4 bbl. carb. I remember Dad test driving it after a tune up and watching the speedo. roll past 100 MPH just as fast at it rolled past 50 MPH. I think Dad just backed off at 120. (the end of the speedo. if I remember correctly) But it sure seemed like it wanted to go faster. One Sunday morning Granny was on her way to our house with my aunt when they thought that they heard the muffler start dragging. (The exhaust system needed serious repair by this time.) And decided that when they got to our house they would have my Dad just remove it and then get it fixed later in the week. A gentleman made them stop so he could wire up the GAS TANK that was dragging being tethered by the sending unit wire and fuel line. Such was the saga of many of older vehicles in Northern Illinois. And YES! that is one of the reasons that I left Illinois. (besides the politics and corruption) AGAIN, a good place to be from!