Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight

Oldsmobile 98
1955 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Holiday 4 Door Hardtop
Overview
Manufacturer	Oldsmobile (General Motors)
Also called	Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser 98 Oldsmobile Futuramic 98 Oldsmobile Starfire 98 Oldsmobile Classic 98
Production	1940–1996
Body and chassis
Class	Full-size luxury car
Chronology
Predecessor	Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser 90
Successor	Oldsmobile Aurora Oldsmobile Regency/LSS (United States only)

First generation
Overview
Model years	1941
Assembly	South Gate, California, U.S. Lansing, Michigan, U.S. Linden, New Jersey, U.S.
Designer	Harley Earl
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door coupe 4-door sedan 2-door convertible 4-door convertible
Layout	FR layout
Platform	C-body
Related	Cadillac Series 62 Buick Roadmaster Buick Super Pontiac Custom Torpedo
Powertrain
Engine	257 cu in (4.2 L) Oldsmobile I8
Transmission	3-speed synchromesh manual 4-speed Hydramatic automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	125.0 in (3,175 mm)
Length	213.0 in (5,410 mm)
Curb weight	3,500–4,000 lb (1,600–1,800 kg)

Second generation
Overview
Model years	1942–1947
Assembly	South Gate, California, U.S. Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. Lansing, Michigan, U.S. Linden, New Jersey, U.S.
Designer	Harley Earl
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door coupe 4-door sedan 2-door convertible
Layout	FR layout
Platform	C-body
Related	Cadillac Series 62 Buick Roadmaster Buick Super
Powertrain
Engine	257 cu in (4.2 L) Oldsmobile I8
Transmission	3-speed synchromesh manual 4-speed Hydramatic automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	127.0 in (3,226 mm)
Length	216.0 in (5,486 mm)
Curb weight	3,800–4,300 lb (1,700–2,000 kg)

Third generation
Overview
Model years	1948–1953
Assembly	South Gate, California, U.S. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S. Lansing, Michigan, U.S. Linden, New Jersey, U.S.
Designer	Harley Earl
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door Club coupe 2-door Holiday hardtop 4-door sedan 4-door fastback Town Sedan 2-door convertible 2-door Fiesta convertible
Layout	FR layout
Platform	C-body
Related	Cadillac Series 62/Series 61 Buick Roadmaster Buick Super
Powertrain
Engine	257 cu in (4.2 L) Oldsmobile I8 304 cu in (5.0 L) Rocket V8
Transmission	3-speed synchromesh manual 4-speed Hydramatic automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	1948–49: 125.0 in (3,175 mm) 1950–51: 122.0 in (3,099 mm) 1952–53: 124.0 in (3,150 mm)
Length	1948–49: 213.0 in (5,410 mm) 1950: 209.0 in (5,309 mm) 1951: 208.0 in (5,283 mm) 1952: 213.0 in (5,410 mm) 1953: 215.0 in (5,461 mm)
Width	1951: 80.0 in (2,032 mm) 1952: 76.0 in (1,930 mm) 1953: 77.0 in (1,956 mm)
Curb weight	3,700–4,700 lb (1,700–2,100 kg)

Fourth generation
Overview
Model years	1954–1956
Assembly	South Gate, California, U.S. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S. Lansing, Michigan, U.S. Linden, New Jersey, U.S. Arlington, Texas, U.S.
Designer	Harley Earl
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door Holiday hardtop 4-door sedan 4-door Holiday hardtop 2-door Starfire convertible
Layout	FR layout
Platform	C-body
Related	Cadillac Series 62 Buick Roadmaster Buick Super
Powertrain
Engine	324 cu in (5.3 L) Rocket V8
Transmission	3-speed synchromesh manual 4-speed Hydramatic automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	126.0 in (3,200 mm)
Length	1954: 214.3 in (5,443 mm) 1955: 212.0 in (5,385 mm) 1956: 212.3 in (5,392 mm)
Width	78.3 in (1,989 mm)
Height	60.5 in (1,537 mm)
Curb weight	4,000–4,400 lb (1,800–2,000 kg)

