OLDSmobility.com - The 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass and 442 Resource - Updates Journal

April 06, 2008 - I'M BACK!!!

Well, more or less. Yes, believe it or not it's been almost 5 years since I did any site updates at all. I've kept the site online, but haven't really done a thing with it otherwise. Why? Well, in my last update I mentioned I'd just purchased a '67 Ford pickup....and that purchase has/is taken/taking me on a WILD ride. I threw myself into this truck 110%, including building a Ford truck website specifically for the '67-'72 era of trucks (known as 'Bumpsides'). You can see the site at FORDification.com. This site has kept me hopping, as well as getting married, having FOUR kids, my father passing away, etc.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I'm losing the shop due to the owner selling it....and the asking price was more than it was worth, so I didn't bid on it. And since I can't find any other local shop to rent, I'm being forced to put the uncompleted truck projects into rented storage units. However, to enable myself to still occasionally get my hands dirty, I've decided to get back to work on my Olds, so I'm bringing the 442's frame home to our little single-car garage, so I can begin the reassembly of the chassis.

I just posted a new page to the Photo Gallery (click here) with a few updated pictures and a slightly longer explanation about where I've been and where I'm at now.

I spent this evening going through the site page by page, updating some lost images and deleting some links that went bad sometime over the past 5 years. I believe I have them all, but I'll keep my eyes open for things I missed that need to be updated.

Over the years I've gotten quite a few pictures from visitors who included pictures and information about their cars for me to add to the Owner's Gallery. However, a majority of them were lost due to a hard drive crash, so if anyone out there wants to be added, please send me pics and info, and it'll be posted.

I've even started scouring E-bay again, looking for cool vintage memorabilia to update the site with, and have just purchased a cool 8-page '67 Olds police equipment info brochure. I'll be posting that as soon as it arrives, and I will continue to update the site on a very regular basis.

June 24, 2003 - Sorry for not getting any updates done for some time now. Life's been pretty busy here. First and foremost, two weeks ago I got married!! The past couple of months have been used getting everything set up for the wedding, and the two weeks since the wedding my 14-year-old daughter has been staying with Mary and I. We took her home two days ago, and are looking forward to things kinda slowing down a little, so we can catch our breath.

The Pontiac LeMans I bought several months ago got some major surgery done to it a little while ago. Even though it was initially purchased as my new daily driver, I decided I really wanted a pickup instead. But since I really didn't want to give the LeMans up, we decided to have a little fun with it. I spent a weekend cutting the top off and converting it to a permanent convertible. I spent a little time doing it 'right', however, so it really does look pretty good...you'd have to take several looks to see it's not a factory convertible. I have the shop to store it in the winter months, so it's become a summertime toy. (I was at the shop to day taking pictures but neglected to get shots of the LeMans....I'll post some shortly.)

The new daily driver was purchased last night. I'd decided I wanted an older Ford pickup, and finally found one: a 1967 Ford F-100 shortbox pickup. Click here to see the pics. It's going to need a little work, however...which means a little less time to spend on the 442, but I'm hoping to be able to get it useable in 2 or 3 weekends worth of work, and then it's back to work on the '67 442. I spent part of my honeymoon constructing a makeshift paint booth in the shop, and hope to get back to painting the suspension pieces within the next couple weeks. Everything's set up now....I just have to get a couple free days to spend on it.

I've had several people send pictures of their cars to be included in the Owner's Registry, and I hope to get those posted within the next week.

March 10, 2003 - I added another new entry to the Owner's Registry. Pat Stafford of Salina, CA forwarded a gorgeous shot of his 442 with an ocean background in a size suitable for desktop wallpaper...it was a shame I had to crop it down to fit in the space allotted. I also edited the info on Keith Forbes 442 with info supplied in an e-mail today.

