Whoa, what do we have here? A turbocharged 1962 Oldsmobile Jetfire, and it’s a pretty rare bird. I looked into the BF archives and found only one that has been reviewed in the last seven years, and I can’t recall ever actually encountering one. Available in ’62 and ’63, the Jetfire is considered one of the first domestic turbocharged production cars. Today’s discovery, courtesy of T.J., has been beautifully restored and is looking for a new home. Brazil, Indiana, is where you’ll find this rarity, and it’s available here on eBay for a BIN price of $80,000 (yikes!).
The Jetfire was a hopped-up version of Oldsmobile’s F85/Cutlass. It was available strictly as a two-door hardtop and yielded 3,765 copies in ’62. Production continued through the ’63 model year, and another 5,842 units left the Lansing assembly line. The seller tells us this Olds was parked by the first owner in 1974 and sat until he acquired it, as the second owner, in 2015. The full restoration, which commenced in 2019, took two years to complete, and what you see here is the magnificent result. There’s nothing here to nitpick; this Jetstar shows like new. You can view this video, which reveals this Jetfire upon discovery in Chicago in 2019.
The heart of the beast is a 215 gross HP, 215 CI turbocharged V8 engine, known as the Turbo-Rocket, and in this case, it’s attached to a four-speed manual transmission. The seller claims 46K original miles of use and states that this high-compression powerhouse requires the use of “Turbo Rocket Fluid,” a methanol-and-water mixture additive, necessary to combat engine pre-ignition. This video showcases this Jetfire’s road maneuvering skills while being piloted by Jay Leno.
The seller tells us that the interior is largely original, and it’s striking in a 1962 sort of way. The two-tone vinyl upholstery is perfect, and the carpet, interestingly, is original, but it has been dyed back to its original shade. Note the cool turbo gauge on the console; imagine trying to source one of those today!
Leno states, “that not many people know about this,” referencing the Jetfire, and I guess I’m in that category. I do recall, somewhere along the line, reading about such a model, but I guess I put it away so far into a deep recess that it is as good as never having known about it. This was an impressive bit of automotive engineering in its day, but it’s no surprise to me that it’s an Oldsmobile – they were the engineering division at GM. And today? No Oldsmobile, and GM? Well…I’ll just move along.
Yes, it’s a beautiful restoration, and I’m sure it cost plenty in terms of time, research, effort, and $$$. But $80 large worth? I’m not sure about that. Anyway, tell me, were any of you aware of this substantial Oldsmobile known as the Jetfire?
For $80 thou, I’d want it to come with a lifetime supply of Turbo Rocket Fluid. My local Oldsmobile dealer seems not to have any in stock.
This would be fun to own, and would certainly be a hit at Cars & Coffee. Just not at that price. I’m pretty certain the seller really doesn’t want to unload it. Or he wants every penny of the restoration cost returned, with a little extra for good measure.
It’s just distilled water and methyl alcohol, 50/50, and a little water-based lubricant. You could make your own, I assume. You could even run windshield washer fluid.
I had one. Cool car but the fluid was quite pricey and it used a lot of it. I believe there was some sort of substitute but it was also costly.
These needs to, and probably will at some point, roll through Barrett Jackson if he wants to acquire that kind of money for it. Truly a rare little gem!
That would be a mistake, they push no reserve auctions, with a limited number of spots available that have a reserve which appears to be available only to cars that meet certain requirements, which are not spelled out on their website, downside risk is probably too great.
Steve R
Not to mention you can’t use pump gas.
Thames, can you be more specific on the fuel requirements? I’d be a bit concerned about something going boom in the engine using home brew turbo fluid also. When you get down to it, it’s just another first generation BOP compact. Each one had interesting mechanical features unique to the brand. Too delicate for cruise night or cars n coffee, and not that interesting in appearance for a museum. I remember this car from when I was a kid, and it was regarded then with some suspicion. I’m surprised it sold so well.
My cousin scored one of these in about 1969 or ’70. It was a cool ride! But my ’55 Chev convert was faster. Back then you could buy Sunoco 260 and it worked just fine until the dog days of summer. Then he mixed up his own concoction of distilled water, mineral oil and rubbing alcohol. He drove it for about 5 years with no issues at all. He traded it for a 4 door version of a GTO. (As he was starting a new family)
Thames, These still run on pump gas. You just have to add fluid to a fluid tank under the hood. The fluid is simple to make and lasts a long time.
Love the Jetfire Cutlass!! Rare being turbo charged!!
80 grand though…
I was stunned when I saw that picture of it brand new in ’62. Just amazing. I can’t even imagine the hours that went into the restoration. What a gem!!! Absolutely beautiful.
Dang, how did this thing make it all the way down to Brazil?
Brazil Indiana
;)
Beautiful car. Probably the best of this make and model in existence. Unfortunately, it’s selling into a small pool of enthusiasts. For the asking price, you can get premium examples of most enthusiast oriented cars, with much stronger followings, if you have that much money to spend you won’t compromise that aspect of your decision. The desire to be different has its limitations, usually hitting a wall at your wallet.
