1955 Oldsmobile

Convertible

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

558L1 9286

Clear

Gasoline

1955 Oldsmobile Super 88 Convertible Reprinted From: Mid-fifties Styling at its Best CAR COLLECTOR and car classics March 1980 by Gregory D. Wells The year 1955 seems to have been a very good year for virtually everybody, certainly not least of which were the country's automobile producers. And Lord only knows, it was a thoroughly excellent year for Oldsmobile Division of General Motors. For in that year Oldsmobile production crested at an astonishing 583,179 cars, ending a four-year span that saw the company nipping at the heels of the Big Three. In fact, in 1954 Olds was able to grab fourth spot from a floundering Plymouth, though Plymouth did rebound in 1955. What an exciting place Oldsmobile must have been during this time! The numbers tell the story all by themselves: 1952 213,419 1953 334,462 1954 354,001 1955 583,179 That final increase represents a jump of nearly 65 percent and was Oldsmobile's best production year ever until the 1965 model year exceeded it with 591,701. The rarest model of {he 1955 Olds line was the Super 88 convertible, as our title above terms it, with 9,007 units manufactured. In actuality, the company adhered to the traditional name, convertible coupe, a throwback to the days when most open cars were saddled with side curtains. Actually, we're cutting a fine hair by calling the Super 88 convert the rarest, for the top-of-the-line Series 98 convertible coupe production was not all that much greater at 9,149. That the Super 88 can now claim this Pyrrhic production victory seems appropriate, through it couldn't have given the company much joy at the time. The history of the Oldsmobile 88 began in 1949 with a bang, or more accurately, with the click of the stopwatch and the squeal of torque-tortured rubber. The Rocket V-8 was Oldsmobile's version of the Kettering engine, so-named because Charles Kettering had been the first to espouse the doctrine of high compression for power and economy. The late Gilbert Burrell was the actual designer of the Olds power-plant, but S. E. Skinner was probably the person responsible for the appearance of this new engine in the smaller and lighter 88 body. Initially, corporate management had decreed that the V-8 was to be placed in the Series 98 only, but, according to Tim Howley writing in Automobile Quarterly, Skinner "literally pushed the powers of GM into sanctioning the new hellfire model, vowing he would totally ignore the certain excitement it would create among the growing numbers of power hungry enthusiasts." In the fledgling NASCAR's first years, the 88 caused immense quantities of excitement, for it all but dominated the stock car circuits for both 1950 and 1951. The public responded with orders and Olds sailed into a 99,276-unit first year with the 88, even though the new model was not introduced until February of 1949, some two months after the unveiling of the larger Series 98. And true to his word, Sherrod Skinner downplayed the performance aspect of the car. Quoting Howley again, " the quiet revolution was at hand." As the 88 matured through the early fifties, it was inevitable that the car would grow in size. By 1955, it was longer and heavier and was not the same contender on the NASCAR tracks that it had been in 1950-51, even though the power had been upped to 202hp at 4,000rpm for the 324cid engine. As one of the road testers of the period commented, "The long line of car buyers who yearly extoll the smooth lines and want-to-go performance of Oldsmobile won't be disappointed this year." From the figures quoted above, it doesn't seem like they were disappointed. Yet where are all the 1955 Oldsmobiles today? The common '55 Chevy still exists in numbers fairly hard to believe, as does the '55 Ford even forgetting about the T-Birds. The Olds seems to have suffered more from neglect and scrappage and now that the other fifties cars are becoming more and more frequently collected, these facts may cause some very interesting shifts in value. Jim Christman, the owner of the car we featured, estimates that only 25 to 50 of these Super 88 convertibles remain, and we'd have to agree from the experience we've had. In fact, we've been predicting for some time now that these fifties convertibles will be the next really hot cars on the collector market. Few were produced, scrappage percentages are high, and people are beginning to appreciate the styling more and more. Their quality was fairly high and the difficulty in restoring a rough one is high, too. But to our eyes, these 1955 Oldsmobiles are attractive, and certainly deserving of a little more attention. That is, if you can find one to give attention to!