We cover a lot of station wagons on BF and while Oldsmobile’s Vista Cruiser series makes time-to-time showings, full-size wagons such as this 1962 Dynamic 88 are a rarity – I didn’t know such a model existed in ’62. And after studying the rear end of this wagon, it’s completely unfamiliar to me. That’s enough to make me want to dive deeper. This very red Olds is located in Thousand Oaks, California and is available here on craigslist for $6,500.
Technically known as a “Fiesta”, this wagon is based on the bottom-of-the-line Dynamic 88 which was one-upped by the Super 88 and two-upped by the Ninety Eight. Also in the mix was the newly introduced top dog Starfire two-door hardtop/convertible. Oldsmobile had a big year in ’62, coming in fifth place in the production race with 428K copies. With Chevrolet in the number one slot at 2M units and Pontiac in third with 521K wide-trackers, GM had three of the top five production slots for ’62!
The listing is light with the only real details surfacing that reference some driver’s side rust. It was ostensibly caused by sprinklers. Whether that’s how it happened or not is debatable and there is some evidence of other small rust bubbles here and there. Still, the exterior presents well though I wonder about that fire engine red finish. Oldsmobile did have a Garnet Red hue available in ’62 but whether this wagon is wearing it or not is unknown – there’s no trim tag image. The doggie bowl hubcaps are Old’s pieces but I’m not certain if they are correct and original to this car.
There is a “Rocket V8” engine of 394 CI under the hood generating either a standard 280 gross HP or an optional 260 HP (lower compression ratio) depending on the installed version. The block is painted red if that’s any kind of clue, and there appear to be cast ribbed valve covers in place. Equipped with a Hydramatic automatic transmission, the seller laconically refers to this wagon as a “nice driver“.
Gotta love those early ’60s interiors! The red and white vinyl upholstery is in fabulous condition though the nylon loop carpet is looking shaky – mostly due to fade. The instrument panel is well appointed but not quite in the grandeur of earlier Oldsmobiles. It looks like engine gauges and an aftermarket radio and seatbelts have been added. Out back is a third rear-facing seat but there are no closeups and no images of the cargo bed. There is A/C in place but it’s not said if it’s operable.
The seller refers to this Fiesta as a “surf wagon” but you’ll probably need a roof rack to accomodate boards, or I suppose you could fold down the seats and let the boards hang out through the rear power window. Regardless of future planned use, and in spite of the visible rust, this Olds station wagon looks good to go as it is, wouldn’t you agree?
This one is gone, great deal for a cool old wagon. Love those tail lights and rear end of this wagon. Got a receiver out back for a hitch, this was quite the ride new.
The tail lights are cool and are exclusive to the wagon. Many wagons share the tail lights with the counterpart sedans and hardtops but not this one. They are not easy to come by today.
“Where’s the fire, Chief”? Growing up in the 60’s, I can say, red cars were reserved for fire depts. and very few in the private sector. Nobody wanted a red car for that very reason. Olds( and Buick) had quite an following in the 60’s. Since Cadillac didn’t offer a wagon, these were the best wagons GM had to offer. Before SUVs or mini-vans, a station wagon filled just about every driveway in “Pressboard Estates”, the folks that had kids anyway, and nothing said you were “making it”, like an Olds or Buick. Wagons generally led a rough life, passed down from sibling to sibling, each taking their turn at how big a burnout they could do, until there was nothing left. Most “donor” V8s came from wagons back then. If that was the sale price, even I can admit, someone got a nice car.
I’m not sure where you grew up and came to the conclusion that “red cars were reserved for fire depts” and that “nobody wanted a red car” in the 60s. That is simply NOT true. I, too, grew up during that time, and red cars were extremely common for all makes and models, whether up-market or entry-level. All you need to do to prove that is to look at old photos/films with traffic, parking lots, etc. in them. You will see MANY red vehicles (unless, perhaps, they were taken where YOU were raised). It was certainly NOT the case on the Left Coast!
I agree- How many red Falcons/Mustangs were around ? Red Beetles ? They were everywhere . Even my very reserved mother drove a Matador red 67 Rambler American .
Are you sure about the Red colour being “reserved” exclusively for Fire Depts.? I’m sure whoever wanted one in Red could’ve ordered theirs in Red. And what do you mean “Nobody wanted a Red car”? I would’ve bought one in Red. This is a nice example, very original survivor.
Personally I think the ’63/’64 Olds wagons look much cleaner as I find this wagon’s tail to be an unfortunate design for such an otherwise square body – almost as of it’s trying to mimic a ’49 Buick. Also note the inverted Oldsmobile fins/’skegs’ that were a ’60-’61 Olds trademark but eventually shaved from ’62 Olds fullsizers other than the wagon.
Anyway that was a shockingly low asking for such an unusual longroof – good luck finding another one at that $, if you can even find one for sale at all…
My favourite years for Oldsmobile are 1962 and 1964.
The correrct red this wagon should be is the same as Honduras Maroon that Chevy used in `62. Not sure what Olds called it, but it should match the interior door panels/dash in tone.
Overall, a very solid car for 60 years of age! Guaranteed, you’ll probably have the only one at car shows; even the Olds Club nationals!
Oldsmobile’s moniker for that color was Garnet Mist.
Beautiful looking Olds Dynamic 88 wagon. If only Craigslist was still up. I would like to have seen more pics of the car. The more pics, the better. Given its age and condition, I’d be willing to pay close to $7,000 for the car. That’d leave me with enough money to make sure everything works like they should, and it’s safe to drive.
A minor point, but true-the Starfire was born as a production model in ’61, came as a hardtop or convertible and had a HUGE aluminium panel down the side, as did the ’62. The ’63 Starfire was a much better looking car with a much smaller aluminium panel.
Howard , you are usually somewhat correct ,but your “Red Car” comment isn’t any where close to true. I graduated from Hign School 1n 1961. Denver Colo.My 32 Coupe was bright red. Same time period Corvette most popular color, RED. As far as Fire Aparatus , RED isn’t even the most used color. I retired after 31 years as Denver Fire Fighter all the Equipment was White. Before I retired we got some RED rigs, they were mostly Command Vehicles, Command Centers, Rescues and Haz Mat Responses Vans. Red Fire Trucks is folklore. Where did the saying RE SALE RED come from not used Firetrucks.
I highly doubt that seat upholstery is original. Where is the fabric portion?
Even if it wasn’t, so what? Not everything can stay original. Given its age, I imagine it’s gotten lots of use, and things wore out, and needed to be replaced.
I agree- How many red Falcons/Mustangs were around ? Red Beetles ? They were everywhere . Even my very reserved mother drove a Matador red 67 Rambler American .
I grew up in the late 50s, early 60s. Dad drove junk Ford til he got smart in 1962 and bought a GM wagon. Silver with red interior. The paint failed within 5 years and he and I painted it in our driveway. Imagine the EPA police locking you up today. No masks, just sand and spray. I am 66 and have no breathing problems and we used lacquer. I hate to harp on the past, but life was MUCH better. I love Oldsmobiles. Have owned four since 1972. Stupid GM let that great division go to trash. Olds engines were far superior to other GM blocks due to high nickel content. Joe Mondello told me that personally when I interviewed him in the early 2000s when I was working at Hemmings Motor News. Today, GM should just wither up and die. The worst made junk on the road today.
Cool wagon here in this red example. I would still take the 61 Buick Skylark wagon over this one though which I have in a promo model:)