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Oldsmobile Super 88 Convertible Coupé - "Chromium" for the people

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Created on December 13, 2021

Text:

Paul Krüger

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

41

RM Auctions

1

Archiv

6

Bruno von Rotz

41

RM Auctions

1

Archiv

6

This Oldsmobile vintage was also called the "Chrome King of all Cars" - it's easy to see why.

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The rear is also overloaded with chrome.

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A 1958 Oldsmobile Super 88 Convertible Coupé in "Surf Green"

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The filigree pin stripes on the side section are particularly elegant - but unfortunately do not match the solid rest of the design.

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The "Continental Kit" should look European and sporty. In fact, it does pretty much the opposite.

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The Super 88 had the "short" wheelbase of 122.5 inches.

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The soft top opens and closes electrically.

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Dual headlights were permitted in the USA from 1958 - and car manufacturers made eager use of them.

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The low beam was on the outside, the high beam on the inside.

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The Super 88 was the middle Oldsmobile model series between the Ninety-Eight and the Dynamic 88.

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Projectile-shaped door handle and trim strip. A chrome-plated switch behind the handle protects the paintwork from scratches.

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In 1958, the Oldsmobile jet fighter once again sat in the middle of the hood.

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However, its wings were trimmed for 1958.

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Rear light with the look of an afterburner, as requested by Harley Earl with lots of "Chromium"

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Oldsmobile did not offer a Continental Kit ex works. This one is a contemporary accessory.

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The exhaust pipes are not located in the corners of the bumpers, but rather the reversing lights.

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Only the Super 88 and Eighty-Nine carry the Oldsmobile badge in front of the four "Speedlines".

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The radiator grille made of anodized aluminium was missing from the first design.

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The Oldsmobile looks very similar to its corporate brother Pontiac. However, the grille and headlight surrounds are slightly different.

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"Span-a-ramic" panoramic windscreen with very pointed edge and tinted "E-Z-Eye" glazing

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The interior offers comfortable space for six passengers.

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The corner of the panoramic window is nowhere near as dangerous for the knee as is always claimed.

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Oldsmobile called the recessed steering wheel hub "Safety-Vee" and touted it as a safety feature.

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The horn is operated via the two elongated buttons in the steering wheel spokes.

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Comparatively simple, curved bar tachometer; here without "Safety Sentinel". The "Cold" light goes out when the temperature of the cooling water exceeds 45 degrees Celsius.

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Light switch and handbrake warning light to the left of the instrument cluster. The four small buttons underneath control the flow of heated air.

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The shield in the steering wheel hub is wider and lower.

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"Wonder-Bar" transistor radio with crossfade control (right). A model called "Trans-Portable", which could be removed like a portable radio, was also available for an extra charge. Above the switch for the electric soft top.

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The electric clock between the air intakes on the dashboard

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Two cranks frame the door opener. The upper one is for the opening window.

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The convertibles were lined with leather as standard, albeit with different stitching than shown here.

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The Fisher Body Co. was founded in Detroit in 1908. It has been wholly owned by General Motors since 1926.

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The first four digits give it away: Model year '58, Super 88, built at the GM plant in Fairfax, Kansas City, Kansas.

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The radio aerial retracts and extends electrically.

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The rather small windshield wipers leave a large triangle uncovered in the middle of the windshield.

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The tank filler neck is located under the left rear light.

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"Fender skirts for the rear mudguards were a popular accessory.

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The rims could be painted in the body color or a contrasting color.

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The "J2 Golden Rocket" was the most powerful engine of the 1958 model year.

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Thanks to three twin carburetors, it produces 312 SAE horsepower from 371 cubic inches (6079 cm3)

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The name is proudly emblazoned on the valve covers.

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Oldsmobile 98 Convertible Coupé (1958) - Contemporary advertising photo

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Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 Holiday Coupé (1958) - Press photo from 1957

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Oldsmobile Super 88 Fiesta (1958) - Hardtop station wagon with up to 1800 liters of storage space

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Oldsmobile Super 88 Holiday Sedan (1958) - Press photo from 1957

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Oldsmobile Super 88 Holiday Sedan (1958) - Brochure illustration

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Oldsmobile Super 88 (1958) - Chassis with "New-Matic Ride" air suspension

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The predecessor: almost chrome-free Oldsmobile Starfire 98 Holiday Coupé from 1957

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Summary

Head of Design Harley J. Earl demanded three things: chrome, chrome and more chrome. There was one thing he refused to do: talk back. So the Oldsmobile designers covered the 1958 model with as much ornamentation as the electroplating department could provide and the eyes could bear. Not everyone liked the result - but the boss did. This article tells the story of the 1958 Oldsmobile models, which were actually not bad cars, and shows a Super 88 Convertible Coupé in many photos.

This article contains the following chapters

The dictates of Harley J.
The king of electroplating
The wild 88
No variety under the hood
Safety and comfort
A maneuverable luxury steamer
Satisfied customers

Estimated reading time: 10min

Preview (beginning of the article)

How could it have come to this? After 20 years, Harley J. Earl seemed to have lost his feel for shapes and the wishes of customers. Two years before his retirement, General Motors' Vice President of Design, who had impressed the car world with the grandly elegant Buick Y-Job in 1938 and convinced it of the necessity of the grandly pointless tail fin in 1948, could think of nothing more than to adorn new models with more and more shiny ornamentation. Always under the pretext that this was exactly what customers wanted. Resistance was futile, because the master's will was law. In 1956, work began on the 1958 models in the Oldsmobile design department. Arthur "Art" Ross's team was smoking heads and erasers in equal measure, because the brilliant idea just wouldn't come. In the end, it was the young designer Bernie Smith who gave the Olds on the B platform its basic shape for 1958 as well as its most characteristic feature: the projectile-shaped trim contour that grew out of the side of the twin headlights and ran along the side of the body as far as the door handle.

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