Evaluation: Largely original first-year Starfire with faded and lightly scratched but sound original paint. Tidy and mostly original underneath. Lightly aged but solid and complete interior, although the cover for the rear seat speaker has been crunched in. Impressively preserved, but also a solid candidate for a quick restoration.
Bottom Line: Handsome, powerful, sophisticated and relatively rare, the 1961-66 Starfire “sparkles with distinction,” as one ad put it. Named after a 1953 show car which was in turn named after Lockheed’s F-94B Starfire all-weather fighter jet, Olds’ personal luxury took aim at the Ford Thunderbird with a competitive price of about $4600 and combined flashy styling with extra power to distinguish it from the lower-tier Eighty-Eight. Strato bucket seats, tachometer, and power steering/brakes were all standard, and the brushed aluminum body side trim distinguishes a Starfire from really any other ‘60s American car. Just 7604 were sold that first year. This is a mostly handsome and usable driver, but it sold like a rougher example. Good buy. Another ’61 Starfire sold for $60,500 at the same sale, but it wasn’t twice as nice.
