Introducing a car so big it doesn’t even fit in the seller’s pictures! Normally you could take a step backward and get the whole car in view, but sometimes you’re backed up against a lion’s cage or a dangerous cliff and it’s just not possible. Nevertheless, you can almost see the entire 27-foot long quarter panels in this picture and the pinnacle of a spear-like fin that begins at the B pillar. Magnificent! GM fans prize the thin-pillared “bubbletop” designs, giving visibility center stage by virtually eliminating structural roof pillars. This 1959 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight SceniCoupe is no exception, offering panoramic horizontal views in all directions. This running but not driving Mayfield, New York classic seeks a new owner here on eBay where $9500 puts it in your driveway or garage, both of which should be measured carefully before sealing the deal. At 223 inches long and a staggering 81 inches wide, this 4700 lb Ninety-Eight measures about a foot longer and an inch wider than a 2022 Cadillac Escalade.
Now we can view the rear of the twin rocket-thruster fins on this space-age shuttle-craft. In its sales brochures for ’59, Oldsmobile bragged of its “conquest of inner space” with 64% more trunk capacity than the outgoing 1958 models. Thanks to lov2xlr8 and automobile-catalog for some details.
An imposing front promises to fill up rear-view mirrors in a way that says “Move or I will compact you like a soup can in a panic stop.”
The all-seeing Autronic Eye automatically dims high beams as a courtesy to oncoming drivers. Now that’s luxury! Compared to combinations like pink and black and white this two-tone interior stands the test of time, looking handsome decades later.
The patented “rust-catcher” shelf ties hood to trunk together visually and has certainly sent decades of rain water into the car’s body. I can almost hear Olds aficionados cussing whoever designed and approved this feature. If it’s not wide enough to hold a beer bottle, what’s the point?
Assuming it’s original, the Rocket V8 should be Oldsmobile’s chart-topping 394 cid (6.5L) V8 making 315 HP and 435 lb-ft of torque. Three Four forward speeds and no overdrive should make for decent acceleration, but let’s face it: anyone driving this car resigns themselves to the fact that going around corners with anything but careful planning could result in 2.5 tons of minivan-crushing understeer. Will this monster fit in your garage?
I think this would have the 4spd hydrostatic:-)
Dogone spellchecker, hydramatic:-)
Thank you Harvey! You are correct, of course. The number of gears was not mentioned in the brochure so I got lazy and looked at the gear shifter. I have corrected the article, leaving my original gaff in strikeout. Assuming this page is correct, https://www.automobile-catalog.com/auta_details1.php , this car has the FOUR-speed automatic Jetaway Hydra-Matic, an Oldsmobile option since 1939 I believe. It makes you wonder how people settled for three and even two-speed automatics of the 1960s and ’70s. Thanks again and happy motoring!
The advent of 2/3 spd slushboxes vs the 4spd Hydramatic is due to 3 things only; $, weight and complexity. The tranny was horribly expensive to manufacture, weighs probably as much as the engine and is so complex that hardly any tranny shops will touch such a unit today.
While the original design concept indeed dates back to ’39 the version produced ’56-’64 is a revised ‘controlled coupling Hydramatic’
The side view truly looks like something about to take off! GLWTA!! :-)
Even the name is as long as this car ❗
Looks to be at least a 8 body trunk. I Miss The All Nighters. 5 Bucks a car load and movies from DUSK TILL DAWN
I’m a big fan of Oldsmobiles and I love this big beautiful girl. Fantastic lines and the “afterburner” taillights are terrific. I hope whoever gets it is handy with a grinder/ welder and can handle the bill for plating those bumpers.
I also am a big fan of Oldsmobile. I owned a 59 convertible in the early 70’s. Had a new top on it but the framework of the top was bent and allowed it to leak in the rain if I drove over twenty mph! Loved that old car long as the sun was shining. Wore a raincoat when it wasn’t!
