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Super Original: 1958 Olds Super 88 Holiday Coupe

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1958 was the year that General Motors went crazy with chrome. Cars across all marques were bigger too – longer and wider than ever before. Since body designs were changed again completely in 1959, some people refer to the ’58 cars as “one year wonders.” They’ve never been as popular as the ’55-57 model year cars it seems, maybe because of their one-off styling, maybe because they are big and heavy, garish in style, and don’t handle so well either.

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Since 1958 was a down year compared to the monster sales year of 1957, these cars are much rarer today as well.

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This amazingly original 1958 Olds Super 88 Holiday Coupe, with only 33,446 miles and featuring the optional J-2 tri-carb option, is one of only 18,653 of this particular model sold by Oldsmobile that year (compared to 31,155 sold in 1957).

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It’s located in Broadview Heights, Ohio and is for sale on eBay. This beautiful Olds comes with a pretty great story too. Apparently the original owner purchased this well equipped Olds in Cleveland, and used it sparingly, after which it was put away.

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The original owner’s nephew apparently inherited the car and sold it in 2006 to a member of the Olds Club of America (OCA – full disclosure, I’ve been a member of OCA since 1977 – it’s a great club.)

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The current owner went through the car and has done a considerable amount of mechanical work to make it a solid, reliable driver.

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The list of work is extensive and the car is said to drive perfectly. Some of the work done includes reconditioning the fuel system, rebuilding the carburetors, adding a new water pump, thermostat, hoses, heater hoses and belts, and recoring the radiator. In addition, the brakes were redone, the master cylinder rebuilt, and a new stainless steel exhaust system was added as well.

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The body displays its original Victorian White and Champagne Mist Metallic colors and is described as 90-91 out of 100. The chrome is excellent and there is no rust, nor any body damage visible.

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The beige interior is said to be near perfect except for a fragile headliner.

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The trunk is a fantastic example of originality.

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The engine compartment is extremely original, down to the hose clamps. This is the 371 cubic inch Golden Rocket engine, and with these optional carbs makes 312 horsepower, which is plenty of power for any possible use.

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The underside of the car is an area of the car that admittedly not original. The first owner treated it with some form of rustproofing, and then the current owner redid the underside in black paint. Tires are new Cokers and are larger than original spec.

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As the seller’s agent says, there is no substitute for originality, and I have to agree that this car is pretty amazing. Then again, the price for this car is rather amazing also. Bidding reached an impressive $41,100 and reserve was not met. According to Hagerty, top value for this Olds is about $33,000. I’ve seen other 88 Super Holiday Coupes of this vintage in survivor condition that changed hands for less than what this car will evidently sell for. But there is no arguing that this is a very beautiful and special example of a fifties excess era Oldsmobile. It’s almost too nice to drive, but it is great to look at and admire, and for those of us who grew up in the fifties and sixties, this Oldsmobile is a fantastic memory machine. We will have to keep an eye out to see if the seller relists it with a reserve closer to what the final bid was this go around.

Comments

  1. Avatar roselandpete

    58 was a great year for the GM stylists.

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  2. Avatar Don E

    One of my favorites with that rear qtr trim.

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  3. Avatar Jay M

    A car is only original once, and you could spend well over the asking price restoring a similar 58.
    Can you imagine what redoing all of the chrome would cost?
    This is someone’s dreamcar, and they won’t think it’s too expensive.

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  4. Avatar Vince Habel

    58 was not a good year for GM styling except Chevy imo. the 57 Olds looked good. I owned a 57 Super 88 Holiday coupe with a J-2.

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  5. Avatar Ed P

    This is a well preserved example of a GM ‘Chromemobile’. GM’s top of the line models all were excessively chromed for ’58.

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  6. Avatar Tommy

    Barn Find?

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  7. Avatar OhU8one2

    I think this car is just plain awesome. The fact that it’s rare,you just don’t see these at the shows. It has all the right goodies,and option’s. Color’s are fantastic. Great weekend summer cruiser. I don’t think I would change a thing.

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  8. Avatar DrinkinGasoline

    Cool to see a beautiful car from my area. Earl Oldsmobile was a competitor to a dealer I worked for, Norris Oldsmobile. Unfortunately, Earl Olds/GMC did not survive the GM dealership downsizing and closed as did a few other GM dealers in the area. Sharp car !

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  9. Avatar Dick in SoCal

    “Go see Earl out on Pearl”.

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  10. Avatar Steve H

    Awesome car. Reminds me of my old friend LeRoy who used to say, “my favorite color is chrome!”

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  11. Avatar Joe Muzy

    I had one just like this in 1969. I hit ice wi t h it and went through a wooden fence. I notified the fence owner and paid for his repairs . Got back to the car and didn’t have a scratch and drove it out. They didn’t need seat belts because thsee cars are built. Wish I still had it. Family sold it when I went to Nam

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  12. Avatar RoughDiamond

    @Joe-thank you for your military service to this country and sorry your Olds got sold. Well at 41K did not meet Reserve. My guess is eBay was just used to get public exposure and a deal is in the works if not completed already.

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  13. Avatar k7

    If I were a wealthy man, I’d buy it as a gift for Joe – a small thank-you to a fellow vet.

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  14. Avatar Joe Muzy

    Thanks K7

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  15. Avatar ACZ

    Most of the uniqueness was because this was the 50th Anniversary of General Motors.

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  16. Avatar GRAY WOLF

    Wow X10! Love to have a ’58 Buick next to it!! Mothers Chrome cleaner could us both for promos!👍🇺🇸

    Like 0

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