EVEN MORE HISTORY One such example of the height of the Kustom movement is “Joanne’s Dream”. This remarkable automobile started life as a 1954 Oldsmobile Super 88 coupe and was completely transformed in period. Before its radical transformation, this Olds was used as a daily driver in the early 1960s while in the possession of Tom and Joanne Archer. It was Joanne’s dream to build a custom show car and the Olds served as the perfect staring point. Rather than simply applying a lick of paint and some pin stripes, Tom went completely nuts and transformed the 54 Olds into a totally unique and truly individual kustom car. Barely recognizable as the donor Super 88, the now-fully restored machine features a unique roof line and a handmade El Camino-style pickup bed. Starting at the front end, the modified 55 DeSoto grille is the first thing you notice, along with the quad headlights which were lifted from a 1957 Plymouth and grafted into the Olds fenders. The original hood was stamped with louvers and smoothed to be free of trim and badges. Corvette-inspired coves behind the front and rear wheel arches were custom made and fitted to the body and 1959 Plymouth Belvedere trim graces the body sides. The roof line was of course heavily chopped and 1961 Corvair air ducts were integrated into it. In the rear, the wild looking custom bed features red oak planks in the floor, 1958 Corvette taillights in the top of the fenders, and 1963 Impala tail lights below. Six (count ‘em!) exhausts exit from the rear, through side mounted lake pipes, and through stacks cut in the bed just behind the cab. The detailing is simply astounding and everywhere you look you find bits and pieces that were lifted from other cars and seamlessly integrated into this incredible piece. Under the louvered hood is the original 371 Rocket 88 Olds engine, which was dressed with a number of speed parts. A Weiland dual-quad intake, Offenhauser finned alloy valve covers adorn the engine, and accessories such as the power steering reservoir, generator, pulleys and heater motor have been chrome plated. Joanne’s Dream was discovered in 2008 as a hulk sitting behind a Fort Worth, TX hot rod shop. Alan Lewenthal had never seen anything like it, and soon began to discover this was a rare survivor from the golden age of the Kustom car scene. Following extensive research, a painstaking restoration was handled by Marquis Auto Restorations of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Restoring a custom car of this type required specialized skills and knowledge, and the countless bits of trim and detailing that were sourced from other cars had to be identified. Traditional methods such as lead filler were used to restore the body to its former glory and it now presents in truly stunning condition, finished in its original lurid purple over white paint scheme, and period correct reverse chrome wheels. 1962 Impala bucket seats are trimmed in white upholstery as is the Impala center console (with unique shift lever) and custom rolled dash pad. Even the bed sides are trimmed in matching white vinyl. The entire restoration carefully returned this car to the show quality standard it enjoyed when it was a star on the auto-show circuit in the mid-1960s. National Geographic produced a documentary for their program Dream Car Archaeology which followed the restoration process, and in January 2009 at the Chicago World of Wheels show, the car was awarded a prestigious George Barris Elegance Award, a Best In Class and a named Most Outstanding Radical Custom Hardtop. We can’t imagine what Joanne’s reaction was when she first saw her Olds Super 88 fully transformed. But we’d like to believe it was a dream come true.
Congrats @Austinrod, you're live'n the dream really...even if some are short-lived just turning the key and going for a drive must be something you will cherish forever...
"Under the louvered hood is the original 371 Rocket 88 Olds engine, which was dressed with a number of speed parts. A Weiland dual-quad intake, Offenhauser finned alloy valve covers adorn the engine, and accessories such as the power steering reservoir, generator, pulleys and heater motor have been chrome plated. Joanne’s Dream was discovered in 2008 as a hulk sitting behind a Fort Worth, TX hot rod shop. " Not that it really matters now as the car has been astoundingly restored to its former glory...but here are some revisions to the story... Congrats on the buy!! I owned the car briefly in the unrestored brown configuration with the molded in front bumper. I bought the car off of Ebay. The guy that I got the car from, bought it from someone who saw the car on a flatbed headed to the scrap yard I believe. It had been drug out of someone's garage or property The car was very original in many ways to the original version even when I had it. It had 3 of its 4 original wheels and tires. I got the engine to run..actually sounded good. It was probably its original 324 with chrome valve covers..and many other chrome bits under the hood. It was single 4 barrel. No doubt the car was a Super 88 and the engine and trans were mostly stock. So the guy in TX hadn't really discovered it..it had been on Ebay twice. Once when I bought it and once when I sold it.
Yup..thats exactly as I had it.. it didn't even have that Ford looking open element air cleaner. When I got it..it had no seats and no headlight bezels...I found those and added it to the car....so....youre welcome...lol!!
Facebook video https://www.facebook.com/stories/2049778871760194/UzpfSVNDOjE1MTYyNDIxMjkzNDk3OTc=/?view_single=1&source=shared_permalink
This was the one I always wanted, if it was ever for sale, but my days of even thinking of owning such a cool rig like this one, are just dreams left unfulfilled at this point. I always loved this rig, however impractical it appears, to me its still fucking cool! Thanks from Dennis.
I have the 54 at a shop getting worked on Needs 1. Brake peddle needs fixing maybe booster too 2. Fuel pump is bad 3. Both carbs working ones blocked off 4. Gas peddle needs fixing might modify an existing 54 peddle with current setup. Getting a 110 inspection walk around will let you know.
The Jalopy Journal
