1941 Oldsmobile Series 98 Sedan 🇮🇹

The series 90 was available with either a six or eight-cylinder engine.  The car came standard with a three-speed manual transmission but it could be ordered with the innovative Hydramatic automatic transmission for an additional $100. 

This 98 sedan was given to the Shorts Family funeral home in Ravenna, Ohio in the 1960s as payment for services rendered. Mrs. Shorts kept the car in storage for many years in Kenton, Ohio, nearly 150 miles from Ravenna. In 2013, she finally sold the car to the Athena Restoration Company in Holland, Netherlands. They performed a complete frame-off restoration, refinishing the car in the correct two-tone combination of Teal Blue (code 24) over Oslo Blue (code 25).

In 2015, the car was put on display at Retro Classic Essen, a large collector car event in Essen, Germany. Mr. Bulgari saw the car at the show and purchased it to add to the collection. 

Company
General Motors

Make
Oldsmobile

Model
Series 98, 413919

Body Style
Sedan, 4-dr., 5-pass.

Body Manufacture
Fisher Body

Model year
1941

Wheelbase
125 inches

Length
213  inches

Engine
inline-8, L-head, 257 cid

Horsepower
110 hp @ 3400 rpm

Transmission
Hydramatic automatic

Original Base Price
$1,135

Brand Production
270,040

This Car Production
22,081

In 1941, Oldsmobile  produced their  2 millionth vehicle. Although that milestone pales against Chevrolet or Ford numbers, Oldsmobile was part of the foundation of General Motors and was still ranked number 6 in the industry production rankings. They were a well established, well respected player in the mid-priced car market.

Oldsmobile’s roots go back to the very birth of the American automobile industry. It was the first company to quantity produce a car, the Carved Dash Olds starting in 1900, before Ford Motor Company even existed. When General Motors purchased Oldsmobile in 1908 it became, along with Buick, the backbone of the GM empire. 

The styling of the 1941 cars was in keeping with the design language of all GM products for 1940-41, that is to say, there is a striking family resemblance between the products from all the GM brands. This was no accident. The basic body shapes and dimensions were shared between the different brands to keep costs down.

In 1941, Oldsmobile was  also transitioning to more and more war manufacturing. The company was already producing munitions at the beginning of the year but as the year progressed it increased its munitions capacity and decreased its automobile capacity. When war was finally declared on December 7, 1941, Oldsmobile began the transition to full munitions manufacturing.