Yes! It was actually about 8 miles from my house. Just had to wait for the rains to stop. Can’t get that car wet. Nearly finished with a 40 ford and will start digging into the drivetrain on the Buick. It’s a very good car.
Updates: so apparently the car was owned by someone who had Joe wilhelm and Vern lacey custom the car. Who is this mystery person? Apparently it sat in a driveway for many years afterwards unfinished. (Paint/interior/etc) in the San Jose-Salinas area… Harold olsen purchased the vehicle having rod Powell do body/paint. Butch Hurley did the corvette grill. Then was sent to Arizona to have interior done. Still in need of the early pics and info.. apparently Joe wilhelm didn’t take many pics and was a little uneducated so not a lot of documentary.. any help is greatly appreciated.
Small update: the car was originally bought in Salinas ca. a local guy owned it and immediately it was customized. At first Joe wilhelm did the rear treatment. Then some time after the front was done by Vern Lacey local to Salinas who owned a body shop. The original owner was said to possibly be Chinese and worked at local grocery stores. Car was green with primer spots and had been seen driving by local high school and lived near it as well. Does anyone have any pics from Salinas ca 1956-59 era?? Cruise, diner, car show?
Yes I got the car running and has hood compression. Need to drain gas tank and replace some fuel lines before it can be driven.
cool, the way I understood it was that Harold blew the engine up and sold it to the Cobers that way. It was rebuilt very shortly before it was parked at Starbirds.. It can't have many miles on it at all....
I have met Bob Dron and his wife ,at his place at time in Isleton California,Some of the nicest people you could ever meet.The Wild Dream,was purchase by One of the Goombahs ,i was told sitting in a garage in san jose. He had it @ The Willow Glen cars show the goombahs put on and then sold it I believe.
It is now official. The early customized 54 Buick by Joe Wilhelm / Vern Lacey and later painted by Rod Powell is once again road worthy, running strong, and ready to cruise! Great day today. Turns out Harold Olsen only had the car a brief time. So the title should go to the builders..
Fantastic! Makes me even more jealous I didn't pull the trigger and buy it, but even more happy it went to a great home that got her back on the road. If it had landed at my house, it would still be sitting there waiting it's turn. LOL
I knew Joe Wilhelm, his shop on Stockton Ave. was like 'hallowed'. I recall his chopping the Clif Inman '57 Chrysler, mentioned it to some 'know-it-all' from THIS location and got a wild answer: "Oh, Wilhelm doesn't chop tops, he sent that out to the "???" brothers..." Can't recall whom, but how do these stories get started???
Congratulations!! Kool to see the Buick back on the road. It was kool to see it at Starbird's museum but looked sad it wasn't being driven You can post pics and videos daily, we won't get tired seeing it.
Hi there, I am Harold Olsen’s granddaughter. I have tried reaching out to the current owner (or I think) of his cars via Facebook to see if my mom (Harold’s daughter) and I could see the cars. He passed before I was born, so I would love to see some of the cars in person. My phone number is (831) 601-7351, please give me a call if you’re the owner and feel comfortable with us viewing. We still all live in Carmel, CA and are willing to travel. I appreciate all of your kind words about my grandpa, I showed my mother as well, she’s very happy.
Looks like @50bomb sold it in the classifieds here on the HAMB in May of 2023. I'm not sure who you are trying to contact on facebook, whether or not it is the current owner of this Buick?? You might try to contact 50bomb thru the "start a conversation" feature here. Hover over his avatar and the clickable link should appear. He would likely have contact info for the person he sold it to. Worth a try. Good luck.
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