This lavishly equipped, beautifully restored 1959 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight was a product of a weird era in GM styling, when designers went overboard trying to reclaim their position as the dictators of American automotive tastes. The ’59 Olds had a little bit of everything — except, perhaps, a theme.
When I was a little kid, I remember sometimes hauling around a whole assortment of toys, unsure which ones I would actually want to play with. Cats and dogs occasionally do the same thing, piling up their toys and sometimes just lying on them in a fit of some domesticated animal equivalent of executive dysfunction.
The design of the 1959 GM cars went something like that. As has often been told, in the fall of 1956, GM became very alarmed by the swoopy new 1957 Chrysler line, fearing that GM design chief Harley Earl’s increasingly heavy, glitzy designs were costing the General its styling leadership. Earl’s heir apparent, Bill Mitchell, launched a crash program to reshape the forthcoming 1959 models in more daring ways — throwing in every trick in the book and some that hadn’t yet been written.
“The excitement of it spread through the studios like wildfire, and soon it showed in our work,” said Chuck Jordan, who became head of the Cadillac studio during that period. “This was like getting out of jail into total freedom! … As you’d expected with such a radical departure, the tendency was to exaggerate.” Fortunately, some of the Oldsmobile studio’s weirder ideas, like centrally mounted headlights, didn’t make it to production.
The 1959 Oldsmobile has been credited (both at the time and afterwards) with being slimmer, more sculpted, and less chrome-encrusted than its 1958 predecessor, but it’s still a deliriously overdecorated car, with its six lights, “O L D S M O B I L E” grille lettering, eyebrow fenders, and fender-top spears. And that’s just the front end!
While its Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Pontiac cousins were no less overwrought, I think the Oldsmobile suffered from the lack of a coherent design theme. There was a lot going on, some of it interesting, but it was hard to discern what this car was supposed to look like — it seemed to be going every direction at once, not always gracefully.
This particular car is in lovely shape, but it should be said that it seems to have gotten some embellishment during restoration. For starters, although the cowl tag was partly obscured and painted over, it appears to indicate that the car was originally all-white, not two-tone.
I have a suspicion it was made over to resemble the red-over-white Ninety-Eight prominently featured in the 1959 brochure. The red upper sections have the air of a cape thrown over the shoulders of some off-brand Superman imitator.
This Olds is a Ninety-Eight, the top-of-the line model. It was 5.4 inches longer than other Olds models (stretching 223 inches overall), with a 3.3-inch-longer wheelbase. Unlike the long-tail Pontiac Star Chief, only 1.3 inches of that extra length was additional rear overhang; most of the rest went into the rear passenger compartment, which had an extra 3 inches of legroom compared to the Dynamic 88 and Super 88.
The dramatic four-window “flattop” hardtop, which actually originated in the Chevrolet studio, featured not only a “Vista-Panoramic” wraparound windshield, but also a wraparound backlight for an airy modern look. Oldsmobile called this body style the Holiday SportSedan, and it was quite popular, accounting for almost one-third of 1959 Oldsmobile production.
Sources like Hemmings often insist that this cantilever roofline cost some headroom despite lowered seats, but that’s not borne out by Oldsmobile’s 1959 AMA specifications. The front seat was lowered a bit from 1958 (1.3 inches on the Ninety-Eight), but the rear seat was actually raised 1.7 inches and still gave what Olds claimed was over an inch more rear headroom, plus a few tenths of an inch more in front. Specifications can be misleading when it comes to interior room, but that’s what they say.
Looking through the front doors, you can see the exaggerated “dogleg” caused by the wraparound windshield. Although you can’t see them from this angle, Oldsmobile put the switches for the power window lifts (which were optional) on the insides of these doglegs.
Since this car has power windows, the regulator handles on the front doors are just for the vent windows. Power ventiplanes were optional in 1959, but this car doesn’t have that feature, one of the few options it lacks.
In 1959, the Ninety-Eight had real leather bolsters with pattern cloth inserts, much like a Cadillac De Ville. (The dark gray strips bordering the inserts are Morocceen expanded vinyl.) Convertibles had Morocceen bolsters with leather inserts instead of pattern cloth. Note the bright metal “bows” on the headliner.
