1964 Starfire convertible, one owner for last 50 years, recent restoration

1964 Oldsmobile Starfire Description

One of only 2,410 built, this is a 1964 Starfire convertible that has lived first in California and now in Texas, so it has never been exposed to winter salt on the roads. Floors are rock solid. The car is very dependable, currently licensed, and can be driven anywhere. It has been owned for the last 50 years by one owner, who bought it in 1966 from the original owner. He had me restore the car about 11 years ago, and it has not been driven very much since then, but has been kept in a carport and under a car cover (the cover will go with the car). When the restoration was completed, we took the car to the Oldsmobile Club of America's national meet where it won second place in its class. We have recently given the car a cosmetic refresher, with new exhaust, new master cylinder, touched up and buffed out paint, wheel cylinders rebuilt, carburetor cleaned out, a new fan belt, and repainted valve covers on the 394 V-8. The engine is a 394 cubic inch, high compression, with four-barrel carburetor--Carter AFB, I believe.

The top was new 11 years ago and still looks new today. It works just fine. The top's hydraulic pump and lines were new 11 years ago. The power windows all work, though the passenger door window needs a little help going back up. The transmission shifts like any other '64 Oldsmobile "slim jim" transmission and does not leak any fluid. This is a fast car with quick acceleration. The tachometer on the console works properly. The power antenna works as it should, the driver's power seat works as it should. The radio was replaced with an after-market AM/FM unit 11 years ago, and works fine. The tires are good with plenty of tread and no cracks. Brakes are good (power brakes), power steering, and rare for 1964 is the tilt steering wheel. Seats have been redone in white vinyl and the piping on the edge of the driver's seat is starting to show a little bit of wear. Carpet was new 11 years ago and still looks great, and we reinstalled the chrome accents in the floor as it originally came. Trunk has been relined with black carpet. Top boot was new 11 years ago and has rarely been used. Most of the chrome was re-plated 11 years ago, and the car was repainted at that time. If you look very carefully, you may find a couple of pits in the die-cast rocker panel mouldings, but there is no pitting in the grille or the bumpers. There is one deep scratch in one of the rocker moldings, I think it is the one below the passenger door. Doors, hood, and trunk line up and close nicely. At certain angles, if you look carefully, you will see some waves in those long quarter panels--they are so long and flat that I defy anybody to get them all out! All of the glass is good, with no cracks, no bubbles, and even the plastic window in the convertible top is nice and clear. You will not find any pitting in the frames around the side windows nor in the vent window frames, and that is very unusual for a car this age.

With the top up and the door windows down, this car is amazingly tight, quiet, and rattle-free. With the windows up, there is some wind noise, as is the case in most 50-year-old convertibles. Speedometer reads 51,000 which is really 151,000. We completely rebuilt the engine and transmission 11 years ago, and it has probably logged less than 2,000 miles since then. The engine was rebored with oversize pistons and rings installed, new valves, new timing chain and gears, new water pump, new fuel pump, new radiator, etc. I don't remember if we installed new crankshaft bearings, but oil pressure is good and there is no smoke and no funny noises from the engine. It doesn't leak any more than a dime-sized spot of oil in a month.

Equipment on the car includes the following: driver's side rearview mirror, remote trunk release, tilt steering wheel, power driver's seat, console shift with tachometer, radio, power windows, front cornering lamps, power radio antenna, padded dashboard, tinted glass, electric clock (not hooked up, but has been cleaned and will work if I hook it up), day/night rearview mirror, power steering & power brakes.

The car is for sale due to the owner's advanced age and less than perfect health. I have it stored in my garage in Leonard, Texas for now. The owner lives south of here and is very concerned that the car should go to someone who will give it a good home and good care. That is more important to him than making a bunch of money on this sale, although there is a reasonable minimum reserve price of under $20,000. Not interested in any trades. I can haul the car to Houston, Texas at additional cost, if the buyer is overseas. I can help load the car if a transport truck is sent here. We request a $500 deposit within 48 hours of the auction's conclusion, and full payment within 7 days of auction's conclusion. The car can stay here, indoors, for 30 days after the auction. Longer than 30 days, and you need to make other storage arrangements or else pay me for storage. Texas title is clear and in the owner's name.