Guest Post by Billy Elliott
When she married, Mom told us about the car that Dad had at the time, a 1949 Oldsmobile Convertible. She always rolled her eyes when speaking of “that thing” and admitted being embarrassed to even ride in it.
Dad, on the other hand, LOVED that car. He would speak of it lovingly as
he described its cream-color (Mom says “yellow”) and the blue leather interior finished off with a “Scotch-Plaid Top”. It had “lake pipes” (AKA no mufflers) and a BIG SIX motor with a three-speed trans that would “drag anything in second gear”.
Source: detnews.com | 1949 Oldsmobile Convertible
Well, I’ve never forgotten about that car. I did some research on it, and found out that the ’49 Oldsmobile was quite remarkable! It was a big hit with what later became NASCAR, and its styling was the first year of GM’s MAJOR redesign post-WWII. It was available with a new engine called the overhead valve V-8 (Dad’s was the inline SIX). That doesn’t sound like much until you realize that the same basic design is still being used today, more than 60 years later.
Those ’49 Olds convertibles are a rare bird these days, and they fetch a king’s ransom when you can find one. The V-8 was so popular, that I have yet to even read about a convertible fitted with the BIG SIX engine. That makes Dad’s Olds even rarer.
The stories about his big Oldsmobile remind me of Dan Seal’s My Old Yellow Car.
She weren’t much to look at
She weren’t much to drive
She was missing a window
On her passenger side
Her floorboard was patched up
With paper and tar…
But I really was something
My old yellow car.
An American boy
With his hands on the wheel
Of a dream that was made of
American Steel
Though the seats had the smell
Of a nickel cigar
I really was something
In my old yellow car.
Somewhere in a pile of rubber & steel
There’s a rusty old shell of
An automobile
And if engines could run on desire alone
My old yellow car
Would be driving me home.
There’s the seat where poor Billy
Threw up on his date
And where Larry and Sandy
Could no longer wait
There was no road too winding
And nowhere too far
With two bucks in gas
In my old yellow car…
That song always reminds me of my Dad, tooling down the road on his way to pick up my Mom for a date.
I wonder what Grandma and Grandpa thought…
–Wild Billy Elliott
Rest In Peace, DAN SEALS. Thank you for this beautiful song that reminds me so much of my Dad.
Gone too soon. He was only 61.
Jen & Bill…
I saw daddy this afternoon. I asked him to tell me about this car. He remembered many details surrounding it before his mind trailed off. A few minutes later he picked up the conversation again and went on to say how he’d “abandoned THAT CAR on the side of the road…”
I asked him why and he said this:
“Because I was stupid”!
I left smiling!
B
Loved this post Bill.
It brought back a lot of memories. The car pictured is a far cry from what dad’s car looked like. He was very proud of his car and took very good care of it. He placed it in storage when he shipped out to the Marshall Islands. When he returned, he found the owners of the Storage Place and used his car the entire time he was overseas. (Two Years) It was in sad shape when he got back to the states. He was heartbroken! –But he still drove it. LOL
Hugs– Mom
Hi Wild Billy! Nice writing, sir!
‘stang 86
Hi Billy,
I really enjoyed this post, and your last one. What beautiful cars!
I wish your dad still had it so that he could will it to you. That car looks like a sweet ride in any era.
Robert