North Dakota is known for not using a lot of road salt, or they were known for that when I spent a few years there back in the college era. That, along with the fact that this 1964 Oldsmobile Starfire has been stored since 1972 has kept most of the rust at bay. It can be found here on eBay in New Prague, Minnesota and the seller is asking $6,500 or offer.
The Olds Starfire as a standalone model, instead of a designation for the 1954-1956 Oldsmobile 98 convertibles, was made in two separate banks of time. First, as a 1961 through 1966 model and then again as a Chevy Monza doppelganger for the 1975 through 1980 model years. This car is midway through the first-generation and as a two-door car that appears to be rock solid, I don’t know if there’s a lot to complain about on this one.
Ok, it could use a rear bumper, but nothing is perfect. The seller says that this Starfire “is originally from North Dakota, has been parked since 1972. Body is rust free and laser straight. Original paint, zero body filler. Some pinholes in the trunk pan, that’s it. No surprises.” Now that’s what I like to hear! They also say that it has “all original glass in perfect shape, 100 percent complete chrome trim.” They don’t mention the missing bumper but it’s shown in one of the photos and it looks pretty rough. Hagerty is at $9,600 for a #4 fair condition car so this could be a great buy. $15,200 for a #3 good condition car is even more promising of a value! $10,000 would go a long way on this already great looking car.
This is one nice interior. This one has “power steering, power brakes, A/C, power antenna, AM radio, console tach.” The seats look perfect, can they be original? It supposedly has around 82,000 miles but the interior looks nicer than an 82,000-mile car to me. There seems to be a fair amount of surface rust on the edges and crevices so it’ll take some work to take care of that before a full paint job. Here’s a YouTube video of a 1964 Starfire commercial that’s pretty fun.
There doesn’t appear to be an air-conditioning compressor on this 345-hp 394 cubic-inch V8 unless I’m missing it somewhere? It should be an AC Delco unit on the right side of the engine but I’m guessing that it was taken off years ago. Hopefully, it comes with the car. I’d want to restore this car back to like-new condition which would include the original wheel covers and correct air cleaner, but that’s just a weird quirk of mine. This “Car runs, drives, and stops but needs some finish work to be roadworthy, namely hooking up transmission linkage, replacing front pump seal (leaks if ATF is at full capacity), and an exhaust system. I have the linkage and seals already. Easy project, car is 90 percent of the way there.” They have done a ton of work on this car after taking it out of storage but with a few additional weekends, you’d really have a very nice car on your hands. Have any of you owned an Olds Starfire?
I love these cars as their design was oh so based on the space industry which is probably one reason they had a 345 HP 394 cubic inch engine under the hood. This looks to be in the potentially great buy column.
I too like this car. Old man had Oldsmobiles when I was a kid. I was surprised to see, the signature “silver stripe” was moved to the bottom of the car for ’64, but returned to mid body for ’65 and ’66. Takes away a bit of the “Starfire” image, but clearly, inside, it’s all Starfire. I agree, great price on a wonderful car that should be restored. Even a light duty restoration, you’d be driving a ’64 Starfire for under $10g’s. How cool is that?
Are those Buick wheels?
I think those are Buick rims…
I love Olds of this vintage, everything is so space-age about them! The Starfire shares its roofline with the same-year Pontiac Grand Prix ,personally I prefer the ‘convertible roof’ profile found on the lesser 88 and other GM cars between 63-64.Anyone know if the transmission used would be some ‘Slim-Jim’ variation?
Yes, all big Oldsmobiles of this era had the slim jim, if auto equipped.
64 Starfire is a beautiful ride, and 394 is a great eng with gobs of HP. Only thing I would be concerned with is the frame and underbelly, no pics and with that bumper as rusted as it is, you might have trouble fromunder. Beautiful gut. Good luck to the new owners!!
Cheers
GPC
I had one of these in college. I don’t think the seat ribbing is correct, but I could be wrong. The wheels are definitely Buick
I didn’t notice but you’re definately right about the seat covers.True Starfires have tighter ribbing in two rows going the other direction.Anyone know whether correct seat covers are available somewhere or would one need locate a taylor…?
