How would this car look with a custom paintjob? And what would make it stand out? I love flake, scalops etc, Larry Watson style. I've got this 60 Olds 98 Celebrity Sedan as a driver/cruiser not far from Fargo, ND and it's in really nice shape. But the paintjob is not as nice as the interior which is like new. So maybe a cool custom paintjob and some lowering would really make it cool!? Is there anywhere in the ND area that knows how to custom paint in the watson style? It's been hard to imagine it a customcar, but when I saw this 60 Olds for sale in Norway I really figured it could be cool! I love the low look of it and with the Supremes and whitewalls. Looks fantastic.
Man thats awful pretty to take on that task ! Id leave it cuz its to nice the way it is n wait til the paint gets bad!
It'll probably take longer to get the paint worn down then I'll live, since the car is in the US and I live in Norway. I'm there almost every summer so I use it then. Maybe I should drive it to Las Vegas to my brother and let it stay in the sun for a couple-three months. That'll do the trick. No I guess I'd rather have a flake job and paneld and laced roof or something than a worn paint.
Being a fellow 60 Olds owner, there is NO WAY I WOULD CHANGE ANY OF IT. Seriously, it's awesome the way it is. Maybe lower it a bit, but that's it!
I would lower it first, see what that does to the look. Then maybe some tasteful pinstriping or leave the color and add some white or silver scallops.
If that's the original paint, I'd leave it, except for maybe trying to get a bit more shine out of it. The kind of custom paint your talking about doesn't seem appropriate for a 98 four-door sedan; it'll look like you customized your Grandfather's car. I would get rid of those wheels, however. The optional '60 Olds wheelcovers were pretty sharp looking.
That is one beautiful car even with the original paint, which seems to be aged to perfection. I'd use the hell out of it just like it is, I'm sure it turns heads now. Maybe change the wheels and make it a little louder with some flo-thrus. It's too pretty to repaint right now. Not to go against some of the others, but, I wouldn't even lower it, it's plenty low now. Just my opinion.
So much fun to hear others reply and opinions! Thanks alot. I for sure will lower it. Anyone know where I can get lowering springs for it or if it even is availeable? Air would be the optimal but I won't have time to install it just being there this summer on vacation. I'm installing a Ridetech system on my 69 Caprice that I'm doing a frameoff on. Man I look forward trying it. Never driven or ridden in a car with air suspension. I kinda like the wheels that's on it, but it for sure would dress a pair of Supremes or maybe even a pair of Rocket Strikes? The optional covers sure looks good to. Mine came with the trimring and centercap, and I also have those. The paint is believed to be mostly original. I know one front fender and the hood has been repainted since it's got a little color mismatch with the rest of the car. It has almost 50k original miles on it. I love this Olds! It looks so right with those colors and the paintjob. I also really like the green one that AussieGirl has. But both those are 2 door coups. And I'm haveing troubles visualising mine with a job like that. It might just look wrong. I'm not good at drawing so can't draw my 4door with that kind of job.
You could put stock wheels and tires on that and go win awards at AACA shows, as nice and original as that car is. I wouldn't dick around changing stuff until it's necessary.
I agree! those cars are rare in this condition....this one looks exceptional and I wouldn't change it. Also, the original interior would never look right with custom paint....there are plenty of cars out there that might benefit from your idea...this one would not! Murph
That car is in such great condition, the most I'd do to it would be lower it, and add some pinstriping. Probably half the guys on here would kill to have their cars in as nice a shape as yours. Eaton springs may be able to help you with lower springs, but you might just need lowering blocks on the back. Maybe cut the front coils about one coil. That shouldn't effect the ride that much or make it bounce. Good luck .
I'm having a hard time visualizing a Watson style paint job on your car. Maybe a photo shop would help. I like the big 4 door cruisers and they always seem to look best just lowered. They almost say, "Don't mind me, I'm just floatin' by." Understated is a good thing sometimes.
