OLDSMOBILE CLUB OF AMERICA EASTERN MA. GMO CHAPTER ...

OLDSMOBILE CLUB OF AMERICA EASTERN MA. GMO CHAPTER ROCKET POWER NEWSLETTER!! GMO Bar-B-Que set for September 8 The annual GMO Bar-B-Que (actually a cookout by most standards) will be held at the home of Rich & Karen Santucci - 84 Boyd St - Newton, MA 024581502. The festivities will start at 5:00 and we will proceed to Pini’s Pizza at 7:00 to attend the cruise. All GMO members are welcome so don’t forget to put this on your calendar.

Eastern Mass GMO Co-Sponsors “Extinct” Autos Day By William Reilly

Issue #24 Ma

July 2007

see our Oldsmobiles on the same show field as Packards, Hudsons, and Studebakers. The venue is also quite historic as it boasts one the country’s oldest private automobile collections housed in the massive carriage house of the Anderson Estate. As co-sponsor of the event, the GMO Club showed up in force with around a dozen members in attendance along with several other non-member Oldsmobiles on the field. Out of the 50 or so cars at the show, there were almost 20 Oldsmobiles. The rest of the field comprised an eclectic mix of 1920’s and 1930’s Packards, some 1950’s Hudsons, a 1966 American Rambler, several AMC AMXs, several Studebakers, a 1990 Yugo and a 1981 DeLorean.

I think Billy Joel sums it up quite nicely in one of his songs, “…sooner or later it comes down to fate…only the good die young.” With the demise of our beloved marque, we are left looking for venues to host shows as Oldsmobile dealerships in our area have closed their doors. Through a suggestion of one of our club members, we looked into the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline, MA. As luck would have it, the museum hosts an annual “extinct” auto day. Oldsmobiles could commingle with other out of production auto makes at an outdoor summer event.

Last year’s event was cancelled due to rain, so I was especially looking forward to this year’s show on June 23rd. As a club, we attend several shows where other makes of cars are in attendance. But this one would be different, all cars in the show had a similar fate as Oldsmobile in that their namesake is no longer in production. I thought it would be quite interesting to

We had a beautiful sunny day with mild temperatures and a wonderful turn out with Ted Loranz in his ’67 442 W-30 and Dave Consoli in his newly acquired 1970 442 among the first to arrive. There was a fairly even mix of Oldsmobiles from the 1950’s right up through 1999. Ed Vigue’s 1955 Super 88 and potential new member Bob Bradford’s 1958 Super 88 wagon represented the 50’s era. We had the 60’s covered with Steve Sordino’s 1966 Dynamic 88, Chuck Scheil’s 1963 98, George and Ruth Kalipolitas’ 1968 442, and George and Pat Gagnon’s 1966 Cutlass. Andrea & Nelson Desjardins brought her wonderful 1971 Delta 88, and Rich and Karen Santucci arrived with the baked goods in their 1971 442 W-30. The ‘80s were represented with Bill and Kerri Reilly’s 1985 Cutlass Supreme and Chris Leary’s 1987 442. And I have yet

to meet the owner of that blue 1999 Alero with the LT1 V8 tucked neatly into its engine bay. I know there were others in attendance and I apologize for not being able to give you honorable mention. To end day the people’s choice award for best Oldsmobile was given to Ed Vigue and his 1955 Super 88. This show was quite an experience and I hope that the GMO will make it a yearly tradition.

GMO is Featured Chapter in JWO Pat Yancy, the OCA president, has named the GMO in the Chapter Showcase in the June edition of JWO. He had some very nice things to say about us including Dave Consoli’s purchase of the Doug Stavros 1970 W-30. The GMO scores again!

Ransom Notes Ransom notes is a GMO member profile in honor of Ransom Eli Olds who founded the Olds Motor Vehicle Company on August 21, 1897. Ransom Notes is authored By GMO member David Consoli.

Someone once told me if you look into a persons eyes you can see their soul. Upon arriving at Larz Auto Museum to interview Chuck Schiel I was greeted with a warm welcome and Chuck’s infectious smile, but when you look into the man’s eyes you can see the passion he has, not only for Oldsmobile’s, but the time period of the early 1960’s and the models he has come to treasure. You see, unlike many of us who are attracted to the muscle cars of the era, Chuck has a passion for the full size version of Oldsmobile’s glory days. His history with Oldsmobile’s from that era is quite unique. Chuck’s dad was an Oldsmobile salesman in Pittsburgh PA. Chuck remembers tagging along to the dealership on weekends with his dad in the early 1960’s he was just 5 years old. In 1964 Chuck’s dad left the