Although this car lacks power vent windows, it’s otherwise loaded: power side windows, factory air conditioning (ordered on only 16 percent of ’59 production), a dual-range heater (still a $101.88 option), the de luxe radio with power antenna, a 6-way power seat, and Autronic-Eye auto-dimming headlights. Power steering, power brakes, Hydra-Matic, a clock, and a deluxe steering wheel were standard Ninety-Eight features, included in the $4,162 base price.
The toy box also encompasses the “Safety-Spectrum Speedometer,” whose horizontal bar changed color as speed increased. The “Safety Sentinel” dial to the upper left was an optional speed warning device that would sound a buzzer and flash a light if you exceeded a preset speed.
The $101.65 five-tube de luxe radio included the Wonder Bar station-seeking feature. The other radio option this year was a transistorized “Trans-Portable” radio that could be removed from a slot in the glove box (leaving the normal pushbutton controls in place) to become a battery-powered portable set with its own integral speaker.
Despite GM’s shared body shells, Oldsmobile didn’t use the same frame as other GM makes. Instead of the controversial X-frame used by Cadillac and Chevrolet, Olds had what their marketing people called the “Guard-Beam” frame, which had a cruciform center section, but box-section side rails. Oldsmobile also used rear leaf springs rather than coils, although these could be replaced at extra cost with the division’s very troublesome “New-Matic” four-wheel air suspension.
For 1959, the Olds Rocket V-8 was bored to 394 cid for the Super 88 and Ninety-Eight. (The basic Dynamic 88 retained the 371 cid version.) The 394 cid engine was rated at 315 gross hp and 435 lb-ft of torque. This car has the optional dual exhausts, which didn’t improve gross power ratings, but probably gave an extra 25 or so net hp. All but a handful of 88 models had Jetaway Hydra-Matic, a 4-speed automatic with two fluid couplings.
Hot Rod, testing a 1959 Olds Super 88 with the same powertrain and a lower numerical 3.23 axle, managed 0 to 60 in a brisk 8.4 seconds, with the quarter mile coming up in 16.7 seconds at 83 mph. However, even with no options, the big Ninety-Eight weighed 270 lb more than the Super 88; with A/C and power accessories, this hardtop’s curb weight was around 5,000 lb. So, the Ninety-Eight was certainly slower, and its higher numerical 3.42 axle ratio made for even heavier fuel consumption.
Handling was about what you’d expect for a softly suspended big ’50s car with very light power steering. The bigger drawback was the 11-inch brakes, which had only 156.8 sq. in. of effective lining area for this very heavy car. Even in the lighter Super 88, Motor Trend found that slowing down even three times in a row from 60 to 20 mph would leave the overheated brakes literally smoking. Much like the styling, it seemed these Oldsmobiles didn’t know when to stop.
What to make of these cars? The 1959 Pontiac defined the brand’s stylistic direction for the rest of its existence. The 1959 Cadillac is an icon (perhaps a kitsch icon, but an icon nonetheless), and the 1959 Chevrolet and 1959 Buick are at least memorably batty. The 1959 Oldsmobile is, well … a lot. It’s dramatic, if not terribly distinguished; it’s a grab-bag of late ’50s automotive obsessions; and it is — for better or worse — unmistakably American. This Ninety-Eight sold for a hefty $55,000 at Mecum Florida Summer Special 2024.
Related Reading
1959 Oldsmobile Super 88 – Its Redeeming Features Are Under The Skin (by Paul N)
Vintage Commentary: ‘A Design Revolution’ – Chuck Jordan On The Styling Of GM’s Wild 1959 Cars (by Rich Baron)
Vintage SIA Design History: “GM’s Far Out ’59s – When Imagination Ran Rampant” Part 1 (by Paul N)
Vintage SIA Design History: “GM’s Far Out ’59s – When Imagination Ran Rampant”, Part 2 (by Paul N)
Yes these suffered the worst styling of any of its’ GM stable mates. Probably the best handling of the lot with the leaf springs, but maybe Pontiac’s Wide Track gave them some advantage. As a kid the ’59 GM cars looked like a death trap with all the projectiles and pinch points. Probably reinforced by the fact there were always serious accidents on our hilly curved street and we would visit the body shops the next day to view the carnage and I seem to recall a ’59 Olds with a hole in the windshield surrounded by blood.
The hubcaps were a target for theft.
Someone should just do what everyone things when they look at this car – paint the roof blue. 🙂 In seriousness, I’ll bet the production people in charge of the paint line hated this 2-tone scheme, with that teeny strip of the accent color atop each front fender.
