1954 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight: Stirring Ancient Memories

If you want to see pictures of perfectly restored classic cars, there are plenty of places on the Web for you to find them.  But there’s something truly authentic–even haunting–about seeing a weathered artifact like this ’54 Olds parked at the curb.  It brings me back to the days of my early childhood when I would occasionally see cars of this vintage in this condition–battered survivors from a lost world that existed before my time–evoking in me a sense of awe and mystery…

As a little kid growing up in the ’70s, for some reason old things always fascinated me.  I liked watching Charlie Chaplin movies on Channel 13.  In 2nd grade, Mrs. Hamel (our teacher) asked us to write down what we wanted to be when we grew up.  Other students wrote things like fireman, doctor, baseball player, nurse, etc.  I wrote “antique shop keeper” (because I really liked antiques).  Needless to say, this did not make me popular with my peers.

Halloween 1977: Me (left) as Charlie Chaplin; classmate Liz B. as Groucho Marx

 

Of course my interest in old things extended to cars and I was an enthusiastic car-spotter.

1955 Packard Clipper so much like the one I once saw at the Whippany Soap factory, c. 1978

 

In those days, it was still possible to see ’40s and ’50s cars (and pickup trucks) here and there, still in use.  These were not “trailer queens” by any stretch of the imagination, but real “working cars”.  Most of them had definitely seen better days–faded paint, rust, dents, pitted chrome, missing emblems, doors/fenders a different color, etc.  These old beasts were typically driven by old folks or people without much money.

Very similar scene: A big black ’56 Buick sedan parked on the street.

 

One day around 1980 or so, I was visiting my maternal grandparents in Paterson NJ.  I got permission to take a little walk around the neighborhood.  Walking down Buffalo Avenue and around, I saw a black ’56 Buick sedan, a ’57 Ford, and a ’61 Comet parked at the curb and I thought, “Wow–Paterson is a good place to find old cars!”

And beautiful Victorian houses!  Just down the street from my grandparents’ place was this slightly run-down but all-original Second Empire house that looked very much like the example above.  It had the two-story bay window on the right side, mansard roof with dormers, and all decorative trim intact.  Your classic “haunted house”.  One day my grandparents told me, “Oh, yeah–they fixed that place all up!”  I was excited to go see it.  This is what I saw:  Ugh!

426 Buffalo Avenue

 

Total “remuddle job”:  all the original wood trim was stripped off;  the wrong size and style replacement windows were grafted in;  the whole thing (including some former window openings) were now enshrouded in vinyl siding–what a travesty!

My grandparents (William & Alice Connelly), me, and my brother Dan, taken a few years before. I’m in the red plaid shirt.

 

Shortly thereafter, my grandparents moved out of Paterson, and I never got to go back to that area again.  Even at that age I said to myself, “All these beautiful old cars and houses I love so much are disappearing fast!”

So when I saw this ’54 Olds 98 with what I’ll call “authentic patina” on eBay, it brought me right back to those early days!

This one even has those “cynical humor” bumper stickers that were popular in the ’70s and often plastered onto the backs of old beaters like this.

What do prisoners in New Hampshire think of making license plates that say LIVE FREE OR DIE? 😆

 

Voluptuous curves!

 

Seller’s description:

Me in the 1970s:  “Wow, that dashboard looks so old!

 

As unlikely as it seems, this Olds would have been one of the most advanced cars of its day:  The top-of-the-line 98 model with power steering and power brakes, Hydra-Matic transmission, and the Autronic Eye automatic headlight dimmer (mounted on dashboard).

And maybe factory air conditioning?  I’m thinking that’s what these thingys on top of the rear fenders are for.  If so, this is a very highly-optioned example.  The original buyer went “all-out”!

The famous “Rocket Engine”:  324 cubic inches, 8.25 to 1 compression ratio, 4 bbl. carburation, 185 horsepower.  Compared to what was coming in the late ’50s, these figures seem rather mild.  By 1959 the Olds 98 engine had grown to 394 cubic inches, with 9.75 to 1 compression and 315 horsepower!  And this 1959 Rocket Engine was mounted in a car that was so long, low, and missile-shaped as to make this very-modern-for-its-time ’54 look very old and stodgy!  Change happened quickly in those days.

In 1954 Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac were the first volume cars to feature Harley Earl’s radical new “Panoramic” windshield.  By 1955, nearly all domestic cars had their own version.  Panoramic windshields are cool!

So now I bid farewell to this ancient Olds as it continues its unlikely journey into the 21st century.  Very, very few of its peers have made it this far.  For a few fleeting moments, it felt like the 1970s once again.  I guess that’s what nostalgia is all about.

Auction update:  Initial starting bid price was $2000…no takers.  The seller has since relisted at $1600.  We’ll see if it catches a bid.

Further CC reading:  

Vintage Snapshots: 1954 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Holiday by Rich Baron