I have a 70, 4 speed AC, Convertible with 56k miles and good documentation. Does anyone in the Olds community offer an accurate, reproduction window sticker that I can display with this car, upon completion of restoration?

 

No guarantees, but I may can make a suitable 20-footer display piece, I think. Maybe. Would it look something like this below? I just filled in the other junk for the heck of it. If you want a high-dollar showpiece that matches everything exactly and looks like it came off your window in 1970, you will need to look elsewhere. I normally do G-body repros, but was messing around with the older ones. It's not even correct info, just a sampling. Not sure if this is the actual style of form used, but again, I'm not an expert on anything. PM me if interested.

 

I’m with 69HO43 on this. I made my own. It like displaying it, in the window of course, when I show the car.

I wasn’t looking for 1000% authenticity. I went online and bought a blank window sticker for my era of Oldsmobile (1978). I then scanned it and loaded the image into Microsoft Publisher, which is a program usually available if you have the Microsoft Office suite on your computer. Most new computers come with what’s called Office 365, which includes Publisher. You could probably do what I did just as easily in a word processing program.

Anyway, once loaded into Publisher, I just set text boxes in various places on the image and typed in the information in font that tries to match what was on window stickers originally. I Google-searched for image of actual 1978 Oldsmobile window stickers to get an idea of what they should look lie. Because my car is post 1976, I was able to get a dealer invoice for the car from GM Heritage Center, so I have the exact original options list, selling dealer, etc.

Here's what the blank sticker looked like. Says "Jim Osborn Reproductions" on the side, but I think I actually bought it off of ebay.







Here's what I did with it. I think it turned out well.

 

I also have a '77 Toronado, and I had to make a sticker for that one, too. The two cars are pretty much identical in terms of options, so it's interesting to see how much the price changed from 1977 to 1978.

 

I used Steve Scoletta, 904.260.4292, srvsj1954@gmail.com to make one for my Vista Cruiser. He used the correct form and type face, and did a very good job with prices and descriptions of options. I compared it to a copy of a friend's window sticker--his Vista was made on the same day as mine.

I checked everything before he printed it. There were only a few points I had him change (he needed to add NA9, a mandatory option for my post-January California car and adjust the delivery charge that was ~$10 higher for Vistas delivered in CA).

The only other thing I would advise is that if you get his "aged" option, then tell him to skip the spots and wrinkles and just darken it as though it had been in a file folder for 50 years. Otherwise, as my wife said, "you need to wear rubber gloves when you handle that, it looks like he used real toilet water on it!"

I also sent him a color copy of my Broadcast Card that had had a difficult life. He returned a flawless copy. I was astounded.

 

Thank you guys, for the input. I now know I have a few options.

 

I am betting since I have the build sheet, I should be able to get a fairly accurate reproduction of my window sticker?

I stopped at the dealership where my car was sold new, locally, and unfortunately only a few years ago, they shredded the original documents.

The retired long-time service manager of this dealership is a good friend of mine, and he actually remembers our car. He figured it was crushed years ago.

 

I'd say so.

I had only the handwritten dealer order. Steve asked to see it so he would be sure I was asking for a legitimate window sticker.

 

Nothing against those wanting to do it, but why pay extra to "age" a repro document? If your intent is to trick the unsuspecting into believing that the reproduction is original, that defeats the purpose of having a nice, newly minted reproduction. At least in my mind. The idea isn't to deceive anyone, IMO, it should be like any other reproduction part that they no longer make, a recreation of something as close as possible as to how it came to the customer for the first time. And look as new as possible. Like the rest of the car.

Using the build sheet is usually the best option for re-creating a window sticker. An invoice or "dealer copy" of the window sticker is the BEST way possible, in my mind.

I reproduced my 1985 442 window sticker based on the dealer copy that was shipped with the car. The salesman asked if I wanted to keep the window sticker and put it in a paper condom for me. He acted like they've done it before, and everything would be great. Since they were a dealership, they surely knew what they were doing and it would be less risk to me doing it, right?

