The 65 Starfire is one of my all time favorites Oldsmobiles PERIOD. this is coming from someone who has owned two a pinnacle Oldsmobiles, the 1970 Cutlass SX 455 and the 1970 442 350. Something about the Starfire that has always drawn me. Great car. I would take a second mortgage to own one...
To this day the 1962 Starfire is my favorite 'CAR" of all time. We had one (a hardtop) in a light green color.....called Seamist Green or something and the roof was same color as the body. The 394 burned up in Memphis in 1969 when my brother was having to go to St. Jude's for leukemia. He passed away but my Dad had a new Rocket 455 put in by Foster Olds in El Dorado, AR. Dad always got first dibs on "Foster's" year old cars when he had to get the new model. With the 455 in it, that thing was an absolute beast. I've NEVER seen an interior so cool, taking cues inside and out from the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.
Had a 65 Delta 88 425 super rocket. daily driven 33years. I loved that car NEVER left me sit broke down. near 300,000 miles still drove like a dream paid $795.00 It limped home a few times the biggest expense was a starter. The most troubling issue was a hole in the heater hose. Troubling because I did not know what was causing a severe misfire above 60mph & under heavy load. Points, plugs, cap, condenser, wires, carb rebuild, fuel pump, trimming chain. one hot summer day the hole presented itself. A friend performed a line lock with the hood open, a small stream of coolant shot out behind the engine spraying directly on the distributor. undid the clamp cut 2" off the hose and it was fixed. Her name was Nerna. And she never lost a race the 440s got me off the line but she could outrun anything. What a machine!
Wow I am so thrilled to see something on the 1965 Starfire. When I was a teen my mom got one of these cars (I believe the color was called Seamist; it was a teal or aqua color) and I got to drive it some while in high school. I was a car guy and loved her car. Thanks for the video!
Great segment! I learned to drive on my grandmother’s ‘63 Starfire. It was white with red leather interior. Still one of the most beautiful cars of that era. The sound of the high compression Olds Rocket engine was unlike anything else.
My first new car was a '65 Starfire, red inside and out, took it out for a top end run and at 135 MPH got a big cloud of white smoke, immediate neutral, then turned the engine off. After pulling to shoulder and stopping, I spent 10 minutes looking for problem and finally saw a vent in the side of the transmission directly over the exhaust pipe. The engine started and made no unwanted sounds and the car would move normally, it had just been a bubble of transmission fluid leaking out of the vent and burning on the pipe, WHEW! ! ! I wish I still had that car.
I used to own a '66 model, until it got stolen out of a garage from where I had it stored. It was so fun to drive that I lost my license because of it. Both '65s and '6s are rated at the same horsepower. However, the '66s were equipped with the new Quadrajet 4-barrel of which roared like a lion, through those golfball-sized secondaries, once the air cleaner lid was flipped over. I replaced the mufflers with glasspacks, on mine, while retaining the original resonators. The mellowly louder exhaust combined with the roaring Quadrajet pushed one's tostesterone level to the point where one could get himself accidently pregnant. Since then, I've been hooked on full-sized Gentleman's Muscle Cars. Those taillights are one of the most elegant ever. If I'm not mistaken, the Buick Wildcat and Pontiac Catalina 2+2 also shared that concave rear window. Beginning 1966, you could opt for the Starfire engine in all full-sized models, except for the Toronado of which had even 10 horses more. The '65 has less body roll, because the Starfire package extended to the suspension. The girl sitting in the rear would be usefull for adding traction on icey Michigan roads 🤣
Sorry to be off topic but does someone know a method to log back into an instagram account? I stupidly forgot my account password. I would appreciate any tricks you can give me.
what a nice treat for Rick to show us a nice picture of his girls and see Rick as just a regular guy. Such a nice guy he is. Keep motoring along MCC. Great little show here.
My mom had a 1964 oldsmobile Jetstar fully loaded Electric Aqua with white leather interior buckets,console and tac P.s.p.b.p.w.p.l.p.t. and Power Antana switch and had never ever scene one like it and so beautiful I do miss it.
Mom had a 65 with the 425 Rocketfire motor. It was convertible, electric seats and windows, vacuum trunk button in the glove box and reverb! My friend's dad was a fighter pilot, he restored the car in the late 70s, don't know what happened to it. Later in life, I had a 65 Impala SS with a 409, Id take the Olds every time.
