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Hi all, Ernie here from Canada. I have an acquaintance who is a bit down on his luck and needs to sell his 1965 Olds Ninety Eight Starfire convertible. I am not familiar with these cars but man oh man are they nice. I don’t know how to check if the engine is original to the car. Also it is missing the rear bumper. Every power option works on this car. How difficult is it going to be to locate a rear bumper. I am considering purchasing it his car. Also would anyone know an approximate Canadian value of the car??
pics attached.
Beautiful car, too bad about the damage to the back end. I will see if a friend can give me a contact in Colorado who has a yard in the high desert, I am sure I've seen Ninety-Eights of 1965 in some of the video clips, I keep my eyes open for 1966 offerings. Nicely equipped car, Cruise control, tilt steering, speed sentinel, automatic dimming headlights and the nice spinner wheel covers! Where in Canada are you? Fellow Canadian here.
Correction needed here. The car is NOT a Starfire. Oldsmobile used the Starfire name for the 98 convertible for several years in the 1950s, but in 1961, the name was used on an upscale version of the 88, and that continued through 1966. This car is simply a Ninety-Eight convertible.
The 65 and 66 98 bumpers were different. They do not interchange. The 65 98 bumper is one model, one year only.
There are a few sitting around yards in the west. You might check with Turners in Fresno CA, Hess Brothers in Red Bluff, CA, CTC Auto Ranch in Texas, Larry Camuso at West Coast Sheet Metal to see what they have.
Looks like a deck lid and bumper are in order to return this to normal. Nice car, good luck to all
As far as value, undamaged, that car would probably be worth something in the $15,000 to $20,000 range. While anything CAN be fixed, doing so will not be cheap. I would guess there's about $3,000 to $4,000 worth of repairs needed. And a decent bumper has to be found as well. A replacement bumper that's in good shape mechanically but needs to be rechromed will probably cost several hundred for the bumper and then another $1000 for the rechrome job. Figure maybe $1500 total for a bumper that's ready to go plus the repair of the collision damage and repainting whatever needs to be repainted.
In its current condition, if you can get something close to $10,000, you'll be doing well.
It is a Ninety Eight convertible with a Starfire engine, which was available in MOST 1965 B and C body cars. Honest mistake. That's a sharp car and once you find a bumper will be again. I'd almost go after a decklid too if you can find one. Pay close attention to the fuel tank too as looks like it got rearranged a bit.
Just curious what might have caused all that mayhem? Guarantee whatever hit it got the worse part of the deal!😵
Last edited by rocketraider; September 12th, 2020 at 05:41 PM.
It is a Ninety Eight convertible with a Starfire engine, which was available in all 1965 B and C body cars.
Correction here, too. The Starfire engine was not available in 1965 in all B body cars. Only in the Starfire, Jetstar I, and Delta 88. It was not available in the Dynamic 88 nor the Jetstar 88, which, as most will recall, came only with the Cutlass engine, the 330.
Correction here, too. The Starfire engine was not available in 1965 in all B body cars. Only in the Starfire, Jetstar I, and Delta 88. It was not available in the Dynamic 88 nor the Jetstar 88, which, as most will recall, came only with the Cutlass engine, the 330.
The 65 and 66 98 bumpers were different. They do not interchange. The 65 98 bumper is one model, one year only.
There are a few sitting around yards in the west. You might check with Turners in Fresno CA, Hess Brothers in Red Bluff, CA, CTC Auto Ranch in Texas, Larry Camuso at West Coast Sheet Metal to see what they have.
Looks like a deck lid and bumper are in order to return this to normal. Nice car, good luck to all
Chris
Yes, the 1965 had shorter more square tail lamps and the backup lights were in the rear bumper. !966 saw the backup lights combined with the tail lamps, the lenses made more long but narrower, hence the differences between the two years.
Hi there, appreciate the reply. I’m in Saskatchewan. That damage to the rear is unfortunate for sure. Anything can be fixed though.
You are welcome. As promised, here is the fellows name and contact number. Duane, mobile number 719-362-7435 Regards, howie, hope Duane has parts for you.
Cherokeepeople- are those the hard to find Kelsey Hayes wheels that were optional for 65 Star fires??
yes,can't recall the code joe should know.they are very hard to find.i had a set of the covers but could never find the wheels.my 64 starfire conv would have looked awesome with a set,but beings i couldn't find em i ended up with some tru-spoke wire wheels.
September 12th, 2020, 07:12 AM
