Hot Rods 55 Olds with factory stick shift=one of my favorites came back home

I was fortunate to have purchased this great car from a friend about four years ago. After enjoying it for a bit, I offered it to the public on a Mecum Auction at Back to the 50's in St. Paul, MN.

An older gentleman, obviously in poor health, fell in love with it. He was very thorough in his appraisal and we hit it off. He chased it during the bidding and was the last bidder at a price somewhat less than my reserve. I felt it was going to a good home, so I dropped the reserve and he owned it.

Flash forward to earlier this week: my associate was searching for cars for sale online. He would see something to my liking and email me the links. Each evening, I spend three/four hours on here and reviewing the listings he sent me during the day. As I was reading one, it was quickly obvious that it was the same 55 Olds I had sold two and a half years ago. It was also obviously the same owner. The asking price was dramatically less! I made contact, but they had already gained interest from a local person. No deal yet, though.

I couldn't sleep all night. The next morning, we contacted them again. Still waiting. I fueled up the truck, hooked to the trailer, gathered up the cash. We called again, still waiting for the other guy. Finally, they called back. The other guy passed. We offered full asking price and asked if they would hold it six hours. Agreed. I drove 360 miles at speedlimit plus.

What a treat! The car was close to the same, other than the effects of two winters in unheated storage. Nothing was hurt, nothing changed. On the trailer it went, cash surrendered, title (still in our name!) in hand and home I went.

It was a real pleasure over the past couple of days to clean, adjust, lubricate, polish and get re-acquainted with this great car.

1955 Oldsmobile 88 two-door sedan. Rebuilt 324 with factory three speed. Supposedly ordered to be a squad car. Always a Southern car until the 90's, then brought to Illinois where it underwent a complete and documented restoration. Driven sparingly since.

Traction masters, blackwalls, poverty caps. Black Sapphire bc/cc that is very nice. Very nice stainless and $5000 worth of re-chroming. I think it looks kind of "sinister".

How wonderful to have one of my favorites back. As with all of them, it is for sale, but I won't negotiate on the price. It just might stay here forever.

This might sound like more shameless self-promotion, but it is more like me sharing my excitement and joy. Hard to do that in the classifieds.

 

Lets see some pics..

 

they didn't load to the thread the first time around, but are visable to me now.

 

Damn what a sweet olds...

 

very nice, I have a super 88 and am growing fond of it, its not my roadster, but services as a daily hauler well. plus I have a kids seat in the back so my son can enjoy our tripping around too.

 

Real sweet Olds.

 

Totally tough Olds! I've had four 55's so far. A 56 and two 57's. Still have two 55's right now and one is stock (bought from a friend who still has 3 more) So you can understand my admiration for them. Thanks for sharing and I sure won't blame you for hanging on to yours.............

 

Why do people always assume the muscle cars are only from the 60's?
That is a total street sleeper!

 

now you can see why I was so excited. Thanks for the compliments.

 

My first car that I bought in 1968 was a 64 Olds Jetstar 1 with factory three on the tree. The Jetstar 1 was a Starfire with very little chrome so it had the cleaner look of a Pontiac Grand Prix, and possibly on a shorter wheelbase than the Starfire. It was dark green with a green interior. The factory installed a toggle switch under the dash to operate back up lights. It had that great the same great exhaust sound as the Startfires. Chambered pipes up front, Walker Continentals next, then resonators. I'd like to have that one back too.

 

Jack did you buy this Olds in N.E. P.A. from a guy named Ray Strausdas ? He had the same car, color, 3 speed etc. that he bought new in 64. I can't imagine there was two of these. The chambered exhaust originally ran back the resonators.

 

One of my favorite body styles. There's no way I'd part with it.

 

That is really neat.

 

BobWop....I owned one exactly like that car in Northern Kentucky in 1970. Mine was Black, rust-free, and ran so strong I was amazed at it! One day it stalled on my way to work....I walked back to my house and started my '49 Ford Tudor and continued on. I was young, stupid, and pissed! I actually abandoned the car on the street that very day....Covington, KY PD probably have about $28K in parking fines levied against me by now... I loved the car, but not enough to fool with it. At the time, I was shocked at the factory 3 Speed, and bought it on the spot because of the stick and that it reminded me so much of the Buicks used on "Highway Patrol". There's no way of ever knowing, but it would be a kick if it was the same car! Great Score!!! Centurion9

 

Factory sticks are pretty rare. I had a 54 with a 394 in it. I always like the delete on the automatic shift indicator. Just has an Olds emblem.

