OLDSMOBILE CLUB OF AMERICA EASTERN MA. GMO CHAPTER Issue #24 Ma July 2007 ROCKET POWER NEWSLETTER!!

GMO Bar-B-Que set for September 8 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 The annual GMO Bar-B-Que (actually a cookout by private automobile collections housed in the massive most standards) will be held at the home of Rich & carriage house of the Anderson Estate. Karen Santucci - 84 Boyd St - Newton, MA 02458-

1502. The festivities will start at 5:00 and we will As co-sponsor of the event, the GMO Club showed up proceed to Pini’s Pizza at 7:00 to attend the cruise. All in force with around a dozen members in attendance GMO members are welcome so don’t forget to put this along with several other non-member Oldsmobiles on on your calendar. the field. Out of the 50 or so cars at the show, there were almost 20 Oldsmobiles. The rest of the field Eastern Mass GMO Co-Sponsors comprised an eclectic mix of 1920’s and 1930’s “Extinct” Autos Day Packards, some 1950’s Hudsons, a 1966 American By William Reilly 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.

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 Last year’s event was cancelled due to rain, so I was Kalipolitas’ 1968 442, and George and Pat especially looking forward to this year’s show on June Gagnon’s 1966 Cutlass. Andrea & Nelson 23rd. As a club, we attend several shows where other Desjardins brought her wonderful 1971 Delta 88, and makes of cars are in attendance. But this one would be Rich and Karen Santucci arrived with the baked different, all cars in the show had a similar fate as goods in their 1971 442 W-30. The ‘80s were Oldsmobile in that their namesake is no longer in represented with Bill and Kerri Reilly’s 1985 Cutlass production. I thought it would be quite interesting to Supreme and Chris Leary’s 1987 442. And I have yet to meet the owner of that blue 1999 Alero with the LT- Oldsmobile dealership to sell Pontiacs and Cadillac’s. 1 V8 tucked neatly into its engine bay. I know there He eventually owned the Pontiac dealership, which were others in attendance and I apologize for not being meant during his teenage years and beyond, Chuck able to give you honorable mention. drove Pontiacs. BIG PONTIACS. Like most young men in the 1970’s Chuck wanted a muscle car perhaps To end day the people’s choice award for best a GTO? His dad would not allow Chuck to have a Oldsmobile was given to Ed Vigue and his 1955 Super muscle car. He always made sure Chuck drove a 88. This show was quite an experience and I hope that FULL sized GM car fearing that he may have an the GMO will make it a yearly tradition. accident in a muscle car. In the 1970’s it was widely believed the bigger the car the safer the car was. GMO is Featured Chapter in JWO 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 Pat Yancy, the OCA president, has named the GMO in with. the Chapter Showcase in the June edition of JWO. He had some very nice things to say about us including This led me to ask him if he grew up driving full size Dave Consoli’s purchase of the Doug Stavros 1970 Pontiacs what brought your interest back to the full W-30. The GMO scores again! size Oldsmobiles? Chuck was eager to point out that at age 6 or 7 he was drawn to the styling of Oldsmobiles. Ransom Notes He notes that Oldsmobiles always had nice molding & trim packages even through to the 1990’s models. Ransom notes is a GMO member profile in honor of “Pontiacs always looked unfinished to me,” Chuck Ransom Eli Olds who founded the Olds Motor Vehicle said. Company on August 21, 1897. Ransom Notes is authored By GMO member David Consoli. 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).

