1966 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight

The Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight was one of the longest-running model in the division's history, produced from 1940 until 1996. 1966 was part of the Eighth Generation, produced from 1965 through 1970. In 1965, it received a complete redesign along with other full-sized General Motors cars but continued to use the C-Body platform that it shared with Cadillac and the Buick Electra. In comparison, the Oldsmobile 88 used the B-Body platform.

The Ninety-Eight followed the company's designs language with similar design cues but with more squared-off lines. The 4-door 6-window body styles were gone, replaced with 4-door 4-window body styles. The Custom Sport Coupe also had been dropped and the Luxury Sedan was no longer a hardtop but featured a more luxurious interior and more standard amenities than the Town Sedan. Most of the Ninety-Eight Luxury Sedans had vinyl roofs. All hardtops were once again dubbed Holidays.

Although buyers had the option of buying the Starfire Hardtop, priced at $3,540, or the exotic front-wheel-drive Toronado hardtop, priced at $4,585, the Ninety-Eight remained Oldsmobile's top-of-the-line model. Body styles included a convertible, 2- and 4-door Holiday Hardtop, Town Sedan, and Luxury Sedan. Prices ranged from $4,000 for the Town Sedan and rose to $4,420 for the convertible. The Luxury Sedan was the most popular with 38,123 examples sold, and the 4-door Holiday Hardtop accounted for 23,048 sales. Just 4,568 buyers selected the convertible. The total 1966 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight production exceeded 88,000 vehicles that accounted for approximately 15-percent of the overall company sales.

The Olds 98 was powered by an overhead valve V8 engine with a 425 cubic-inch displacement, hydraulic valve lifters, Rochester four-barrel carburetor, and a 10.25:1 compression ratio. It delivered 365 horsepower and was backed by the Hydra-Matic transmission.

By Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2020