Projects 1949 Oldsmobile model 76 mild custom commissioned job

Friend is picking up a 47 Pontiac.
Comes with a 350/350.

that’s what will go in it.

What makes em go is not as important as miking them go.

It’s all iron chunks with holes

 

Silver might look good but this example is a 2 door.

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A 350 would certainly fit but I doubt it will be a simple swap.
Best to just see if the original engine will run after getting it unstuck. Anything else will cost much more. A good color change paint job will cost as much if not more than a basic engine swap. I’d say just enjoy as it is since it’s a more door.

 

We have paint materials and labor covered. I'm an experienced paint and body guy and he gets an employee discount at O'Reilly. And our O'Reilly sells automotive paint and supplies

 

I would try to get the 6 running and drive the car while you look for a Rocket engine and Hydromatic to put in it. I think the green may well be the original color. I have never seen a color change on a car that age where they changed the color of the firewall. Door jams yes but firewall never.

 

As for styling, just like any graphic, you're taking a risk with scallops, flames or the like. If you get the look right, it's fantastic. If you get the look wrong, you'd have been better off going with a solid color. I think these cars can be tricky in getting a scallop layout right since scallops are very linear, and these cars have nothing but curves. Certainly doable, but tricky.

Also, the Hagan headlights in that silver car pictured are 10x more offensive than a SBC could ever be. That said, I agree with what many have posted. It's worth trying to see if you can get that 6 cylinder unstuck. Even a few expensive parts to get it running would be cheaper and less work than a full drivetrain swap.

 

Just say no to Hagans

 

https://journal.classiccars.com/2021/11/14/pick-of-the-day-1949-oldsmobile-88-california-custom-built-back-in-the-day/

 

Eh in this case I believe the firewall was color changed. They jammed it mostly when they painted it but you can see the "blend" in the jams where the green overlaps the original gray. And in person the grey interior paint looks much older than the green paint

 

I have seen a few cars of the era where some of the steel seen on the doors was painted a metallic grey. They thought at the dealership the car had been repainted from that color. Stripping revealed it wasn’t. The color that was on the car was the original color.

 

I never even heard of Hagans nor how offensive a set of lights can be. I learned something new.
The rest of that car looked very HAMB friendly.

 

The problem with the Hagans is that you wear them on the front of the car. It's like having a wart. If it's on your ass nobody sees it. But if it's on your face, it's really unsightly.

 

I dig the car.
But once you see other frenched headlights the hagans just look off
The 52-54 ford and Merc headlight rings frenched is hard to beat.
There’s others as well that look good

 

The best way to find out what color it was is to look at the paint code on it. Then you can look it up and you’ll know for sure.

 

Why are colors being discussed when the mechanical restoration/modifications have not even begun?
Brakes, electrical wiring, 12 volt upgrade, fuel tank cleaning/restoration, etc. etc. etc.

 

Because I like to plan the whole build as much as possible before diving in

 

Also when we went to look at it Monday he started off griping about the green lol. If it was my car in the shape it's in I wouldn't bother the paint till after a bunch of body modifications were done. And then likely do stuff like panel paint or scallops to hide bodywork

 

That would be the smart way and cheaper way to do things. Just pick a color he does like and do scallops or something to cover most of the green. This way the green becomes a secondary color instead of the primary color.

 

So your customer wants a nicely painted car that still can't be driven?

 

Body, paint, brakes, and engine and transmission are all part of the whole build i mentioned planning out. Plus body and paint takes a lot more planning than an engine swap.....in fact we've actually had the engine swap planned out for months down to the hardware despite him only deciding a couple days ago to at least start ordering parts for it.

 

Style, colors, interior…….were all planned out before starting the build in my pro days.
There may be a few alternates, 2-3 color choices but the overall goal was figured out before we started building

 

Big deal on planning the full build for me is making sure everything works together. Not just end up with a car with a bunch of random modifications and aftermarket parts piled on it. Plus stuff like final paint scheme will affect stuff like engine color. This car it's narrowed a bit as aside from a hidden stereo and maybe a different steering wheel and/or shifter and a new floor mat we are leaving the interior completely alone

 

Too many small variables can change.

those major ones can kill a build or cause a significant waist of $$$$$

 

Were actually planning this one more thoroughly than I did my 53 Chevy. My 53 had no sentimental value (aside from being my first true vintage car where the deal didn't go wonky) and even now is in no where near as good a shape as my buddy's 49 olds. Also my 53 has always been intended to be a real daily driver for me ever since the idea of buying it popped up. My buddy wants to be able to daily drive the 49 olds but it will actually be an occasional use car. Basically after his son is born he wants to be able to go to Truman lake for a picnic or go to a cruise in KC. And will use as a daily driver to work at least a few weeks during the summer....bout ten miles each way at 70 mph. So even if it gets a vintage engine it will get a modern transmission. And as it is in far better shape than my 53 was(still better shape honestly lol) along with the sentimental value he has with it he's not wanting to just hack it together. Basically any changes we do to it we're trying to make sure they're well done and work well together. And that the car actually works well. He has a lot of patience for quirky vehicles but his wife not so much......but she does like the idea of a custom vintage car and as long as anything we do has a decent amount of functionality or visual appeal she has no problem with him spending money on it. So a well planned build will help with all of that lol

 

Don’t you know where your going or atleast have a good idea before you leave you’re house?

 

So build may change a lil bit. Like mentioned we really wanted to put an early olds V8 in it. In fact that's part of why we were focusing on other stuff instead of procuring a 96-03 350 for it(Vans still got the reg 350 till 03). Anyway managed to find a guy on marketplace that apparently has a small stash of early olds "cores"....a listing for a 394 core is what got me talking to him. After telling him why I was interested he said he'd take a closer look at the condition and that he had several other early olds. Said he'd look to see if he had a build able 303 or 324. Said he should at least have stuff we'd need for one like mounts and brackets. So an early olds is back in the realm of possibilities

 

Lumpy63, upload a picture of my brothers '49 olds

 

@lumpy 63 , see prior post.

 

Post a useable (for their purpose) picture on the "Photoshop" thread and let those guys run with it in terms of color.

 

Here's Steve's Olds, not a custom, not finished , but it has a blown sbc so the haters can hate away