Resources for 1964 Jetstar 88 Convertible

[Jetstar88]

Hi,

I just bought a 1964 Jetstar 88 Convertible, and would like to find some resources about this car (production numbers, options available, etc). I've owned many 68-72 A-body 442s over the years, but never a car this early.

Any help would be appreciated.

Regards,

Marc in Winston-Salem, NC

[rocketraider]

3903 made acc. to <span style="font-style: italic">Standard Catalog of Oldsmobile</span> . The Jetstar is a neat car on its own merits but it shares a lot of underpinnings with the A-body and Chevrolet. Considerably lighter-duty brakes and suspension than the Dynamic 88 it shared its frame with.

You could get about any option Olds offered on the full-size cars on a J88, and a few that you couldn't. For example- J88s could have a 3 or 4-speed floor shift, which Dynamics, Supers or even Starfires couldn't have.

The Jetstar 88 has the advantage of the 330, same design as all 1965-later Olds V8s, and its Jetaway. These components are easier to find parts for than 394/HydraMatic cars and if they break beyond repair, can easily be replaced with later Olds engines and transmissions. Lots of people think the Jetaway is the same thing as a PowerGlide- about the only thing they share is they're both 2-speed trannys. Jetaway had a switch-pitch torque converter and electric downshift.

The worst thing I can think of engine-wise on these cars is early production 330s had rocker shafts that wear out and can be difficult and expensive to find.

You'll like your Jetstar after you get used to driving it. Make sure you bring it to AutoFair and set it out with Mid Atlantic's Olds display, next to my Starfire.

[Jetstar88]

Thanks. I just picked up the "standard catalog of olds" off of amazon. Some Jetstar 88 info but not a lot.

Marc

[rocketraider]

Marc, your best info source will be factory literature and manuals and period magazine ads. All that's still plentiful and for the most part reasonable, though Color & Fabric Albums and Product Information Manuals have gotten kinda expensive.

I can answer a lot of 1964 questions for you as I have just about every piece of 1964 Oldsmobile literature produced, as well as parts books.

I used to be kinda snobby toward the J-88 because of their light-duty underpants, but any more I accept them for what they were designed to be- the entry level full-size Olds, or a big Olds for someone who didn't want the big thirsty engine. There was a really nice saddle tan J-88 Holiday Sedan for sale in Winston-Salem a couple years back, and I have wished many times I had bought that car.

Plus after years of dealing with Slim Jim transmissions and trying to find someone willing to service them, the Jetaway looks better all the time... <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

[Jetstar88]

I just received my car yesterday. I bought it out of the Buffalo NY area, but it's an original CA car. Based on the old OCA stickers on it, someone here may know it's history. It is red with a black interior. Options I'm aware of are A/C, tilt, PW, P trunk, ps, pb. It appears to have the original 330 in it. Is the VIN# stamped on the block in the same location as later 400s/455s? Can anyone recommend good resources for parts? I need to replace the fan speed switch, and also one of the wheel opening moldings.

Thanks,

Marc

[mrolds88]

Hi Marc,

Congrats on the Jetstar!!! You will like it. I may have a switch floating around the garage. Gimme a couple days to check it out. Email me at drhotwheels@mybluelight.com. if you still need it. Talk soon Greg

[rocketraider]

You'll find the 330's engine ID stamped on the front of the RH cylinder head. It generally DOES NOT match the car VIN- that started in 1968. It should read T###### and should have a suffix letter which is the true indicator of the engine. K suffix is the standard 2bbl 10.25:1 CR engine; G is 4bbl 10.25 engine; E would indicate a 2bbl 8.3 CR export low compression job which I doubt you'll find. Keep in mind if the car's had engine work it may have been machined off.

A 64 330 should have #1 (rocker shafts) heads; possibly 2's (rockers with bridges) if it's late production.

