A day in the life... June 11th 2006

[Sixty8panther]

Okay so first off the sig says it all. Today was

a rollercoaster of a day. Thank god I had XP

& Penguin there for emotional support.

10:00am WTF, that hole in the car cover is weird...

10:01am Title, Registration, 2 keys, 2 P&S documents & a CD filled wiht hundreds of photos of the Camaro.

12:45pm

1:00pm Depressing... That wad of 49 $100 bills feels soulless and wrong in my back pocket.

1:01am

I dial a 781 area code phone number and cross my fingers.

Oldest car in my possesion right now is a 1984 Japanese

sedan... time is of the essance. I can not let the sun drop

below the horizon without having another 1960s classic car

in my possession, if only on paper. After a brief

conversation I tell sPenguin I'll gas up his 'Bu with some

premium if he can drive like the wind to Ashburnham, Mass

so we can fletbed a 1964 Super 88 to my house ASAP.

3:30pm

This wad of ca$h is just 45% of the money I just got

for the Camaro 2 hours ago & yet it buys me a 1964

Oldsmobile Super 88 Holiday Hardtop with 24,000 mi.

5:30pm

It's been two hours and we're still on the cell trying

to find a legit towing company that will take my

ATMC Tow Benefit card & send out a Flatbed to get

my new pride and joy home.

5:45pm

A flatbed has been dispatched, but it's in Concord Mass

so we have a 1.5 - 2.0 hour wait. Fu$% it, SPenguin &

I just sit in the Supah-88 and shoot the $h! about how

cool it will be to make a 1981 Malibu sandwich using a

white 1964 Olds and a white XXXX XXXXXXX*.

* not allowed to say word 1 about the car XP might be

buying soon, like within two weeks soon.

BTW ...yes, this is the original dealer decal from a now

defunct Oldsmobile dealer that is semi-famous in the

New England area.

7:20pm

8:15pm

8:25pm

Both Marcia & Sofia approve of the newest addition

to the Tight Whips Car Club.

Who the heck is this goofy looking Ba$tard with a trucker's tan?

I sold my Camaro to a nice kid who payed me every cent of

the $4900 he promissed to pay by clicking "BUY NOW", and

it will get the restoration it deserved back in 1986.

Marcia has $2000 in her pocket that will help with the

downpayment on our first house, which will hopefully

be happening soon.

I've got a gorgeous classic 4dr hardtop and $700 left

over for the valvejob, tires & other miscelaneous

things the car will require in the coming months.

WIN - WIN - WIN!!!

Who says that the Full Moon is a jinxed day???

---------------- Good Night!

~ Silvester AKA Chapman

The "Sixty8Panther" Camaro has left the building... Godspeed little guy.

Edited June 12, 2006 by Sixty8panther

[04monteintimidator]

nice... sorry to see the camaro go... but hey... that super 88 looks awesome! lots of luck with it man

[Cray_Z28]

Sweet addition. I don't think I would have the strength to part with the Camaro, but the picture that shows the windows down and no post is convincing. The blue interior will probably limit the exterior colors a bit if you are not going to keep it as is. It looks good white! Congrats again.

Edited June 12, 2006 by Cray_Z28

[GMTruckGuy74]

Well Sixty8, at least you're going in the right direction towards your ultimate goal (1968 ---> 1964 ---> 1959)!!! So is this a stop-gap measure to hold you over until you find your ultimate '59 Buick???

The Olds is a nice looking car... I guess I'm too much of a Pontiac man when it comes to '60s cars. Good luck with it and keep us posted (with pics too). At least it's not a Mazda (j/k BV!).

[Sixty8panther]

Well Sixty8, at least you're going in the right direction towards your ultimate goal (1968 ---> 1964 ---> 1959)!!!  So is this a stop-gap measure to hold you over until you find your ultimate '59 Buick???

That's exactly what I said this afternoon. I told SP that

if I had bought a 1972 Chevelle or what not I'd be

headed in the wrong direction, hardtop or not, but this

is definitely a nice stepping-stone to a 1959 Buick HT.

The Olds is a nice looking car... I guess I'm too much of a Pontiac man when it comes to '60s cars.

