It’s funny how several decades can change your mind about something. I was only a little kid back in the early ’80s, but I didn’t think that my parents’ new 1983 Buick LeSabre Limited Coupe was a very attractive car. Over the last few years, however, I’ve seen a blue-on-blue Electra Coupe being used as a year-round daily driver, and I’ve ogled it every time it silently drifts by; I’ve finally seen the light when it comes to these charming B- and C-Body two doors from the ’80s. Unfortunately, the big 98 and Electra two doors were not all that popular when new, with only 13,696 of these 98s being sold in 1981 compared to 74,017 sedans. Still, they’re coming out of the woodwork this week on Barn Finds (see my colleague Scotty Gilbertson’s entry from today), so you have at least two good choices if this is your kind of car. Reader Tony Primo found this one on craigslist in Ghent, New York, with an asking price of $9,950.
The main selling feature of any General Motors C-Body was its opulent interior, with crushed velour upholstery and pillowy seating surfaces. The Ninety-Eight came standard with a four-speed automatic overdrive, but the original owner also chose the optional Oldsmobile 307 V8; with an electronic Quadrajet on top, it produced 140 horsepower and 240 lb.-ft. of torque. The seller doesn’t include any engine pictures, but does say that everything works except the cruise control and the power antenna (even the air conditioning). The only non-original feature is an old JVC tape deck, so you can pop in your old Air Supply tapes for a true living-room experience.
And if you really want to crank up the JVC and let your neighborhood know that you were into the Clash back in 1981, open up the “electric sliding sunroof,” fast forward to “Brand New Cadillac,” and hope that nobody notices you’re driving an Oldsmobile.
The seller says that this 98 is a two-owner car with 50,243 miles on it, and it has not been in any accidents, it has no rust, it’s never been smoked in, it’s always been stored in a garage, and it comes with all its service records. It runs and drives as you’d expect a low-mileage Oldsmobile to run and drive. Unfortunately, its owner has stopped driving, so this clean original Ninety-Eight is up for sale for what the seller says is a reasonable price (once again, $9,950). Nobody makes a luxury car like this anymore, a 221.1-inch-long cocoon designed to eliminate all external stimuli and coddle the occupants in velour. If that’s your idea of a good time, you couldn’t do much better than this.
Great post Aaron, and I totally agree these seem to look better now than when they were new. For me, there’s something more magical about the first three years of the tenth-generation Ninety-Eight, the 1977-79 models, versus the 1980-84s. The late seventies cars looked more streamlined, whereas I thought they got a bit more of a bulky appearance with the updated sheet metal in 1980. However, that’s just my opinion, and no doubt this one’s a beauty from a great period in U.S. luxury history. I’m sure the next owner will enjoy this 98!
There was a definite difference between the two generations, the rear window is more upright on the ’80 and up, and the fender skirts as well, which I’m a huge fan of. Either version was a nice, comfortable cruiser. The ’77 to ’79 did have one leg up in that you could get the Olds 350 or 403 and they had the bullet proof THM 400, the newer ones I think all you could get in a gas engine was the Olds 307 and the THM 2004R.
Boy, Scotty wasn’t kidding when he said it’s Olds Ninety Eight week here at Barnfinds. The sunroof has got to be a rare option. I remember one other on a friends Olds Delta 88 2 door around the same vintage as this one. Anothwr great find!! Nice write up Aaron I enjoyed yours too.
If I had one with the sunroof, I would never open it, knowing what a huge PITA they are to repair!
To me, a 2 door model does not as good as the 4 door version
Okay, so my mind’s eye isn’t so sharp and I see here how the quarter roof actually mounts to the car. Please forgive my description of the B-pillar band across the roof, blah, blah, blah. I do prefer the full roof. The astro roof is a cool feature. Another great looking Olds.
Pick up your buddy and head for the golf course ⛳️ Plenty of room in the trunk.
It’s “just” a Regency. The Regency Brougham didn’t appear until 1982, and it was sedan only from ’82-’84.
Thanks, CC. Never trust a seller’s ad (or in this case, my Standard Catalog of Oldsmobile, which captioned it as a Brougham in 1981).
Turbo 400 gone by 81. I worked on these new. Super comfy, ice cold R12 ac. What could be better? First year for metric fasteners. These came in new and I Saud to another mechanic why are these bolt heads this nasty blue color. Metric. Had to buy all new tools. And they called that progress. Pretty good cars then, but don’t get a diesel. Biggest pile of dog crap ever. This guys price is optimistic. Nobody drives these anymore. Take a look if you can get your face put of your phone.
I do like the maroon better. Scotty and Aaron have dueling 98s here. The downside of the sunroofs was moisture would cause the headliners to sag and droop. But nonetheless I’m glad the spotlight is back on the eye candy.
Olds made the best looking of the big-body GM cars 78-85. I agree that the 4 door is better looking, but from the perspective of “was this a good car”, both of the era and even today, the answer is unquestionably yes. Someone’s going to get a very nice car…
Gotta agree to disagree. The coupe looks better to me. Makes it more of a personal luxury car, and I like the other example shown, with leather. That mouse fur upholstery is just gross. I do like the sun roof though with good AC the other 98 still wins.
Nice detail job. Always love to buy a car that the seller can’t even wash the mud off of…speaks volumes about the seller.
You can just tell the designer of these was disappointed there were no square wheels and tires that could be added. Those acute and obtuse angles in the steering wheel must have really rankled.
I made most of my comment on the more desirable Maple Red one above. This one is the same body color as my ’84 Cutlass Brougham was.
Like others, the red one is my choice as it simply jumps out at you while this one really doesn’t so much mostly because of the lack of a cleanup & shine. If you want to sell a car, cosmetic appearance is the first thing people see when they drive up.
I worked at Olds dealers from 1980-95. Couldn’t begin to count how many cruise control transducers and power antenna masts I replaced!
These and the 88’s were the most comfortable highway cruisers.