Steve R
My first car was a 1962 Cutlass Convertible, same color as this, with a white convertible top and a red interior. It had about 90 coats of Classic Car Wax on it. (Remember that stuff? It Had DIATOMS in it!)
I think the red interior is much better looking. Mine had the mini console with the automatic shifter. They didn’t make the Jetfire in a convertible just as they didn’t make a Cutlass as a hardtop. I grew up in the Lansing area but even so these cars were not particularly plentiful.
The aluminum-block 215 was treated with suspicion back then but mine seemed to run just fine. It came with a 4 barrel carb which was a beauty to behold in and of itself. The B-O-P compacts of 1961-63 were built like miniature versions of the full-size cars and had a substantial feel.
I got my car in 1966 so by then the GTO and 442 and SS396 were the far more desirable options compared to this mini muscle car. Even if I were wealthy I’d think $80K is a bit much.
Very interesting car. Rarely seen, in any condition. Highly awarded. That 1962 pic is cool. The type of car I would enjoy seeing at a show.
All aluminum 10:1 compression, turbo charged with alcohol injection to quench detonation, all in 1962? Way ahead of its time but that was Oldsmobile. First to install a speedo, use chrome trim, a fully auto shifting tranny, the first to offer an overhead valve V8 and then offer it in the light weight 88 series which dominated NASCAR in its day, first V8 FWD car and still the highest HP in FWD from the toronado, first to offer air bags and the list goes on. This car is an icon and I wish I could afford it.
The 1937 Cord 812 had front wheel drive and a V8.
Steve R
Absolutely a stunning JetFire, but $80k?? This may sit awhile at this price. When you can get a well sorted 1965 442 for around $50k I think I would pass on this.
Barrett Jackson or Mecum, he can set his reserve and this could surpass the ask.
Well this is a real unicorn. The beautiful 1961-1963 Cutlass/Skylark body, with the absolute gem of the 215 cu in aluminum V8, plus it’s the rare Jetfire turbocharged model, plus even more rare 4 speed standard.
It’s a real WOW car, but I agree with everyone else, probably not $80k worth of wow.
The sellers comments of “I am not in a hurry” tells me he’s of the ‘I know what I got’ and ‘waiting for the right buyer’ mindset. @Cooter you’re right, this would need to go through either Barrett-Jackson or Bring-a-Trailer to get all the money, and even then might not be $80k.
I would love to own it, but can’t at that price.
B-J would be “no reserve” on something like this – lots of price risk there. And having bought 1 and sold 2 on BAT, I’m don’t think that site has the ideal audience for this one. I’d think a Mecum auction where a reserve could be set or Hemmings auction – those draw an audience that may be more appreciative of what we have here.
Surprised this got out of the climate controlled bubble to be taken outside to the toxic environment for photos . $80,000.00 ? YIKES ! Very limited buyers on this.
The larger ’62 Starfire coupe would be more desirable. A 2014 price guide had these turbo-charged Jetfire’s listed for $18,000 in #1 condition.
There is no auction history on these cars. The really nice automatics have sold for $30K to 50K and 4 speeds have sold for $50K to 75K.
A cautionary tale here. I met a guy this summer who brought an immaculate example to a concours type show, however, he had engineered a copy of the turbo charge system that was nearly indistinguishable from the original. As always, due diligence is required when evaluating 60+ year old, limited production, rare vehicles.
I don’t remember this particular trim. The trim is quite unique. As far as I remember, check fires were on the standard size bodies. So this trim is unique. Must be quite rare. But it’s not $80,000 rare. Whoever restored the vehicle did a fine job.
The only way this could be better would be if it was a droptop! If I hit the lottery, I’ll be in touch, LOL! GLWTA!
Made me chuckle — my thought was ‘so cool that this isn’t a convertible!’ We all like what we like I guess.
Olds never made a convertible Jetfire from the factory. There are several phantom cars floating around that have been created.
If you haven’t, you really should watch the Jay Leno video. I’d never seen or heard of these but 62 is a little early for me to be familiar with muscle cars. l was only 5 when this was built! Super cool car but another one I could never afford!
The entire lineup of GM Y-Bodies, the Oldsmobile Cutlass/Jetfire, the Buick Special/Skylark and the Pontiac Tempest/Grand Prix, were ahead of their time, with unit-body construction, turbocharging, rear-mounted transaxles and an aluminum engine block, in a V8 no less! Granted, the V8 only displaced 215 cubic inches, but just the same, it was way ahead of its time! It’s such a shame that GM didn’t let the engineers finish working the bugs out of the engine before they sold it to British-Leyland/Rover. But then GM got cold feet after Ralph Nader raked them over the coals, so by 1964, the Y-Bodies disappeared, to be replaced with an utterly conventional design. A failure that still rankles.