I like 'em all but this car found ME not the other way

around. The condition, MY & hardtop bodystyle pretty

much makes this a steal. As SP put it today, I should be

charged with theft for paying $2200 for this beast. If it

had been a Bel Air, LeSabre, Catalina, Sedan deVille,

Lebaron, Polara, Belvedere, Comet, Fairlane,

Continental, American, Comander or almost anything in

between I still probably would have bought it if it was

99% complete, 24K for milage but needed a valvejob.

Good luck with it and keep us posted (with pics too).

You bet. :wink:

[Delta Force79]

congrats Sixt...thats a beauty

Let me know when you decide to part with it...it would look nice parked next to my '79

[ocnblu]

What a car! Cruisemaster...

Best of luck with it, man.

[Flybrian]

Don't feel bad...

Chevrolet - Pontiac - Oldsmobile - Buick - Cadillac

...you upgraded!

[Sixty8panther]

Thanks everyone.

Just like with the Camaro the first night I had it, I could not

fall asleep last night. Kept tossing and turning (not like me)

and finally just got out of bed at 3:00am, threw on some

clothes and went to sit inside the car for like an hour.

This thing even has that "1960s new car smell" from the

outside. Like when it was being rolled off the flatbed in my

driveway before the car's door was even opened I could

smell the car's interior from 15 feet away, door closed &

windows up.

[z28luvr01]

Don't feel bad...

Chevrolet - Pontiac - Oldsmobile - Buick - Cadillac

...you upgraded!

*kicks Fly in the shin*

That 88 is pretty darn nice, especially for the price. Congrats. I'd love to see some pics of it all nice and clean. From the looks of it you better not leave the keys where Sophie could reach them.

[Sixty8panther]

I hooked up the Q45's battery to it while she was inside and showed her

how to use the freight train air trumpet of a horn wiht the buttons on the

steering wheel. Pretty soon she was waking up everyone including the

people in the graveyard down the street. I thought the Fleetwood

Brougham horns were loud... this is insane.

I have a air horn setup in the Datsun running off a relay and in

conjunction wiht a Roadmaster Horn & the stock Datsun horn for a total

of four horns and the car is pretty loud, like practical joke in a parking

lot loud, but the Olds' stock 42 year old horns put the Datsun to shame.

Z28luv:

It's aint an 88 it's a SUPAH-88! [/bahstan_ax-cent]

Edited June 12, 2006 by Sixty8panther

[Enzora]

Nice.

You gonna fix it up anymore, or just use it for cruising while you save up for the '59?

[RBB]

So does this mean you're changing your moniker?

-RBB

Edited June 12, 2006 by RBB

[Cory Wolfe]

Heh... Congrats on the Super 88. Now I'm going to have to call you Sly from now on since Sixty8 is no longer meaningful.

[Camino LS6]

Congrats, man. I'm glad things worked out for you the way you wanted. I'll know who it is if some huge white beast comes gliding down the lane someday.( Just ace a few geese on the way would you?)

[daves87rs]

Very, Very cool 68...

Congrats!

[knightfan26917]

Wow, what a day, Sixty8!

Congrats all the way around!

Cort, "Mr MC" / "Mr Road Trip", 32swm/pig valve/pacemaker

MC:family.IL.guide.future = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/

Models.HO = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/trainroom.html

"That's the price that we all pay" ... New Order ... 'True Faith'

[Sixty8panther]

Thanks guys.

The new owner of the Sixty8 called said 2nd gear is blown in the transmission.

I guess I never listed that but since I said in the auction pretty much everything

needs a restoration I thought it was self explanatory but whatever. He asked me

over the phone today to give him a $200 kickback for a new/rebuilt TH350 so

I negotiated for $150 and told him I'd send him a M.O. He seems like a nice

enough guy, he payed top dollar for the car with Buy Now, so I'm going to do

the right thing and send him the money. After all he could have showed up and

offered $4200 for the car and came up with some lame excuse as to why he

can't pay the whole amount as promised. So many scumbags on eBay do that

or worse. Still that's another $150 that I will not have to put into the Super 88.

Videos coming soon.