Just so you know that I haven't TOTALLY forgotten about my own 442 project. In addition to the 442, I've also been spending some time on the Studebaker tow vehicle, and this forced me into making the decision to get more shop space. Last November I rented a 40x48 shop (pictured here) so I could get both vehicles in one place. (The picture of the Pontiac below was taken in the new shop.) However, the Olds body and frame are currently still apart and in my original rented garage, since I don't want to attempt to move them over until I get the body and suspension back on the frame. I finally got back to work last week on the 442, sandblasting the suspension pieces in preparation for paint. However, since my new shop doesn't have any fresh air supply, I'm a little leery about trying to paint there...especially considering I have a gas-burning furnace. Therefore, the parts are sealed up in plastic bags to prevent flash rust (though it's not as much a problem in the frigid temperatures here right now) and I'm making arrangements for a friend at a local bodyshop to squirt 'em within the next week or so. Then I'll be borrowing a space heater and heading up to the other garage for a temporary re-assembly to facilitate it's move to the new shop. I've been stockpiling some new parts for the 442, including stainless brake and fuel lines and a complete front-end polygraphite rebuild kit and all new steering components. I'll be sure to have the digital camera with me as I add these parts for posting here. Stay tuned!

February 14 & 15, 2003 - Well, hello all! Yes, I realize it's been a long time since I've done any updates to the site, and for that I apologize. My life seems to be getting a lot busier, mainly because of the addition of my new son. He sure keeps us hopping!

While putting my 442 clone together, I've always had the idea of using a very unique tow vehicle for hauling the car to shows or the strip. I didn't know what exactly I wanted, but I knew I'd know it when I saw it. Well, I FOUND IT! It's a 1951 Studebaker 3/4-ton pickup. I put together a webpage showing the truck and the modifications I'm doing to it. (Now I have TWO automotive projects going on, which is another reason for the site update delays.)

I've also been keeping an eye open for a daily driver car...though I'd really hoped to get a 4-door '67 Cutlass, I couldn't find one locally. So....I just purchased my second GM car: a 1972 Pontiac Luxury LeMans. I only paid $500 for this car, and believe it'll suit my purposes just fine. This car will not be a fixer-upper, just a daily driver/beater. The quarters are rusted out, but it runs well. The previous owner just installed an Edelbrock carb, Performer cam and lifters and a new timing chain on the Pontiac 350 but didn't know how to tune it, so after a weekend of doing a complete tune-up, it's doing good. It's got buckets with a center console and floor shifter...and is supposed to have fender skirts, but the rear quarter rust is just bad enough to not allow the skirts to be installed. The skirts did come with the car, however. While pulling the rear seats to pull the rear seatbelts out for use, I also found the factory build sheet. Cool! Anyway, aside from installing a stereo and maybe some rims/tires, it's probably gonna stay about the way it looks now.

While doing some basic maintenance on my site, I've run across some pages that I've been working on but aren't entirely completed yet. I've decided to go ahead and make them available for viewing. Those should be posted tomorrow. I'm also hoping that posting these will generate some input on content for those pages, either adding omissions or verifying/refuting info on these pages. If you can add anything to these pages, please let me know. IN PROGRESS PAGES

There are also many new additions to the Oldsmobile Factory Literature page, courtesy of Kurt Shubert. More scans provided by Kurt are in the works for a future update...hopefully the near future. Also, the 1967 Oldsmobile Inspector's Guide is now online.

May 29, 2002 - Ummm.....OK, I feel REAALLLLY stupid right now. I'm sorry folks. This is a very heartfelt apology to anyone who has sent me an e-mail over the past 6 months. None of you received a reply from me, and I just wanted to explain why.

Late last year I switched from ISP #1's dialup service to ISP #2's high-speed cable service. However, I was feeling rather lazy at the time, and didn't feel like sending out a hundred or so e-mails to everyone I knew, informing them of the e-mail address change. I figured I'd get around to it one of these days when I had nothing better to do. I also figured I'd update this website with the new address eventually, too. Until that time, I'd just continue using ISP #1's mail account, and ISP #2's high-speed internet access.

Well, evidently I did indeed get bored (or ambitious) one day and updated the e-mail address on the entire website. However, I honestly do NOT remember posting the pages. So.....anyway.....to make a long story short....you all have been sending me e-mails at the new address, but I haven't been checking that e-mail account, because I didn't recall even telling anyone about it, so I wasn't figuring there was anything in that mailbox. Boy, was I wrong!

