59 98

If the Roadie is sold locally it would be ironic because Paul has been trying to sell this one for well over a year now, with almost no interest. I can tell you though, that the local guy is not me, I snagged his 63 Electra. I am just hoping, Lamar, that you don't think that 'someone' is me. I would never undercut anyone on a car, there's more of them out there and I don't like to ruin friendships like that. If I had intentions of buying it, I'd have let you know. That's one thing I don't like about this new eBay 'bidder 1, bidder 2' thing. You can't tell where the bidders are from and such. Not in Paul's case, but I can see how in the future a person may be bidding against themselves a lot on the higher priced cars, you have no idea if the bidder is a shill or not. With the old way, you could trace their bid history and where they were from. If a bidder buys thimbles and Precious Moments and sells jeans, and all of a sudden the are buying a 59 Olds 98 coupe for 17K, you can kind of guess they might be friends of the seller. Off subject, I know, but eBay-related. Have fun, Matt

Mr.Earl, that is the car I emailed you about a while ago to see if you were interested in it. It is about five miles away from me if you need me to go look over any specific areas. Paul is a good friend of mine, he is a no-nonsense type of person. In fact, we were talking about the auto-body and salvage industry changes for about two hours last night after he brought me a title for a 63 Electra I bought from him a while ago. The 54 is cool, complete, but definately a project. I knew about the car before the driveway incident, but sadly minding its own business on the guys property it got mashed. If you need anything, let me know, Matt

Louie, those inspection covers are very tough to find. Let me do some looking for you, though. I will say that Pontiac and Chevy are different. My black Cat did not have one on it when I bought it, but Palbuick had one for me. As far as the rad. cover, which cover are you needing? The small shroud on top of the rad? Does your car have a/c? Thank you, and talk to you soon, Matt

Shipping weight, according to the Standard Catalog of American Cars, was 4500 lbs. Adding options like a/c and such I am sure added weight to that, but at least this is in the ballpark. Have fun with your 58, Matt

Man, you're killing me. As a personal preference rule I do not care for convertibles as much as coupes, but I'd love to have that car. It is an oddball, not only in rarity, but also in that it is a floor shift, non-long console 4 speed with buckets. The shifter and consolette are correct for 63 (they are the same as in my 63 LeSabre coupe), but for some reason I do not remember bucket seats without the long console being offered for Wildcats in 63 - of course I was not born until late 1970, so unfortunately I have not seen every 4-speed Buick that was produced. The long console boomerang shifter is odd to shift to say the least, so maybe the original owner did not like that setup and went to the dealer and had the LeSabre floor-shift setup installed. I would be very curious to see the floor between the seats to look for the four console screw holes, and a quick re-do of the floor where the shifter mounts. Who knows, it may really be a factory oddball. If I was not hot on the trail of three other 4-speed cars (one of which I have latched on to - though a Pontiac), I think this one would be on the way to Kansas. A Full Size 4-Speed Museum... Hmmm, now that's a cool idea 3Jakes. I'd have to have a few rare Pontiacs sprinkled in here and there, though, they are just too cool. Man, now if only I could locate that money tree... Enjoy! Matt

I'm thinkin' an S-8 with a Hillborn. Ted, you in?

Ted, I got it, you can put a Straight 8 in that black Wildcat with the Tremec. You'd have to cut the firewall to fit that bad boy in there, but man, that'd be way cool! To heck with that junky X block, send it to that scrap guy in Wichita... Matt

Bill, on my 53 Roadie wagon, the serial number tag is on the inside of the left windshield pillar, in the door jamb, about half way up. I am not sure where they are on the Skylarks, but you might try opening the left door and looking on the insde of the pillar. Being upside down for years, it may have dropped off a long time ago. Good luck, Matt

Though the car may not be saveable, it is still unbelieveably cool to be walking in a salvage yard and stumble on an upside-down 53 Skylark. How cool. Matt

Yes, Julian, I am interested. By the way, what side is the fender? Is there a way to get a shipping quote for the fender sent by bus? I do believe that shipping it by bus is the best way to go, I have sent several large parts that way. Thanks Julian. Check your p.m. box, I sent you my email address. Matt

