Back in 1993, Gary Cope gave Terry this 1949 Oldsmobile Coupe, after which time, Terry trailered the car home from Auburn. As evidenced by one of the accompanying photos here, Terry turned this ugly duckling into the masterful piece of work that we see today. Terry had done all the restoration work himself, minus the paint and upholstery. Hence, it took eleven years to complete the entire project.
The car sits on a complete new frame/custom chassis; the wiper-less windshield was moved back six inches. By Terry’s account, this is a fair weather car. The original engine was swapped out with a Big Block Chevrolet (BB6) TH400 and has an automatic transmission. The custom wheels are massive 15″ x 15″ rears and 15″ x 6″ fronts. Scott Pruitt’s dad, Bob, did some of the specialty stainless steel welding on the car.
Terry’s labor of love was completed in 2006 – the night before showing it in that year’s Autorama! While at the Autorama, Blackie approached Terry and invited him to his (Blackie’s) show in Fresno, held later that year. There, Terry was awarded for his efforts. Terry’s ’49 Oldsmobile also took the “Best of Show” award at Nevada’s 2009 Oldsmobile Club of America show, out of a field of cars represented from all over the United States.
Back “in the day”, Terry built and showed custom motorcycles. Additionally, Terry also owns a 2008 HHR panel chop top.
Thank you for bringing this eye catching piece of art in for us to enjoy, Terry.
Photos and story by Carol Marcopulos
