A GDYNETS® PUBLICATION © 2016, G. DAVID YAROS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Car Collector Chronicles ®
Volume IX, Issue 5
Exploring:
Ca
Car Collecting Today
High RPMs
Classic Rides Reports From the Field Oldsmobile (1897-2004) Cadillac (1902- ) Allanté (1987-1993)
Corvair (1960-1969)
◄ = Clickable Link
IN THIS ISSUE: High RPMs
1
Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile
2
A Look at 1916
4
Pics to Ponder
5
By now most have uncovered and fired-up their rides. We have had a few nice days here in SE WI, but winter has not yet departed. It is not at all uncommon for us to still see a 30 degree difference in our daily high temps. Soon they shall be firing up the engines at Indy. This year marks the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 race. It is a bucket list event. I was fortunate, while in college, to live a stone’s throw from the track. Additionally, our phys ed teacher was also the track fire chief. I had some pretty unique access to the track happenings in the month of May during my college years. I vividly recall standing on pit road taking pictures during practice one year when a racer came in and appeared to be heading right at me,
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and fast. In fact he was doing just that in an effort to quickly reach the fire station. Burning racing fuel does not emit a visible flame. I did not know that, just like I did not know that I was standing smack, dab in the middle of the pit row fire station! To get out of his way I jumped over the retaining wall! May Automotive Milestones 1-1954 Nash and Hudson merge to form AMC 2-1918 Chevrolet joins GM 3-1899 Packard begins operation 6-1928 Chrysler introduces De Soto 10-1923 GM names Alfred P. Sloan president 11-1947 B.F. Goodrich announces tubeless tire 14-1969 Last Corvair 17-1868 Horace Dodge born, Niles, Michigan 19-1903 Buick Motor Co. incorporates 21-1901 Connecticut enacts
1st speed-limit law 22-1929 Debut flight of the Goodyear Blimp 23-1875 Alfred Sloan, Jr., born, New Haven, CT 28-1937 VW founded 29-1946 1st Kaiser-Frazer 30-1911 1st Indy 500 31-1927 Last Model T
- Time to uncover the car!
GDYNets® on the Web Find GDYNets on the web:
CCC® Forum EMail:
May 2016
s
Car Collector Chronicles® ◄ Saved 62 ◄-Our 1962 Olds convertible, Ransom Eli Olds and things Oldsmobile related web site. The Gray Lady ◄-1955 Cadillac Coupé de Ville web site.
SAVED 62: A website devoted
to our 1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 convertible. The site also has a lot of information on Oldsmobile cars and the company founder, Ransom Eli Olds.
THE GRAY LADY: This website features our 1955 Cadillac Coupé de Ville, lots of Caddy information and an extensive repair library.
DAVE’S DEN: ◄-A site devoted to a myriad of interests. Foremost is extensive information on the “Steel City” of Gary, IN. There are also offerings on steel making, U.S. Steel-Gary Works, U.S. Marine Corps, M14 assault rifle, of course Oldsmobile, and the tragic story of the murder of Gary, IN Police Lt. George Yaros.
Car Collector Chronicles
Page 2
Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile
“My first question is what do you see?”
I recently came across a photo of an Oldsmobile of which I was not aware. One reason was that it was one of many concepts created by the Olds division of GM. While some are well known, such as the 1954 F88 that Barrett-Jackson hammered at $3.2 Million a few years back, others are a bit obscure. The photo I saw was of an Oldsmobile XP-888. It is a 1970 era machine. Oldsmobile officially described it as: An entry level sports car, featuring a series of interchangeable rear compartment covers; including fastback, pickup and wagon variations. I am a little at a loss to appreciate why in 1970 Oldsmobile thought that it needed an “entry level sports car” in its line? After all, through 1970 Oldsmobile had already sold 155,552 4-4-2 automobiles. Also, in that year an Olds 4-4-2 with a 455 c.i. V8 paced the Indianapolis race. For whatever reason, the minds in charge determined creating the XP-888 was a good idea. Here is the result of that exercise. My first question is, what do you see? I see a Chevy Camaro front-end/doghouse. Or, is it a Pontiac Trans Am? The rearend looks to have Corvette genes? Some may see Studebaker Avanti lines in the body, and I would not argue the point. So where is the XP-888 today? Is it still extant? A check of the GM Heritage Center web site ◄ yields no mention of the car. That is not unusual. It was quite common for concept vehicles to be destroyed. If that was its fate, it is too bad. She was a nice looking ride! I ran across an earlier engineering and design effort which I found to be quite appealing. It was the 1953 Oldsmobile X-P Rocket. This car was constructed on a a fullsized, B-body chassis. The lines flow quite well, given the 203 inch long fiberglass shell. The X-P Rocket was Oldsmobile’s first GM Motorama concept car. It was named after the Lockheed F-94B Starfire. Features presented to the motoring public for the first time were the large oval-mouthed grille, a wraparound windshield, bucket seats and a fiberglass body that incorporated a “Darrin Dip” in the beltline. The headlights were encased in plastic bubbles. Reportedly three examples were built. I know of none still in existence.
