Looking somewhat like a fish out of water given the 1956 styling refresh, this Oldsmobile 88 convertible is listed for sale here on eBay. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Ikey H. for this cool convertible find! It’s located in Wheat Ridge, Colorado and is being auctioned at no reserve.
While the body isn’t finished, it does look pretty solid. The seller has refurbished much of the mechanical components but hasn’t worked on the body yet. In their words: Restored frame, rebuilt/new – Drive train, engine, transmission, exhaust, suspension, drive shaft.
A lot of spares come with the car as well, including the seven (!) bumpers shown.
There’s a trunk full of parts as well. And a parts car! Yes, a whole parts car that actually doesn’t look that bad itself, but is a hardtop rather than a convertible.
The interior doesn’t look that bad either, although I’m sure you’ll want to refresh everything. The seller describes this as a $100-$150K car once completed; I’m not sure of that, but they don’t go cheaply either.
What would an 88 be without a Rocket V8? If this is the original one, it’s a 324 cubic inch version. Not only that, but it’s attached to a four-speed automatic transmission and has the optional air conditioning. I don’t see it currently on the engine, but we are assured it’s included by the seller.
Here’s the parts car. I hesitate to call any car this solid a parts car! I’m thinking this is more of a two-fer! What do you think?
If your a guy with the resources it would be nice to see them both restored and painted to match. Together they would make a great show display. Personally I’d rather have the four door, up where I live there is a saying 11 months of winter and 1 month poor sleighing. Of course that’s an exaggeration but after last winter it sure feels like it. The fact is the four door is easier to restore, that and I’ve never liked the look of the soft top roof ( just personal preference) and they are almost always prone to more floor rust, thus the more work to restore. Of course if your looking to make some money you’d want to restore the the soft top but I’m a beleaver that these old boat are for the most part money pits and to restore this old fish face would be more for the desire to own and drive.
1955-56 Oldsmobiles remain one of my favourites since they first rolled off the assembly line.
I think the idea of putting both the convertible and sedan back on the road is a good’n. I also agree that unless one wants to put in some serious money to restore the convertible – and are capable of doing most of the work, oneself – it’s going to be a money pit and not worth the kind of scratch collectors/investors might be willing to pay, at auction.
Cool find…
Wow that is a lot of money already for a “some assembly required” car.
My Mom had a ’56 that thought was cool. ( I was about 9 at the time) 2 tone blue. At the same time my Grandmother had a ’55 that my Father had found for her. It was a tad bit rusty ( we lived in the Chicago area at the time) but it had belonged to a hot rodder previously and had a hot cam, dual exhaust and later model modified heads. I remember going for a ride with my Father after he tuned it up. And watching the speedo roll smoothly past 100. I was very impressed. About 6 years later my Grandmother came to visit and complained about the exhaust falling down and dragging on the street. My Father went out to look and came back in with a pale face and declared that we were going to find her a different car that day. ( ended up being a 1959 Impala). My Father then explained that it was not the exhaust dragging it was the gas tank. The only thing holding it to the car was the fuel line and fuel gauge wire! The rotted trunk floor was still attached to the tank however.
It’s a BOGO. Buy one get one. I had a 55 holiday 98 four door hardtop. Very cool car, black and white with wonder bar radio. Top speed 105 mph on I-5 through Oregon in 1967. A 59 elcamino pulled up beside me then took off like I was sitting still. It was a night drive from Tacoma, Washington to Redding, California. 550 miles in 8 1/2 hours stopping in Portland for gas.