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This 1958 model is the Oldsmobile 88 in one of its most glorious iterations featuring loads of chrome-work and a Rocket 8 under the hood.
A Rocket of an 88
1958 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight – carsforsale.com | Shop 1958 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight on Carsforsale.com
Like the rings of a tree, the multiple generations of a car can tell you a lot about what was going on in the automotive industry at the time: the fashions, the technologies, the business imperatives of the day. Through a car like the Oldsmobile 88 one can trace five decades of seismic change.
The first-generation Olds 88, premiering in 1948, is regarded by many to be the original prototype for the wave of muscle cars that emerged more than a decade later. Equipped with its “Rocket 8” 303 V8, the first Olds 88 was dominant on the early NASCAR circuit, taking down 10 of 19 races in the 1949 season. Of course, as GM’s semi-luxury brand, the Oldsmobile 88 was also a refined product offering niceties like a four-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission and an elegant woody station wagon.
Jump all the way to the final tenth generation and you find a vastly different car. As just another sedan in a busy GM lineup, the tenth-generation 88 struggled to find its identity through three major redesigns. The 88 received a fiftieth-anniversary edition just in time for its cancellation in 1999.
In between those two extremes we find today’s Cool Car Find, a masterpiece of the late ’50s chrome and fins era, a third-generation 1958 Oldsmobile 88 done in Banff Blue.
Third Generation 88
The third-generation Oldsmobile 88 saw just two years of production, each with its own distinctive look. Like the prior second-generation car, the third generation offered a wide range of body styles that included two-door coupe and convertible, two- and four-door sedans, two- and four-door “Holiday” hardtops (the Holiday denoting a pillarless design), as well as a four-door station wagon and a “Fiesta” wagon (again a pillarless design).
Under the hood was the 88’s signature Rocket 8 V8, which had begun back in 1948 at 303 cubic inches, grew to 324 cu.-in. in the second gen, and was now bored and stroked to 371 cu.-in. making the V8 good for 277 horsepower. A three two-barrel carb set up, the “J-2” option, could up output to 300 horsepower at the additional price of $83.
The ’57 version of the 88 revised the car’s looks, without a radical overhaul. It was lower and wider with additional brightwork and especially snazzy in optional two-tone paint. Luxury options included air conditioning, power seats and windows, and the Hydra-Matic automatic transmission.
The 1958 Oldsmobile 88 made more significant changes to the car’s styling, most notably a lot more chrome. In fact, the car earned the nickname the “Chrome Mobile” thanks to a new squared-off chrome grille, long chrome body strakes, and the unusual chrome bezels around the taillights.
Trims for the ’58 88 were divided between the Dynamic 88 with a two-barrel carb and 265 horsepower and the Super 88 with a four-barrel carb and 305 horsepower. The J-2 option was available on either and granted up to 312 horsepower. A New-Matic (punny, no?) air suspension was also offered in ’58, but the system wasn’t the most reliable and was discontinued after 1959.
That 1959 car, the debut of the 88’s fourth generation, was an even more thorough overhaul that gave the car a totally new, more linear look.
This Cool Car
Our Cool Car Find is a 1958 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 in Banff Blue with white and blue interior. The car was given a full restoration which included Super 88 trim upgrades like a four-barrel carb for the 371 V8 allowing it to boast 305 horsepower. The Banff Blue paint job is a stunner and even extends to its hub caps surrounded by a set of white wall tires. Original options included a removeable transistor radio, power steering, and power brakes. The Olds 88 has a storied history and the chromed-out 1958 version is among its most memorable and visually impressive years.