No way my car is this clean, but, it's clean enough that I can't ignore regular comments about how great it looks as is and to not do anything to it. Your ride is incredible. Not that I wouldn't touch it, but I'd be really leery about whoever did any work to that pristine car. I never had big plans, little paint, little lowering too, but it's definitely taken away some of the energy I had about what I wanted to do with the car once I started hearing all the positive comments about how it is au naturel. The upside to that I guess is, I'll just have to plan on finding a not so nice one and do what I want to THAT car.
IF you want to do anything, paint the top Pearl White, have it mildly pinstriped and leave the rest of it alone...being it's a four door, panel paint, fades or a Watson style paint job will add nothing to it. Lower it and drive the crap out of it...that's too nice to screw with... R-
Lowering blocks in the back and cut the front springs 1 or 1-1/2 coils. It will still ride fine. If you go to 1960 Oldsmobile.com you can find the production numbers and original sticker price for your car.
I wouldn't touch it. Other than to kill those wheels with fire and get some 9.00-14s. Just my opinion of course. That car is gorgeous.. I have a hard time touching any survivor car myself. That car weighs over 4,300lbs.. Are those 14" radials? I bet they're at or over their weight capacity.
It'd be a shame to see it modified due to originality, but atleast it's not a 2 door hardtop or convertible. I say give the purists a shot to throw their money at to save it. Surely, this isn't that much of an ideal car for you.
Thanks alot, mates! Never thaught I would get this much feedback, and also this many that would just leave it alone. Thanks again! The paint does look a little better on the pictures than in real life. Not that I'm saying it is bad and I'm quite sure it's really good being 53 yrs old. Buth the hood and fender that has been repainted does have a few bad spots. Maybe some reaction... Yes, a white top might be the trick. I saw a car here on hamb that had a white top with white pearl lace on it. Man, that did look good. What wheels would you use instead? Actually I'm not sure what size they are. i'll check it and the weight limits when I get to ND. Two weeks till I land in Chicago now, and take a rental up to ND on a mini roadtrip. I've been thinking that way too. A twodoor ht would probably fit my "needs" more, but not to many of those for sale with need of TLC. I totally understand what you mean! After hearing here that so many would just leave it alone with maybe a little lowering, that's probably what I'll end up doing. "Don't mind me, I'm just floatin' by"!!!!! Hehe. I love that one, Fred! Thanks again for all the good advise!
If it were my car, I think they look nice with 2.5" or so whitewall bias ply tires. I have the next size up on my Lincolns, one car has BFGs from Coker, the other has General Dual 90s In my OPINION those wheels look ridiculous on the car, its not 1993 anymore. But again, that's my opinion... It's your car. But what worries me, from a safety perspective, are what tires you're running. One thing that bugs the shit out of me is that people rarely bring up the reduced load carrying capacity that radials generally have when compared to a bias tire. Say that car is running, I don't know.. 205-75R14s. Those have a load carrying capacity of 1,590lbs each, but that's at a much higher pressure than you're likely to actually run. So at a typical pressure of 30-32psi they may only have a load carrying capacity of 1,200-1,300 pounds. That car weighs 4,360 per my NADA book, add in a full tank of fuel, passengers, luggage, does it have any options? They add weight, AC alone weighs 158 pounds. You end up leaving yourself hardly any safety margin for carrying and stopping a heavy car. Meanwhile a 9.00-14 has a capacity of 1,860 pounds at 32psi. Run them at, say, 26psi or thereabouts and they should still have a capacity of 1,550 pounds each at least, or 6,200lbs. Late 50s/early 60s luxury cars (I have 2 1960 Lincolns which are even heavier and use 9.50s) often use huge 14" tires for which there's no real safe radial alternative when you take overall diameter and load capacity into consideration. Style of wheel? Hey, your car, your call. But tires? Be careful.
Thanks alot for the heads up on the tires. Never really taught about the weight capacity on the tires. Just baught what the wheelshop recomends. I'll for sure look into the tires and maybe get some widewhites Also been searching about the rims that's on it now and not really sure if they are any good. They are LA Wire Wheel. Maybe I should just clean up the original rims, hubcaps and trimrings and use them with new wide whites
Thank you for bringing this up. Something I wouldn't have considered but it's definitely to BE considered.
How much lowering should I go for? Eaton has max 2" in front and 3" in back. I was thinking 2" in front and 2" in back.
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