A GDYNETS
PUBLICATION
© 2010, G. DAVID
®
Car Collector
Chronicles ®
YAROS. ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED.
Volume III, Issue 5 Car Collector Chronicles
Exploring:
 Car collecting today
Gentlemen, Ladies, Start Your Engines!
 Classic rides
When the calendar turns to
 Reports from the field May, eyes turn to Indianapolis
and the 500 Mile Race. So,
 Oldsmobile what does that have to do with
collector cars, you might be
 Cadillac wondering?
 Allanté Well, brickyard history in-
cludes a chapter on Oldsmobile.
 Corvair Olds first paced the 500 Mile in
1949 with an 88, driven by
Wilbur Shaw. This choice was
undoubtedly inspired by the
introduction to the motoring
world by Oldsmobile of the
now legendary Rocket 88 V-8
engine. This engine was quite a
IN THIS ISSUE: technological marvel in its day.
Eleven years would pass be-
fore Oldsmobile again led the
open wheel racers around the 2
Gentlemen, La- 1 1/2 mile oval. Sam Hanks pi-
dies, Start Your loted that ride, a 1960 Ninety-
Engines! eight convertible. Of particular
note with respect to the 1960
GDYNets® 1 pace car(s) was the fact they
On the Web came directly from an Indy Olds
dealer, not from the factory.
Indy Side Bar 2
GDYNets® on the Web
Spring Has Sprung 3
WHERE YOU WILL FIND
GDYNets (me) on the WWW:
Coming Next 4 ests.
Dave’s Den -
Issue
http://GDYNets.WEBNG.com
Saved 62 -
Oldsmobile Indy 5 http://www.freewebs.com/
500 Pace Cars - jeandaveyaros
Photos The Gray Lady - 55 Cad de Ville
Car Collector Chronicles -
EMAIL:
OldsD88@gmail.com
May 2010
Another decade elapsed be-
fore an Oldsmobile was put in
front of the pack in 1970.
Roger Ward was behind the
wheel of a 442.
Who doesn’t remember the
Hurst Olds (H/O) and Miss
Hurst Golden Shifter, Linda
Vaughn? The H/O, with Jim
Rathmann in the driver seat,
was selected to pace the race in
both 1972 and 1974.
In 1978, James Garner, of
Maverick fame, wheeled a Delta
88 at the head of the pack.
Oldsmobile had more than a
big success with its Cutlass line.
Strangely, it took until 1985 for
a non-H/O Cutlass, this one a
a household word, but the car did
Calais, to lead the race. Once
receive rave reviews from engineers
again, James Garner drove.
and owners. I am aware of certain
Three years later, in 1988, a
folk who swear a finer car has never
Cutlass Supreme assumed the
been manufactured; before or since.
same role. Driving honors went
The Aurora had the honor of pacing
to Chuck Yeager that year.
the race twice. It made it’s first
The Olds Aurora may not be
— Continued on p. 2.
DAVE’S DEN: A website SAVED 62: A website devoted
devoted to a myriad of inter- to our 1962 Oldsmobile Dy-
Foremost is extensive namic 88 convertible. The site
information on the “Steel City” also has a lot of information on
of Gary, IN. There are also Oldsmobiles and its founder,
offerings on steel making, U.S. Ransom Eli Olds.
Steel-Gary Works, U.S. Marine
THE GRAY LADY: This web-
Corps, M14 assault rifle, of
site features our 1955 Cadillac
course Oldsmobile, and the
Coupé de Ville and Caddy infor-
tragic story of the murder of
mation.
Gary, IN Police Lt. Geo. Yaros.
Car Collector Chronicles Page 2

Start Your Engines! -Cont’d.

appearance in 1997. Its last was in 2000. The respective drivers were
Johnny Rutherford and television actor Anthony Edwards.
To me, perhaps the strangest possible choice for a pace car was the
2001 pick of the Oldsmobile Bravada. I mean after all, isn’t it really
just a six-banger station wagon/SUV? The strangeness of this choice
was also reflected in the naming of the driver, Elaine Irwin-
Mellencamp. She is a fashion model who happens to be the spouse
of Seymour, Indiana’s own, singer John Cougar Mellencamp. That
equals qualified to pace the race, right?
Let’s go back to 1997, the year an Aurora first paced the race. Not
only did Olds pace the race, it also took the checkered flag! This was
a first in the history of the 500. Never before had an automobile
manufacturer both paced and won the 500 Mile race. Oldsmobile
would go on to duplicate that feat two more times, in 2000 and 2001.