Billy Baikie I own one of those 65 Starfire Convertibles. Other than cruise control and AC it has all the options. I’m getting it some fresh paint so I’m stripping it down this spring. That motor is a beast. It’s probably one of only 100 or 200 left.
OMG! I watch a lot of your videos but THIS ONE!!! HOLY CRAP. Those are STUNNING!!!!! Maybe Rick and Dad want to get rid of that "high mileage beauty"????? Good GOD!
I bought a 65 Star fire factory 4 speed. In 1966 for 3,000 dollars. A lot of money considering my first teaching job was 5,600. It was a really a goer. Got it up to about 120 mph. My brother had a 65 Grand Prix. What a pair. I paid the Star fire off in two years. After getting T boned . and a bad repair job and only about 18 mph I decided to trade it on a 1969 Fiat 4 speed Spider. Wow I liked that car.
Great show Dennis. The Olds take me back to when I just got my license and Mom just bought a 1965 Starfire. Yes, it needed the good gas or it rattled but very powerful and fast.
I had the same interior in my first car, a ‘66 Delta88, along with the 425, auto, posi-differential, and a friggin’ 2bbl carb! Best interior of any 60’s “American” car I’ve owned or many I’ve seen.
i love when MY CLASSIC CAR visits Rick Schmidt and jay leno, i know you cant go on forever and sure will miss this show when that time comes, keep going dennis. yeah
My parents drove a '62 Starfire from 1969-1974. It was a pink champagne color. As kids, we loved that speedometer. Dad traded it in for a brand new 1974 Ford/Mercury Capri. It was an import from Germany.
We had a 62 black Starfire with red leather interior, white roof. All us kids learned to drive in it. Cool car, loved to see the bar speedometer turn Orange and Red the faster you drove! Wish I could have kept it back then!
That feature brought back a ____load of childhood memories of my dad's '60 88. Never knew exactly how it worked before. Mom: Honey, I can *see* you're speeding again!
A Good friend of mine had a 1966 Old's Delta 425 ci That Car was a Super Freak Very Fast, His dad brought it home for him in 1974, he said Dad i don't want that car it's an Old Man's Car his dad said Mark take it for a ride if you don't like it i'll sale it . We went around the Block and he Liked it, i had a 1970 Nova SS he wanted a Chevelle but he settled for the Olds, Awesome Car ..
My Father owned a 1965 Dynamic 88 which did have the 425 ci motor in it. Reason being is it was a former Police Squad car so it was unique to that model. I remember the engine said High Compression on it, and it was indeed a massive car.
My Dad had the ‘62 Starfire in Sky Blue metallic with matching top. The 394 had been replaced, he bought it in 1965, with the 425 as the original engine had blown. Car was beautiful and FAST!! Olds was very conservative in the horsepower rating! My Dad beat many of the era’s muscle cars! Could not beat a hemi or a Vette. Used to lay on the package tray on long trips! Lol! The PRETTIEST Oldsmobile ever made!
Olds the car that I love. When I turned sixteen it was time for dad to get a new car. I always down deep felt that he traded up to an Olds Dynamic 88 four door hardtop for ME. Arguably the full size 65-66 Olds represented their finest hour. The second car represented here was a new generation of full size G.M. cars. The new Turbo Hydramatc for 65 was superior to the slim Jim Hydramatic that it replaced. The 425 super rocket 425 star fire rocket were the engines for full size Oldsmobiles with varying carburetors compression ratios . The budget price Jetstar 88 meant to compete with Impala Galaxy and Fury came standard with the 330 Jetfire Rocket. Everyone of them an Olds. Jetstar 88 Dynamic 88 Delta 88 Jetstar 1 Ninety Eight Starfire.
I'm a thinking that's what my dad had is 66 Starfire Oldsmobile I remember riding in that darn thing and my dad always actually act silly and crank her up man she did go fast back in my young days I can't remember what color it was it been so many years ago and I remember what happened later on of the car my dad lived in apartment house and I was staying with him next morning he had to go to work and I did too at a gas station we walk down the sidewalk around the corner to the car well what was left of it got ran over and flatten and what was the funny part it was my best friend Uncle one of his relations ran over the car drunk and they try find another car just like it but they could not do it and I was in junior high School then in 7th grade and I am 62 now getting old what happened to yesterday
ultra high compresion for the 65 meant 10.5:1 (yes, premium fuel only). 4bbl carb, dual exhaust, and a factory rated 370hp which might have been on the low side.
