These shot by Roshake offer a nice bit of contrast: a 1.3 L VW Beetle 1302 (Super Beetle) and an (alleged) 7.4 L 455 Olds 98. I realize that the 455 was not a factory option on these, but the call out on its fender, the big hood scoop and oversize wheels and tires do suggest that an engine swap involving one V8 might well have occurred.
Let’s get the VW out of the way first: yes, this is a 1971 or 1972 Super Beetle, and these were most commonly sold in Europe with the 1.3 L engine and thus dubbed “1302”. The 1.3 was more economical, and taxes were lower too, depending on the country. In 1973, when the big curved windshield was added, it became the 1303. And if you got the 1600cc engine, the designation became 1302S or 1303S. A bit confusing, but VW didn’t want to have it be confused with the Type 3 1600.
As to the Olds, Roshake called it a 1980, but going by the grille, it looks more like a 1982. But then maybe it got changed out. In any case, no 455 ever graced one of these from the factory, unfortunately. In 1980, it was the 307 and the 350, in diesel and gas versions, was optional. By 1982, it was just the 307 gasser or the 350 diesel.
Maybe this was a diesel, and get a bit of a performance upgrade? It wouldn’t have been all that hard.
The license plate frame says “There’s No Replacement For Displacement”. That tends to support the hypothesis.
That Olds look’s Bad ass to me. Looks like a screwed together correctly project.
Definitely not your fathers Oldsmobile.
My head is hurting – I see Buick rear quarters on an Olds 98!
It looks to me like a ’77-’79 body with an ’82 nose.
That whole car is ’80-up. The front of the sill line (at the leading edge of the front door) is the tell, if you didn’t already know that B/C-body parts don’t interchange across the ’79/’80 boundary.
Olds looks good in a generic GM style the beetle is cool and from the era where local VW assembly had stopped and they came in built up and rusted out early, the boat trip from where ever they were screwed together didnt do them any good.
455 Rocket.
Kathy Mattea
(anyone know a VW 1302 song?)
I do recall reading a website back in the 90s where a diesel Oldsmobile B-body of this vintage was outfitted with an Olds 455 engine. It’s almost certainly not this one as the car was US-based. But I suppose anything could have happened to it over the last 25 years.
This has me wanting to see if I can find that website, but I’m sure it vanished when site hosts like Tripod and Geocities shut down. Maybe it’s in the Wayback Machine.
I have a 455 in my 81 Fleetwood. As my car shares the same long wheelbase B body as this 98, I can assure you it’s an excellent swap, and gives the car effortless performance. Unless this 98 has much shorter gears than stock, it’s not the tire smoking kind, but more the reassurance that any particular highway velocity you’d like is easily available anytime. Smooth even torque provides instant response without any pesky downshifting or revving.
But is it a Pontiac or Olds 455? To an Olds person, there is a difference.
That’s the first 80s RWD C body I’ve seen without a vinyl roof, though it looks like it once had one. Did the 98 and Electra share most of their sheetmetal or just a greenhouse?
The “Olds” looks like a “project/mod out” exercise gone awry!
What a pair. The Olds really isn’t my cup of tea, but I find the VW 1302 interesting. I realize that any 50 year old car has probably undergone many changes over the years (like the green trunk lid), yet it looks to me like this VW is a 1972 special edition “May Beetle”, that was offered in Blood Orange, Saturn Yellow, and Willow Green. As best as I can find, these special edition Beetles were sold in Germany, but I can’t find where else they were offered. For this Beetle enthusiast, this is a nice find.