1958 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 Holiday Coupe

•All-original car

•Debut model year for the Dynamic 88

•371 CID Rocket V-8 engine with triple two-barrel carbs (code J-2) and true dual exhausts

•Hydramatic four-speed automatic transmission and 3.64 gearing

•Tropical Mist Metallic exterior (code 95)

•Original Ivory/Blue cloth interior including original Olds vanity mirror (code 363)

•Power steering, power brakes

•Documentation includes original owner’s manual, folder full of receipts

•Car was ordered without radio, clock or exterior sideview mirrors

•Featured at Buckingham Concours d’Elegance

Just in time for GM’s 50th year of production, the 1958 B-bodies seemingly grew overnight compared to the ’55-’57 models and Oldsmobile was no exception. This original example was built in Oldsmobile’s Lansing, Michigan factory (VIN code M). It was ordered as close to a factory race car as you could legally buy from an Olds dealer that year. Oldsmobile’s J-2 racing program came to a premature end when NASCAR, in one of the abrupt rules changes that still occur today, banned multiple carburetion partway through the 1957 season.

Finished in correct Tropical Mist Metallic (code 95) exterior with one repaint, the car’s paint and trim are in overall very good shape, with little pitting or marring evident. The engine bay is in very good condition, the trunk is in satisfactory shape and comes with a full-sized spare tire and wheel. Its big chrome bumpers fit tightly to the body.

This big cruiser rolls on BFGoodrich Silvertown wide whitewall tires, size 8.50-14, at all corners, including the spare. Each tire is mounted on a steel wheel topped with a factory wheel cover. All tires and wheel covers are in very good order and there’s a jack located in the trunk. The white headliner looks good for its age. The blue-over-white metal dash looks great and like the exterior, is bedecked with chrome.

This car is a smaller version of General Motors’ other times it put a large motor in a smaller or lighter body. The Dynamic 88 was billed as the entry-level model beneath the Super 88 yet this example has the highest powered V-8 available in 1958, something that came standard on the Super 88 models: the 371 CID Rocket V-8 with three two-barrel carburetors (code J-2), breathing via true dual exhausts. Most of the time, the J-2 drove using its center carburetor; for passing power, or for a particularly dramatic launch, you would floor it (only three-quarters throttle was required) and dip into the outer four barrels, launching you forth with a noteworthy burst of power that belied a car of this size. (The outer carbs, which drew their vacuum from the windscreen wiper pump, were either open or closed–no in-between.) However, this example has no air-conditioning though it does offer power steering and power drum brakes. Backing this motor is a Hydramatic four-speed automatic transmission and a 3.64:1 rear end.

Inside, the car has its original ivory/blue cloth interior (code 363). Ordered without clock, radio or sideview mirrors but there is an original clock included. The front and rear bench seats show decently but could use some clean-up TLC while the inner door panels are in good, original order. A white, two-spoke steering wheel faces the driver while the only gauge on the dash is for fuel. A revised instrument panel was highlighted by a new deep-dish steering wheel with “horn bars” replacing the long-standing horn ring still common during that period. Note also that the quadrant selector – PNDSLR instead of the PRNDSL of later years. Park and Reverse are at opposite ends, not next to each other. A factory AM radio completes the interior.

Price: Auction

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Location: Brooksville, Florida, United States