Car VIN is on a stamped plate in the driver's door jamb. Should be something like 834M001001-

8= V8

3= Jetstar 88, 3300 series

4= 1964 model year

letter= assembly plant- M Lansing, A Atlanta, K Kansas City, L Linden NJ, C Southgate CA, T Arlington TX

numbers= sequential serial #

Body data plate should read:

Style 64-3367 (19<span style="font-weight: bold">64</span> 33(J88) 67 convertible

Body- Fisher body job #

Trim- interior trim, yours is probably 990 black vinyl w/black carpet & top boot

Paint- factory red is V Holiday Red.

www.fusick.com for repro and a limited stock of NOS items, www.kanter.com and www.usapartssupply.com for mechanical stuff you can't get thru normal parts store channels. There's usually a lot of 1964 stuff on ebay too, but you have to be careful to get Jetstar 88 stuff- it's often very different from Dynamic and up and completely different from Jetstar I. Everett Horton (niceoldz on ebay) and Don O'Connor are also excellent go-to guys for these cars as is Greg in MD.

[Jetstar88]

Glenn,

Thanks for the decode info. Here is what's on my car:

Style 64-3367 (matches what you posted)

BodyBC 126 (don't know if this is the body #?)

TRIM 990-TOP1 (What color is TOP1?)

PAINT C1A (Not an original red car? Do you know what color this is?)

ACC. (?)

On the passenger side head, it says UxxxxxxG and has a '1' in the corner cast in, and my car has the 4 barrel carb. However, it is not the 'T' you mentioned. Does that mean these head(s) are from a later car? Is there any way to tell if the intake/carb are original.

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks in advance if you can help.

Marc

[Oldsfan]

BC is the South Gate, California Fisher Body plant. 126 means it was the 126th J88 convertible built at that plant. She's an early one.

(What color is TOP1?)

1 is white.

PAINT C1A (Not an original red car? Do you know what color this is?)

C is the body color - Provincial White

1 is the top color - White

A is the wheel color - Ebony Black

Yawn - I'd've painted it red, too.

Interesting that the top color shows with the trim and the paint codes. Some cars don't show the top code at all.

Paul

[Oldsfan]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">On the passenger side head, it says UxxxxxxG</div></div>

UxxxxxxG is a '65 10.25 compression 4bbl motor. Your car is way to early to have that. Either someone swapped a head, or switched motors. If you'd have a really late '64, I'd say there's a possibility you could have gotten a '65 motor sneaked in there from the factory.

Did the car come with the Protect-o-plate?

Paul

[Jetstar88]

I don't believe I have the protecto plate. Regarding the heads, I thought the "1" casting heads were 1964 only, but that wouldn't make sense because the head is stamped "U" which is 1965.

[vista461]

I bought 2 330's out of 64 Jetstar88's and both had the U code on them

[vista461]

and they both were #1 heads and were hi-comp 2 bbls

[Oldsfan]

I don't have access to a '64 shop manual, but Glenn told him to look for a T, so I assumed that was correct. There are no Ts in my '65 manual, just Us. My parts book only goes back to '65 as well. The Olds FAQ isn't real clear, and doesn't list Us at all. Standard Catalog of Oldsmobile appears to be worthless in this regard and has many other errors and can't be trusted anyway. Seems there is alot of conflicting information here.

Paul

[vista461]

Yeah when I first got the motors I found one of the Decoding books and it listed "T's" too. So I get home with my code list and find "U's"

I saw a 64 J88 on Ebay a while back that said it had a "U" as well. Maybe it's to separate the J88 330 from the Cutlass one. Dunno

[Oldsfan]

More research has yielded this...

From the February 1964 issue of the Oldsmobile Service Guild Training Manual:

"JETSTAR 88 ENGINE IDENTIFICATION

The engine identification number for 1964 Jetstar 88 Series is stamped on the front of the R.H. cylinder head. All engines are prefixed with the letter "U" and are numbered consecutively in six digit numbers starting with 001001. The suffix "G" is added for 4-barrel high compression option, the suffix "E" for export 2-barrel low compression, and the suffix "H" for export 4-barrell low compression option."

Apparently this information was omitted (or incorrect) from the factory service manual.

Paul

[vista461]

Thanks for digging that up, now I don't feel crazy anymore.

[Jetstar88]

Thanks for the info. So it might be the original motor in my car after all.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Marc

[rocketraider]

Excellent research on Paul's part. The SG, Dealer Tech Bulletins and Product Info Letters often had updated info or running changes that were made during the year, or after the service manuals were printed. They're one of the best investments you can make for a car literature-wise.

It's like the 1965 shop book- I have an early printing that doesn't include anything about the 400 cid engine, and my 1963 book has half a dozen or more updates that were to be pasted over the existing text. Without the updates, servicing can get tricky.