Someone once told me if you look into a persons eyes In 2003 Chuck bought a white 1964 Starfire you can see their soul. Upon arriving at Larz Auto convertible on eBay, which was a huge disappointment Museum to interview Chuck Schiel I was greeted with when it arrived. It was described as a #2 car but the a warm welcome and Chuck’s infectious smile, but vehicle was nowhere near Schiel standards. He ended when you look into the man’s eyes you can see the up restoring most of the car versus giving up on it. His passion he has, not only for Oldsmobile’s, but the time quote was “my love for the car transcended my period of the early 1960’s and the models he has come common sense” I assured him we have all done that at to treasure. You see, unlike many of us who are some point with our cars. attracted to the muscle cars of the era, Chuck has a passion for the full size version of Oldsmobile’s glory Chuck’s latest treasure is his 1963 Olds 98 Custom days. His history with Oldsmobile’s from that era is Sports Coupe. Viewing this car is like viewing the quite unique. dessert menu at the Cheesecake Factory - simply mouthwatering. Extreme Restorations painted the Chuck’s dad was an Oldsmobile salesman in Pittsburgh exterior Antique Rose Mist with a Provincial White PA. Chuck remembers tagging along to the dealership top. The interior is rose cloth & leather. The color on weekends with his dad in the early 1960’s he was combo truly fits the style and scale of the car. To move just 5 years old. In 1964 Chuck’s dad left the a car of this size you need a capable power plant. No problem, this baby is powered by a 394 cubic inch V8 was familiar with every politician, crook, lawyer, cop, rated @ 345 hp. The hydra-matic transmission surely judge, loan-shark, and pawnbroker in the area. makes this ride just as pleasant and smooth as Chuck’s personality. 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 The other outstanding feature of Chuck’s cars are the projection operator for a movie theatre and his mother quality & level of detail to which he has restored them. played piano for the Eastern Star. Paul must have I, for one, wish that my collection was of such quality. spotted the hide-a-key under the hood of the When asked about why his cars are kept up to these Oldsmobile and took the opportunity to go joyriding in high standards he modestly downplayed my the Olds one night. observations and replied I love taking care of them it is not work for me it is enjoyment. The Arlington Police appeared at out house that night looking for Frank Sullivan Jr. (me) as a suspect, (a Chuck also credits his wife Debbie who is very mere lad of nine years and asleep in bed). The Chief understanding of his hobby. Although Debbie does not was Ferdinand Lucarelli, a good friend of my father, have an interest in the old cars she is supportive of and made his appearance with one of his officers and Chuck’s passion for Oldsmobile. Thank you Debbie!! was still the Chief of Police in Arlington when I was issued my first firearms Identification card. Once When talking to Chuck about his Oldsmobile’s I everyone realized that the Oldsmobile had been stolen, noticed a common bond that most car guys have. The the police told the story of a Cambridge Policeman bond that seems to be made by a father & a son. This who had been run over in the parking lot of a Church theme, which includes me, seems to be a common hosting a CYO Dance. The 1953 Oldsmobile was reason why car guys buy and restore old cars. I am identified by the officer who fired his snub nose Smith sure glad Chuck’s dad brought him to the Oldsmobile & Wesson 38 as the car drove away from the dance. dealership on weekends. One bullet broke the rear window, a second smashed one tail light, and a third bullet hit the quarter panel The Schiel collection is truly a treasure - one Ransom just above the fender skirt. The third bullet did not go E. Olds would be proud of. through the sheet metal, but left a nice dimple in the massive metallic structure of the early Olds. Dr. Sullivan’s Oldsmobile By Frank Sullivan 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 Dr. Frank Sullivan (my father) purchased a new black the rest of the money in his pocket and placed a wad of and white 1953 Oldsmobile 88 four door sedan from black putty in the dimple. He was very distressed when Salvi Oldsmobile in Cambridge. The dealership was neighborhood kids would put their fingers in the bullet originally on Concord Ave. but was later on Mass. hole. 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 GMO Attends BSAAC Endicott Show • Stephen DePamphilis – Watertown • Dave Melanson – Lynn • Bob Mahoney – Burlington The day dawned bright and Paul Iantosca, Dave • Bob Neilan – Taunton Consoli and Jim Maffeo arrived early to mark out the • Philip Boucher – Holden OC spot in the shade and make sure everyone parked • Cynthia Dombrowski - Holden in the correct location. 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:

• Up to 1959 o 1st – Ralph Parone – 1986 98 o 2nd – Tim Ward – 1953 Super 88 The official count of Oldsmobiles was 53 and we had • 1960 - 1967 11 people join us as new members at the show. o 1st – Mark Baravella – 1964 Starfire Welcome to: o 2nd – Chuck Schiel – 1964 98 • 1968 – 1972 st • Al Crooker – Marshfield o 1 – David Consoli – 1970 W-31 nd • Paul Englert – West Roxbury o 2 – Kevin McKenzie – 1970 442 • John George – Norwood • 1973 and up o 1st – Chris Arsenault – 1980 Cutlass • David Densmore – Braintree nd • Gary Hall – Sudbury o 2 – Joseph Lane – 1973 Custom Cruiser

442 Featured on Cover of the Letter From the President Improper Bostonian Remember, "the numbers speak for themselves!" The Your club has done it again. Our help was requested GMO now has 139 members. That is something to be and we responded. Elln Hagney of the Larz Anderson proud of. "Congratulations to all GMO members." You Museum called looking for a muscle car for a photo all made it happen. shoot at the museum on very short notice. Paul Iantosca was able to convince his son to take his 1971 "Thanks" to the Museum of Transportation for thinking 442 convertible to the shoot and following is the result. 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!

"Thanks" to our National OCA President, Pat Yancy, We didn’t get credit (or the model) but I guess that’s who has again acknowledged the GMO Oldsmobile show business. 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 Upcoming GMO Supported Events be our guests at our 2008 Dust Off !

• July 17-22 – OCA Nationals – Bowling Green, KY "Thanks" again to our VP Rich Santucci and his wife • July 25-28 – NAOC Nationals – Westford, MA Karen for hosting another BBQ this September 8th. • August 5, 2005 – POCI all GM Show – Hanover, Have you noticed how more and more members are MA becoming active and making the GMO club also a • August 19 – Mass Cruisers Show – Medway, MA social playground? Well, it’s true and that’s the sign of • August 25 – All Wheels Nationals – Falmouth, MA a very healthy and desirable car club…139 members! • September 8 – GMO Bar-B-Que Yes, the numbers do tell it all! • September 9 – Ty-Rods Old Timer’s Meet – Lancaster, MA I am proud and honored to be the President of such a • September 9 – NEOC Show – New Britain, CT vibrant, exciting, friendly and growing club. My thanks

to all our board members and our wonderful members See the club website http://clubs.hemmings.com for everywhere. more details

Paul Iantosca

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

First Class Mail

GMO Officers

President & Editor Events Coordinator Paul Iantosca – 617-543-0777 Bill Reilly – 781-820-6552 [email protected] [email protected]

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

Secretary / Treasurer Club Representative Ted Loranz – 508-561-7613 Everett Horton – 401-435-7139 [email protected] [email protected]

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