What If? 1999 Oldsmobile 99
– Posted on December 15, 2021
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Here’s a what-if in the other direction, from an Egyptian movie made around 1960. It’s a ’49 or ’50 88 with a well-designed chrome strip and two-tone to simulate ’54. Was this a one-off custom, or a semi-production variant by a local dealer?
Wow that is – attention grabbing! I don’t hate it, though. Caprice with the Olds wagon hood/grille grafted on.
I do actually like how extra this is. The side character line says “Buick” to me more than “Oldsmobile”. Either way, it’s fittingly smooth for a big GM car of yesteryear. I say, Bravo.
An unmarked squad car in its ultimate fashion.
Filling-in the C pillar looks great, the fender skirt, not so much. The small rear wheel opening was a major culprit for the whales’ bloated appearance.
Yet another “What-If?” in another direction… although this probably belongs on the morning’s T-Bird Ad post…
Take that idea one step further (into the future)…
I like it, makes an otherwise ordinary Caprice look interesting. The covered rear wheels look cohesive with the rest of the car, unlike the regular Caprice which just looked tacked on.
Love it, a modern Lead Sled. Would ditch the luggage rack.
I’m kinda digging it!
That is simply one of the ugliest cars I have ever seen! I will confess now to being an Englishman who knows nothing about American autos but take a good, long, hard look at that . . . thing!
No polite words for this one.
I am tempted to re-post the picture of the projectile spewing vomiting man that got me in so much hot water with management here a couple of years ago.
The ’99’ doesn’t add up.
Logically, it should be a ‘108’ going by Oldsmobile’s numbering system (if the intention is to displace the 98 and make it Oldsmobile’s top-of-the-line model.) The first number(s) is trim level, and the last number represents the number of cylinders it has. A ‘1012’ would be the ultimate if there is a spare V12 lying around.
Starting in 1985 the 88 and 98 should have become the 86 and 96, but they didn’t… I did not make the connection to the number of cylinders until just now. Thanks for the info.
If that’s a real car and not a photo-shop whoever did the conversion has a lot of time on his/her hands. Because not only is the front clip transplanted from the Olds Cruiser, the rear quarter panels are transplanted from a Buick Roadmaster! The Chevys had a rear window behind the rear door. The Buicks didn’t. The rear clip is clearly Chevy because the Buick’s tail-lights were thinner than the ones on this car.
If I was the builder I would have started with the Buick Roadmaster instead of the Caprice. I also would have “forked” the chrome trim keeping the top curve and adding a straight chrome strip to follow the stamped “by Fisher” belt line, a third strip would have been added to intersect with the vestigial “running board” trim. I would have ditched the luggage rack but added a Continental kit to the rear.
But why go through all that effort when you could just buy a showroom condition Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham and a set of Daytons/Vouges and turn just as many heads?
Cartoon worthy.
The chrome strip would look less tacked-on if it was the same thickness as the front fender strip.
I like the car and have thought of doing something like this for years. The modern day customizer is really in a jam. Back in the Day, many customs were new, or almost new cars. There’s not much to work with now, except four door sedans and even they are pretty devoid of extraneous trim. Most customizers will just rehash past styling cues on the same early model cars.
This car is recycling many early touches, Wide whitewalls, fake side pipes, fender skirts, lowered, with two tone paint. The luggage rack and the hood scoop do strike a discordant note.
Nowadays the most customized vehicles are trucks and new Pony cars, it looks like Dodge Chargers lead the way. But they are more muscle modified instead of classically customized.
The traditionalists are still building Lowriders, classic Hot Rods and Kustoms, and maybe S.L.A.B.s. The advantage of using a newer car is that can be more easily used as transportation without having to go through a complete mechanical rebuilding. Just like in the Old Days. I have my own plan to build a modern post 2000 year moel custom, that I will share if I ever clear out my back log.
At least it’s not jacked and on 26″ rims.