After bring the site back up online last night (after a 2-week break for hardware upgrades), I decided today to check the new address and see if anyone had sent me e-mail at the new address. Imagine my surprise when nearly 200 messages popped up!!! Some of it was spam, but nearly half of it was feedback and questions from this website.

PLEASE BELIEVE ME...I WAS NOT IGNORING ANY OF YOU!! I feel like a complete dunce at the moment, and I promise to do my best to reply to everyone, though this will undoubtedly take some time. As for the future, I hereby promise to answer each and every legitimate e-mail I receive in regards to '67 Oldsmobiles. I will be checking the e-mail religiously and have taken steps to ensure that my head will never fit this far up my ass again.

May 28, 2002 - Yes I know, it's been a while since some updates to the site....plus the site has been offline for the past week or so, due to some server hardware upgrades. I apologize for the inconvenience. I just wanted to let you all know that I have not forgotten about you. I've continued to accumulate content, now it's just a matter of assembling it all and constructing pages. However, there has been some news since my last update which might add some slight delays to this project.

Last November I asked my girlfriend of about a year to marry me, and she said yes. A month later, we found out that we're going to be parents! Tentative due date for the baby is set for August 1st, 2002, and we're still talking about the wedding date. In the meantime, we've bought a house and am in the middle of remodeling it, trying to get as much done before the baby's born. The house is about 2/3 done, but there are still things that need to be done.

Also, my fiancé and myself and my 13-year-old daughter are flying to Houston in June, to spend a week vacationing with family. Mary and I are almost going to be treating this as a semi-honeymoon, since we probably won't have the time or energy (or money!) to take a proper honeymoon later.

Needless to say, my plate's mighty full at the moment, but I'm anxious to get some more done to this site AND my car. Please check back from time to time to see how things are progressing.

Also, I've recently changed ISPs, having made the move from dial-up internet access to high-speed cable (800kbps), and as a result my e-mail address has changed. Each of the pages on this site which list my e-mail address at the bottom have been updated to reflect the new address. I'd love to hear from you!

September 08, 2001 - Hey folks! I haven't been totally idle, though it's been my first update in this journal for a while. I've added quite a bit, but just haven't added the entries here. I've added several new articles in the Technical Papers/How-to's section, including How to Plumb Your Garage's Air Compressor Lines based on my own personal research and experiences, plus several articles on the GM 10-bolt rearend...one on identification and one on rebuilding the GM Type-P 10-bolt.

I've been hard (?) at work on my own '67 project car. I've gotton the frame sandblasted and painted, and the suspension components are sandblasted, awaiting paint. I put together a web-page showing the progress on the car. Considering this is the first time yours truly has ever picked up a paint gun, I'm VERY pleased with how this turned out. Click here to take a look! I'll be sitting down within the next few days to order the polygraphite front suspension bushings and steering components, so another update will follow here within the next few weeks, if everything goes right. (Like THAT ever happens around this place!)

I've also added several new entries to the Owner's Registry...the Registry is now up to 58 cars!

June 30, 2001 - I've added another page to the Media Reports page...this one is a 4-page write-up of the Lutz 'n' Lundberg "442 Much" altered wheelbase funny car which appeared in the December 1966 issue of Car Craft Magazine entitled "500 Inches of "Funny" Oldsmobile". While this IS a '66, it's still close enough to warrant publishing here...and is some pretty interesting reading on how a stock-body funny car was put together in the sixties.

Also, about two weeks ago I added another page, entitled Identifying a True '67 442, which I'm hoping will answer the questions I receive most often from visitors to this website. Please take a look and feel free to give me feedback. About that time I also added Identifying Oldsmobile Super Stock Rims.

There has also been numerous small additions to several other pages, including Deciphering your VIN, 1967 Oldsmobile Model ID, Deciphering Your Cowl Tag, and 1967 Oldsmobile Production Specs..most of which was to clear up some confusion on information printed in a popular Oldsmobile vendor's catalog, which often refers erroneously to a 1967 Olds 442 Club Coupe. Just so you all know...there is NO SUCH THING as a '67 442 Club Coupe. Please visit these pages for more in-depth explanations.