Camino: You lost me with the Geese part.

Enzora: I think I'll keep it for a few years & get it perfect, then upgrade to a 59-B.

Edited June 13, 2006 by Sixty8panther

[Camino LS6]

The damn geese sit in the lane by the pond and crap all over the blacktop. They are not my favorite critters. Although it is fun to sneak up close in the Maserati and hit the air horn. :AH-HA_wink:

[76ChevyTrucker]

Looks good to me. good luck on getting it into good condition. If I had the money for it, I would go and offer the guy that lives down the road from where I work the 4500 he's asking for a '57 Chevy Belair 4-dr that looks in very good condition, but alas, I don't have the money....oh well.

[Sixty8panther]

Bel Air 4dr? HT of sedan? Eitehr way they're quite the car.

[76ChevyTrucker]

yeah, its a Belair four door sedan, hard top, needs paint, maybe some minor surface rust, last time I asked, it ran (about a month ago), I just don't have the available cash for it and I can't convince Amy to let me go and take a loan out for it.

[Sixty8panther]

I don't know what it is but seeing all those winows down is

just such a rush. There's absolutely perfect visibility with

not so much as a 1" thick pillar. It's been three days since

I bought the Super and every morning I'm still speechless

when I get in and turn on the AM radio after rolling down

all four windows & opening the vent windows.

I cufking love this car!

[Sixty8panther]

New owner bringing the car around to the trailer.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v219/Six...nt=DSCN3719.flv

--------

One last ride, he was not used to the crappy brakes...

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v219/Six...nt=DSCN3720.flv

--------

Off she goes... how depressing. time to get the Super 88 before I kill myself.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v219/Six...nt=DSCN3733.flv

[04monteintimidator]

oh man... that last video... i was near tears... i wouldnt have been able to deal with it...

unless i knew i was about to go buy a 1969 vette L88, or a 1968 Firebird 400 formula... or a 69 GTO "The Judge" or a 1973 Trans Am SD455...

[Sixty8panther]

Yes indeed that was very depressing. The only

reason I was not feeling sorry for myself was

because 7 hours later this was happening:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v219/Six...DSCN3795MOV.flv

What a machine.

[Sixty8panther]

Thanks so much GM1, yes she's a great kid, cute and somehow

even with my feeble parenting skills she has turned out polite &

patient. We drag this kid all over New England to go look at '63

Plymouths, '84 Cadillacs, '71 Rolls Royces & '97 Q45s of all

things.

She's got some funny one liners already... like if we're at a red

light for a while and it turns green she starts yelling:

go, go, GO, GO!

Other times she'll say "cool car" and the Super 88 has become

the "niiiiiice car" according to Sofia, although she bestowed that

honor on a teal-green '58 Buick at a carshow today.

Anything taller/longer/higher up than a Ford F350 is a "BIG truck"

sPenguin & XP keep trying to get her to say TIGHT WHIPS.

[balthazar]

I have no idea how I missed this thread.

'60s GMs are excellent vehicles in both construction, engineering, quality & fit-n-finish. I'm going to say your S88 was built in the Linden NJ plant ("L" as 4th character in VIN)- same place my '64 Cat was built. Good stuff.

There is a machined pad on the LH cylinder head above the center exhaust port. On it will be a stamped "J" (330-HP) or a "JS" for the 345-HP mill. Road test I have on a '64 Jetstar I shows a "Starfire" air cleaner plate.

64-3539, Series 3500 Super 88 Holiday 4-dr hardtop

17,778 built, base price: $3472, shipping weight: 4054. 345-HP Starfire engine (345@4800, 440 TRQ @ 3200) : $64. Wheelbase: 123", overall: 215.3", width: 77.8", height: about 54" (coupes: 54.2").

Suggestion: If you ever get around to paintwork, consider painting the rear cove panel, maybe silver to match the 442s of the period.

Great buy, Sixty8 (should we call you S88 now?)- good luck and have fun! Don't forget: Reverse is at the bottom!

[Sixty8panther]

'60s GMs are excellent vehicles in both construction, engineering, quality & fit-n-finish. I'm going to say your S88 was built in the Linden NJ plant ("L" as 4th character in VIN)- same place my '64 Cat was built. Good stuff.