Fifth generation
Overview
Model years	1957–1958
Assembly	South Gate, California, U.S. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S. Lansing, Michigan, U.S. Linden, New Jersey, U.S. Arlington, Texas, U.S.
Designer	Harley Earl
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door Holiday hardtop 4-door sedan 4-door Holiday hardtop 2-door convertible
Layout	FR layout
Platform	C-body
Related	Cadillac Series 62 Buick Limited Buick Roadmaster Buick Super
Powertrain
Engine	371 cu in (6.1 L) Rocket V8
Transmission	4-speed Hydramatic automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	126.5 in (3,213 mm)
Length	216.7 in (5,504 mm)
Width	1957: 76.4 in (1,941 mm) 1958: 78.5 in (1,994 mm)
Height	1957: 58.2 in (1,478 mm) 1958: 57.4 in (1,458 mm)
Curb weight	4,700–4,900 lb (2,100–2,200 kg)

Sixth generation
1959 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Holiday SceniCoupe
Overview
Model years	1959-1960
Assembly	South Gate, California, U.S. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S. Lansing, Michigan, U.S. Linden, New Jersey, U.S. Arlington, Texas, U.S.
Designer	Bill Mitchell
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door Holiday hardtop 4-door sedan 4-door Celebrity sedan 4-door Holiday hardtop 2-door convertible
Layout	FR layout
Platform	C-body
Related	Cadillac Eldorado Cadillac Sixty Special Cadillac De Ville Cadillac Series 62 Buick Electra
Powertrain
Engine	394 cu in (6.5 L) Rocket V8
Transmission	4-speed Hydramatic automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	126.3 in (3,208 mm)
Length	1959: 223.0 in (5,664 mm) 1960: 220.9 in (5,611 mm)
Width	1959: 80.8 in (2,052 mm) 1960: 80.6 in (2,047 mm)
Height	1959: 56.0 in (1,422 mm) 1960: 56.1 in (1,425 mm)
Curb weight	4,500–4,700 lb (2,000–2,100 kg)

Seventh generation
Overview
Model years	1961–1964
Assembly	Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S. Lansing, Michigan, U.S. Linden, New Jersey, U.S. Arlington, Texas, U.S.
Designer	Bill Mitchell
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door hardtop 4-door 4-window hardtop 4-door 6-window sedan 4-door 6-window hardtop 2-door convertible
Layout	FR layout
Platform	C-body
Related	Cadillac Eldorado Cadillac Sixty Special Cadillac De Ville Cadillac Series 62 Buick Electra
Powertrain
Engine	394 cu in (6.5 L) Rocket V8
Transmission	3-speed Roto Hydramatic automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	126.0 in (3,200 mm)
Length	1961: 218.0 in (5,537 mm) 1962: 220.0 in (5,588 mm) 1963: 221.5 in (5,626 mm) 1964: 222.3 in (5,646 mm)
Width	1961: 77.2 in (1,961 mm) 1962–63: 77.9 in (1,979 mm) 1964: 78.0 in (1,981 mm)
Height	1961–62: 56.6 in (1,438 mm) 1963: 57.1 in (1,450 mm) 1964: 56.5 in (1,435 mm)
Curb weight	4,400–4,700 lb (2,000–2,100 kg)

Eighth generation
1965 Oldsmobile 98 convertible
Overview
Model years	1965–1970
Assembly	Lansing, Michigan, U.S. Linden, New Jersey, U.S.
Designer	Bill Mitchell
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door hardtop 4-door sedan 4-door hardtop 2-door convertible
Layout	FR layout
Platform	GM C platform
Related	Cadillac Eldorado Cadillac De Ville Cadillac Calais Buick Electra
Powertrain
Engine	425 cu in (7.0 L) Rocket V8 455 cu in (7.5 L) Rocket V8
Transmission	3-speed TH-400, automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	1965–68: 126.0 in (3,200 mm) 1969–70: 127.0 in (3,226 mm)
Length	1965: 222.9 in (5,662 mm) 1966–67: 223.0 in (5,664 mm) 1968: 223.7 in (5,682 mm) 1969: 224.4 in (5,700 mm) 1970: 225.2 in (5,720 mm)
Width	80.0 in (2,032 mm)
Height	1965–68: 55.8 in (1,417 mm) 1969–70: 54.8 in (1,392 mm)
Curb weight	4,300–4,700 lb (2,000–2,100 kg)