BUT. What I didn't know, and apparently he didn't either, they got a rookie to remove the window sticker. He absolutely soaked it with something and used a friggin' plastic scraper to SHRED THE THING OFF THE WINDOW! When the salesman went to get it, the sticker was in a wadded pile of mush. If anyone knows anything about the window stickers back then, they didn't just print out a new one for you. The salesman made me a copy of the "dealer copy" window sticker and that was the best I got.

So while it isn't the original, but it has all the info the original had.

 

x2. Steve made mine. He can also age it (which I had him do), most people think its the original.

 

And THUS the problem...

 

I agree with Joe.....IMO, probably only about 10% of most historic(old) cars are truly original with no mods!!

 

Back in the day, one of my jobs on the wash bay was removing window stickers. Those suckers were put on with really good glue. If you soaked it in GM glass cleaner for 5 minutes, it would slide right off. If the customer didn't want it, I would save it. I still have a box of mid-70s window stickers somewhere.

 

I'm more concerned about the bogus cars that now have "documentation"

 

Joe, we've heard this song and dance from you before, and it's tiresome. You guys all need to have your heads examined. Yes, some people make a window sticker in an attempt to commit fraud. Does that mean everyone who makes one does? is it fair to lump us all together? Some people walk into banks with the intent of robbing them, but that doesn't mean that everyone who walks into a bank intends to do so.

I've made window stickers for my two Toronados and I'm in the process of making one for my Delta 88. It's fun, and I like to display them. It makes for a talking point with the passers-by. I don't try to pretend they're original, and I'm not trying to sell the cars, anyway.

So you guys can go sulk in the corner and leave the rest of us alone to enjoy our cars and the things we have that go with them.

 

By the way, where's our favorite moderator here, oldcutlass? He's usually quick to jump on people when they go off topic in a thread, sometimes even shutting down the thread.

The OP in this thread asked about getting a window sticker made. He didn't ask about whether it's a venial or mortal sin to do so. Mr. Padavano's comment and those like it are off the topic of the thread. Why haven't they been removed? C'mon, Mr. moderator. Let's see some consistency in your moderating. Or is Mr. Padavano, by the nature of his position here, immune from such treatment? We've seen this double standard before.

 

I purposely didn't respond to the OP's question.

 

So you shouldn't have responded at all.

 

I think everyone is entitled to their opinion because it's just that. An opinion. If you don't agree, so what? It's not like anyone's forcing anyone to read the thread or to participate or not. I personally don't give much of a flying f*** if someone doesn't like my opinion simply because they don't agree. And vice-versa. IDGAF if people think they have to have an "aged" repro document or not, even though to me it makes absolutely no sense to have a pristine, restored car and then pay extra to have ugly-***-looking repro paperwork to go with it. Might as well use Chinesium parts for a restoration. Oh, wait...

As with most of these threads, people offer their opinions where none is requested, but people chime in anyway. And that's ok, as long as they're somewhat civil about it and don't attack others. I don't see anyone's opinions attacking anyone here. It's not like people aren't going to do what they want them to do anyway. So what's the hurt? I particulary don't care if people like or dislike what I decide upon for my ride. If you were funding my projects, only then I'd tow the line. But until that happens, you just have to live with it.

Thing is, I can do my own window stickers for all my Oldses. And I've done them for others for very reasonable prices. I don't need to go pay lots of $$ for reproduction window stickers, to which most of them don't get them correct right out of the gate anyway, from what I've seen.

 

If the OP wants a brand new, obviously not original "window sticker," have at it. I only commented when people started talking about artificially aged documents that "...most people think is the original." Sorry, that bothers me.

 

This is not the issue here. The issue is the policies of this website and how they're being enforced. People, me included, have gotten criticized by moderators and have had posts removed because the posts were not on the topic of the thread. Unless your name is Joe Padavano. Then you can commit the thread-posting equivalent of murder without consequences. I've seen it before, and I'm seeing it now.

 

A valid concern.

I was careful to post the name of a supplier who asks for documentation before the sale.

He even asked me for documentation about my low-value, unloved model.

 

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