May 27, 2001 - WOOOHOOO!!!! Welcome to the new domain! DAMN it feels good to get my website off the previous Xoom/NBCI server! I didn't like the banners across the top, I didn't like the frequent downtimes there, and I didn't like the long URL. The server now hosting OLDSmobility.com is only a couple blocks up the street, and owned/maintained by a friend. (Thanks, George!) It's hooked up to a T-1 line also, but doesn't see a fraction of the traffic that the old server had, so response and file transfer times should be greatly improved.

Because of the 60+ pages currently online with this website, I've incorporated a search feature for the site. I'm spending the entire Memorial Day weekend reworking every page to work with the search engine and make things easy to find. Because of how the search engine works, I had to get rid of the old dropdown navigation menus at the top of each page, but between the links on the front page and the new search engine, you should have no problem finding what you need. Please let me know how you like this new feature.

Also, I've just purchased (FINALLY) a nice microfiche machine...necessary for the long-term goal of transcribing the Oldsmobile microfiche parts numbers slides. I don't know when this will become a reality, but probably not till this winter.

Oh yeah! While reworking all the pages to work with the new search engine, I discovered another vintage road test that I'd started on some time ago and forgotton about....so I spent several hours this afternoon watching the Indy 500 and finishing this GREAT road test page. The newest addition to the Media Reports page is a 4-page comparison of the '67 442 and Turnpike Cruiser by Motor Trend Magazine, published February 1967. CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE NEW PAGE.

March 4, 2001 - Sunday morning - This particular text update is probably going to get a little lengthy, but I hope you'll all take a moment to read.

Well, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that I'm FINALLY getting around to getting back to work on my project car...the bad news is what's driven me to do this.

Let's start out by saying I've just learned an extrememely valuable lesson about the merits of FREQUENT backups of my computer data. My last major backup was back in December, but I've been a VERY busy boy since then. I went hog wild putting together new pages, collecting a LOT of information for a possible future expansion of this site to include other model years of classic Oldsmobiles, doing a lot of scanning, etc. etc....unfortunately, the brand new hard drive I got specifically to back up my files until I had enough to burn a full CD was defective. I just found out that I lost absolutely EVERYTHING I've been working on for the past several months....*heavy sigh*. I can't even begin to calculate everything I've lost, but I know I've literally lost several hundred new graphics, a half-dozen new webpages that hadn't been posted yet, and a lot of notes I've been taking and saving in electronic format.

Needless to say, at the moment I'm extremely pissed at technology! This loss will probably mean the demise of several projects I've been working on for this site, and at least a lengthly delay in others. However, I decided this weekend that it's time to quit spending so much time on the computer and time to concentrate on getting the necessary preparations underway to start getting some serious work done to the car this summer. I've been putting a LOT of things off for a long time...but it's time to get my butt into gear.

I spent several hours at the shop yesterday afternoon getting started sandblasting the frame using a small homebuilt sandblaster. Unfortunately, this siphon system just isn't giving me the power and uninterrupted sand supply that I need, so I'll be investing in a pressurized sandblaster unit within the next week or so. I'll also be spending some time doing some reading and researching on painting. While I won't be attempting to paint the body, I WILL be handling the undercarriage, suspension, etc...actually, everything BUT the body. And since I'm a novice at this, I'll have to do some reading to find out the best procedures to follow.

As a result of my concentrating on the car and not this website, I think it would be best for the time being for me to not worry about doing regular updates here....at least not on data-type pages. I'm sure I can spare some time to take pictures as I go along and post updates as to the actual project car progress, but that's going to be the extent of the updates. I DO have more things I'll be adding to this website at a future date, however...more than likely sometime this coming winter (i.e. a searchable database of '67 Olds Cutlass part numbers is one of the future updates).

