There was always a vision in my head as to what I wanted the Olds to look like. The typical red, with white top and interior. But the more I thought about it, it was already going to cost me a lot of money to get the Olds body repaired and the she was completely torn down to the nuts and bolts, it was obvious that I could do whatever I want to her at this time and make this Olds truly what I have envisioned. I had done a lot of research on the 1968 Olds 4-4-2 and put together a slide presentation for MMC to review when then came to Lorton, Virginia to discuss this project with me. Little did I know at that time how much things will change. Below is the presentation.
After more discussions once the car started to go through its disassembly and MMC started to research parts needed for the car. Going though the poor condition the overall Olds was in, I knew as the news got worse, that if I wanted this dream to come true the cost will be far more than what was initially discussed. So I decided to go the resto-mod route. This will give me flexibility to do mods that may require fabrication.
A quick background, I have been driving a 2007 BMW 650 and prior to that I was driving a 2004 BMW 745i. So I was a little pampered with German luxury and engineering. It was at that time, I decide on the concept of what my resto-mod would be.
The Olds, itself, should look like a stock car for anyone looking at, even fairly close up. Once you stare at the Olds long enough you will start to notice subtle differences that slowly let you understand the extensive resto-mod this Olds has undertaken. Almost like an illusion in transformation.
I could do whatever I want to her at this time and make this Olds truly what I have envisioned. So I decided to go the resto-mod route.
One of the first things I did was to design the driver interface, basically the dash. This car should have large gauges, double din stereo, GPS, chrome steering column, wooden steering wheel, push start, auto door lock/unlock, and many other goodies. Below is one of the first mock up I did of the dash.
I then did a mock up of the stereo system that I wanted.
This were all initial designs that eventually changed or varied slightly. Additionally, I wanted all the lights, interior and exterior, to be all L.E.D. based and the front headlights to be H.I.D. with halos. A lot of what I wanted to do was a lot easier to want than actually do.