Falling under Oldsmobile’s Eighty Eight family (there was no hyphen by this point), the Luxury Sports Sedan, or LSS, is often shown as being an Oldsmobile LSS without the Eighty Eight designation. Just in case you were wondering why that wasn’t included. This supercharged 1996 Oldsmobile LSS can be found here on craigslist in Oak Lawn, Illinois, and the seller is asking $4,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to supercharged Rocco B. for the tip!
Medium Gray Metallic is the paint color on this incredibly nice-looking survivor sedan, one of 10 colors available for the LSS, or actually, for the entire line of Eighty Eight, too. As with the Eighty Eight, the LSS only came in a four-door sedan body style, and as much as I like four-door sedans, I’ve often wondered what a two-door coupe version might have looked like… (insert wavy dream sequence here) (cough). It would have been a no-brainer for Oldsmobile’s top performance car of the era. Here’s an Olds LSS brochure to check out.
I can’t quite tell if the dark spot on the top right of the license plate recess is a nick or just a trick of the camera, and maybe a shadow. I also see the spots by the Oldsmobile badge, and I’m guessing those are reflections rather than little dings. We don’t get to see inside the trunk compartment, and even more importantly, there are no underside photos. The good thing is that while an Illinois car that’s three decades old may have some rust, they say this car is from Georgia and it’s only been in the Land of Lincoln for a short time. I know, Georgia is humid and vehicles can rust there, too.
The tenth-generation Eighty Eight/Eighty-Eight/88 would be the last for this model, which is a sad bit of trivia. I miss this car company. Oldsmobile offered the Eighty Eight and the LSS model from 1992 through 1999, and the ’96 cars got a nice refresh. The leather seating surfaces, both front and rear, were standard on the LSS models, and they look almost perfect, other than some usual light creases on the driver’s side. This car has 72,000 miles, so it hasn’t been stored away somewhere, but that’s only 2,400 miles a year.
The engine is a Buick-sourced 3.8-liter OHV V6 with a Roots-Eatan supercharger and 240 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent through a 4T60-E Turbo-Hydramatic transmission to the front wheels, and it gives a pretty sprightly 0-60 time of in the mid-seven-second range. The seller says it has new ” tires, valve cover gaskets, CV axles, battery and starter solenoid,” and the ABS light is on due to a wheel speed sensor. He’s including two new parts to fix that. If this car checks out in person, this is a steal for such a special model and what appears to be one in great overall condition. Have any of you owned or driven an Olds LSS?
I think the smudge around the license plate recess is just “overspray” from clumsily blacking-out the plate in a photo editor, but those ripples on the lower trunklid edge by the Oldsmobile badge can also be seen in another photo from a rear quarter view, so I don’t think those are just reflection artifacts.
You really can’t expect perfection for 4,500 bucks. Still very nice for a 30 year old car. Also, nice two door version Scotty G..
This looks really solid, and the price?? Not much out there for 4500 bucks. I doubt this will be for sale for long. Like the 2 door version too Scotty. Liked the dealer brochure as well. I always like it when they’re included in your write ups.
100% agree. We all love the photos, but wanted to say that adding the brochure links is also a treat!
I used to grab a brochure for every car I bought. Even used ones, I would track down a brochure. I still have them socked away in a safe.
Both the ’88’ and ’98’ were available as coupes when they were introduced as front wheel drive vehicles in the mid-80s. I always thought they looked great as 2-doors.
This looks like a really good deal and with only 72,000 miles. I have this same motor in a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix with a little over 140,000 miles. As long as you do regular oil changes and service these super charged motors will give you 200,000+ miles and more then enough power. Always felt at least Pontiac should have offered a standard trans. with the Grand Prix GT the car handles great and 3 pedals i believe would have been a big selling point.
Love seeing these types of cars on here! I have a 81k mile 1995 Park Avenue Ultra with the supercharged 3800. Being a 1995, mine has the Series I version. The supercharged Series II engine came out for this model year, 1996.