Robert, believe you meant Tempest/ Le Mans? I’m with you on GM letting paying customers do the development work on their cars. I’m a Ford guy, so every time someone brings up exploding Pintos, I counter with at least they had to get smacked, unlike the Fiero that spontaneously combusted driving down the road
I wonder, is this the one that was shown at the Indy World of Wheels show 5-6 years ago? That owner had a matching ’63 Jetfire, same color.
And Michael, believe there’s a fellow in Minnesota that placed Jetfire equipment in a station wagon and convertible.
Wonder if the fellow from Anderson that bought my ’62 ever finished it? I had three different trim tags for it, don’t know what color I should search for.
.
Yes, you got me! Three lashes with a wet noodle, LOL!
These are very cool. First (designed) turbocharged production car. The Corvair Spyder beat it to market by 3 weeks, but was designed later than the F-85. However, unlike the Corvair with its crude, no waste gate design (purposely intended to use exhaust back pressure to limit boost), these were known to self-destruct with their high compression if the methanol based additive was not used. Many were converted back to basic normally aspirated 4bbl cars from the dealer.
Sorry no, Lots of misinformation there. Jetfire was the first Turbo by weeks. There are no documented sold Corvair Turbo cars earlier than the first sold Jetfire. Check with Google about this also. Plus it’s a V8!. Also if the Turbo Rocket Fluid runs out, the Turbo will not go under boost and there are three safety systems built in to protect the engine from damage. These are the most technically advanced cars of the 60s and worth every penny for a good one. Difficult to restore nowadays as parts have run out. I sold one for about the price of this one, and they get all the attention at car shows.
Had to fact the about the safety system. First I have read about it. You are correct. As for which car went to “market” first, I think that is more debatable. The Olds was indeed designed earlier, however. Also, still many cars did get converted back to 4bbl regardless of said safety system.
Jason V. I personally went to the GM Heritage center when they were still in Detroit. The Jetfire was at the dealers showroom and ready to buy April 20th. They do not have a hard date like that for the Corvair Monza Spyder. What they do have is a production date. Production started in April. With production starting in April, they would not be selling by the 20th. All that said, there were a few pre production press cars out before that but not for sale to the public.
this is nice and rare as well. need to find the right buyer for it. neat to see a pic of when it was new. this was done to high standard have a pic in lenos shop does not hurt either. B/J is not the place to sell this with their no reserve B/S too risky to get burnt. mecum in Kissimmee IMO would be the place to sell it with a reserve of 80k. i will be a while to find the right person to appreciate it for its development place in history even though it as short lived.
Years ago I found one with Silver interior and it looked GREAT!
There was one in the Hershey car corral recently. Don’t remember the price.
Having owned a 1962 F-85 in 1964, I always lusted for a Jetfire. In 1965 I found a beautiful light blue metallic Jetfire on a used car lot. I tried to trade my base, 4-door in on it but the salesman demanded $1200 plus my car. Way too much for a high-school senior.
PS: I have never heard of a 15″ wheel option for the 1961-63 F-85, Cutlass or ’62-’63 Jetfire. Neither has Google AI. All came only with 13″ as did all Buick Soecials & Skylarks. Only the similar 1961-63 Tempest/LeMans came standard with 15″ wheels. Perhaps this particular Jetfire has 15″ wheels off a Gen1 Tempest with the poverty hubcaps off my old base F-85. J.C.Whitney trim rings round off the look.
Note the attached; it mentions the 15″ wheel option (lower left).
JO
Jim,
Thanks, I stand corrected. I wonder if they were the 4-lug like the standard 13″ or used Tempest 5-lug parts with 15″ wheels?
Pontiacs had 5 lug Ford wheels, Buick/Olds had 4 lug mostly 13″ but I’ve had at least 3 Specials with 15″ and one F85 with 14″s
Boothguy:
Were your F85 and Soecials 1961-1963 Gen1 models? If so, were their 14″ or 15″ wheels aftermarket? I’ve never heard of any of them coming from the factory with anything except 13″ wheels. I’d be curious to see a brochure or window sticker that said otherwise…
I agree, I always was under the impression that both the F85 and the Special came with 13″ wheels. 4 on 4 bolt pattern like the Vega. In fact, many of F85s and Specials have Vega 13×6″ wheels with their original wheel covers. It makes a much better wheel and tire package and still looks stock. The 185/70R13 tires are very close to the original skinny bias ply out side diameter tires. Only the Tempest came with 15″ tires like many of the European sports cars of the day.
I cant speak for Buick but on the Olds side. 1961 was 13 inch only, 1962 was 13’s with optional 15’s and 1963 was 13 with optional 14 and 15s
I’ve had about 25 of them over the years plus a handful of other 215 powered cars. All had OEM wheels as far as I could tell. All the 15s were on 4drs. Might have been a quirk of the local Buick dealer.
Jim ODonnell posted a brochure in the comments up “above”…..lists the 15” wheel option.