1949 Oldsmobile Futuramic Series 98 convertible in North Carolina

Up for your consideration is my 1949 Oldsmobile Series 98 "Futuramic" Convertible. I purchased this beauty from a gentlemanwho had owned it for the past 15yearsright here in my hometown . Reportedly an original North Carolina car (I have a title copy in my possession dating back to 1968 in Greensboro, C) this beauty is one of only 12,602 98 convertibles produced by Oldsmobile in 1949. This particular year in Oldsmobile's long, toried historyis considered to be iconic as 1949 was the year the "Rocket V8" engine was introduced. This power plant was first placed in the full sized, lagship 98 Series like the one you see here, hich weighed in at over 4,200 pounds. Six weeks into the 1949 production year, n Oldsmobilevisionary who no doubt had a John DeLorean type mind, uggested that Oldsmobile stuff this Rocket Engine into the smaller and lighter 88 Series. Most knowledgeable auto historians generally believe that this move, ot shoehorning a 389 in a Pontiac Tempest in 1964, as the advent of the muscle car era.
This particular vehicle wears a presentable coat of Garnet Maroon paint with complimenting buckskin canvas top and matching leather interior. The top and interior arealso in "driver" condition and could use some sprucing up if the car has plans to be shown. It was originally a Steel Gray color, ut had the paint changed sometime over the past 67 years. The interior appears to be somewhat original, ut I do not know what the interior looked like when it was new and all vehicles of this vintage I've seenphotos of seem to wear some sort of deviation from others. The engine that is currently in the car is from a 1952 Oldsmobile 98 and has the 4 bbl carb on it which was not available in 1949. I do have the original 1949 Intake, bbl carb and Air Cleaner assembly which, long with the '52 block (which isidentical to the '49) would make a period correct drivetrain,albeit not numbers matching...the car's 67 years old!
In 1949 the 98 camestandard with power windows, eat and top which are hydraulically operated. They are not currently in operating condition due to some electrical gremlins thatreared their head whenswitching over from a 6 volt to 12 volt system; however, here has recently been a new hydraulic pump installed in the driver's side inner fender well at acost of over $800.00. I ordered a copy of Fusick's parts catalog for this vintage Olds andthere are quite a number of reproduction items available at this time. ALL of the really hard to find original parts are still present and inexcellent condition; this includes the bumpers, xteriormoldings and trim,decklid emblems and letters, ood ornament and interior trim pieces. While the car is currently sporting a set of Kelsey-Hayes genuine wire wheels with spinners, do have theoriginal steel wheels and hubcaps in my possession and they will go with the sale. Being a lifelong North Carolina car, his Oldsmobile has been spared from rust damage on the frame and body as well as theexterior trim. You would be hard pressed to find a more solid 67 year old vehicle than this one.
Mechanically, he car runs and drives as it should with very few issues. I drove the car myself 25 miles from the purchase point to my warehouse and the only issue I encountered was some smoke in the cockpit due to oil dripping down on the exhaustmanifolds andentering the passenger compartment via a breach in the firewall. Ihave not investigated further to see what it would take to repair that. As you would expect, t does drip some fluids, ut nothing excessive. None of the accessories (PW,PS,PCT,Radio,electric clock or heater) are currently operational. As I mentioned before, t does have some electrical gremlins that need to be sorted out. The Hydramatic transmission shifts as it should and there are no noises or other issues (other than the aforementioned oil leak) inoperating the car. Just driving thisbehemoth will automatically put a big smile on your face if the countless thumbs up you getwhile cruising doesn't!
I really hate to sell this fabulous piece of automotive history and had initially planned to drive and enjoy it for a few years before doing an all out restoration, ut the reality is I am at retirement age, lready have acollection of 24 cars and my wife says something's got to go! Average retail for this car in NADA's Classic Car Guide is around $37,000, ut my reserve is set well below that figure. I would invite you to inspect the car (or have a professional do so) prior to bidding; however, will reiterate once again that this is NOT a show car, ut a well preserved original car in driver condition and in need of some repair work. Our family was in the Oldsmobile business for 20 years, ut I have always had an affection for '60's and '70' s Oldsmobiles and didn't know a tremendous amount about the '40'sand '50's cars until I purchased this one. With that being said, will attempt to answer any of your questions that you may have and, f I cannot, will do what I can toobtain an answer. I have 100%positive feedback with EBay over the past 11+ years and am a retired small business owner in the townwhere I've lived for the past 50 years. Thank you forlooking at myauction and please feel free to email me with any questions you may have.
Buddy