I first spotted this CC on my way to work one morning. Bellingham was covered in pea soup fog and I could only make out the bulbous shape of this old ghost of a car as it blended anonymously into the gray mist. I made a note to come back. When I returned later, I saw this old beauty more clearly and made out the obvious: Oldsmobile, 88, Futuramic. That’s it. I also knew my parents owned a 1964 Olds Jetstar 88 when I was kid. We called it the Tan Tank.
Dad was always proud of the “Rocket 88” motor, and rightly so. The 88 legend started with this ’49, which was nothing less than the first post-war factory muscle car, never mind just being the best car in the world at the time for the money.
Dad’s was just like this Jet. In 1964, the numbers “88” still stood for something, not just something cooked up by the marketing department whizz kids.
I was curious about the 88 lineage and found out that this CC sitting before me was the progenitor of my Dad’s pride and joy. This here was the original 1949 Olds 88 that started the, can I say, 88 dynasty?
Turns out that after the war, Olds was looking to push a more forward looking car with some real punch for returning vets who had a head for machine-driven might. The future was now, as evidenced by the awesome “Futuramic” (Why didn’t that word stick harder in our lexicon?) badging on the fender. Heck they even had a push button starter with a key switch override, pretty hi-tech at the time.
The new 88 series was a brilliant stroke: take the all-new ohv V8 intended for the large, heavier and more expensive 98 series, an install it in the smaller, lighter A-Body 76 series.
One would say it was almost, “Futuramic”!
I didn’t get to look under the hood, but here’s a shot of the engine from the web. They ditched the straight six from the 76 line and put in the a new 303 cubic inch Rocket 88, cranking out a mighty (for the time) 135hp . I’m no gearhead but I do know when you combine lighter car with more powerful engine, you get “Muscle Car”, which is why the 1949 88 is deemed by many to be the very first such thing, at least of the post-war era.
Motor Trend tested a ’50 88 sedan like this one, and pulled off a 0-60 time of 12.2 seconds; that was hot stuff back then. And it could easily exceed ninety. The 88 was the fastest car for the money, and by a healthy margin. No wonder it became an instant classic.
And just like the 88 was the first muscle car, the song it inspired is widely acknowledged to be the first rock and roll song. Ike Turner was as far ahead of the pack as was the 88.
The hood ornament is screaming toward the future at full force, and the sleek lines give it a zephyr-like quality.
Not so good shot of the interior, but lots of buttons! And the shift quadrant for the Hydramatic is just visible on the column. Olds had of course pioneered the automatic transmission too, back in ’38. By this time, it was old hat, although some of its competition still didn’t have a proper automatic, never mind a modern V8 in front of it. “Futuramic” wasn’t just an empty claim; this 88 was the most advanced car in its class by a quarter mile, and outgunned most of the luxury class too.
The only other car with a comparable engine and transmission was Cadillac; the 88 was essentially a budget Caddy, and faster too. In 1949, the Olds 88 was absolutely world-class; nothing anywhere could remotely touch its features at its price.
After chasing the 88 legacy down, I got a better understanding of why my dad was so darn proud of his Rocket. The 88’s sure have earned their place in automotive history. As for this Gray Ghost, she’s weathered a bit, but I’ll be damned if she doesn’t still appear bold, distinctive and ready to launch into the world of tomorrow.
I like the look of these early 50s cars, though my favourite Olds is a 56 98 coupe.
Did get the chance to drive a 56 88 saloon in the UK in the mid 90s, a friend had it, the power steering did not work, but the engine still had some poke
A wonderful catch and you’ve captured the ambition and excitement these cars provided when they were new.
A great-uncle of mine, who was nowhere near automotively inclined, once told a story about a buddy and his taking a road trip. The buddy had a ’49 Olds 88. This all being on windy, two-lane roads they were pretty juiced about averaging 60 mph on a trip somewhere as the Olds had the power to do it.
Welcome aboard.
First, kudos for 1) the amazing find 2) joining the ranks as a new CC contributor and 3) a great debut piece.
Could there possibly be a better version of this car for a CC than you found? Not restored, not modded and not a rust heap. This is a hugely significant car and you have covered it quite nicely.
What a jump Oldsmobile made after the war. The 1940 HydraMatic notwithstanding, I have trouble thinking of a more anonymous car than Oldsmobile before the War. Really, does a single thing about them stand out? Starting with this one, Oldsmobile became anything but anonymous. Also, in the world of 1949, that 303 inch displacement made this one husky engine. Remember that the contemporary Ford V8 was only a 239.