I've spent a lot of time over the past few weeks putting together a webpage outlining the proper re-wiring procedures for installing a Rally Pac dash assembly in a '67 Cutlass Supreme...unfortunately, this was one of the webpages I lost in the hard drive failure. The GOOD new is, about 2/3 of the way through putting this page together, I did a printout of the page to take to the shop and use for comparison and informational purposes, so I should be able to recreate this page using the printout. I WILL have to reshoot a lot of pictures and redo a bunch of scans I'd previously done, however. A lot of the handwritten notes I've made while brainstorming on the phone with several Olds fans are still around, too - it's now just a matter of re-deciphering my scribbles and transferring them to a webpage format. This will be forthcoming, but there's no promise being made as to a date yet.

One other thing I wanted to mention concerns the death of veteran NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt at the Daytona 500 two weeks ago. Though I've never been a diehard Earnhardt fan, I'm an avid NASCAR and overall-racing fan, and I was watching the race when DE crashed. This particular unfortunate incident was so incredibly filled with irony in so many ways. Dale's son Dale Jr. was leading the race, and DE's teammate and race-team employee Micheal Waltrip were running first/second respectively. As the race was winding down, DE realized he wasn't going to win, so he began to run interference for Dale Jr. and Waltrip, blocking cars behind him who might challenge for the lead, allowing Waltrip to get his first NASCAR win. In the final turn of the final lap, Dale got a very minor bump from behind from Sterling Marlin, which sent DE into the wall head-on at 180 mph, reportedly killing him instantly. Last week it was revealed that his lap belt came apart, but from everything I've read, it doesn't sound like the lap belt would have helped him survive this crash. There is absolutely no blame to be passed here, this was nothing more than an unfortunate racing incident.

I was actually kinda surprised at how hard I took DE's death. Like I said, I've never been a diehard Earnhardt fan, but still...DE arguably did more for the sport of stock-car racing than virtually any other driver. Regardless of where he was at in any given race, you can bet that watching him would provide the most excitement. The sport has lost a hero, and I know that I personally will miss watching him on the track every week.

REST IN PEACE, DALE! WE'LL MISS YOU!

OK, back to the business at hand. As always, all progress being made to my project car and to this website will be announced here on this page first. I'll try to continue to answer all e-mails as well, but please be understanding if you do not receive a reply. However, there will be no more updates to this site in the near future, for an undetermined period of time...but probably until this coming Fall. This update-schedule involves any new data pages, and probably will not affect in-progress pics of my project.

So...until you hear back from me...KEEP OLDSMOBILING!

January 27, 2001 - Just a few small updates to the following pages:

Oldsmobile Torque Specifications

1967 Oldsmobile RPO Option Codes

Oldsmobile Transmission Identification and Gear Ratios

A-Body Paint Detailing

Engine ID & Specifications

Plus, I've just added two more entries into the Owner's Registry....a beautiful black 442, from Dan of St. Louis, and Paul Green's awesome white 442. Take a look!

I also added the following disclaimer to all parts listings pages:
NOTE: Please be aware that the following listings are for reference only. I do NOT sell anything on this website. If you're looking to buy parts, be sure to check out the vendor's listings on the Links page.
It seems some people have been seeing the listings and mistakenly thought I was selling the parts. Sorry, folks! This is just a hobby website, something to tinker and play with while waiting for parts, warm weather (and ambition!) to get out to the garage to work on the real deal. Also, just as a footnote...this week has been my second best since the site began several years ago. The visitation stats have been slowly increasing to the point where I'm currently receiving about 200 unique hits/week. My all-time single-day record was back in August 2000, with 60 unique visitors. However, twice in the past week I've hit into the 50s, and just three days ago hit 57! Thanks! I hope you're finding what you need here...if not, please feel free to tie up a little bandwidth and send an e-mail. I'll see what I can do.

January 1, 2001 - WOW!! The new millennium is finally here...well, depending on your line of thinking, that is. For some of you/us, it was LAST year at this time. In fact, in celebration of that, at this time last year I was on a beach in sunny Malibu, California. This year, I'm simply typing away at my computer in frigid Nebraska.

