Al's 1972 Olds page

I've only had one 1972 Oldsmobile.

It was a 1972 Cutlass Supreme that I had from about 1987 to 1990.  I bought it sight unseen to build as a daily driver.  Jim Lahti found the car for me in Arizona and had it shipped back.  As you can see below, it was not pretty to start with, but it was very solid (I was accustomed to Wisconsin cars after all) and straight, so there wasn't anything that a makeover wouldn't cure.  Since it was going to be a driver, I decided to build it with the best stock type parts I could find.  I added '72 type sport mirrors, 14x7 SSI rims, '70 W45 hood, front bumper and Cutlass grilles, '70 442 rear bumper with Rallye 350 lenses, and '70 Cutlass emblems.  I had it finished in an '84 Cadillac dark blue metallic with white rallye stripes and '70-type side pin striping.  It had buckets and a console, tilt, A/C, and then I added the sport steering wheel and gauges and had a factory AM radio in the dash.  What no one could see was a trunk mounted remote 10 disc Sony CD changer with 240 watts of Carver amp and hidden speakers. It had a wired remote control and an equalizer hidden in the center console. The interior looked bone stock except for the material that the seats had been recovered with before I bought it.  It had the 350 4 bbl and was a real nice every day driver.  I sold it when I got my '90 I-Series in June of 1990.

Click on the photos for the larger versions.

	This photo is from the 1987 Olds Nationals in Lansing and this car is the actual backup pace car from the '72 Indy 500.  It was owned at that time by Don Yeager.  I don't know what happened to it since '87, but it is a very interesting piece.
	Engine compartment of the backup pace car.  Notice chrome valve covers, air cleaner base (with OLDS decal from the '70 pace car), and you may have a tough time making it out, but it is equipped with the brake booster from a 98.  The 2 pace cars had oversized brakes because of the accident with the '71 Dodge pace car.
	Interior of a pacecar convertible with the rare Hurst E.T. computer.  Also note glovebox door.
	Here's my '72 Supreme as it was when I first got it.  Pretty darned ugly.  Obviously in need of some serious aesthetic help...  Strangely, the car did have the same vinyl roof material as the 72 H/O hardtop, except it didn't have the antique finish.  That was my brothers '72 in the background.
	Here's what it looked like when done.  Yes, I know it looks like a '70 for the most part, but the hood was easier to find and I liked the looks of it better.  It was built to be a driver, not a collector car.
	Here it is from the quarter rear view.  A '70 442 bumper and Rallye 350 taillight lenses improve the appearance.  My "inspiration" for the color scheme was a '70 SX convertible that Steve Hemminghaus had.

This page last updated on July 18, 2004.