Julian, I am interested in the fender. Where are you located? I am in Wichita, Kansas. What are you asking for it? Thanks for the reply! Matt

Hello, I am looking for a pair of 46-47 Oldsmobile 98 rear fenders. Dents and such are really not that much of a concern, as I am reall just wanting the wheel opening area from a 98 to use on a set of 48 60 series fenders to correctly mount some cool 98 skirts. If anyone has a set of reasonable beater 98 fenders out there, please let me know. Thank you, Matt

Yes, very poor design - and I am not 100% sure it was an accident they were made to fail so easily, as the regulators are very spendy parts to buy. We have replaced several of those, several, in the Buicks, Pontiac G. Prix's, and Cadillac Sevilles in our shop. A good friend of mine has had all 4 of his replaced in his 02 LeSabre. One of the main design problems with them is they use plastic rollers on the ends for the cable to move on, and they always break or lose a piece, therefore the cable slips off and gets slack in it. Then, as you operate the regulator, the motor will just chew up the cable, thus ruining the whole assembly. They average $380-400 a door to replace. Very cheap design, and the only way to remedy it and not have them break is to use the windows at all. The new ones you buy still have the plastic rollers. Matt

I sent you an email through the ad, I am very interested in your Oldsmobile. I have been looking for one of those for a few years, and I dig the black! Please email me when you get the chance! Thank you, Matt

Not bad??? Man, that green 4 door looks to be an excellent original car, even if it has a few mech. issues. Heck, remember, that car is 48 years old and ORIGINAL, so there is bound to be some minor fixes. You can't beat originality nor restore a car to be original, and you can't buy carpets that are even close to the originals. Even with its minor fixes and paint flaws, this car is - to me - 100 times better than a restored car any day. The black coupe is very very nice, and it is sad to say this, but it was probably one of the nicest un-restored Limited coupes in existance before it was restored. It was bought new here in Wichita, Kansas and stayed with the original owner until it went to L.A. in the 90's. It is now nicely restored, and since the car that he started with was EXTREMELY nice, there will be no suprises under the paint and carpet. Both these cars, though, will go for a lot of money I am sure. The coupe because it is a loaded black restored coupe, and the 4 door because it is such a nice unmolested original. Matt

Hello, I need a decent grille for my 60 Electra. If yours is for sale, please let me know. Thank you! Matt

At first glance it looks like a 42 or 46 Chevy, due to the chrome spear on the door and hood. The fender extention on the door appears to be more rounded at the back than the Chevy, but that may be due to the shade in the photo. Matt

Yes, those figures are available, but it took some work. The other Mr. 4-Speed, Ted Nagel, did all the footwork to find the number of 64 and 65 Wildcat 4-speed cars built in all body styles, and I am doing the 63 LeSabre and Wildcats as we speak. The documentation comes from the Sloan and just takes a lot of time to sift throught the numbers. The 65 Olds 4-speeds are extremely rare, with known survival numbers in the single digits. Very cool cars, it is too bad they did not make them in 64 in the Jetstar I, what a cool beast that would be.

Well, as far as the 4-speed Wildcats of 63-65 are concerned, they are all rare no matter how you look at it. It's when you start adding options (or deleting them) like a/c and 3.91 gears, that is where the real uniqueness comes in. I am not sure if a 4-speed Wildcat with a/c could be considered a 'muscle' car, but they are definately among the rarest. Also, the term 'muscle car' may have to be stretched a bit to include the Wildcats, too, because they weight over 4000 lbs (muscle boat maybe), but 'factory performance car' would fit well. If you would like some example numbers of these cars, let me know and I will dig some up. Matt

Go to http://www.the1960buick.com/ , I believe he has one like that on there too. Send Greg an email, he'll be very happy to hear about what you have found, as he is a 60 Buick fanatic. Nice find! Matt

