Pete Phillips Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 I was at a car show in Oklahoma City today with my '59 Electra and photographed this restored 1959 Olds 98 "bubbletop". The owner pointed out its rare option of sun visors for the rear seat passengers. Has anyone ever seen this option on a Buick two-door hardtop from1959 or 1960 or even '61? I have not, and this is the first Oldsmobile I have ever seen it on. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithbrother Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 I'm surprised, in today's world the GOVERNMENT would say, NO, NO, BLOCKS REAR VIEW. Unsafe! Dale in Indy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 I have never seen one. Me thinks documentation would be needed. Pretty neat, though. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kanman Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 I really think this is someones private creation, looks like a darn good one to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Two things, #1- Seems odd that the sun visors themselves have a rounded edge and a squared one. If this was a factory option, in the day, I imagine the Division would have had designed square corners all around for that location. # 2- I have never seen one of those map lights either. With the overhead interior lights built in to the chrome trim above the windows, that vehicle should not have had a wire going to the center location. So it makes me think both these things are user installed. But then again, I will note that my experience and observations have indicated that Oldsmobile has always been more generous with interior lighting than Buicks. It's one of the things that irks me about the Buicks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
61polara Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 The 1959 Olds brochure shows that this is the correct center, swivel reading lamp. I can't speak to the rear visors yet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Nice! Love it! Thanks for the clarification Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesBulldogMiller55Buick Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 those sun visors remind me of the roof top window sun visors in a Olds Custom Cruiser wagon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpecialEducation Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 On 5/22/2016 at 10:09 PM, Pete Phillips said: I was at a car show in Oklahoma City today with my '59 Electra This statement makes me a little sad. I was in Oklahoma City 2 of the last 3 weekends, but this Saturday I was in Tulsa. On 5/22/2016 at 7:38 AM, smithbrother said: I'm surprised, in today's world the GOVERNMENT would say, NO, NO, BLOCKS REAR VIEW. Unsafe! In Oklahoma City, you put the rear visors down while cruising the NW Expressway so you don't see how close to death you came when the bridge collapses. Drivers distracted by the mayhem behind them is also unsafe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 I don't think those would impact the rear view as much as those teeny-tiny windows in the back doors that are so popular today. Actually, in NY if you have side mirrors on both sides, you do not need an inside rear view mirror. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithbrother Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 (edited) Then HOW do you STARE down a young child that is in the back seat kicking YOUR seat?, maybe you DON'T...... A friend took his grandson for a ride in his Pontiac, he kept hearing a clicking noise coming from the back. He kept LOOKING in the rear view mirror, and the child was sitting still. More clicking, and more clicking, he just couldn't figure it out. When they arrived back home the kid got out, and the two went in the house, The next day my friend wanted to vac the carpets, and when he opened the rear door, BINGO, lots of small plastic chrome pieces were EVERYWHERE, the kid had picked off MOST ALL the chrome from the side trim. That was the LAST time he rode in that Pontiac. hehe Even the rear view mirror wouldn't have solved that issue. Dale in Indy Edited May 23, 2016 by smithbrother (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 Those sun visors back there look much better than the "venetian blind option" (aftermarket). NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Yaros Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 While I have no docs to support it, being a long time Oldsmobile aficionado I distinctly recall the back window visors as an available option. That is not to say the visor pictured is an exact duplicate of what was available back-in-the-day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick5563 Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 On May 24, 2016 at 10:31 PM, NTX5467 said: Those sun visors back there look much better than the "venetian blind option" (aftermarket). NTX5467 I like the Venetian blinds! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 3 hours ago, buick5563 said: I like the Venetian blinds! Some venetian blinds were better than others. But they DID occupy real estate which could be used for child naps (or sunburns) or mens' hats/caps. NTX5467 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WQ59B Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 On May 21, 2016 at 11:09 PM, Pete Phillips said: I was at a car show in Oklahoma City today with my '59 Electra and photographed this restored 1959 Olds 98 "bubbletop". The owner pointed out its rare option of sun visors for the rear seat passengers. Has anyone ever seen this option on a Buick two-door hardtop from1959 or 1960 or even '61? I have not, and this is the first Oldsmobile I have ever seen it on. Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Pete~ I've seen this feature, 1 time only. I took the below pic @ Carlisle in 1995. Car color & sun visors look to be different, but if this is the same car as the one you saw or not, I don't know. But the feature has stuck in my mind ever since. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Phillips Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 (edited) Wow, that could very well be the same car. It looks like a green 98. I don't recall where the owner of the Oklahoma City car said it came from, but I did ask that question and I remember that it was from someplace else. Nice work, finding that photo! Pete P.S.: I was at the Buick national meet in Allentown, Pennsylvania last month, and among the swap meet vendors Wray Kniffen was selling what was apparently the Buick version of the back glass shade. I don't have a photo of it, but it was a tinted strip of plexi-glass that adheres to the top of the back glass for a '59 "bubble top" Buick, still in the original Buick parts box with a Buick part number on it. Was about 6 inches wide and as long as the width of the back glass. Never seen that before, either. I told another BCA member about it at the meet, and he went and snapped it up for $50. Edited August 18, 2016 by Pete Phillips after-thought (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WQ59B Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Nothing beats the '58 Pontiac PanaVisor !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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