I'm hoping this year will finally be the year that my project car gets the work done to it I've been planning over the past several years, but hasn't because I keep getting sidetracked on other projects (or I'm simply too lazy...heh).

The page I mentioned in my last update that I was working on is finally completed. The "1967 Oldsmobile Dealer's Accessory Package Price List" is posted and definitely worthy of checking out. I'm contemplating adding some more to this page at a later date. In this original 8-page factory release, the final 4 pages are entitled "PAST MODEL ACCESSORIES - AVAILABLE IN LIMITED QUANTITIES", and while not directly related to the '67s, could still prove to be interesting research material. If anyone is interested in my adding those final 4 pages, let me know.

I also added another Owner's Registry entry, a beautiful white '67 442 owned by Paul Greene...be sure to give it a look.

I've been tossing around the idea of putting together some Tech Pages...texts of commonly performed procedures/upgrades to owners of '67s, such as converting from front drum brakes to disc, converting from standard point-type ignition to HEI, converting to single-wire alternators, etc. Some of the pages of this nature I've read from other sites have been helpful, though not always entirely accessible or coherent, so I thought perhaps I'd give this a try for this site. Any ideas, people?

Well, anyway....by now I'm sure everyone's heard of the apparent demise of the Oldsmobile marquee. I can't begin to tell you how disappointed this makes me...however, I don't foresee this as having any major impact on the owner's of classic Oldsmobiles. In fact, it might even help get some cool NOS parts out on the market, after Oldsmobile dealers start cleaning out their parts bins. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!!!

December 7, 2000 - CHECK IT OUT!! Several more additions have made it to the Media Reports section over the past week or so...The first one is a 4-page dragstrip test by the editors of Super Stock & Drag Illustrated magazine. These guys were only interested in one thing: how this new '67 442 with Ram-Air performed on the 1/4-mile...and they really gave their test car a workout!
The second report is from the September 1966 issue of Hi-Performance Cars magazine and is a very detailed technical article on the Hurst Hairy Olds...this one includes a lot of cool pics, so be sure to check it out.
...And finally, as promised, the Motor Trend article mentioned below has been published here.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE MEDIA REPORTS LISTINGS!

I've also done a few minor updates to several other pages....including adding some things to the Collectibles page...and am working on putting together the "1967 Oldsmobile Dealer's Accessory Package Price List", which is a listing of every option part/package for the '67s, broke down by part and group number. Stay tuned!

I've also been busy stockpiling parts for the car itself, making lots of small purchases of good used or NOS parts found online....one of which is an original Rally Pac, aka the tic-toc-tach. It comes with a good dashpad and glovebox door as well. I've also gotten a set of front kickpanels and the headliner's rear sail panels. Plus, I found a chrome molding (from the left rear wheelwell to the bumper) that I needed, the throttle linkage rod (I broke mine the last time I pulled my engine, by...um...well...I didn't do a last-minute check before lifting the engine with the hoist, and so I found that the linkage rod isn't indestructible), and last but not least, a set of good taillight housings. (One of mine has a small dent in it....still useable, but...)

November 18, 2000 - OK, I've FINALLY got the pics of the 21st Quad States Olds show scanned and posted!

----- CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PICTURES PAGE! -----

On this page are pictures of the very finest '67s which made an appearance...PLUS pics of the current ongoing restoration projects of two of the most famous racing Oldsmobiles: the Hurst Hairy Olds and the Lutz & Lundberg 442 Much Altered Wheelbase funny car.
I spoke with Dennis Mothershed (the mad genius behind the Hurst Hairy Olds restoration project) on the phone several evenings ago, and he's forwarding some more info and pics to be added to the Hurst Hairy Olds page, so be sure to keep an eye on this page for ongoing updates. Dennis reports he's currently aimed towards a May 2001 completion date on the project, and is already booking appearance dates for the car.
I've also added a lot of new Hurst Hairy-related collectibles on the Collectibles page, in addition to a few other items on that page....and since cold weather has officially set in, I'm definitely planning on spending more time doing some more frequent updates. Over the summer I've collected quite a few neat things, so watch this page for new entries!
One more thing....on the Hurst Hairy Olds page, there's an article that appeared in the Sept. '66 issue of Hi-Performance Cars magazine. I was originally given a photocopy of the article from which I transcribed the text portion of the article. I've recently come across an original copy of the magazine, so I've scanned all the original photos and posted them with that article. These are definitely worth checking out. If you're at all interested in the Hurst Hairy Olds, you should take a look!