I bought mine for 3,700 bucks as an interesting winter beater, but it’s really grown on me and I’ve been doing quite a bit of work to it.
Mine had the ABS light in too, as well as the dreaded “Traction Off” light. I think most of these GM C and H-bodies still around do. My issue turned out to be the traction pump and ABS module, which are common failure items on these.
I wouldn’t be surprised if one or both of those was the issue here too, not the wheel sensors.. Fortunately, you can get them used on eBay for pretty cheap. That’s what I did. You can no longer get them new.
A bigger deal on these is rust, particularly where the front subframe mounts to the body. Mine had started to rust that general area, so we spent significant time fixing that because that will kill these things if it gets into the mounting bosses. Even though the seller says it’s from Georgia, you need to look underneath it and make sure that area is solid and rust free.. Otherwise, you’re going to have to fix it, full stop.
Not just the mounting bosses on the body, but the subframes themselves. I did a replacement job on the family’s ’93 Bonneville SSE over a decade ago.
The 3800 is one of the best engines ever put in a USA built car.
One of Dr. Olds last hot rods.
I have an even rarer ’95 LSS with the Series 1 supercharged engine. Only 225 hp, but that’s still 50 more than the non-blown Series 1 and a bunch more torque you really feel (pulls like a V8). This is a good deal at $4500. ’96 is the first year for the Aurora styled seats, but it retains the earlier floor shift console borrowed from Pontiac (which didn’t have the provisions for rear passenger heat/AC vents). The ’97 LSS had a brand new console that mated to the dash in a nice way and included rear seat vents. I’d snap this up if I didn’t already have one.
Wow, we have two Series I L67 owners on this site, LOL! I think we also have the only Series I 3800 with the OBDII emissions system.
For those unfamiliar, the Series II has a shorter deck height and piston rods, making it smaller and lighter than the Series I. It also had a new and improved intake manifold. The Series II came out for 1995 on non-supercharged cars and 1996 on supercharged cars. It is generally considered a solid improvement over the Series I.
The Series I was produced from 1990-95. The Series II was produced from 1995 through 2005, when it was replaced by the Series III. The Series III stayed in production through 2008.
Yep, OBDII with the OBDI port. Have a special adapter for my Tech 1 scanner. I think Olds got the Series II in ’95, but I’ve seen a lot of Buicks with (presumably) left over Series Is in ’95 LeSabres, etc. Great little engine that tolerates lower octane than the Series II supercharged one here.
this a rare model for sure. they only sold a few when i was at the olds dealer. the ride on these is not as good as the Bonneville’s. i had 1 of these with 38 k for a year back in 2024 non supercharged same set up but cloth ended up selling for 8k. if this were closer to me i would snap it up because these or the Pontiacs do not come around for sale much anymore. i bet 3800.00 cash takes this home and you can drive it another 150k miles.
Hairy Olds is right. As well, these are decent performers and reliable vehicles. LSS trim with the wheels makes them more attractive than the base 88. If it not for my 68 Supreme and 2 others and another insurance premium…..This would be mine
I bought an LSS in 1994. Black with grey leather interior. Great car! I put 176,000 miles on it in 3 years. If I needed a second car, I’d buy this in a second.
I never knew that supercharged 3.8 came in so many cars.
I have always loved the Rivs with the 3.8 supercharger and am pretty sure one will come my way, someday.
Looks like damaged cladding in front of the left rear wheel. I have an “88” LS, and like it, but the gearing favors gas mileage over performance, so I have often wondered about an LSS. I did replace the subframe, and a plenum coolant leak almost hydrolocked the engine, but it’s otherwise a pleasurable drive with 20+ mpg combined on the hilly new England countryside.
I looked all over the US for one of these when my pristine 1995 Aurora was totaled after a minor fender bender last year (long story). Ended up getting a 98 Lincoln Mark VIII LSC Collectors Edition, which I love, but I’m sure I would have loved this as well.
This baby is gone! I knew it wouldn’t last too long at that price.