Shiny – No Rust: 1959 Oldsmobile Super 88
“Very clean NO RUST” so opines the seller of this 1959 Oldsmobile Super 88 station wagon. I suppose rust is an object, subject to further defining but I see plenty of the surface kind adorning the horizontal surfaces of this eighteen-and-a-half-foot suburban cruiser. Of course, rust also comes in a more invasive nature which may be the variety as defined by the seller. With that thought in mind, let’s take a closer look and see for ourselves. Garaged out in Cathedral City, California, this conspicuous, mid-century model from GM’s middle division is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $5,700 with the reserve not yet met. It’s also offered at a BIN price of $20,000.
Oldsmobile scored a fifth-place finish in the 1959 domestic production race, knocking out 382K vehicles. Of that total, 7K were Super 88 station wagons with another 12K Dynamic 88 wagons making the scene. Total wagon production amounted to just shy of 5% of Oldsmobile’s total output that year, making these rather uncommon cars – especially today.
The seller suggests, “Beautiful wagin (sp) in good condition.” I’d counter that with beauty being in the eye of the beholder. This one’s straight and the chrome and stainless show well but the “wet look” (clear coat) over a deteriorated finish is an acquired taste, I guess. There are a lot of included images of the underside and I can’t tell with certainty if the floor is experiencing deterioration or if the undercoating is just flaking off. But yes, I’ll agree with the seller’s position, I see no obvious evidence of body panel rust-through.
There’s 315 gross HP of “Rocket Power” in the form of a 394 CI V8 engine holding court under the Great Plains-sized hood and it makes the roadway connection via a Hydramatic automatic transmission. The seller advertises, “Original engine and transmission, has all new brakes including booster and master cylinder, new carburetor and all new fuel lines, new starter, new belts and alternator, new wheels and tires and new front and rear shock(s).”
Heading indoors, the listing states, “Needs carpet and headliner” and I’d throw in that front bench seat as well as that driver’s side bottom rest is going to clip a driver right in the comfort zone. The rest of the environment presents well, especially that hip, two-spoke steering wheel. Can you imagine telling the interior designer of this car that in 35 years, a high-pressure bag will fly out of the wheel’s hub and plant one right on your kisser when you smack into something rigid? They’d consider you to be daft, deranged, or both.
I’m not sure how to define this Olds. Yeah, it’s pretty cool I guess; it’s certainly not a garden-variety station wagon. But it shouldn’t take $20 large to snag this one, at least I’m not feelin’ that, how about you?
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Comments
Who is more optimistic- A bride and groom on their wedding night or the seller of a used car?
Beautiful. It could pass for a 60 any day.
8000 on a good day, and that clear coat patina thing is hideous.
I had this car as a 2-door! A ’59 Olds is magnificent inside and out. The speedometer is a work of art and details like the gas filler cap under a lid on the rear bumper are nothing but cool.
You will need power steering (I had to add it) or forget getting into and out of a parking space. It’s slow off the line but once at cruising speed this behemoth is as smooth and cool as it gets.
Clear coat on “patina” (rust) is nonsense and the car should be sanded down to metal for a proper coat of paint.
His price is nonsense too, but he’ll figure that out. <$15k is fair and allows room for getting those key needs addressed.
OK, I need to wipe the drool from my chin.
Ended at $5000 with no bids, just as well. For a car with “no rust” it sure has a lot of brown spots including under the doors.
Dad had a white ‘59 but it was a four door, not a wagon. Yet this one brings back a lot of me memories. I’ve never seen the appeal of the clear coat over patina look but I guess it’s the hot ticket right now. This one’s a $10K car at best given what it needs.
35 years? 14 years! First serial car with airbag- 1973 Oldsmobile Toronado)
News to me; got any documentation?
JO
I’m actually showing 1974 for the Toro, first production car with both driver and passenger airbags.
https://imsvintagephotos.com/cdn/shop/products/3241489-front_700x.jpg?v=1630864425
https://oldcarbrochures.org/United%20States/Oldsmobile/1974_Oldsmobile/1974_Oldsmobile_Air_Cushion_Folder/index.html
OK, good discovery, still…I wonder how many were actually sold. And, it had to be a way-out concept fifteen years earlier.
JO
An uninformed seller who clearcoats rust & paint fade isn’t going to attract the right buyer. `59 Olds wagons of either variety aren’t plentiful today, and if the frame/floors etc. are solid enough, this rare wagon deserves a full restoration! GM has some beautiful colors in `59, and I would be tempted to take this down to bare metal & re-do the color scheme to something a bit more eye-catching in the factory two-tone style.
Classic case of over-selling. Wisdom dictates that you undersell, and over-deliver. In this case it was over-sell/ no sale. Neat car, lots of preliminary work done… The ridiculous gloss clear coat will disappear easy enough when the car is brought down to bare metal.
Never ceases to amaze me someone’s interpretation of how they view things. I’ve heard people from salt country claim no rust and when you look at it there’s no metal left to rust. Well at least he didn’t rattle can it with primer to do a ta da to validate his point.
in the summer of 59 we moved from chicago to miami wagon loaded .dad told me crawl up front .i saw the speedo turn 115 mph on the ohio turnpike wow i was 8 what a ride
My father had a gold 59 olds. as a kid I used to like to watch the speedometer turn different colors as the car went faster.
As I remember it went from green to yellow to orange and finally red when dad put the pedal to the metal.