My first car was 63 Starfire in high school in 72 my father bought for me paid 600 dollars for it , paint was factory Pacific mist metallic thanks for the memories
We were a Hudson Hornet or Commodore family. But after 55 we looked around and became an Olds 98 Family! We had a 57 J-2 98 and it was FAST. You could drive 500 miles in a long day, get out stretch and have dinner and feel great and enjoy the rest of the night. Try that in some of the car's today. Made in the good old USA....We put on Herman Headers and hotter than 3/4 can and a rev pol Mallory ignition and it was even faster!!! Wow, so memories.
FAST by 1957 standards. Rather lethargic by today's standards. Good memories, though. www.oldcarsweekly.com/car-of-the-week/car_of_the_week_1958_olds Excerpt below. And keep in mind that unlike 0 -60 MPH and ET figures, quarter mile trap speed is largely fixed relative to variations in traction and gearing. This one trapped at 88 MPH. That was indeed very good by the standards of the day. I believe the 1957 models were somewhat less powerful and slower, though. "Straight line performance of the 98 with the J-2 engine comes as a shock to many who heaped ridicule on Olds for its 41 lbs. of chrome trim. Motor Trend, in March 1958, reported a 0 to 60 mph time for its 98 test car of 8.6 seconds. The quarter-mile required 17.1 seconds @ 88 mph."
Tragedy is that the Oldsmobile is not produced any more…it is the only make that my parents ever drove…miss this model and the quality of the Oldsmobile
That 65 has my attention.. Ok ,OK the 62 is on another level... I know it's not relevant but I had the door stop 91 ,silver and couldn't kill it... A customer of mine made me magnetic signs to attach, but um it was not a metal body... I serviced UPS all over the southeast(Telecom) and I have so many memories of that van. I wished i still had it.. OLDS should be still standing but I guess this was the beginning of the end.
I had to laugh when you talked about the package shelf. When I was a tyke riding in my dad’s ‘66 Dynamic 88, I always climbed up there. Now I mean no offense, but the ‘62 Starfire does nothing for me. That generation of GM full-size products was too awkward looking ... and all that extra chrome on the Starfire looked weird, even back then. BUT, the ‘65 Starfire was styling perfection. I don’t think Oldsmobile ever topped that car. She’s perfect in every way ... inside and out. Thank you for the wonderful ride.
I had an Olds Starfire Coupe, quite different than the early sixties models. It was a 1975, which really was a Chevy Monza platform with a Buick built 3.8 liter V6 and a 4spd. Talk about a hodge podge of components! I believe the engine was an odd firing setup as it certainly was not a smooth running engine. It had plenty of torque though and would hold its own in traffic light to light acceleration. My biggest complaint was the wheels - 13", which I felt were too small for that car, and they always had a bit of vibration that the dealer could not remedy, even after changing rims, tires, re-balancing, etc. After that car and an earlier Impala floating boat, as I referred it to, I stayed away from GM vehicles. The early sixties Olds were really some of the best, if not the best!
My uncle had a 62 Delta 88 2dr. same color, get this, 3 on the TREE ! He ordered it from olds. 7 weeks for delivery. He wanted to put the StarFire stainless down both sides but it was 200$ a side, just for the parts. A lot of money in 62. the color was Royal Mist. Thanks for taking me back.
Probably the most special of these full size Starfires was the 61 - and I love the fender skegs, but to me the 'best' is the 1965 since it picked up the next gen styling and it was just generally cleaner. Not only is the roofline / rear window special, but those taillights are as well. While the nameplate hung around for 1966, it was seriously decontented.
I’ve noticed the 65 car was ordered without the power windows which were standard in the starfire. Power vent windows were optional but you’d have to order special manual windows for the front and rear. You won’t see many 65s like that if any.
My friend in London had a '62 Starfire convertible. I used to drive it sometimes, my '59 Caddy felt like a truck in comparison. Not much interested in the '65 TBH, but a great video, so thanks.