“First, kudos for 1) the amazing find 2) joining the ranks as a new CC contributor and 3) a great debut piece.”
+1,+1,+1!!!
“Not restored, not modded and not a rust heap.”
This post has me wrestling with the question — should a car like this be restored? It is, as you mention, not a rust heap, but it has loads of “patina” as they say. On one hand, it would be nicer to look at if restored to showroom condition. On the other, true survivors like this one appears to be are super rare. Maybe it should be kept in a state of “arrested decay”? I’m really having trouble deciding. That might make a good QOTD.
I think it depends on what you mean by “restoration.” If it came into a new owner who decided to recover the front seat, get the transmission rebuilt, and have the paint resprayed, some might call that a restoration. What if they kept the original paint but fully rebuilt the mechanicals? Or vise versa?
In my opinion a full-on frame-off ground-up restoration would clearly be too much for this car. But who’s to say it hasn’t had one, two, or even three smaller “restorations” over its long life already?
Exactly. Restored is such a loose term, as is original. Is maintenance and upkeep restoration? Is it original if you have replaced tires, wiper blades, shocks, or wear items?
This is the exact problem that has plagued the antiques dealers for some time. There are those who demand that a piece is only worth high value if it is totally unmolested as originally built, with no additions, restorations, or alterations. But is replacing a worn seat cushion wrong if it makes the piece functional? Is a worn out finish worth more than a refinished and good looking varnish? It is all in the eye of the buyer as to the worth, and there are those who appreciate either style (or both). If you leave the patina’ed outside alone, redo the mechanicals to 1949 specs, and throw on seat covers, is the car worth more, or less? It all depends on who is offering to buy it.
Great point about the displacement of the Olds V8 in the world of 1949, JPC. Looking back, from ‘this end’ of history, we often overlook the impact of things like this. It takes a gifted writer to show you that impact, and Bellinghamster has surely done that.
To expand further on the issue of displacement, the ’49 Rocket V8 was bigger than a Buick Special or Century (248), and almost right up there with the big Buick motor (320). Buick can’t have been happy about that. Oldsmobile’s old straight eight was only a 258 – an extra 45 cubic inches plus modern OHV technology, in what amounted to a Chevy body. No wonder the Rocket made such an impact.
Olds was indeed an innovative pioneer at this time, with a modern OHV V-8 and fully automatic Hydra-Matic. Meanwhile, over at Chrysler, Dodges and their ilk were plodding along with tired sixes and fluid drive. Hard to believe it took until 1954 for Chrysler to finally get a full automatic, something Olds first offered in 1940. I know WWII curtailed auto production, but 14 years?
In many ways your dads Jetstar 88 was a disappointment. Introduced in 1964, instead of the big, torquey 394 V-8 and Hyrda-Matic in the Dynamic 88, it had the 330 from the F-85 and a 2 speed automatic. Never could figure why Olds needed to cheapen the 88.
I agree about the 330/Jetaway but I guess they thought they’d sell more with a cheaper price.
Or perhaps given the low sales of the F-85/Cutlass line in 1961-63 Oldsmobile thought it needed extra volume out of the new 330 V8 and Jetaway 2 speed auto. But your explanation is probably best for why the Jetstar 88 stuck around after 1964.
There are a number of theories as to why the Chrysler Corporation lagged behind the rest of the big three with respect to automatic transmission development, and in my opinion Aaron Severson provides one of the best explanations on his site, ateupwithmotor.com:
https://ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/chrysler-forward-look-part-1/view-all/
Scroll down to the section titled, “The Reign of K.T. Keller” to get an idea of how the leader of Chrysler influenced innovation (or lack thereof), as well as some possible reasons as to why.
Performance wise, I agree. But a bonus for Pops was that 4 of us kids could fit in the trunk for Drive-In movie night! 6 for the price of 2.
No doubt Oldsmobile saw Pontiac’s success – a fair number of full-size Pontiac sales came from Oldsmobile’s hide – and wanted a piece of that action. A lower priced full-size line was seen as one way to fight Pontiac.
If I recall correctly, the alarming aspect of the Jetstar 88 was that it used brakes taken directly from the smaller, lighter F-85/Cutlass!
This whole problem was the downfall of the Sloan ladder post-WWII. Since GM management allowed Buick to offer a low-end car in the 1950’s, Olds could not be told no in the 1960’s.
1964 was kind of bad timing for this move, with the larger and very conventional new F-85 with much wider appeal.
Don’t forget, the ’64 Jetstar 88 also got those pathetic 9 1/2 inch 4-wheel drums from the F-85, too. It’s a miracle your dad never wrecked it because he couldn’t stop in time…
Enjoyed this. I agree that the word futuramic is sadly under-utilised.