A great car if no problem with the motor. Rebuild kits are a small fortune. I own a 64 and 65 Jetstar 1 which were called poor man’s Oldsmobiles. The 64 is a 394 the 65 a 425. I drive the 65 mostly due to not screwing up the 394 motor. I once had 34 full size 64/65s all parts cars. Bought them all for a dollar apiece. Good old days. Great drivers. Hardest part is converting over to disc brakes nothing seems available. Stainless can’t be found for a fair price also two bladed spinner wire wheel hub caps will run you a buck and a quarter per cap. Nothing cheap for this car. Really expensive to rebuild. Been there and spent a lot to.
Definitely the wrong pattern seat upholstery. The original seats had thin horizintal ribbing bisected by two joined vertical ribs. I remember only because my dad bought one when new. As you can tell it made a big impression on a 14 year old.
Someone please enlighten me on a slimjim transmission?
Could be a nice ride when fixed up.
Slim jim is the nickname for the Rotohydramatic. It was slim and light weight, but was only around from about 61 to 65. During that time, big Oldsmobiles and B body Pontiacs got it. 3 speed/4 range, and had its issues. In particular, the 1/2 shift (2nd range to 3rd range) had a really wide ratio and the car tended to shudder making that shift. I used to own a 64 Dynamic 88. Sweet ride, with a stunning red interior.
Actually 64 was the last Rotohydramatic. I have a 65 Starfire convertible. The 65 was the first of the modern Oldsmobile V-8 with the 370 HP 425 and was equipped with a switch-pitch Turbo 400 trans. Car moves out for a big car. Also someone above mentioned the “silver stripe” re-appearing on the 65-66. Nope. Both years had the moldings at the bottom. These two years were laden with the heavy cast chromed trim. Beautiful in good shape but a disaster to restore. I got lucky, found a car that was never out of the garage in the winter so the cast trim is nearly perfect.
A great car if no problem with the motor. Rebuild kits are a small fortune. I own a 64 and 65 Jetstar 1 which were called poor man’s Oldsmobiles. The 64 is a 394 the 65 a 425. I drive the 65 mostly due to not screwing up the 394 motor. I once had 34 full size 64/65s all parts cars. Bought them all for a dollar apiece. Good old days. Great drivers. Hardest part is converting over to disc brakes nothing seems available. Stainless can’t be found for a fair price also two bladed spinner wire wheel hub caps will run you a buck and a quarter per cap. Nothing cheap for this car. Really expensive to rebuild. Been there and spent a lot to.
I had the use of a 1 year old 1963 Starfire when i was in college. The young lady owner did not have access to parking, and i did. She left it with me, and allowed me to use it. Every once in awhile she used it to travel home.
I kept it clean, and picked her up when she wanted to use her car. What a guy!
Beautiful looking car. I’m too young to remember the 1960s, but I’ve seen Oldsmobile cars of the 1960s. But for some reason, I’ve never seen a 1964 Oldsmobile. I’ve seen pics of the 1964 Oldsmobile. I hope whoever buys this car restores it enough to drive safely. :)
I owned one of these for years. It was not an often seen vehicle, and by the 80’s, it drew quite a bit of attention. It was sold around ‘95, to a guy who wanted to restore it. $1,200!
While you are looking for the air filter, look for a carburetor. They didn’t use Quadrajets in ’64. Also if you look at the seats it looks like you can see the original covers underneath the new covers.
Rear bumper is shown in a picture sitting on the ground.
I bought this car last summer. According to the guy I bought it from I am the third person to own the car since it came out of the barn. One thing that was missed in the comments is that the engine is the wrong color. The engine is a standard compression 394 out of a 1963 Dynamic according to the numbers stamped into the heads. While the visible body is in excellent condition there is some more pin holes in the floor pans than mentioned. The drivers floor pan has been patched. Having said that, it did only take a weekend of fixing small things to have it on the road and yes it is a fun car to drive.