Not sure where to put this. I am restoring my W-30 and on the rear truck lid there is a dealer plate identifying the dealer and city. Not sure if it is chrome, pot metal, etc. I was wondering if anyone knows of anyone that reproduces these. Dealer of course is out of business. I have contracted the former owner to see if he might have one laying around. Thus far no response back. Thanks in advance.

 

If you want to keep it, you will most likely have to restore it unless you get lucky and just happen to come across someone that has it.


Randy C.

 

Post the name and town of the dealership. Someone may have one laying around.

Don W

 

Set up an Ebay alert and keep your eyes peeled.

I got lucky last year when I saw a guy selling a nice western 4-door '72 Cutlass as a parts car on Ebay. One of the pics showed the deck lid and there was a nice Ralph Schromps emblem from Colorado, which was the dealership that sold my 442. I shot him a note and bought that separately.

My Kasun Olds badge is all pitted on my SX. I'll restore that one and get it replaced if I can't find a nice original out there.

Good luck!

Terry

 

Randy, Don and Terry,

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate your thoughts. Dealer is Rustin Oldsmobile, Columbus, Ga
Can't wait to post picture of the finished project. Who would you sent it to to restore?

 

If it's metal, I would check with various chromers. They have a real knack for taking out pits and making an old item look brand new. I suspect it would cost an arm and a leg, but if you've got the only emblem in town and want a finished product, that may very well be the only way to do it.


Randy C.

 

Don't mean to hijack, but if anyone out there might have a Ladendorf Motors (Des Plaines IL.) or a Crown Olds (Marshfield WI.) badge I will make it worth your while.

 

Why on earth would you want to put a dealer name plate on the car after it's been restored. Dealer name plates were never on the car from the factory, they were...dealer...advertising. period. I wouldn't put it back on the car, just weld up those holes and make the car look original. You can always keep the dealer name plate and attach it to a provenance board that goes with the car for display if you want. No point spending money on something that IMO is completely a waste of time.

 

I personally agree with Allan with regards to the name plate - I'd keep it in my collection but I wouldn't put it on the car. BUT...if I found a license plate frame from the original dealer, I'd be real tempted to restore it and install it! Randy

 

X3. Back in the day, all these were good for was starting rust where the trunklid was drilled for the pop rivets. Besides, unless the emblem was for a dealership like Berejik, why bother?

While I'm asking questions, why do people always post "not to hijack this thread..." JUST BEFORE they hijack the thread?

 

I agree with Allan. I was lucky enough to find somebody on here that had one from Empire Olds in Denver where my 54 was sold. I really wasn't even looking for one but was glad to get it. I sure as heck am not going to punch holes in my trunk to put it on the car though.

 

Know why - at least in my case? Because I am really not wanting to hijack the thread! Yes - it is that simple. No master plan, no conspiracy to take over the conversation - just hoping - in the collaborative spirit that is supposed to be embodied in site - to maybe find someone who might have what I am looking for and could contact me about it.

The whole curmudgeon thing gets old some days.

 

Thanks for all the responses. Everyone is making some very valid points on things I have not thought of. I am glad I posted this here. It is good to get your input.

 

One thing I do think is kind of neat, and I've helped a fellow member out with. IF you have the original selling dealer key fob for the OEM keys? I think that adds a little to the provenance. Sure it's advertising, but GM never offered the key fobs to hold the 2 sets of keys and punchouts you got with your car. I still have one more key fob from Stedelbauer's but sure wish I could get one from Golden Mile Chev Olds.

 

Interesting Allan. I have a key fob for my 54 from Modern Olds in Dallas and it has the old short phone number without a prefix. It was not where my car was sold but it is in the area where I live. I probably paid some ridiculous price for it on ebay. I also found original keys with the knockouts and had them cut.

 

If by some chance the dealership is still in business and used to sell Oldsmobile's as well as other GM cars (example, Cavender and Gunn in San Antonio, TX used to be an Olds dealerships, they are still in business and sell Buick's and GMC Trucks) why not give them a call? They might have a bunch of the old badges or plate frames just sitting in a box somewhere.
Just a thought...

 

Thanks for the idea Chris but they have been gone longer than Oldsmobile.