Ninth generation
Overview
Model years	1971–1976
Assembly	Lansing, Michigan, U.S. Linden, New Jersey, U.S.
Designer	Bill Mitchell
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door hardtop 2-door coupe 4-door hardtop
Layout	FR layout
Platform	C-body
Related	Cadillac De Ville Cadillac Calais Buick Electra Buick Estate Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser Pontiac Grand Safari Pontiac Safari Chevrolet Kingswood Estate Chevrolet Kingswood Chevrolet Townsman
Powertrain
Engine	455 cu in (7.5 L) Rocket V8
Transmission	3-speed TH-400, automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	127.0 in (3,226 mm)
Length	1971: 226.1 in (5,743 mm) 1972: 227.8 in (5,786 mm) 1973: 230.3 in (5,850 mm) 1974–75: 232.4 in (5,903 mm) 1976: 232.2 in (5,898 mm)
Width	1971: 79.0 in (2,007 mm) 1972–73: 79.6 in (2,022 mm) 1974–75: 79.8 in (2,027 mm) 1976: 80.0 in (2,032 mm)
Height	1971–72: 54.6 in (1,387 mm) 1973: 54.7 in (1,389 mm) 1974–75: 54.2 in (1,377 mm) 1976: 54.7 in (1,389 mm)
Curb weight	4,700–5,200 lb (2,100–2,400 kg)

The Oldsmobile 98 (sometimes spelled Ninety-Eight after 1958) is the full-size flagship model of Oldsmobile that was produced from 1940 until 1996. The name — reflecting a "Series 90" fitted with an 8-cylinder engine — first appeared in 1941 and was used again after American consumer automobile production resumed post-World War II. It was, as it would remain, the division's top-of-the-line model, with lesser Oldsmobiles having lower numbers such as the A-body 66 and 68, and the B-body 76 and 78. The Series 60 was retired in 1949, the same year the Oldsmobile 78 was replaced by the 88. The Oldsmobile 76 was retired after 1950. This left the two remaining number-names to carry on into the 1990s as the bread and butter of the full-size Oldsmobile lineup until the Oldsmobile Regency replaced the 98 in 1997.

Occasionally additional nomenclature was used with the name, such as L/S and Holiday, and the 98 Regency badge would become increasingly common in the later years of the model. The 98 shared its General Motors C-body platform with Buick and Cadillac.

As it was the top-line Oldsmobile, the series had the most technologically advanced items available, such as the Hydramatic automatic transmission, the Autronic Eye, an automatic headlight dimmer, and Twilight Sentinel (a feature that automatically turned the headlights on and off via a timer, as controlled by the driver), and the highest-grade interior and exterior trim.

Naming standards were in flux at Oldsmobile during the late 1930s and 1940s. From 1932 through 1938 Oldsmobile had two series: "F" and "L". Series F came with a straight-6 engine and Series L came with a larger body and a straight-8 engine. Series F was renamed Series 60 in 1939 and Series L was replaced with the Series 70 and 80, with the Series 70 and 80 being powered by the straight-6 and the straight-8 respectively. The Series 60 used the GM A-body and the Series 70 and 80 used the B-body. In 1940 the even larger C-body was introduced to Oldsmobile and it alone was powered by the straight-8. In order to differentiate it from the previous year's Series 80 it was named Series 90 (there was no Series 80 that year). The series were also given names for the first time that year with the Series 60, 70, and 90 being called the Special, Dynamic, and Custom Cruiser respectively. In 1941 both engines were offered on each series so to differentiate between the two the second digit was used to denote the number of cylinders, so the Custom Cruiser 90 was replaced with the Custom Cruiser 96 and 98. In 1942 Oldsmobile dropped the six cylinder Series 90 model leaving only the Custom Cruiser 98.