I have a bad case of automotive lust for the “Make A Date With An 88” pictured car.
Even that particular exterior color.
Was power steering available on an Olds 88 for this model year?
Or perhaps it required less steering effort than the same year Ford?
Power steering was first offered in Olds for 1953. These pre-power steering tanks all had huge steering wheels to get some leverage.
The same year that Ford started with optional power steering!
Much appreciated by those without body builder biceps, habitual parallel parkers or those with arthritis.
But, I guess if you didn’t know any better…..
My grandmother had a 1966 Dodge Dart 270 four-door sedan with the slant six and automatic transmission – but no power steering. She had a very hard time parallel parking the car because of the high steering effort. It got the point where she avoided situations that required parallel parking.
When my mother, who was in her 30s at the time, borrowed that car, she struggled with the steering wheel to parallel park the car!
Didn’t help my 110 pound mom trying to drive the 48 or 49 Buick that her aunt gave us. I don’t remember it well as I was just a tiny tot wandering lost in that big gray cave of a back seat, but she complained about that car for decades afterwards.
My 1963 Plymouth had a huge steering wheel, although it was equipped with the famous Chrysler “no feel” power steering. By contrast the 1965 Pontiac Catalina that replaced the Plymouth had a much smaller, more normal sized, wheel. Before the days of near-universal power steering nearly all cars had huge, bus sized steering wheels. They also had slow steering ratios which meant that making a 90 degree turn required quite a bit of hand over hand action and paying attention to what you were doing.
Power steering was first listed as an option in the 1952 brochure (Image source: oldcarbrochures.com), although as some on this site are quick to point out, the mere appearance of an option in a brochure doesn’t necessarily mean that any were actually so equipped in that particular model year.
I know that 1952 marked power steering’s first appearance at GM and I know that Buick offered it that year. I would guess that Olds had it too, based on that brochure. Chrysler was the first out of the gate with Power Steering in 1951, but it did so by engineering around a patent for a system that only provided boost when the wheel turned. The Chrysler system was sold as “Full Time” power steering and provided boost constantly (thus virtually eliminating all road feel as any old Mopar driver knows well). GM waited until the patent on the “on demand” PS system expired.
For decades it seemed like GM was always at least one generation ahead of Mopar on power steering development.
GM had seriously considered power steering before the war, and actually had several, experimental working units installed in Cadillacs during the 1930s. Cost was the main reason GM management decided not to pursue it.
The Cadillac effort was an outgrowth of power steering for heavy trucks. A big problem with trucks in the 1920s and 1930s – aside from the fact that it took a great deal of upper-body strength to drive a truck – was severe “kickback” over sharp bumps and ruts. Some drivers suffered broken wrists as a result!
Chrysler simply waited until the patents held by the man working with GM had expired, and offered power steering on the 1951 Chryslers.
The man who had worked on the GM system wasn’t upset – he figured that Chrysler had forced GM’s hand. And, sure enough, in his words, he quickly received a call from GM or Cadillac leadership, asking, “How many and how soon can you get them ready for us?”
Interestingly, in the Popular Mechanics “Owners Report” on the 1951 Cadillac, one of the owner complaints was high steering effort.
My small, petite Mother said she stopped driving for several years, in the early/mid 1950’s, because the steering effort required by my Father’s various beloved “Shoebox Fords” wore her out.
She said that the manual steering effort on the used ’56 Chevy Bel-Air, bought around 1959, was much less than any/all the Fords.
My “Old School” Father, who hated modern innovations like power steering, automatic transmissions and air conditioning, grudgingly bought Mom a used ’54 Ford Customline 4 door, equipped with automatic tranny, power seat, add on A/C and yes…power steering! around 1962 or so for her use as a “Grocery Getter”.
He mumbled to himself the few times he drove this Ford.
Mom loved it, actually started crying when my Father traded it in on another Ford product.
For my parents, each new car added another optional feature. That was par for the course during that era. When someone bought a new car, one of the first questions was, “What does it have?”
The 1959 Rambler wagon (bought in 1962) had an automatic transmission. It replaced a 1953 Studebaker Champion Starlight equipped with an overdrive stick-shift transmission.
The 1965 Chevrolet Bel Air wagon had power steering, and a V-8.
The 1967 Oldsmobile Delmont 88 Holiday sedan had all of those, plus power brakes.
The 1976 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale four-door hardtop added air conditioning, cruise control and an AM/FM stereo with a power antenna.