A neighbor lady was still driving one of these (though one of the 88s) in the late 1960’s. She was our Cub Scout den mother one year and I remember claiming the center of the front seat on an outing so that I could soak in the awesome wonderfulness of that dash. Hers was a white car with blue interior, and I can still remember her pointing out how the speedometer changed color as we went faster.
I have fond memories of the car, but I have to agree – there is a whole lot going on here without much of a theme.
I didn’t know until recently that this is the face that was translated onto the production Corvair.
You just forgot 🙂 It was in my original 1960 Corvair design post. Welcome to the age of forgetfulness. 🙁
hehehehe who’s Paul?
What’s a bit fascinating is that the additional rear seat legroom of the 98 came about not by lengthening the rear door, but by a longer front door. This longer front door was shared with the other C Body variants (Buick Electra, Cadillac). Definitely not the typical way to stretch a body for more rear leg room (Olds 88 on top in image below)
Perhaps my imagination, but it actually looks like the 98 has less rear overhand than the 88. Anyway, a nicer stretch than the Bonneville. A friend’s parents had a ’59 Dynamic 88 that I rode in many times as a kid. I was always fascinated by the changing color speedometer. They were Oldsmobile people who traded every few years. The ’59 was replaced by a ’62 which in turn was replaced by a ’65. The ’65 was their last Olds as they evidently had a lot of problems getting it started in the winter. It was replaced with a ’68 Ambassador. They stayed with AMC until I lost track of them when I left the area after high school.
The Ninety-Eight has more rear overhang, but only a little bit: 1.3 inches.
There’s no accounting for taste; I think it’s gorgeous. Interesting post!
There’s a lot going on for sure with the 1959 model; the ’60 was improved in looks, and the ’61 even more.
That color-changing speedometer was fascinating to watch — I believe Olds kept it through 1962 (my aunt had a ’61).
A neighbor on our block had a ’59 in this color combo; if memory serves, it was a 4-door sedan (6-window) and likely not a 98 model. They kept it for several years into the 60s.
Beautiful! I rode to school often in my friend Steve’s parents’ flattop 98 in metallic blue & white 98. Though out of style by ’65 I thought it was stunning. The dash and acoustical foam “Starlight” (?) headliner really caught my eye at the time. And it had that unique Olds Rocket V8 sound that caught my ear!
The window switches on the post was quite smart… no wires through the door gap.
Actually there must have been some door wires to the motors but the A pillar mount may have had the advantage of better resistance to jarring/shock and leaks?
I learned to drive in my parents’ 1968 Olds 98. I know it’s not the same model as above, but I loved that car. It was an absolute tank, but it was pretty fast once it got going. Also, it was technologically advanced for 1968 – I especially liked the Wonder Bar radio control.
Some neighbors ( we had adjoining, backyards) had a “69”. Was triple, dark green, 4dor, hrdtop. Was never in it but it was rather optioned out.
No thank you. If I’m picking a full sized GM car from 1959, I’ll take a Chevrolet Biscayne or if you’ll allow it, an El Camino. The lowest trim levels were the least overwrought.
I vividly remember my first sighting of a 59 Olds. I was 8 years old and we lived in Toronto. My dad, who was an engineer, wanted to go and see the newly opened Burlington Skyway near Hamilton. It crosses over the end of Lake Ontario and allows traffic to avoid the old lift bridge. My dad might have been impressed by the design of the Skyway, but I was more impressed by the Olds that passed us. We were in our 57 Plymouth which was replaced a few years later by a 61 Olds with the colour changing speedometer.
My uncle’s car, who was an Oldsmobile man of executive profession at Inland Steel in Chicago. One of my earliest auto memories was discovering differences among cars, such as my father’s 1959 Buick, my other uncle’s 1959 Chevrolet, and that 1959 98. Never saw cars before that time. I knew my colors, but since both the Buick and Chevy were blue, I had to discover how the two were different in order to toddle over to ours when leaving church.
As to taste, they’re all 1959 GM rides. All garish and odd looking.
Always sort a, kind a, liked the separate controls for the heat, a/c. This car needs a bit a tint to the glass.
I LOVE it. Yeah, She’s quite busy looking. I think the 2 tone makes it feel even busier (if possible), your eye just doesn’t know what to follow.
These Olds’s always stood out because of the Yooge gap between each pair of headlights, which also, adds to the busy look.
Still love it.