The last thing I needed at this point was another project....... but was looking at Kijiji ads on the week-end and saw a ‘61 Dynamic 88 convertible for sale at a pretty attractive price. Car has been in storage for 10+ years and is surprisingly solid. The guy I bought it from delivered it to me Sunday morning and I had it running in the afternoon after replacing a corroded out frost plug. Fortunately it was at the front on the passenger head. Car seems to run nice. Not sure what I’m going to do with it, but I love the back end on this car. I can’t honestly say I had ever seen one before. Definitely “space age“ design. Actually the entire car talks to me from a design standpoint. Suggestions? Also if anyone would know where I could pick up the Oldsmobile grill bar that’s busted up, that would be appreciated. View attachment 4845868 Allan
The 61 Olds88 is one of those hidden jewels from the early Bill Mitchell designs.. He is responsible for the nice clean look without all the heavy chrome.. The 64 Grand Prix and the 63-65 Buick Rivera are a couple more examples of his beautiful work.. I also liked the 61 Caddy coupe..
For now I would remove the rest of the letters and leave it open.. That car has a 394 with a Roto-hydramatic. This transmission was also called the Slim Jim.. The first gear is a series of different ratios that smoothly gets this big cruiser under way, then it shifts into second which is grounded and is more like the manual transmission the same with third.. If you want to have fun put it in S which stands for Special not second and it will raise all the shift points of the trans and engine brake when going around 30-40. This is real nice on windy country roads.. If you want to race put it in L and leave it there it will shift at the governors highest setting, usually around 4500-5000 rpm.. I wouldn't be hot doging this boat for another couple thousand miles though.. It has the single bowl master cylinder. Make sure the emergency brake is working.. I would change it at some point in the near future.. Nice car!!! Very well built car...
Actually I remember "S" as being called "super". I would be careful with that slim jim until you know what shape it's in. They are known for being troublesome, though some say they are great. You can go to ClassicOldsmobile.com and learn all about that car and you can go to the parts wanted section. I'll bet someone has what you need. I had a 61 brown Hardtop back in 1975 that I bought for $40.00. The transmission was fine in that one as I remember, I scrapped it before I left for the Navy. Later when I was in the Navy in San Diego I bought another 61 88 hardtop(same color as yours) that had transmission troubles, but I drove it a long time I was just careful and let off the gas to let it shift easy to go completely into 2nd before giving it a lot of throttle again. Also my buddy had a 64 88 that had the slim jim and it got to where it wouldn't shift up from 1st at all. I'm not trying to be negative- just alerting you to issues I know of.... I think it is a beautiful car!
Congrats from one 61 owner to another. You got the Danny Tanner car! Seriously, check out the intro to the sitcom "Full House". Hope you have as much fun with it as Bob Saget seemed to be having with his.
Nice find! Don't worry about having "another" project, gives you an alternative when you get frustrated with the other one.
You said you got it for an attractive price, looks like you got a bargain. It's a great looking car and looks to be in great condition. As @Elcohaulic said, remove the rest of the letters then no-one will know what you've got.
Nice ragtop! I had to stop looking at craigslist ads because the "Force" was strong on the dark side. Lol
Thanks for all the replies and info. Can someone explain the hubcap clips on the rims? Are these for an aftermarket hubcap or? In response to the question..... not sure what to do on wheels. I finally made it back down to St. Louis so won’t be around the car for a month or so.
I dont know about the clips, but i have a excellent set of wire hubcaps. Will sell them at bargain price. Don
Parts are hard to find, found most of the I was looking for on E Bay. Great car, I owned mine for app 20 years. Mine is a Starfire same body as an 88 or super 88
Great car or spaceship. All the 61 GM cars were winners. One of the few bodies where the 2 door hardtop looks as good as the corresponding convertible with the top down, to my eye.
Let me know if the speedometer acts up. I still have NOS parts, not a problem for me to repair it. Those sure are beautiful cars, great lines. Sent from my iPhone www.speedoservice.com Should I rush your rush job or the rush job I was rushing when you rushed in?
the clips hold the original hubcaps on, There is a ring on the hub cap that clip fits into, 57 Oldsmobile hub caps were held on the same way
You just need the grill bar, not the complete grill , Starfire has a different grill bar than an 88. Should able to find one on E Bay
Mine too.. I always like the simple but exotic look of the tail lights. The body is so smooth, one of Bill Mitchells best designs, Oldsmobile passed Pontiac this year and 1960 for that matter..
Super cool car and color Quite a few Facebook Groups that cater to these cars. If you are not on there, PM me. maybe i could help do some searches.
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