1961 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight

1961 Oldsmobile Starfire Convertible A new limited-edition, high performance sports convertible! With custom built looks, luxury and power! Starfire, custom crafted for the select few who appreciate the finest in design and appointments, powered for the adventurous! From the '61 brochure. Although the name had been used on a concept car in 1953, and a trim level for the 98 DeLuxe from 1954-1957, it came into its own with the first of two generations beginning in 1961. For consignment, a 1961 Oldsmobile Starfire convertible showing 18,381 miles, but the true miles are unknown due to a PA title exemption. In its first year, 7,800 Starfire convertibles were produced and at $4,647, represented the most expensive Oldsmobile model available in 1961. Exterior It's hard to confuse this Starfire, or future iterations, with any other car on the road. Oldsmobile applied bold styling on the typical 60's narrow side panels, most notably the central trim pieces that presents as a rear-facing rocket between the two stage Garnet Mist Metallic color, complete with afterburner trim on the square edged front fender. In back, the fender takes on the pointed rocket shape and extends past the tail light panel creating an authentic rocket profile in back, amplified by fins of the chrome bumper heading south. Now let's go up front, where the finely ribbed grille cants rearward, leaving the headlights in a prominent quad position while aerodynamic ornaments grace the hood. And once again, the front bumper provides rudder like protrusions to the side. A black canvas top connects to a dramatically curved A-pillar and window frame for the windshield that sweeps rearward. Imperfections include various chips and scratches throughout, scratches to the aluminum rocket on the side, off color touch up throughout, dings to the center stainless trim, paint runs, dings in the rear bumper with chrome affected, some other imperfect chrome. Interior Artistic styling doesn't stop on the exterior as witnessed by the beautiful door panels that combine trimmed red vinyl sections with a textured metal back plate for the space age armrest and both doors, with their carpeted lower sections, present nicely. Red velour covers the low back bucket seats in front and the rear bench while the front view is quintessentially 60's with a thin rimmed steering wheel fronting a sweep style speedometer and three oval gauges, chrome rimmed and seemingly right off the set of Lost in Space. Ribbed panels and switchgear dress the rest of the dash while the center console houses a tachometer and chrome shifter and electric window controls. There are touches of patina including loose vinyl on the dash pad, but the plush carpet below looks good and the trunk is completely finished in the same material. Drivetrain Under the hood, an impressive looking 394ci Rocket V8 with a 4-barrel carburetor and horsepower rating of 330. It's mated to a Roto-Hydramatic 3-speed automatic transmission that sends power to 3.42 gears in back. Undercarriage The clean underside has minimal surface rust and only a drop of residual oil. Dual exhaust travels through the cherrybomb mufflers before exiting discreetly behind body panels. Power drum brakes are on all four wheels and coil springs are present front and rear with trailing arms in back. Drive-Ability The Rocket V8 comes to life after a tap of the gas and we run a lap around our test loop, putting this astronomically influenced Starfire through the usual gauntlet of functional operations. Everything works well on this cruiser with the exception of the clock and wipers. While Classic Auto Mall represents that these functions were working at the time of our test drive, we cannot guarantee these functions will be working at the time of your purchase. If you're an Olds fan, this one's for you! If you love 60's era cars and their preoccupation with all things galactic, you're going to love this Starfire! We're pretty sure every