Oldsmobile Jetstar I

The Oldsmobile Jetstar I is a sporty, high-performance full-sized car produced by Oldsmobile for the 1964 and 1965 model years. Based on the upscale Starfire model, the Olds 88's B-bodied Jetstar I lacked many of the Starfire's standard luxuries but shared its powerful motors. Positioned to compete with Pontiac's successful full-sized Grand Prix, it was only offered as a two-door hardtop.

The Jetstar I was initially designed as both a lower-priced companion to the more luxurious Starfire, which had a starting price of over $4,100, and a direct competitor to the successful Pontiac Grand Prix, which sold in the Jetstar I's $3,500-$3,600 price range. Offered only as two-door hardtop coupe, the Jetstar I shared the Starfire's squared-off roofline, with concave rear window, which contrasted with the convertible-like rooflines featured on other Olds 88 two-door hardtop coupes.

Standard equipment included the Starfire's 345 hp (257 kW) 394 cubic-inch Rocket V8 engine, but lacked its automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, leather interior, and distinctive brightwork trim. Included were bucket seats, center console, carpeting, full wheel covers, and padded instrument panel. A three-speed column-shift manual transmission was standard, with a three-speed Roto Hydra-matic automatic with console-mounted T-handle shifter optional. Adding just automatic transmission, power steering, and power brakes brought the 4,028 pounds (1,827 kg) Jetstar I's price close to $4,000.

A total of 16,084 were produced for 1964, slightly below Starfire output but barely one-quarter of the 63,000 Grand Prix built by Pontiac.

The Jetstar I, like all other full-size Oldsmobiles, was completely restyled for 1965 with bodylines receiving a more rounded rendition of the '64's squared-off roofline again shared with Starfire (other 88-series two-door coupes got semi-fastback rooflines). Also new for 1965 was the engine and automatic transmission. Replacing the 394 cubic-inch Rocket V8 was the new 425 cubic-inch engine, with the top of the line Starfire version having a four-barrel carburetor, dual exhaust, and a 10.5:1 compression ratio and was rated at 370 horsepower (280 kW) — the most powerful Olds engine in 1965. The 425, which shared many components with the smaller 330 cubic-inch V8 introduced for Olds' intermediate-sized Cutlass the previous year, was lighter in weight than the previous 394 despite the increase in displacement and included bigger valves and improved cooling capabilities. Also new was the three-speed Turbo Hydramatic transmission, which was considered a vast improvement over the previous three-speed Roto Hydra-matic, whose basic design dated back to the original Hydra-matic introduced in 1940. Another new transmission offering for the Jetstar I along with the other full-sized Oldsmobiles (except the Ninety-Eight) for 1965 was the Muncie four-speed manual, which turned out to be a seldom-ordered option. Oldsmobile boasted in a 1965 press release that “a Jetstar I proved to be the top accelerator of the entire event” at the 1965 Pure Oil Performance Trials in Daytona Beach. Those trials were sanctioned and supervised by NASCAR.

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