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Hi. I recently found an old shell of some sort of Oldsmobile. Pretty sure it’s a truck from the 1930’s or 40’s or 50’s. The door had Oldsmobile written on it. There are the photos. If anyone could tell me the year and model it is, that would be great. It’s not much to go on.
Thanks. Email me at stock61863@mead354.org
Pretty sure it’s a truck from the 1930’s or 40’s or 50’s.
The photos show a split front windshield, and Oldsmobile went to a one-piece front windshield in 1950, so yes, the guesses above sound right. Probably a late '40s car.
Last edited by jaunty75; September 29th, 2018 at 07:32 PM.
I changed my mind. It's gotta be from earlier. That "Oldsmobile" on the door is very Art Deco-looking, which suggests 1930s. Plus, look at any photos or dealer brochures of 1940s Oldsmobiles, and none of them have "Oldsmobile" on the door like that. And the doors aren't ridged like that. In fact, I can't find ANY Oldsmobile that had ridged doors. Are we sure that's a door and not a hood or front fender, or perhaps even a trunk lid?
Last edited by jaunty75; September 29th, 2018 at 07:39 PM.
OK, I changed my mind again. It's a '46. I can't explain the door, but compare the dash in the photo below, which is of a '46, with the dash in question. The two big oblong pods with rounded corners are the same. The location of the radio is the same. The button with the keyhole just above the center of the right-side pod is the same. The trim between the pods is the same, including the shape of the long strip at the bottom which has some control ***** on it.
The dash on the '47 Olds was very similar but the shape of the trim pieces between the pods ran vertically, instead of horizontally, so it's not an exact match.
Last edited by jaunty75; September 29th, 2018 at 08:12 PM.
Pretty sure it’s a truck from the 1930’s or 40’s or 50’s.
It's not a truck . Oldsmobile did not make trucks during this era . Only in the teens and twenties .
It is a car that may have been converted into a truck .
The dash certainly looks like 46 thru 48 .
Look around the cowl and you may find a Fisher Body plate . Post a picture of that , and we can tell you the exact year and model .
It's not a '48 for the same reason it's not a '47. The dash trim between the pods, which was the same for '47 and '48, is different from the OP's car. It's definitely a '46.
I guess you learn something new everyday . The article explains that these were re-badged GMC trucks , offered only on the international market , mostly to Australia .
I knew that some models of GMC trucks were powered by Oldsmobile engines until 1939 when GMC developed it's own 6 cylinder engine .
Great detective work Nailheadcanuck. I'd never really studied 46 Olds in detail and noticed the difference between 46 and 47/48 in the area that covers the radio speaker. So few significant differences from 46 through 48 I just lumped them into being 98 percent alike. I do know 48 tail lights are diffferent that 46 and 47 by virtue of being different shape and mounted on the fender rather than on body.
Jerry
Location: Sherwood Park, Alberta, in the Great White North
Posts: 359
Not bad for a Buick guy eh? LOL!
Olds was all about Art-Deco in the 30s and 40s; probably the most out of any of the manufacturers. They had some of the wildest ideas for dashboards and interiors in that age, - check out the 1938 interior with it's cool switchgear. It's one of the reasons why their styling was always so contemporary; they were right "with-it" all the way up to the Seventies, and then they started going really conservative and started to lose their way and their market share. That was the point where they became "your father's Oldsmobile" and the darlings of the blue-hair set. .
[QUOTE=jaunty75;1127873]The photos show a split front windshield, and Oldsmobile went to a one-piece front windshield in 1950, so yes, the guesses above sound right. Probably a late '40s car.[/QUOTE
Not that it matters on this post but early 50's Oldsmobile's still came out with split windshields till the factory exhausted supplies of window parts. Not often seen but they are around still.... Tedd
I changed my mind. It's gotta be from earlier. That "Oldsmobile" on the door is very Art Deco-looking, which suggests 1930s. Plus, look at any photos or dealer brochures of 1940s Oldsmobiles, and none of them have "Oldsmobile" on the door like that. And the doors aren't ridged like that. In fact, I can't find ANY Oldsmobile that had ridged doors. Are we sure that's a door and not a hood or front fender, or perhaps even a trunk lid?
It may not be a door. It was partially buried in the ground.
That looks a lot like my part of the country, Southern Oregon. And historically it was common for people to take dead cars and junk out to the woods and dump it over the bank. I'm not asking for the specific location, but what part of the country/world did you find this in?
This may be difficult to say. Olds offered four series in '46, the 66, 76, 78, and 98, where the second digit indicated how many cylinders the engine had. There were undoubtedly interior trim differences among these models, and without examples of each, we probably can't tell.
The '46 Olds brochure doesn't show the dash of every model. There is one image that is apparently the dash of the '76 and '78 series and another that it undefined. Both look like the dash on the car you found. It may be that the dash trim was the same for all four series, in which case we could not tell from the remains you found which specific model it is.
I'm going to say it's a Model 66 based on the notch in the dash trim slightly above your hand and just to the left of that dash ****. Not the U shaped column mount hanging down, but the actual notch in the chrome trim piece. I'm pretty sure only the Model 66 had that notch
I should have said the 60 series, not just the 66. Not sure why the 60 series has it and the rest don't, but every time I've seen one without it it was on the larger series cars.
Edit: it could be because the 60 series is a shorter wheel base so the column comes up at a steeper angle needing a notch in the trim, but that would just be my guess
Last edited by Sporty45; October 1st, 2018 at 11:10 AM.
I should have said the 60 series, not just the 66.
I think that's a distinction without a difference. The 60 series consisted only of the 66. Only 70-series had two lines, the 76 and 78, and the difference there was probably only in the engine, not the interior details.
I think that's a distinction without a difference. The 60 series consisted only of the 66. Only 70-series had two lines, the 76 and 78, and the difference there was probably only in the engine, not the interior details.
Please forgive me, I meant the larger series cars had the notch, not the 60 series. While I'm no expert here, I do know the difference in some of the interior details, such as the dash. Here is a picture of my 1947 Model 66 dash. Notice it has no notch.
Really? 1946 Oldsmobiles had running boards? Where? I don't see any on any of the cars pictured in the '46 Olds brochure. Here's the front cover.
I am referring to the rubber step under the door. I have always called it a running board. It's in this pic of a chevy, I couldn't find any pics of an Olds. The Chevy looks identical to my Olds. Sorry for the confusion, but it's still not a door!
I think that's a distinction without a difference. The 60 series consisted only of the 66. Only 70-series had two lines, the 76 and 78, and the difference there was probably only in the engine, not the interior details.
September 29th, 2018, 05:18 PM