 

Sweet, sweet, sweet. (jealous)

 

Great stroke of luck! I'd give about anything to be reunited with my old factory-stick 57 Pontaic 2 door sedan. An olds has gotta use the same "selecta-shift" top-cover transmission. I grew to hate that transmission, replacing 4 of them before going to a later bellhousing and a muncie 4 speed. Made a completely different car out of it....changed it to a hotrod 389 motor at the same time.
If you like the car now, imagine it with a 4 speed with a lower first gear ratio. DANM, THOSE 3 SPEEDS were made for a car with 4.30 rear gear....put one in front of a 3.42 or a 3.23 gear and its' pure torture geting it started from a stop....'specially up a hill!
!st gear was super high geared.
Again, congrats! I miss my old [hand-me-down parent's car] 55 olds super 88 fordor but it had waaaay too many doors. The 202 HP 324 ran strong and the slant-pan 4 speed hydro would bark 2nd gear with no problem. Fun old sedan.

 

Almost had one just like yours.. A friend had one that had a built engine, factory stick. I told him if he ever sold it I wanted 1st chance. Didn't have any contact with him for a couple of years(he and I changed shifts and just didn't see one another). Met him at the time clock one evening on second shift when he changed shifts again and asked about the Olds. He said he had forgotten about me being interested and had sold it. DAMN!!!..........found new owner a couple of days later and told him I was interested if he was going to sell. That was over 30 years ago and he still has the car, hasn't driven it for years....not for sale

Frank

 

I drove the car a bit this morning and then put it in storage for the winter. What a treat to drive it again. As Rocky states, first gear is not right for easy starts, but once rolling, all is good. I hit second and opened up the secondaries, shifted to third at 60 mph and stayed in it. When I hit 80, I had caught traffic. Thankfully, the brake system is all new! It sounds so good through the glasspacks. Even idling outside the storage building, it sounded and looked so healthy. IMHO, the 55 Chevys just don't hold a candle.

Thanks for all your comments and interesting anecdotes. I hope we read more.

 

Good Story .... Thanks for sharing. Barnfinds needed a break!!
Although I love reading those stories too!

 

I don't get how you could be so thrilled and in the same story say it's for sale.
I couldn't part with it myself!

 

I can back up what you are saying for performance as I've had several. Still haven't found a straight stick for myself yet, but as mentioned earlier, even the 4 speed hydromatic barks the gears without a problem with a 3.08 gear. Since the original 324 had been pulled and tossed in my 55 Olds before I bought it, I had to opt for an early 70's Olds 350/350 combo. But I kept the original low mile 3.23 rear that was still there. Simply put, the 55 Olds has been overlooked for the most part by hot rodders, but treasured by the few who've experianced them.

Won't put down the tri-five Chevy's as I've had plenty of them too, but the BOP's of the same era are a blast to own!

 

"IMHO, the 55 Chevys just don't hold a candle."
You got that right, Bob. I drive a 56 chevy every day and my 55 olds ride MUCH better, and runs just as good-350/350 vs 324/hyrdo
I like that grille, Woosh, I have a 54 pontiac in mine.

 

Bob that car is way cool !!!

 

I bought a '57 2-door sedan with a 371 4-bbl and 3-speed, new. I destroyed the trans when it had about 800 miles on it; warranty covered it, but I blew it up again at around 1500. Dealer said now it was my problem. As some others have noted above, it was a very difficult car to launch because of the relatively tall rear end gear (3.64, I think?), long first gear, and 4100# weight.

Put a '37 LaSalle floor shift in it, and drove it with Cad & LaSalle transmissions for about 50 K miles. Had problems with synchro failures and popping out of 3rd; rebuilt the trans (and eventually changed to a sideshift with Corvette linkage) 10 times before giving up.

In '59 (I think) I changed to a B&M Hydro Stick, with which the car was much faster and reliable as a stove. Finally sold the car with 73K miles on it; it was only 2 1/2 years old.

It has always felt odd to me that I bought such a rare car (stick) new, and eventually changed it to an automatic.

Looked like this new:

 

If memory serves me correctly....The Gas, Brake and Clutch pedals in these cars are almost "cartoon" huge. Though it may be a myth, and another reason I bought mine, was that a certain number of Olds in this configuration had to be built to run in NASCAR, or whatever it was called at the time. I remember getting behind the wheel and thinking that the pedals, were like double size......Bob, that is one very cool ride.....Centurion9

 

cool story, great car

 

Beautiful............ Gary

 

very cool olds!

 

Great car. Is it posted in the want ads? Could you PM me with the price your asking? Thanks