I found a running but not roadworthy 1954 Oldsmobile 88 4-door... it's about 95% complete $1000. comes with no title, the passenger side doors will not open, little bit rust in the floorboards and in some of the quarters, but not to bad. I inspected the vehicle last night and could not get the passenger side doors to open! I'm worried that it could be rusted shut!?! Maybe I could double my money if I parted out the vehicle. Yet I would really like to fix it up as a family driver and take it to local car shows. Forgive me for any misspellings or typos I'm doing this from my phone at work.. Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!
Some pictures of the vehicle are really going to help. It'll allow people to give you an opinion. I also just saw your other two posts. Are you looking at buying it, or have you already bought it?
I dont know if I would give that much for a parts car but if the motor runs good and you need one it would be cheaper then a rebuild,the most I gave for a parts car was 800 and I could drive it home and it had a title.
Not rusted shut, probably a broken linkage piece. Or the latch mechanism is dry and won't release. Opening the doors is just a matter of taking time and lubricating everything possible. Spray WD40, Kroil, PB blaster or your penetrating oil preference and wait. They opened once, they will open again. Oh, yeah. Make sure they are not locked before wasting time forcing the doors open.
I put down a deposit on what I feel is a fair deal... I'm just trying to make sure that these two issues "registration" & "doors not opening" will make me regret my purchase.
No title? I'd pass. There's lots of nice moredoors on here; no problem with building one but what's nice about 4 drs is you can find nice drivers with good titles for around that price. Keep looking.
I would say no to that car at 1,000. I kinda think between 700. and 800. would be about it. And thats if it runs. I don't know about getting a title in Cali but in Indiana it aint easy! Normal Norman
I really doubt the doors are rusted shut,,broken latch or the latch is stuck or in the locked position. I'm clueless about title laws on the left coast. HRP
I really appreciate all the advice keep it coming...Please bear with me I'm trying to do this from my phone while at work
No title, pass. Did you get a reason why there was no title? If the owner just lost it he can easily apply for a duplicate and then consider it. Charlie Stephens
That seems like a very high price for a non driveable, non complete 4 door....at least where I live....on the plus side though, it appears in the picture you posted to be a car that can cling to the ceiling, freeing up garage space.
The title asks, "should I buy it?".........but you already did. I think it's a little late for opinions.
I think you are upside down in the deal already!! No title is a big deal and it looks like a lot of work to recoup a 4-door which is not as desired as a two-door project. Good Luck!! ~sololobo~
I think it's a decent buy but not a steal. Here in OK it's easy to get titles. Is it registered in the current owners name? If not can you get ahold of the titled owner? I would say it's a fair price but would still offer $800 cash in hand.
Who says 4 doors aren't desirable? Actually even if that is what you like ths car is an easy 4 to 2 door conversion candidate.
Generally its really hard to sell four doors for much of anything. So unless you want to keep it forever, its not a good idea to sink a lot of money into them
It's not hate, it's economics.... supply and demand.... two doors look better in 99% of cases (GM tri5 hardtops excluded), therefore are more desirable, less available, and are worth more.
The Jalopy Journal