Darn it, that would be cool but my VIN has an M for the 4th character

Linden, NJ has a very high percentage of Slovakian's living there. That

would be cool if it had been.

There is a machined pad on the LH cylinder head above the center exhaust port. On it will be a stamped "J" (330-HP) or a "JS" for the 345-HP mill. Road test I have on a '64 Jetstar I shows a "Starfire" air cleaner plate.

Bummer... I was wrong again. My motor is a J designation.

to be exact: J 798 785

That "Ultra High Compression" air cleaner plate threw me off.

Does this mean ALL 1964 full size Oldsmobiles were powered

by high compression 394s?

64-3539, Series 3500 Super 88 Holiday 4-dr hardtop

17,778 built, base price: $3472, shipping weight: 4054. 345-HP Starfire engine (345@4800, 440 TRQ @ 3200) : $64. Wheelbase: 123", overall: 215.3", width: 77.8", height: about 54" (coupes: 54.2").

Thanks for all that wicked cool info. Any chance you can look

up the torque numbers for the 330HP mill? That 440 @ 3200

sounded delicious so I hope it's not too far off.

Suggestion: If you ever get around to paintwork, consider painting the rear cove panel, maybe silver to match the 442s of the period.

To be honest for once in my life I don't want to change a thing

about a car. I might paint the car "white-diamond" pearl instead

of refrigerator white when I get some expendable income but

for now all I'm doing is damage control. Wire brush and POR13

for the rusty, flaky frame and some repaint to stop the rust on

the lower body and on the passanger side doors. I do need a

new rear bumper as mine is rotted out past saving and the

passanger side "SUPER 88" emblem's absence bugs me.

The original owner of this car would be 110 year old if he were

alive today. I'm the third owner but only the second to ever

drive it. He took good care of the car inside and out except for

that minor srape down the passanger side of the car that you

can see in the photos. (poor eyesight + narrow garage?)

I think of the Super 88 as almost a time capsule of sorts, the

amount of originality with this car is amazing. There was a

carboard tag still pinned ot the radiator support, the glove-box

& trunk cardboard is in excellent shape and the last battery in

the car was a SHELL gas station battery that was put in back in

1977. For more than half its life the car just sat in a garage &

even before then it was driven just over 1000 miles a year.

It's almost as if I'm taking care of the car for the previous

owner. If he were to magically show up in a set of plaid pants,

white shoes, white belt & one of those goofy golfing hats I'd

just respectfuly hand him the keys and he'd feel right at home

behind the wheel of the car he bought brand new back in 1964.

Even the Senior Citizen Sticker that expired June 30th 1981 is

still on the rear window. The car was bought, driven & garaged

in Newton, Mass.

Great buy, Sixty8 (should we call you S88 now?)- good luck and have fun! Don't forget: Reverse is at the bottom!

Yes indeed it is.

[balthazar]

'M' code- excellent: you have a Lansing MI-built Olds. I've heard from more than one person regarding my '64 GP, that being built in the home plant (Pontiac MI) returns the highest build quality. Only Olds' were built in Lansing and of course that's where Divisional HQ was, there was undoubtedly a bit more pride in that plant.

'Ultra High Compression' was a marketing tagline. 330-HP mill had 10.25 CR, the Starfire 345-HP had 10.5:1. Torque on the J-code motor is the same but rated lower: 440 @ 2800.

Yup- all 394 Olds' were at least 10.25:1. Only the 330 CI had lower: 9.0:1, but the small block was only offered optionally in the Jetstar 88 for '64.

Cool: like Pontiac, Olds for '64 has a "COLD" light, which I always found helpful when warming up in cold weather. IIRC '64 is the last year for Pontiac, likely the same for Olds.

[Sixty8panther]

Yeah that COLD button is boss. So is the red light

on the P-brake that tells you not to roast your

rear drums. Wow, 440 @2800 is pretty damn good.

Thanks for the info again Balthazar.

It may have been a hokey tag line but "ultra high

compression" beats "Oh what a feeling" or "Zoom

zoom , zoom" anyday. :wink: