1950 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight

Coupe

371 V8

Automatic

Clear

Gasoline

1950 Olds 88 Holiday hardtop coupe. It was customized in Southern California in the 1960's. The coupe has a two inch chop top. The windshield is cut down two inches. The rear window is stock height. The two inches were removed from above the rear window. The drip rails have been molded, it has been nosed and decked, the hood is louvered, the rear wheel openings have been radiused and the door handles have been removed. There are electric door buttons in the gas filler door. There is subtle pin striping on the hood and trunk. The paint is presentable but is starting to show its age. There are some bubbles at the bottom of both doors and a crack where the right door handle was filled. None of these spots are through the paint and wouldn't show up in the pictures. There are a few other dings and blemishes (patina) but nothing serious. The car still has the original chrome tail fins with backup lights and old blue dots in the lenses. The rear bumper looks great but does have some minor pitting. There is a vintage rear license plate frame with a glass cover. The original grill, front bumper and bumper guards are in very good condition. The windshield has a small road chip and the wing windows have some bubbles. All the other glass is fine. The rear side windows don't roll down. They slide forward out of their track and are stored in the trunk. The engine is a 1958 371 cubic inch Olds with an Offenhauser two four manifold, two 500 CFM carbs and a solid lifter cam. The headers were made by Fenton and the exhaust is new with Magnaflow mufflers. They sound just like glass packs when you rev it up. The car has been converted to 12 volt, now runs an alternator and the battery has been moved to the rear between the back seat and the trunk upholstery. The stainless steel inner fender wells are custom made and the entire panel between the radiator and the grill has been chromed. The transmission is a four speed Hydro and the rear end is original. It has power steering, power front disc brakes and tube shocks front and rear. The rear coil springs have been replaced with RideTech airbags. The compressor and tank are located behind the rear seat and the controls are hidden in the glove box. It has a seperate circuit for each bag to prevent air transfer when cornering. Each circuit has its own pressure gauge and there is a system pressure gauge and switch also. As you can see in the pictures it has about a four inch ride height range bottom to top. The tires are new Coker wide whites and the hubcaps are 1955 Cadillac. The interior is in great shape. The dash has the original gauge cluster, radio and clock. The amp and temp gauges weren't working so I installed a Stewart Warner voltmeter and temp gauge under the dash in an old Eelco mount. It has a GM tilt steering column without the ignition switch and a LeCarra steering wheel with a custom center hub. The red headliner is beautiful and the chrome strips are good. The interior stainless was done very nicely. The front bucket seats are early Mustang and the rear seat is original, all in good condition. The matching door panels are also very presentable. The carpet is nothing special but it has no holes and is quite usable. There are a few things to mention. The wipers aren't working but all the components are there. The heater isn't working either. There were no hoses hooked to it when I got the car and I never looked into it. The floors have been replaced in a couple of spots. It looks like it was done years ago, probably when the car was customized. Also, the engine has a miss sometimes. I did a compression test and all of the cylinders were even at 160 pounds. I also did a complete valve adjustment so I know the problem is not in the engine. The points were replaced with a Pertronix setup and I've been told that sometimes the rotor needs to be shimmed. If it's off it can cause a intermitant miss. Also, I've never touched the carbs. Maybe they're due for a rebuild? Anyway, it runs fine 90% of the time. I recently made a 500 mile trip to a car show and it did great. The only other thing I can think of is it leaks a little oil from the engine and the tranny. Not much, but it leaves a drop here and there. I keep a drip pan under it. All in all this is a really cool custom survivor. You can buy a primered and bagged Chevy coupe with no interior that was built last week or you can own a vintage Olds hot rod for the same money. My reserve is very reasonable and I don't think you'll be disappointed. The car is far from perfect but it's not far from being one of the coolest original customs out there. I will make myself available if anyone would like to view the car. If you have any questions please use the "ask a question" feature in the auction listing. Thank you.