“Olds Racing During the late 90’s and early 2000’s Oldsmobile could do no wrong
and the Aurora at Indy. Olds racing and the Aurora engine owned the oval. Everyone
else was a mere “also ran.” This is evidenced by Oldsmobile/Aurora
engine owned powered wins in 1997, 98, 99, 2000 and 2001.
the oval.
Indy Sidebar -
Everyone else
was a mere My college days were spent in Indianapolis. Going to the track dur-
ing the month of May was de rigueur. The athletic director at my
'also ran.'”
school happened to also be the track fire chief. That equated into ac-
cess to the oval itself, pit row and the garage area. Mere mortals
were not allowed in these sacrosanct areas by USAC in the 1960’s.

True story → One sunny day in May, I was standing in pit row with
35 mm Canon™ camera in hand, watching practice. I casually
watched as a racer exited the track, onto pit road. I was thinking, this
will be a great photo op. However, the car did not seem to be slowing
down, as I thought it should. It also seemed to be coming right at me?
Eventually, something clicked and I decided I had best get out of the
damn way. I jumped, and the race car abruptly stopped precisely
where I had been standing! What I did not know at the time, or real-
ize, was that I was standing smack-dab in the middle of the pit row
fire station! Unbeknownst to me, this guy was on fire. Unbeknownst
because burning racing fuel does not give off a flame.

My other story is being in the garage area while qualifications were

going on. I was able to capture a shot of one crew sitting on a stack
Car Collector Chronicles Page 3

Indy Sidebar - Cont’d.

of racing rubber, intently watching a television mounted up in the cor-

ner. It had all the makings of the shot, right? When I developed the
image I what I had was a picture of a group of guys watching Saturday
Afternoon Wrestling!

Spring Has Sprung!

Finally, it appears that spring may have actually sprung here in SE

WI? Figuratively, I typed that last sentence with crossed fingers. The
arrival of warmer temps, for me, means having to get it together. Be-
fore I am able to start on anything, I have to first, literally, “clear the
decks.” In my case the decks equal the garage and workbench.

An entire day was spent sorting through items piling up on the work-
bench, and opening boxes of shipments received over the winter. I
have to admit that some of it, I do not now even recall buying. The “I have to
getting organized process also revealed, I am embarrassed to admit,
that I even have two of some items! Anyone in need of a set of NORS admit that
splash aprons for a 1955 Cadillac Coupé de Ville? some of it, I do
After organizing things, I have four Allanté factory aluminum wheels not now even
sitting on the garage floor, awaiting a trip to the tire shop. Next to the recall buying.
them is one OEM Cadillac turbine (sabre) wheel. It shall make the trip
also, so that the spare time for The Gray Lady may be mounted on it. … I now have
two of some
Also taking up valuable garage floor space are the newly minted
Oldsmobile door panels for SAVED 62. But where did I put with the items!”
armrests, handles and window cranks? Oh yeah, they are in the car.
I put them there so I would not have to go looking for them! Keeping
the door panels company are NORS sill plates and door weather-
strips.

What I can say is that, at long last I do have all of my carburetor

stuff (stand, tools/gauges and rebuild kit) in one location. The time to
start on that project has come!

If and when I get the necessary projects done, I need to build an ac-
cessible book shelf in the garage. I have amassed more than a bit of
factory literature, manuals, etc. They are kept in expandable binders,
like those found on parts counters. The problem is that I cannot read-
ily get to them in their current location. What good are they to me if I
am not able to easily pull one off the shelf for reference purposes?
Not much, obviously. I have to correct that situation.
Car Collector Chronicles Page 4

Spring Has Sprung - Cont’d.

The biggest task is going to be repositioning of all the cars, so that I
will be able to do the work that needs to be done. At present, going
from right→ to→left, I have The Gray Lady, then our daily driver, then
the Allanté, Auntie Pearl, and above it on the lift, SAVED 62.

I cannot rebuild the carb of The Gray Lady where she sits. This is be-
cause nothing can get in front of, or along the passenger side, of her.
She will have to go where Auntie Pearl is currently sitting, in the lift bay.
Auntie Pearl will go where the daily driver is and SAVED 62 will occupy
The Gray Lady’s slot in the garage.

If all this sounds a lot like musical chairs, there is a reason. It is!
And, the loser is the Toyota daily driver. She gets kicked to the street
until such time as The Gray Lady can return to her own bay.
“I cannot
rebuild the carb
of The Gray
Lady where she
Ok, I have had my say for this month. Now it is your turn! I invite/
sits. … because encourage submission of your comments, opinions and contributions,
and ask that you do help spread the word about our pub. Everything
nothing can get
sent shall indeed be reviewed by me. Submissions should be sent to:
in front of, or OldsD88@gmail.com
_________________________________________________
along … side of
— RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM!
her.”

COMING NEXT ISSUE:

 For Want of a Nail
(A Long-distance Buying Saga)
Car Collector Chronicles Page 5;;

Oldsmobile Indy Pace Cars