For Sale: 1949 Oldsmobile Futuramic 98 Sedanet - "Engine cranks over fine" - Project - $4,500 - Sleepy Hollow, IL - Not Mine - 8/16 SOLD!

[6T-FinSeeker]

For sale on Facebook: 1949 Oldsmobile Futuramic 98 2-door Fastback Sedan in Sleepy Hollow, IL  -  $4,500  -  Must be a member of Facebook to access Seller's contact information.

 

Link: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/259342023704702/-1949-Oldsmobile-Futuramic-98-Fastback-Sedan

 

Seller's Description:

1949 Oldsmobile Futuramic 98 2-door Fastback Sedan

• Driven 89,052 miles
• Automatic transmission
• Exterior color: Green · Interior color: Black

1949 Oldsmobile Futuramic "98" 2dr fastback. Fresh barn find from Iowa. Body straight. Clean title. Rocket V8. Hydromatic Automatic trans. Glass and trim very clean. Floorpan good. Only a few small holes. Seats need to be recovered. Needs trunk floor. Needs rocker panels. Needs bumpers. Engine cranks over fine.

PLEASE NOTE. I WILL NOT RESPOND TO ANY " IS THIS STILL AVAILABLE " MESSAGES. PERIOD.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by 6T-FinSeeker
update status (see edit history)

[6T-FinSeeker]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[B Jake Moran]

Interesting find. Extremely rare. Requires a $100,000 type restoration.  Olds guys will likely drool over this one but pass.  Hot rodders may grab it. Last year for the desirable Sedanet body 1st year for V8 (modern).  Nice Earl styling cues.   

[B Jake Moran]

States SOLD already.  

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Would be a nice match for the Olds tin woody in the same green as well.  A guy in a hurry could pay two shops to get crackin' on them both at once...

[Malo48]

It's a good thing this sold quick, because it's close to me and I'm a sucker for a GM fastback of this era.  Need another like a need a hole in the head!

[auburnseeker]

Neat but boy it's got alot of little rot in a lot of areas.  I had a 53 Buick ragtop that had similar rot and seems every panel had a little somewhere.  This car is probably in worse shape than one thinks,  especially if they restore it and start digging deeper.   Like the style though.  Similar to the 48 Caddy fastback I had. 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Went back to the pics and looked for rust as Auburnseeker described, and initially missed the rare 4 unique non matching tires all around.  Not that you would use any of them but....

[auburnseeker]

The rust I see is damp storage rust which seems to attach every nook and cranny.   My Buick had been stored for years on the second floor of a wood floor barn.   Then maybe 3-4 years before I got it,  the barn started giving up,  so they pulled it outside,  parked it on top of some thick almost type of paper for better description fibre board or something,  which initially might nor have sounded bad,  but then they covered it with several tarps right to the ground.

 

Well the stuff they parked it on soaked up water like a sponge,  I imagine the tarps leaked as well so it was like being parked in a sauna for 3 years.   End results it looks almost like it could have been parked next to this Olds.   Only difference is the bumpers and stuff didn't have the rust through that the old's does.   They infact were pretty good,  just kind of dull.  No blisters or peeling. 

[The 55er]

IMO that is just one nasty looking project car that sat far too long in a damp environment. I can only imagine what the floors, inner & outer rockers, spare tire well, body mounts, floor braces, gas tank etc. must look like. I AM an Olds guy but I'm not drooling, I'm running away. I can't remember seeing a rear bumper end that just rusted off like that and is just...... gone. The buyer must be either a very brave soul or a street rodder that plans to cut the whole thing up. BTW the last year for Olds sedanet bodies was 1950, not 1949. Ouch!

[B Jake Moran]

39 minutes ago, The 55er said:

IMO that is just one nasty looking project car that sat far too long in a damp environment. I can only imagine what the floors, inner & outer rockers, spare tire well, body mounts, floor braces, gas tank etc. must look like. I AM an Olds guy but I'm not drooling, I'm running away. I can't remember seeing a rear bumper end that just rusted off like that and is just...... gone. The buyer must be either a very brave soul or a street rodder that plans to cut the whole thing up. BTW the last year for Olds sedanet bodies was 1950, not 1949. Ouch!

100% agree. That bumper end falling off is crazy.  But here’s the rub - these projects while still out there are becoming really scarce.  If a person waits for a better car or even a restored car for $30,000, they will be waiting a long time.  They are gone.  
 

Of course not every one is gone but unless we start emphasizing that the cars we might restore from 70 or so years ago are essentially gone, then these will be rodded or continue unrestored.  
 

 

[6T-FinSeeker]

On 8/16, Seller marked the Facebook ad "SOLD!"

 

[The 55er]

Hey, it was marked SOLD at like 5 a.m. this morning, It was posted on the Forums at about 1 a.m. and sold by 5 a.m. I don't know how that could happen but it's a strange world we live in. Anyway I wish the new buyer well and I'd like to see pictures of the finished product whichever direstion he decides to go with it. iMO there are still better project cars out there even if you have to pay a little more money to get a more solid vehicle to start with. How about an 88 series sedanet for a project car? It's got the exact same drivetrain in a lighter body with a shorter wheelbase. 

[kingrudy]

This sure would be a beautiful car when finished, but where would you locate another rear bumper, or would you have to get it recast? Any way you go about it, this will be an expensive project. 

[The 55er]

In my experiences those Olds rear bumpers were never easy to find. They are specific to 1948 98s, all 1949s, 1950 76 & 88 series cars and 1951 88A series cars (that look like the 1950 Oldsmobile 88s). Way back in the 1973 I had a 1949 88 sedan. While stopped at a red light I was rear-ended by another driver and my bumper was destroyed. A local body shop fixed the body damage but I never really found a nice rear bumper. Back then the only ways I could find a bumper was to visit every old junkyard I could find or to walk the Carlisle & Hershey meets searching for one. I saw quite a few in the junkyards but never one that was really straight, useable and rust-free. I must have walked hundreds of miles through those flea markets for many years and found nothing. I even joined a club but that search was unsuccessful too. I finally found a useable bumper somewhere and mounted it on the car but it really didn't look that great. I sold that 1949 Olds long ago and today I occasionally do an Ebay search for those bumpers and sometimes one turns up. They are usually very expensive. The correct bumper is pictured but the application in the posting isn't really accurate.

Edited August 16, 2023 by The 55er
Added last sentence. (see edit history)

[B Jake Moran]

Yikes $1700 plus shipping!   

[Ed Luddy]

12 hours ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Would be a nice match for the Olds tin woody in the same green as well.  A guy in a hurry could pay two shops to get crackin' on them both at once...

Sure, and both restoration shops will do there best to drain all available funds before the other shop gets it! LOL I've spent the last week talking to a long time good friend who has 2 cars in 2 shops. The monthly bills are staggering. The workmanship and speed..... not so much.