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On a road trip yesterday to my new place and back, so plenty of time to daydream...
Maybe this has been discussed here before, but I was wondering if anyone has ever found any documentation/pictures of Oldsmobiles that were designed on paper but never existed in Prototype or Production.
There were bound to have been plenty of designs that never made it to that point...but does anyone know what happened to them? Anyone have any drawings or documents? Just wondering...thought it would be an interesting topic.
Location: Edmonton, AB. And "I am Can 'eh' jun - eh"
Posts: 24,525
It was an experimental car from what info I can glean on it. That would suggest it was not released to a collection, nor would it have been saved. Here's some more pics in this link 1954 Cutlass
Burt Reynolds drove a custom Olds in WW & the Dixie Dance Kings... in the story line it was said to have been 1 of 50 Special Editions. Had a dixie horn too!
Last edited by 70sgeek; June 29th, 2017 at 04:51 PM.
I see but was the Dream car destroyed or is it in someones collection.I have only seen this one picture of it and no info.
Joe Bortz from Chicago has two of the three F-88's built , in his collection .
That is where most of the pictures come from . I don't know how he managed to get his hands on them .
Most of these "dream" cars were ordered to be destroyed by GM corporate lawyers , because they were worried that they weren't covered by manufacturer's product liability insurance . Some of them went to "Warhoops" junk yard where they were "discovered" , plied up with other junk cars . A few of them were reportedly "rescued" . https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2013/0...junkyard-sold/
I don't know the fate of the original Cutlass though .
Last edited by Charlie Jones; June 29th, 2017 at 05:31 PM.
Burt Reynolds drove a custom Olds in WW & the Dixie Dance Kings... in the story line it was said to have been 1 of 50 Special Editions. Had a dixie horn too!
1973 Cutlass Rendering - quite a bit different than actual production. Personally I like this design a lot.
The top car looks to be an Oldsmobile version of the '68 Camaro. Is that an Oldsmobile drawing or an individual's design? Nice use of the Tornado grill and styling cues from other models.
The '73 Cutlass styling exercise is sharp looking. Close to the production version with needed changes for the 5-mph bumper.
Thank goodness there was a reprieve that year for the back bumper, otherwise the sharp looking recessed tail lights would not has been possible. Even the front bumper was subdued compared with the other GM A-bodies, Ford intermediates, and Chrysler midsize cars.
I guess that is why the '73 Cutlass 'S', Supreme, and Hurst/Olds were the best looking cars that year. Besides the V-code option, it was too bad Oldsmobile and Hurst could not use more W-30 parts to make the optional W-46 engine more on par with Pontiac's SD-455, though it did tie a Corvette with the 454.
I'm surprised the car manufacturers didn't have their own crusher. That was a good article.
I always thought that too. I guess like many other companies and governments, the junkyard might have been owned by an executive's friend or relative and was afforded the business.
Was not there another junkyard that was famous for saving many show cars, pre-production, styling exercise, and prototype vehicles from the crusher by hiding them in the yard until it was able to be sold or moved to another location?
There have been reports of executive and managers, even local dealerships, taking ownership of some of these vehicles before they were slated to be destroyed.
My friend's dad worked at the GM plant in Linden NJ for many years, including 1970. At the end of the production year workers were told to destroy any remaining W-25 hoods still in inventory since the hood could not be used for the 1971 models and it was not worth the cost to ship them to warehouses for future over the counter dealership orders.
Supervisors watched the workers as they broke the hoods up with sledge hammers and verified the remains were deposited into waste containers.
When workers inquired, they were told they could not take any of the W-25 hoods slated for destruction, even if they or family members had a '70 442 or Cutlass. Though, I wonder how many were taken out the back door for supervisors and/or executives?
The top car looks to be an Oldsmobile version of the '68 Camaro. Is that an Oldsmobile drawing or an individual's design? Nice use of the Tornado grill and styling cues from other models.
Here's one I've wanted to build for a long time. A drawing of one was in Rod and Custom magazine, many years ago, and I've always liked it. I searched the internet for a pic of it, but no luck. Just today, a friend of mine did a photoshop of the concept, though he did a 55, instead of the 56 I envisioned. He probably should have used the "98" trim on the car, too, as the Nomad was the top of the line model for Chevy.
I still have 2 roofs sitting behind my shop, in case I fins the right car to do this with.
I'm sure I'm not the first to think this way, but maybe if Olds was allowed to put some of these cars into production they might not have been GM's first choice to close. The decision was probably made to keep Chevy out front years before these concepts, though. It's a shame to realize we are the minority for GM when Olds was on the forefront for almost everything the other companies capitalized on.
Here's one I've wanted to build for a long time. A drawing of one was in Rod and Custom magazine, many years ago, and I've always liked it. I searched the internet for a pic of it, but no luck. Just today, a friend of mine did a photoshop of the concept, though he did a 55, instead of the 56 I envisioned. He probably should have used the "98" trim on the car, too, as the Nomad was the top of the line model for Chevy.
I still have 2 roofs sitting behind my shop, in case I fins the right car to do this with.
Would had been a nice car, but I'm thinking just like the Bronco, Blazer, and Ramcharger/Trailduster, the decision makers might have determined at the time that station wagon buyers wanted the convenience of a 4-door over a 2-door. But then, they could had compromised and built a 3-door like the 67-72 Suburban's.
I like the concept shown in the photo except for the fender skirts and the low rider look. Even though the factory fender skirts looked good on my brother's two door '54 Ninety-Eight, on the wagon they take away from the design's lines.
I'm sure I'm not the first to think this way, but maybe if Olds was allowed to put some of these cars into production they might not have been GM's first choice to close. The decision was probably made to keep Chevy out front years before these concepts, though. It's a shame to realize we are the minority for GM when Olds was on the forefront for almost everything the other companies capitalized on.
What is real sad is Oldsmobile is that grand pa that had engines that out performed chevy. I think that is why gm killed Oldsmobile brand slowly. Have you ever read the book project 2000?
Was the 68 or 69 H/O or 442 that had the rear functioning spoiler ever went to production? What was it called? The "braking spoiler" or "braking wing"?
It was an experimental car from what info I can glean on it. That would suggest it was not released to a collection, nor would it have been saved. Here's some more pics in this link 1954 Cutlass
I still can't find a picture of the 54 dream car front view. What did it look like inside engine compartment? Dang it.
Here's a couple of views of the F-88 engine compartment.
The first black & white photo shows it as it was in 1954 .
I've read that it was a highly modified 324 , with multiple carburation , that exceeded 300 HP.
The second photo is as it is today . When Joe Bortz got the car there was no engine . He replaced with a production 324 and even cut down the "batwing" air cleaner so it would fit .
The remaining photos are of F-88's the 55 Delta , and the 54 Cutlass .
The girls are pretty , but they are over 90 years old now .
Last edited by Charlie Jones; July 9th, 2017 at 03:20 PM.
June 28th, 2017, 11:57 AM
The 54 dream car is the 54 f88 at the Gateway Museum in Colorado. The three million dollar car.