Oldsmobile dealership to sell Pontiacs and Cadillac’s. He eventually owned the Pontiac dealership, which meant during his teenage years and beyond, Chuck drove Pontiacs. BIG PONTIACS. Like most young men in the 1970’s Chuck wanted a muscle car perhaps a GTO? His dad would not allow Chuck to have a muscle car. He always made sure Chuck drove a FULL sized GM car fearing that he may have an accident in a muscle car. In the 1970’s it was widely believed the bigger the car the safer the car was. Growing up driving the full size cars Chuck never developed a connection to the Muscle car craze. He developed a passion for the full size cars he grew up with. This led me to ask him if he grew up driving full size Pontiacs what brought your interest back to the full size Oldsmobiles? Chuck was eager to point out that at age 6 or 7 he was drawn to the styling of Oldsmobiles. He notes that Oldsmobiles always had nice molding & trim packages even through to the 1990’s models. “Pontiacs always looked unfinished to me,” Chuck said. The first Oldsmobile Chuck ever owned was a 1964 Starfire he bought in 1999. The car was located in Ohio. Chuck was fortunately traveling to Cleveland on business at the time. He loved the car so much he bought it on the spot. Chuck admits that he really didn’t fix much on the 64 Starfire. A 20-year-old body man named Dan Evans had restored the car. Dan restored the car for his father. The only item needing upgrading was the leather seats and Chuck replaced the leather. He sold the car to GMO member Mark Baravella simply because Mark loved the car so much. (I judged this car at the 2006 Endicott show and found the car to be flawless). In 2003 Chuck bought a white 1964 Starfire convertible on eBay, which was a huge disappointment when it arrived. It was described as a #2 car but the vehicle was nowhere near Schiel standards. He ended up restoring most of the car versus giving up on it. His quote was “my love for the car transcended my common sense” I assured him we have all done that at some point with our cars. Chuck’s latest treasure is his 1963 Olds 98 Custom Sports Coupe. Viewing this car is like viewing the dessert menu at the Cheesecake Factory - simply mouthwatering. Extreme Restorations painted the exterior Antique Rose Mist with a Provincial White top. The interior is rose cloth & leather. The color combo truly fits the style and scale of the car. To move a car of this size you need a capable power plant. No

problem, this baby is powered by a 394 cubic inch V8 rated @ 345 hp. The hydra-matic transmission surely makes this ride just as pleasant and smooth as Chuck’s personality.

The other outstanding feature of Chuck’s cars are the quality & level of detail to which he has restored them. I, for one, wish that my collection was of such quality. When asked about why his cars are kept up to these high standards he modestly downplayed my observations and replied I love taking care of them it is not work for me it is enjoyment. Chuck also credits his wife Debbie who is very understanding of his hobby. Although Debbie does not have an interest in the old cars she is supportive of Chuck’s passion for Oldsmobile. Thank you Debbie!! When talking to Chuck about his Oldsmobile’s I noticed a common bond that most car guys have. The bond that seems to be made by a father & a son. This theme, which includes me, seems to be a common reason why car guys buy and restore old cars. I am sure glad Chuck’s dad brought him to the Oldsmobile dealership on weekends. The Schiel collection is truly a treasure - one Ransom E. Olds would be proud of.

Dr. Sullivan’s Oldsmobile By Frank Sullivan Dr. Frank Sullivan (my father) purchased a new black and white 1953 Oldsmobile 88 four door sedan from Salvi Oldsmobile in Cambridge. The dealership was originally on Concord Ave. but was later on Mass. Ave. The salesman was Neno Seminara, who in later years owned an American Motors dealership on Mt Auburn Street. Dr. Sullivan was from Cambridge and

was familiar with every politician, crook, lawyer, cop, judge, loan-shark, and pawnbroker in the area. Dr. Sullivan’s black & white 1953 Oldsmobile looked like a police car, similar to the one Broderick Crawford drove in the TV show " Highway Patrol". This Oldsmobile was the first air conditioned car for the Doctor and was very rare for its time. There were two air scoops on each rear quarter panel about the size of your fist, which led fresh air to the Frigidaire equipment on the deck of the trunk. The air vents were inside the roof, like an airliner. The four air vents, two front and two rear, were connected to the trunk with two clear plastic tubes in the back deck and he would freeze us almost to death on summer car trips to Cape Cod. The Sullivan family lived in a quiet Arlington neighborhood across the street from a family with a delinquent son Paul. Paul’s father was a movie projection operator for a movie theatre and his mother played piano for the Eastern Star. Paul must have spotted the hide-a-key under the hood of the Oldsmobile and took the opportunity to go joyriding in the Olds one night. The Arlington Police appeared at out house that night looking for Frank Sullivan Jr. (me) as a suspect, (a mere lad of nine years and asleep in bed). The Chief was Ferdinand Lucarelli, a good friend of my father, and made his appearance with one of his officers and was still the Chief of Police in Arlington when I was issued my first firearms Identification card. Once everyone realized that the Oldsmobile had been stolen, the police told the story of a Cambridge Policeman who had been run over in the parking lot of a Church hosting a CYO Dance. The 1953 Oldsmobile was identified by the officer who fired his snub nose Smith & Wesson 38 as the car drove away from the dance. One bullet broke the rear window, a second smashed one tail light, and a third bullet hit the quarter panel just above the fender skirt. The third bullet did not go through the sheet metal, but left a nice dimple in the massive metallic structure of the early Olds. Our insurance company must have paid to repair the rear widow and tail light, but the dimple in the rear quarter was never repaired. My father must have put the rest of the money in his pocket and placed a wad of black putty in the dimple. He was very distressed when neighborhood kids would put their fingers in the bullet hole.