The 1982 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale four-door added power door locks and a divided front seat, with power controls for the driver.
Now people expect garden-variety Corollas to have satellite radio, air conditioning, power windows and power door locks.
Kaiser was developing a power steering system for the originally-planned FWD 1947 cars in order to overcome the heavy steering. However, an estimated cost of $1,000 per car for the power system put paid to the idea and that was the end of the FWD Kaiser.
Funny you should mention Chrysler Novocaine power steering, as I woke up this morning to a dream where I was driving our family’s ’65 Coronet wagon, and the steering was even number than ever. As in totally disconnected from reality, and had little influence on the direction of where the car was going. Sort of like a bumper car with power steering.
Nevertheless, it was great (otherwise) to be back behind the wheel of the old Coronet. Every detail of the dashboard, upholstery, interior and all were perfectly rendered in color and 3D.
I have had similar dreams through the years. The most vivid involves a Ford F150 that I owned in the late nineties; several times I have woken up just as the back end of the truck starts to come around. The only time I can remember this actually happening was once on a snowy parking lot and I was “investigating adhesion limits”. I always wake up before the truck hits anything or runs out of road. I have had other cars in dreams as well, just not as often as the truck.
Bellinghamster: Congratz on your first posting here. Well written, photographed and documented.
Looking forward to reading your future postings here!
Thanks for the encouragement, I have been a devoted CC reader for years. Its good to finally give back to community.
Nice to see a local contribute a quality article… I live near Kendall.
I’ve seen this car around for a few years. It does get driven sometimes. Seen it at a couple of car shows. Sounds pretty good going down the road. There are a plethora of CC-able cars here. My morning commute has plenty. I know of a ’40 Chevy coupe that sees commuter service in the Barkley area.
Wish I had a camera.
Could not agree more Many thanks
My grandmother bought one of these; she was sixty at the time. My dad, who was twenty-nine, bought a Buick Special. I never could figure that out. He went on to buy European cars after that, the Buick was such a gas hog.
One of my uncles kept grandmas’s 88 until the late Seventies. It had been used hard, but I still liked to sit behind the big wheel with the Saturn emblem under plexiglass in the hub, pretending I was driving it. My uncle said there was something wonky about the coil spring rear suspension that made it unstable at high speeds, which was why Olds switched back to leaf springs in a few years. ‘53, I think.
I think that is actually a ’50 or a ’51 model pictured as the ’49 still had a two piece windshield.
I think you’re right. I missed that.
Again, congrats on the find, the post, and thanks for the trip down memory lane. My folks had two ’50 ’88’s- a Dark Green Sedan and a Red Hardtop. My mom had a heckuva time wrestling with that steering, and the Hardtop was replaced with a ’57 T-Bird. Dad loved his car, and drove it until ’65. The radiator fell out (bolts rusted out) a few block from home, and mom convinced dad it really was time for a new car. He wound up buying another Oldsmobile- a Cutlass Hardtop.
Oh, I’m conflicted. While the ’49 Futuramic Olds has that great V8 engine, I really prefer the styling of the ’48 Futuramic 98, which doesn’t have the “intakes” below the headlights.
Great find and article! Looking forward to many more!
Nice words! between Pontiac and Olds……i miss Olds the most. they always had there own look, never complained about Buick or Cadillac(like Pontiac always did about Chevy)
Thanks for the great find and the well written post. Welcome! That car is in amazing condition, the front bumper looks perfect. Four door sedans were the lifeblood of most GM divisions at this time. Good looking, solid, with plenty of room. These were usually the lowest priced models also. Unfortunately they began to be seen as dull, and two and four door hardtops and convertibles portrayed more glamour. By the end of the 1950’s every manufacturer was building low and sleek models at some loss of practicality.
Very nice article and great CC! My question is were you waiting until you found the perfect car to start writing here, or did you just happen to find it at the same time you were ready to start writing?
Nice catch. I’ve seen it running around town before. There are a lot of old cars still plying the streets of B’ham. Looking forward to seeing more of your finds as I’m only a part time Hamster.
Reminds me mightily of the 1950 Olds 88 a young me drove all over 1964 San Diego. A shipmate has a similar era “roaring” Hudson. The olds was faster but not by much. Don’t recall if the results of that competition was the same in NASCAR. Whatever,it was freedom for a young sailor.
Lovely car. I suppose I can see why Packard went under – this seems to have everything at much less. An icon.
Nice find, and a nice write up, with that personal and family history (kids in the trunk!) touch that goes so well with the patina of authenticity the car shows. Welcome to the CC Skunk Works.