The leaking freeze plugs may foretell a cracked block or head. I’d give a $1000 for it if it included delivery to me 1500 miles away. Rust repair and engine repair would still put me under water.
Had an identical car back in the sixty’s ,after being hit on the right front I went to a scrap yard looking for a new hood,fender and bumper .they did not have but the owner of the yard had a complete front clip from a 59 caddy that he assured me would be a simple bolt on and he was right so from then on people thought I had the neatest looking 59 caddy
I owned this same year as a convertible. With the top down, it stretched from here to forever. Big, beautiful, great cruiser, towed an inboard Century speedboat from Lansing to Mackinaw City at 90 mph with no hesitation. Wish I still had them both. Had I the funds, I would be on my way to pick this up.
Magnificent. That mid-century Jetsons styling is great, and a bubbletop, too – like deriving a greenhouse.
One reason for the 4 speeds is that these Hydros had a fluid coupler but not a torque converter so the extra gear ratio helped. These were very big & strong (remember Stone/Woods & Cook) Willys gasser drag car with the Olds engine & B&M hydro? I had built a 303 Olds / Hydro Model A coupe long ago circa 1972.Not only was that engine massive, that hydro tranny weighed a ton. :-) Terry J
Cool car, but is it really worth that much? Seems like a lot of money for a car that needs a TON of work.
I would really like to have the red 1964 Chevy impala behind it
There were still quite a few of these on the road when I was a kid, as well as their “Wide Track” cousins. Must have been quite a chore to parallel park, but this was the norm back then.
4 speed Hydramatic is correct. I worked for an older couple in the summer of 1975. I was 15 years old. They couldn’t afford to pay me in cash, so they offered to give me his dad’s 1958 Oldsmobile Super 88 2 door hardtop. White body, pink top and 66,000 original miles. Nice shape, too. Of course I said yes in a heartbeat. I had that car doing 120 mph on Hwy 99 south toward Chico. Burnt up the transmission while in college a few years later but a buddy had a wrecked 57 olds and sold me the transmission for $100. Sold the car in 1991 for $1500. An interesting feature on the Olds was a reverse lockout above 10 mph. I tried it and it skidded to a halt. some folks will tell you that it is a 3 speed Hydramatic. Wrong. Can be manually shifted to 2nd gear only. Very strong engine (371 4 barrel) and factory dual exhaust. Many fond memories. Wish I still had it.
I know this car, and the owner before he passed. His mother had one and when he was 17 he (with several friends) used to push it uphill out of the driveway to late nite cruise Gloversville. Car was kept indoors when I last saw it, and babied. Looks like a couple years of outdoor storage in upstate NY hurt it, but she will run again.
Comes with it’s own zip code….
I loved those bubble tops (Pontiac & Chevies were the best examples IMO), but looking at the rust under that rear window would make me call for Captain, Ahab to bring his harpoon…
I saw one of these (again) today.It’s parked along highway 220,
just South of Boones Mill,VA. Not sure if it’s for sale.
My Dad had the Holiday 88 version of the 1959 Oldsmobile. It was the first car that I learned to drive. I always thought that the color changing speedometer was so cool as a 9 year old kid.
My mom’s friend got a 59 Buick in 59, I was 5 yrs old and her sons convinced me that those rolling speedometers had mercury in them like a thermometer and the other colors orange and green were some other type of fluid, I’ve always thought the speedometers were too cool, still do, wish I still owned my 1961 Olds Bubbletop that had that feature! makes me laugh everytime I think of it!
When I learned to drive in the middle late 1960s, we had a 59 Oldsmobile 88 4 door sedan. It was the older, more beat up car we had, so it was the one I learned to drive on. After learning to parallel park that monster, I could parallel park anything. My mom wasn’t known for taking care of cars so by the time we traded it off, it was junk.
how can you let such a beautiful vehicle deteriorate only so “barn find”, but rotting outside. A lot of work, even the window frame does not bode well …