Most of the late ’50s space age madness had matured by the Kennedy years, and Oldsmobile kept it classy with its full-size lineup for ’63. This mid-range 1963 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 Holiday sedan sports abbreviated full-length straight-edge fins cresting its fenders to tail lights. Spear-like belt trim and attractive front and rear styling with integrated bumpers bring sophisticated style without the garish space cadet treatment of a few years prior. The nicely-presented classic from Flushing, New York comes to market here on Craigslist, where $13,995 puts it in your driveway. Thanks to reader Barney for spotting this crisp Empire State cruiser.
The claimed 55,000 mile “all original” classic shows minimal wear, and this multi-tone blue interior beats plain old black any day. Three-across seating front and rear equals room for six on that trip to the Grand Canyon or Friday evening mass.
Sun gleaming upon (market) re-entry, this “leader of the medium price field” shares most of its styling with the chart-topping Ninety-Eight, though I might envy the latter’s trick tail lights. Thanks to the cache of factory brochures at lov2xlr8 for some details. While the 123 inch wheelbase and 214 inch length offer expansive room and a smooth ride, the Dynamic 88’s 4002 lb curb weight comes in lighter than modern bloated performance cars.
An array of 394 cid (6.5L) V8s powered the full-sized Olds lineup in ’63, with this “Super Rocket” aka “Sky Rocket” unit marking a cut above the Dynamic 88’s “Rocket” mill. Assuming that’s not just a swapped air cleaner housing, the four-barrel Super Rocket makes 330 HP vs the 2bbl Rocket’s 260, both with over 425 lb-ft of velvety torque.
The Holiday added open air experience to your four-door compared to the Celebrity four-door’s B pillar, the latter adding structural integrity and door and window sealing at the expense of that free-as-a-bird feeling with the side windows down. As much time elapsed between 1900 and this car’s production as then to now, yet you still find 6.x liter OHV V8s and similar brake and suspension technologies (discs, A-arms, shocks and springs, etc.) today. It’s easy to picture this purported turn-key Olds in practical daily service. Few six-seaters today come in under 5000 lb, and running this beauty from 50,000 to 150,000 miles would barely alter its value compared with modern full-sized SUVs that depreciate $100 every time you grab a Happy Meal. How do you think this snappy hard top compares to modern six-seaters costing many times more?
If this Olds is all original, I’m impressed. This would have been a more typical “family” car when it was new. I never paid much thought to the different tail lights on the Ninety Eight and the Eighty Eight, thanks for pointing that out Todd and for posting the link for the brochure. I love it when the writers do that!!! I’d love to have something like this…….. One Day…… Nice find Barney, and great write up too Todd, I enjoyed it.
3rd car I remember the old man having, was a ’63 Olds like this, only a 98. It had the different tail lights and an “Ultra High Compression” tag on the air cleaner, DEMANDING premium, dude, making me think this is a 2 barrel. Not for the old man, who couldn’t sport the extra 4 cents a gallon, and ran it on regular. It pinged like a Geiger counter in Nevada, but never seemed to hurt it any. I have memories of him giving the car the “Italian tuneup”, keeping it to the floor in park, until it cleared out, filling the garage and our lungs with lead deposits. And waiting patiently for the “cold” light to go out with a “plink”, finally some heat, just as we got to school. Wonderful cars,,,for the 60s, so out of place today. I hope someone can enjoy this car again.