Came across this photo on another site and wondered if anyone knew what it is ..... My best guess is that it's a 42 GM something but I don't remember ever seeing one like it.
Looks like a '46-'48 Chevy coupe... but I don't recognize the front grill. Not sure if that was a different grill I've never seen or someone made it?
That grille bar would look nice in a Merc or a shoebox! Other than that, the front of that Olds is a tad on the ugly side!
It's hard to tell from the photo you posted or the original ad if those stock bumper guards were made to look like they were supporting a floating grill bar. The guards on the car I posted are HUGE. I don't think I've ever seen a car with bumper guards that are wide like those are.
I found another drawing for this car that looks like it may have been on the cover of a brochure .....
Hip, I knew it was an Olds by the peaked fenders and hood, but I had never seen a 42 before. I think its awesome, eye of the beholder. Thanx for showing it. ~Sololobo~
When my Grandaddy returned from WWII he needed a car as he was a Doctor and was starting his residency in Wash DC. The Gov. had a ban on selling cars so no matter how hard he tried he couldnt find one. He relayed the story to his father in El Paso, Tx who located a brand new 46 Olds in a showroom but the dealer wasnt allowed to sell it. My grandfather had to contact the president of GM and beg him to do whatever possible so he could purchase the car. The pres of GM contacted congress and got their OK to sell the car...... of co**** my GranDad said it was the worst car he ever owned, was in the shop more than on the road, traded it for a 49 Buick and said that was the finest riding car ever!!!!
Did anyone take the time to read the ad that HotRodJeep posted? It talks about getting approval to purchase a new car and about rationing and quotas. Interesting stuff that was going on just before Pearl Harbor was bombed and car production was halted because of WWII. I wonder how many 42 Olds were built.
42 Olds in the "90" Series were referred to the "98" models. The Series "98" 4-door sedans a total of 4,672 were built. 42 Olds "98" Convertible 216 built before the halt of automotive production. 42 Olds Dynamic Cruiser "76" model was similar to the 41 and 9,166 built. Olds placed 6th for the calendar year from the sale of 12,230 vechicals. This information per Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930 to 1942 by James H. Moloney
The fact the front bumper would have been changed could also mean this was a "blackout car", which means it would have come with wooden (!!!) bumpers... These started, I believe, after January '42.
Sorry no "wooden bumpers". (World War II began to affect 1942 U.S. p***enger cars even before the order came to suspend production by February. In October 1941, the War Production Board forbade the use of bright trim on other than bumpers and bumper guards. Plated parts could be used if painted over; Oldsmobile had perhaps the only ad showing a so-called "blackout car.") This info from Kit Fosters CarPort July 2005
According to Cars of the 40's by the auto editors of Consumer Guide: Oldsmobile produced 67,783 total cars for the year 1942, placing 7th in production. 1941 totaled 265,864 cars (almost 4 times as many) produced by Oldsmobile and ranked 6th, so I think it's safe to say the 42's were cut very short compared to previous years. Also an interesting tidbit was in 1940 Oldsmobile offered the industry's first fully automatic transmission known as the Hydramatic. So that 42 Olds in the picture could be an original AT car. I think its OK looking for an art deco look, but the 46's had a huge inprovement in the grill looks.
The Jalopy Journal