I agree with Joe completely. Two cars without equal for the periods they were introduced. Other noteworthy cars would be (remember, these are opinions): 3. 58 Limited - the most over the top 50's car produced in size and chrome. 4. 53 Skylark and Roadmaster/Super Estate wagon - Skylark for obvious reasons (one of the 3 Motorama cars actually put into production for the 53 GM model year), but the 53 Super and Roadie woodies were the last American real 'woodies' built, and in very limited numbers. The senior sereis cars for 53 were also the first Buicks to use the nailhead motor, being the 322. 5. 50 Buick - for the coolest grille ever made. 6. 59 Buick - one of the cleanest-lined cars made by any company and a design that was miles away from anything Buick produced up until that time. 7. 63 Buick LeSabre and Wildcat - first full-size post-war Buick with a factory floor-shift 4-speed. Very low production numbers too (but, I am very biased on these cars, so I may be one of the very few out there that would think these are important or noteworthy). 8. 63 Riviera - first year for the Riv, and an overall awesome looking car, and powered by a nailhead. 9. 65 Skylark GranSport (and Riviera GS) - the Skylark GranSport is the car that started the whole GS thing, and a GS Riv is just cool. 10. The Y-Job and the 51 LeSabre. The Y-Job is the car that started the whole factory-built running/driving concept car idea of automotive future design, and Harly Earl's LeSabre is simply the best looking vehicle on the face of the earth. I am sure there are others that deserve to be on the list, but these are the standouts in my mind. Matt

OK, Olds gurus, I have a quick question for you... I am a 63-64 full size Buick 4-speed nut and for some reason I remember reading that Oldsmobile made the 64 Jetstar 1 in a 4-speed (I think it even was on this forum, but that was a while back. I could also be off a year or so, but I am mainly interested if Olds made them in 64). I could be completely wrong, but if not and it is so, approximately how many did they make and what kind of trans did Olds use? Does anyone have a good picture or two of the interior of a real-deal 4-speed Jetstar 1? I have a few 63-65 full size Buick 4-speed cars (LeSabres and Wildcats) and a couple early 60s Pontiac 4-speeds, and I would really like as much info on the Jetstar 1 4-speed cars as possible, as well as somewhere down the line possibly being able to find an original for sale. I am very interested to hear what you know! Thank you, Matt Also, did Oldsmobile make any 62-64 Starfire 4-speed cars?

Hello, I sent you a PM. Thank you, Matt

One person's perfect is another's good/decent used, just like one's restorable or good driver car is another's parts car: there is no across the board absolute when it comes to descriptions of cars, parts, etc. As a rule of thumb in my car world, if someone uses an absolute like 'perfect' 'best in the world' 'none better' and such, I always am wary, for the same reason stated above. If the part/car does turn out to be perfect (in my eyes), awesome. Heck, I have bought a ton of NOS parts for my 64 Wildcat, and several of them in no way can be considered 'perfect', but have never been removed from the box. You do have to use some reason here, though. A 50 year old USED latch will never be 'perfect' no matter how much you want it to be or how much the seller says it is. Used means just that, used. It always frustrates me when I sell a very good used part on eBay or elsewhere, and the buyer was expecting NOS at a used price, with a USED description, and then complain about it. Bottom line, just don't expect a used part to be absolutely 'perfect' even if describes as such, and if it comes in and does meet your idea of 'perfect' - score. Now, about receiving all that was described and pictured, if a seller sends you a picture of all the parts you are inquiring about (such as in your case, handles WITH the latches, which were both pictured), you should be receiving all that is pictured, UNLESS the seller clearly states that the handles do NOT go with the latches or that they are extra. If they are in the picture (again within reason, the 57 Cadillac in the background of a picture of a lock knob obviously is not included in the sale, unfortunately), in my mind they are included. Otherwise why in the heck would they be placed in the pictured in the first place if they are not part of the deal? That is misleading, and you have a legit grievance there. Hope this helps some. Matt One more thing, I do not know your communication with the seller so don't take this personally, but just in general if you receive the parts and they do not meet expectations or some parts are missing, going directly back to the seller with a poor or accusational attitude will usually work against you. No matter how aggrivating the situation, people will usually respond better to a more civil attitude.

Tripleturbine, I want to hurt you... I really do... Just Kidding! ...maybe - Matt