GMO Attends BSAAC Endicott Show The day dawned bright and Paul Iantosca, Dave Consoli and Jim Maffeo arrived early to mark out the OC spot in the shade and make sure everyone parked in the correct location.

• • • • • •

Stephen DePamphilis – Watertown Dave Melanson – Lynn Bob Mahoney – Burlington Bob Neilan – Taunton Philip Boucher – Holden Cynthia Dombrowski - Holden

Total GMO membership is now 139 – way to go!

A club meeting was held at noon and Paul Iantosca insisted Russ Gear show off his tee shirt pronouncing “There is a special feel in an Oldsmobile”.

Loyed Woodland was there to show off his T shirt and commemorative shifter knobs as well as to bring us up to date on the restoration of his 1966 drag car.

And the winners were: •

The official count of Oldsmobiles was 53 and we had 11 people join us as new members at the show. Welcome to: • • • • •

Al Crooker – Marshfield Paul Englert – West Roxbury John George – Norwood David Densmore – Braintree Gary Hall – Sudbury

• • •

Up to 1959 o 1st – Ralph Parone – 1986 98 o 2nd – Tim Ward – 1953 Super 88 1960 - 1967 o 1st – Mark Baravella – 1964 Starfire o 2nd – Chuck Schiel – 1964 98 1968 – 1972 o 1st – David Consoli – 1970 W-31 o 2nd – Kevin McKenzie – 1970 442 1973 and up o 1st – Chris Arsenault – 1980 Cutlass o 2nd – Joseph Lane – 1973 Custom Cruiser

442 Featured on Cover of the Improper Bostonian Your club has done it again. Our help was requested and we responded. Elln Hagney of the Larz Anderson Museum called looking for a muscle car for a photo shoot at the museum on very short notice. Paul Iantosca was able to convince his son to take his 1971 442 convertible to the shoot and following is the result.

Letter From the President Remember, "the numbers speak for themselves!" The GMO now has 139 members. That is something to be proud of. "Congratulations to all GMO members." You all made it happen. "Thanks" to the Museum of Transportation for thinking of the GMO when they needed a red convertible for a Boston magazine cover shoot. "Thanks" to Bill Reilly for an “Extinct Auto Day” well done. "Congratulations" to Dave Consoli on his first profile of a GMO member. It is a wonderful story and I look forward to learning more about each and every member of GMO. Who is next? "Congratulations” to the buyer and seller of the 1972 442 convertible 4 speed that was at Endicott. I am glad to see that someone took my advice on that great deal. The new owner is a new member of GMO now - "Welcome aboard with both of your Oldsmobiles”. "Thanks" to all the members who made it to the Endicott - BSAAC car show last week, we all had a wonderful event with 53 Oldsmobiles present at the show. "Congratulations" to the 5 members who paid to ship their Classic Oldsmobiles to KY for the OCA Nationals being held this week. That is devotion to the hobby! Thanks to Steve Economou for organizing the entire idea. There are now 16 members attending the show. They will also be there to support the NEOC in their bid to bring the Nationals to Sturbridge, Ma in 2010 - Go NEOC!

We didn’t get credit (or the model) but I guess that’s show business.

Upcoming GMO Supported Events • • • • • • • •

July 17-22 – OCA Nationals – Bowling Green, KY July 25-28 – NAOC Nationals – Westford, MA August 5, 2005 – POCI all GM Show – Hanover, MA August 19 – Mass Cruisers Show – Medway, MA August 25 – All Wheels Nationals – Falmouth, MA September 8 – GMO Bar-B-Que September 9 – Ty-Rods Old Timer’s Meet – Lancaster, MA September 9 – NEOC Show – New Britain, CT

See the club website http://clubs.hemmings.com for more details

"Thanks" to our National OCA President, Pat Yancy, who has again acknowledged the GMO Oldsmobile club for all we have accomplished and achieved since we reorganized 7 years ago. I really enjoy working with him and we are hopeful that he and his wife will be our guests at our 2008 Dust Off ! "Thanks" again to our VP Rich Santucci and his wife Karen for hosting another BBQ this September 8th. Have you noticed how more and more members are becoming active and making the GMO club also a social playground? Well, it’s true and that’s the sign of a very healthy and desirable car club…139 members! Yes, the numbers do tell it all! I am proud and honored to be the President of such a vibrant, exciting, friendly and growing club. My thanks to all our board members and our wonderful members everywhere.

Paul Iantosca

Eastern Massachusetts GMO Chapter 114 West Street Medway, MA 02053-2226

First Class Mail

GMO Officers President & Editor Paul Iantosca – 617-543-0777 [email protected]

Events Coordinator Bill Reilly – 781-820-6552 [email protected]

Vice President Rich Santucci – 617-899-9109 [email protected]

New Member Recruiter Karen Santucci – 617-899-9109 [email protected]

Secretary / Treasurer Ted Loranz – 508-561-7613 [email protected]

Club Representative Everett Horton – 401-435-7139 [email protected]

GMO Chapter Website – http://clubs.hemmings.com/olds-gmo