1959 Oldsmobile Super 88 2-Door Hardtop (Project)

The year 1959 will forever be regarded as the high watermark of the chrome age in American car design, a time when styling was at its most flamboyant and wings reached their peak. Though Cadillac may have stolen most of the limelight in 1959, other divisions of General Motors were equally outrageous, with Oldsmobiles low-slung, heavily-chromed look typical of the era, whilst reflecting the more conservative nature of the brand. Available in three basic levels, the base model Dynamic 88, mid-range Super 88 and top-of-the-line 98 all shared a common wheelbase and mechanical components, with minor differences to trim and equipment differentiating the three lines. On the Super 88, special badges and rocker panel mouldings were added, along with deeper twist carpeting and a choice of leather, cloth or morocceen upholstery. There were five distinct body styles available, including the 2-door Holiday Hardtop, 4-door sedan, 4-door Holiday Hardtop, convertible and station wagon. The base Dynamic 88 model made do with a 371-cid V8 but the Super 88 and 98 models came with a bigger bore 394-cid V8 as standard equipment. With a 9.75:1 compression ratio, the engine developed 315 horsepower at 4600 rpm and had a Rochester Quadra-Jet 4GC carburettor, ensuring a very good turn of speed for such a big car. Indeed, the Oldsmobile 2-door hardtop even took to the track and Lee Petty scored a win (in a photo finish) at the inaugural Daytona 500-Mile stock car race.