November 9, 2000 - Just a quick addition to the Owner's Registry this evening with a gorgeous '67 Holiday Coupe. (Sorry for the delay, Nick!) Once again, I have to apologize for the lack of regular updates, but things have just simply been hectic around here. My personal life is definitely keeping me busy...and it doesn't appear to be looking like it might be slowing down anytime. But then again, I suppose this is a good thing, right?

In my last update (see below) I promised to post pictures taken at the Quad States Olds Show...that's another task on the 'To Do' list. However, I WILL say I'll try my damnest to get those posted this weekend. I know for a fact that things will be slowing down, now that the weather is cooling off dramatically here in the Midwest. I'll be spending a lot more time indoors...the question is: will I be working on this website or playing with around with a gorgeous redhead who recently popped into my life? ;-)

Things on the 'To Do' list for this website, which will be coming at you soon:

The aforementioned Quad States Olds show picture page, including in-progress pics taken of the Hurst Hairy Olds and the Lutz and Lundberg cars

A collaborative story by myself and Dennis Mothershed on the history and the current restoration efforts of the Hurst Hairy Olds

Some new additions to the Collectibles page

Several more vintage '67 Cutlass/442 magazine articles on the Media Reports page

...and if I can, several of the parts numbers pages will be greatly expanded, complete with diagrams and exploded-view illustrations. (I recently purchased a complete set of microfiche slides showing every single part used on every Oldsmobile from 1965 through 1975...now I just need to get a microfiche reader!)

Check back here now and then to see what's been going on!

October 15, 2000 - Yeah, yeah...I know...it's been a little while since any updates were made to the site. I apologize. There's been a lot going on here keeping me busy. The Road Gems' Last Fling 'Til Spring Car Show was held about 3 weeks ago here and we had just over 700 vehicles entered....it was a GREAT show! I spent many nights helping the club get things set up, and doing a lot of work to the club car in preparation for this show and the Quad States Oldsmobile Show in Cedar Rapids, IA.

The Quad States show was absolutely phenominal!! I had a great time. After exchanging e-mails for almost a year with Dennis Mothershed, who's currently in the process of restoring the Hurst Hairy Olds 442, I finally got a chance to meet him. He was hoping to have the Hairy restoration completed in time for this show, but wasn't able to have that done. However, he DID bring the car to show the public the progress being made on it, and I was honored to have been one of the few people there to have my picture taken in the driver's seat, with three of the major original crewmembers in the pic. "Gentleman Joe" Schubeck, the Hairy Olds driver for both the '66 and the '67 version, not only was in attendance at the show, but was the featured speaker at the awards banquet that evening. Also attending was Dale "Mr.Olds" Smith, the Chief Mechanic for Hairy, and Bob "Animal" Lathrum, the Hurst Hairy Olds team crewchief. I was fortunate enough to get all three to sign a copy of Hot Rod Magazine from May 1966, which featured Hairy on the cover. (I stayed up late last night and got this article transcribed, along with all photos, and posted.) CLICK HERE TO VIEW. I'm also in the progress of putting together a webpage with highlights from the show...give me a couple more days and I'll have that posted here.

Also in attendance at the show was the Lutz & Lundberg altered-wheelbase funny car. Jim Lutz and Myron Lundberg were thrilled to see their old friend and posed for countless pictures. The car is currently owned by Chris Smith and is also undergoing a complete restoration. I hope to include regular progress updates on this vehicle on the Lutz & Lundberg page.

Be sure to check back here within a week to see the page of photos taken at the Quad States Olds Show. I also spent some time playing reporter with Dennis Mothershed, and will be writing a story about his fascination with the Hurst Hairy Olds and his restoration efforts.

KEEP OLDSMOBILING!!