This tinsel-covered ’58 Olds was my hands-down favorite at the local car show a few weeks ago:
The Oldsmobile was completely re-styled for 1958 and sported loads of chrome. It had a recess-type grille with thin aluminum louvers and a contour bumper with parking lights at each end.
Inside was a yuuuge steering wheel. An option was a “Trans-Portable” radio that could be removed from the car and used elsewhere (running on dry-cell batteries that provided 160 hours of playing time).
It looks like it would be slow, doesn’t it? Not really, since it came equipped with a 371 cubic-inch Rocket engine. The entry level Dynamic 88 featured an Econ-O-Way dual carb and 265 hp, but the Super 88 and 98 came with a quadri-jet carb and 305 hp. Better yet, available as an option was the J-2 Rocket with a six-pack and 312 hp. The gas cap, which you would be accessing often, was found behind the left tail light.
The Jetaway HydraMatic Drive was touted as smoother for ’58, and a true air suspension called New-Matic Ride (I love these names) was another option. It cushioned the car on four chambers of compressed air, one at each wheel. Oldsmobile’s name for this whole beautiful package was “Oldsmobility”, and it is a gorgeous remnant from the rocket age.