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Car Collector Chronicles
Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile—Cont’d. The last Oldsmobile I want to present is the 1959 F88 Mk. III. It was given to Harley Earl for his personal use on retirement. His “retirement gold watch,” so to speak. Its color was bright red. It featured a retractable aluminum hardtop which closed when moisture was detected by the rain sensor. Reportedly, this feature did not function reliably. The car sat on a 102 inch wheelbase, sported turbine styled wheels and stood only 46 inches off the ground. The engine was fuel injected and produced 250 h.p. Unique to the car was the muffler/exhaust system. It was mounted to the front of the engine and exited forward of the front wheels. While Harley Earl did drive the car for a few years, his successor Bill Mitchell ordered the car be returned to GM and scrapped. All indications are that this order was duly carried out.
“[T]he muffler/ exhaust system … was mounted to the front of the engine and exited forward of the front wheels.”
All I can say is, it sure would be nice to be able to go cruising around in this machine. One would not have to ask twice if I wanted to borrow the car! I can’t imagine the emotions that had to be stirring inside the individuals doing the scrapping. I wonder what they were thinking, feeling at the time?
Car Collector Chronicles
Page 4;;
Still Firing on All 8 It was noted in the May Automotive Milestones that 30 May marks the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 race. Another automotive entity is also celebrating its 100th birthday. That would be ACDelco™. When one thinks AC one thinks spark plugs. AC spark plugs powered the engine of Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, as well as the planes of Amelia Earhart and Richard Byrd. AC spark plugs powered Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1 in 1947 when he broke the sound barrier. The rocket sending Neil Armstrong to the moon in 1969 was ignited by AC spark plugs. ACDelco™ electrical components also helped to transport astronauts across the lunar surface. I do not know how many are aware that “AC” are the initials of Albert Champion, as in Champion spark plugs. He founded the company, and subsequently lost control of it. Ultimately, he also lost the right to use the Champion name. Having lost his spark plug company, he turned to William Durant in 1908 to continue making spark plugs. That year the name AC Spark Plug was trademarked. In 1909 the spark plug company was purchased by General Motors. It became a division of GM in 1933. The other half of ACDelco™, Delco, is the offspring of United Motor Co. (UMC); yet another Durant creation. It came into being in 1916 and consisted of the Hyatt Roller Bearing Co., ball bearing manufacturer New Departure, Remy Electric, Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co. (DELCO) and the Perlman Rim Corp. Initially, UMC sold its products to any automobile manufacturer that wanted to buy. That ended in 1918, when General Motors acquired the company. GM renamed the corporation United Motors Service and made it a GM division in 1944. In 1960 United Motors Service became United Delco. AC and United Delco were merged into AC-Delco in 1974 by GM. There were a couple of notables associated with the entities making up UMC. Alfred Sloan was at Hyatt. He went on to become the president of GM. Charles Kettering was with Delco. Kettering invented the electric car starter. No longer having to hand crank the engine made the automobile accessible to a far wider market. Delco engineers also brought us electric lights for cars, permitting the use of the automobile after dark. These same engineers created leaded gas and came up with the 4-wheel braking system. Leaded gas functioned to reduce engine knock and lubricate engine valves and seats. Perhaps the most remarkable feat of the folks at Delco had to do with a battery, in this instance an airplane battery. On 29 Feb 1944 a plane went down over Lake Michigan. When it was brought to the surface in 1996, 52 years later, the battery still cranked!
A Look at 1916 U.S. population:was approximately 102 Million – 30% of the 2016 population Film star Charlie Chaplin received a weekly pay of $10,000 – The equivalent of $218,000 today There were 109½ telephones for every 1,000 people in the U.S. This number jumped to 588 by 1970 and, thanks to mobile phones, 847 by 2007 U.S. States numbered 48 – New Mexico and Arizona became states four years earlier (1912), but Alaska and Hawaii would not be granted statehood for another forty-three years (1959) A First Class Postage Stamp cost 2¢ – The equivalent of 44¢ today The cost of a loaf of bread was 7¢ The average price for a car was $400 The world’s tallest structure was the Eiffel Tower Einstein completed formulation of his general “Theory of Relativity” Electric refrigerators were first offered for sale, for $900 Coca-Cola started using their new contoured bottle Mr. Peanut was created Montana voters elect the first woman to serve in the U.S. Congress, Republican Jeanette Rankin The Chicago Cubs played their first game at Weeghman Field (present day Wrigley) ,beating the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings President Wilson sent Gen. Pershing and 12,000 U.S. troops into Mexico to pursue Pancho Villa
Car Collector Chronicles
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Pics to Ponder
Ok, I’ve had my say for the month. Now it’s your turn! I invite/encourage submission of your comments, opinions and article contributions. I also ask that you please help spread the word about our publication. Everything sent shall indeed be reviewed by me. Submissions should be sent to CCC® at OldsD88@gmail.com.
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-- RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM! COMING NEXT ISSUE: TBD