Oldsmobile 1955 - 1956 - 1957 custom & mild custom

1956 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Holiday AIR RIDE SUSPENSION

 Looking for a great starting point on a family cruiser? This is a very solid Olds 98 Holiday that has lived in Kentucky for the last 20 years and Wyoming all years prior. Many original parts remain and sizeable box of spare parts are also included! Factory AC car but the compressor is not connected, starts right up and makes good power. Transmission shifts smoothly and changes from gear to gear with no hesitation or clunking. The brake system needs a total overhaul. Perfect for adding power disks to at least the front axle. Air Ride Technologies bag system, this big car really "gets down" for a car show stance or just to draw a crowd at your favorite watering hole. Cool cool cool. The Continental Kit is aftermarket and easily removable, but it fits this cars persona. Minimal rust, very solid frame, hard to find a better starting point for a hot rod!

One of the historic custom cars we are trying to get for the Customs by the Sea car show is an old Herb Gary Connecticut custom known as the Oriental. Thanks to Russell Yacyniak we now have recent photos of the car, taken in October of 2013.
Kustorama

Back in the main show now, I stumbled across this very aggressively done ’55 Oldsmobile. When a car has been customized to this degree, the front bumper is one of the only things that gives away its origins.



Even for experts, it can sometimes be quite a challenge to correctly identify the custom cars that have been altered so heavily from their factory origins.



One of the defining features of this custom Olds was the dramatic roof chop – the windshield was only around a foot tall at its center section. As you can see from the interior view, this one looks to be a work in progress.



Bold, bullet style wheel covers are the perfect choice to sit beneath the airbagged body.



In most cases the aggressive Lead Sled style is mostly seen on earlier model cars, but this Oldsmobile shows that it can also be very effective on mid ’50s models.

http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/09/billetproof-spotlight-o-rama/

http://www.customcarchronicle.com/forums/topic/mid-50s-chopped-customs/
You don’t see to many mid ’50’s customs with chopped tops. Obvious reason is the wrap around windows that are hard to chop. But still they have been done in the 1950’s with deferent outcomes. Some looked great, others just did not work, had cracked windows, or even dividers to solve the problem of windshield that did not fit the cut down openings.
Today we rarely see a nice chopped mid 1950’s customs.
So it was a nice surprise to see this very nicely done 1956 Oldsmobile from Bruns Kustom City.
I don’t think this shop actually chopped the car, but they sure took it into the right direction.
I really like the proportions on this one, all it needs is a nicely polished window trim…
Any more mid 1950’s chopped customs… then or now.
Photos from the Bruns Kustom City Facebook.

1955 OLDSMOBILE SUPER 88 HOLIDAY

ORIGINAL CALIFORNIA CAR, BUILT IN SOUTHGATE, CALIFORNIA PLANT
GOOD RUNNING 324 CUI V8 WITH A 4 BARREL CARBURETOR
SMOOTH SHIFTING HYDRA-MATIC TRANSMISSION
BEAUTIFUL POLAR WHITE OVER GLEN GREEN PAINT WITH NO RUST ANYWHERE
COOL CONTINENTAL KIT
NON-FUNCTIONAL STAINLESS LAKER SIDE PIPES
FIBERGLASS CRUISER FENDER SKIRTS
VERY NICE, BRILLIANT CHROME AND BRIGHT WORK
NICE CHROME 15 INCH WIRE WHEELS
LIKE NEW RADIAL WIDE WHITE WALL TIRES
FACTORY POWER ASSISTED BRAKES
ALL LIGHTS AND TURN SIGNALS WORK
GREEN AND WHITE LEATHER INTERIOR IS IN GREAT CONDITION
ALL INTERIOR CHROME IS IN GREAT SHAPE
AFTERMARKET INDASH DIGITAL AM/FM RADIO WITH MP3 HOOK UP

Backyard builder .. A '56 Olds I did... Finished for George Tyler, Started for Larry Ayers while I was in high school