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"Olds Cool"

“Olds Cool” Wins Goodguys 2016 Street Rod of the Year

1939 Oldsmobile Model 60 Convertible
1939 Oldsmobile Model 60 Convertible named “Olds Cool” wins Goodguys 2016 Street Rod of the Year award sponsored by Classic Instruments. (Photo by Bob Boberg of eClassicAutos.com)

“Olds Cool” is Goodguys 2016 Street Rod of the Year …

The Goodguys 2016 Street Rod of the Year was announced at this weekend’s Goodguys PPG Nationals in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday. Achieving legendary status, the 1939 Oldsmobile Model 60 Convertible owned by Billy Thomas of Corpus Christi, Texas won the Goodguys 2016 Street Rod of the Year Award sponsored by Classic Instruments.  It is the same car that won the 2016 Ridler Award in March at the Detroit Autorama. Builder, Harold Chapman of Hot Rods & Customs of Andice, Texas, told us last week at the Heartland Nationals that he wanted the 1939 Oldsmobile to win here in Columbus. It puts the car they call “Olds Cool” in a category by itself atop the street rodding hobby.

Here is a photo slider of “Olds Cool” from the Goodguys 2016 Street Rod of the Year competition:

The newly crowned Goodguys 2016 Street Rod of the Year winner is now the only car to have won both the Goodguys Street Rod of the Year trophy and the Ridler Award trophy. Should Thomas and Chapman decide to take “Olds Cool” to the Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale this year to compete for the Barrett-Jackson Cup, or to Pomona in January for the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award, it would be the only car in history to have achieved all of the top honors a custom street rod could have. It would only have to win one more award to have achieved that “trifecta.”

“Olds Cool” is unique by its very build. Thomas found the only Model 60 Oldsmobile convertible left in the world to start with. Then Thomas found an Oldsmobile 455 engine built by legendary engine builder Joe Mondelo, Sr. They say it was the last engine completed by Mondelo before he passed away. Truly a work of art, the exterior, interior and the undercarriage were subjects of wonderment and careful study by spectators at the Goodguys event this weekend. Words like “flawless” and “cutting edge custom” were always in the conversation.

The winner of the 2016 Goodguys PPG Street Machine of the Year was the 1969 Coyote Mustang, owned by Tim Spencer of Alabaster, Alabama, and built by Goolsby Customs. No trailer queen, this car competed in the Goodguys Autocross races on Friday. See slider here below for detailed photos:

  • Goodguys PPG Nationals
    2016 PPG Street Machine of the Year

Here are the other cars in contention for Classic Instruments’ Street Rod of the Year:

  • TOP FIVE FINALIST: 1937 Ford Great 8 Winner, owned by Dan Wathor, Rio Linda, CA

PPG Street Machine of the Year contenders here on the grounds of the Ohio Expo Center:

  • TOP FIVE FANALIST: 1966 Mustang GT, owned by Larry McGraw, Columbus, OH

 

2016 Ridler Award Winner Chosen at Detroit Autorama

2016 Ridler Award Winner is 1939 “Olds Cool” …

The 2016 Ridler Award winner was announced here on Sunday at the 64th Annual Detroit Autorama. The incredible classic custom called “Olds Cool” is a 1939 Oldsmobile Model 60 Convertible freshly built and shown here for the first time. It is owned by Billy Thomas of Corpus Christi, Texas. Thomas made no bones about it. “I came here to win it,” he said, referring to the coveted 2016 Ridler Award, the most prestigious award in the custom car hobby. And, in the Sunday awards ceremony at the Detroit Autorama, indeed he did.

Even before we arrived here on Friday morning the pundits were all talking about the incredible custom  called “Olds Cool.”  Spectators just couldn’t get enough of “Olds Cool” which would be awarded the 2016 Ridler Award on Sunday. Exterior, interior and the undercarriage were subjects of wonderment and careful study. Words like “flawless” and “cutting edge custom” were always in the conversation.

It was no surprise that “Olds Cool” was chosen to the Great 8 on Friday. All the custom car builders here had it as the odds-on car to beat in the 2016 Ridler Award competition. But Harold Chapman, owner of Custom Hot Rods of Andice, told us he was not taking it for granted. “I’ve been here before,” he told us. “I’ve had flawless cars here in the past and you don’t know till you’ve got the trophy in your hands.” Chapman’s 1968 Corvette won the Goodguys Muscle Car of the Year award in Scottsdale last year. He knows a bit about building show cars. His careful attention to detail is evident in the undercarriage photos in the slide show below.

  • 1939 Oldsmobile Great 8 winner at 2016 Detroit Autorama
    1939 Oldsmobile called Olds Cool

The paint on “Olds Cool” was done by Charlie Hutton at Charlie Hutton Color Studio. Hutton has painted three of the last four Ridler Award winners. Billy Thomas told us that Joe Mondelo, Sr built the Olds 455 engine. He also said this 1939 Oldsmobile is the last remaining Model 60 Convertible in existence.

Here are some videos we did on “Olds Cool.” One is a Periscope video interview with the owner Billy Thomas. It was recorded on Twitter earlier this weekend. We have a copy of the broadcast here:

 

We revisited this car today to show you the incredible work done on the underbody of the 1939 Olds Cool Great 8 Award winner. Watch this video to see the detailed undercarriage. To us this undercarriage is like a work of at. Do you agree? Watch the video:

 

 

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