1957 Oldsmobile Wagon - Back From The Future

It's far from stock, but what makes Jack White's '57 Olds wagon exceptional is what he hasn't done to it. You'd just have to know a few of his other cars to understand why.

Among them was a '36 Chrysler Airflow that appeared on our June '04 cover. In a nutshell, the thing was extreme: to reflect Jack's idea of what the model would've looked like had it still been in production in 2010, not a single one of its panels eluded the knife. Beyond merely chopped, the car got wedge-sectioned its entire length.

That car won the Al Slonaker award upon its debut at the Grand National Roadster Show in 2004. It followed that up with the Sam Barris Memorial Award at the Sacramento Autorama and at the inaugural Go for the Gold title and its $20,000 sweepstakes at the Daryl Starbird National Rod & Custom Car Show in Tulsa. Then, the following year, it sold at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale for $550,800-a precedent for street rod values that stands to this day. By most means the car was out there. In a good way, too.

Though it's not by any means, by comparison to the Airflow the Olds is stock. And for a guy like Jack, that suggests a philosophical shift.

"The Airflow..." Jack explained, "...you could drive it, but it was a piece of jewelry and you really didn't want to risk it. Every time you took it out you worried about damage and potential rock chips and such. We wanted something that was more relaxed, easy, and fun to drive."

Even if temporary, Jack's departure from such radical cars like the Airflow cuts deeper than the Oldsmobile's personality. For starters, whereas Jack typically oversees his cars' entire constructions, he bought the wagon mostly finished at the Goodguys Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale, Arizona. "The prior owner did all the hard work," he admitted, although not the least bit sheepishly. In fact, you could hear the relief in his voice.

As the story goes, said prior owner was more of a restorer at heart but gave in to the suggestion of a few friends that he color outside the lines with his next project. By starting with this particular car, he relieved himself of a great deal of restyling.

It's because the '57 Olds is just about a custom car right out of the box. That year GM applied the hardtop principles to its 98 and Super 88 Oldsmobile lines to create the Fiesta Holiday (and to Buick's Special and Century lines to create the Riviera Estate and the Caballero). Seeing that they were hardtops and hardtops were the tops of the lines, they were lavish affairs with just about every appointment available on a production car for the period.

Presumably understanding the somewhat custom personality the car already had, he shaved the handles and badges, had it sprayed non-stock colors, and lowered it modestly over a set of custom wheels. Baskerville would call it a shave and a haircut.

Though happy with the car's look and construction, Jack isn't necessarily given to living other peoples' dreams. So, with Bill Dick, Marty Stromberger, and Jeff White's help, he tailored its personality to better match his own.

Everything Jack owns glides more than rolls. To bring the Olds down to earth, they equipped the chassis with Air Ride Technologies' Level Pro ride-height systems. They replaced the coils with air springs and equipped the de-arched leaf springs with one of the company's AIRoverLeaf kits. The rear still wears its original drums, but the front sports a set of 11-inch GM rotors and calipers. Jack isn't a traditionalist by any means, so the 18- and 20-inch Boyd Coddington Impulse wheels are entirely appropriate.

While '50s-era GM big-car interiors were pretty plush, Orange Auto Upholstery took this one to another level. In place of the bench are Buick Wildcat buckets. Between those is a console that houses the means to adjust the car's profile and windows. The only differences since Jack acquired the car are the amplifiers and Boston Acoustics speakers that Jeff White installed.

Jack will occasionally grouse about the car not having a later engine and overdrive trans, but we're the first to celebrate its 371-inch engine. After all, it's a descendent of the 303, one of the two first mass-produced overhead-valve V-8 engines debuted in 1949 (the other being that year's 331 Cadillac), and each engine is a legend in its own right. Anyway, by virtue of the deep first gear in the four-speed Hydramatic bolted to that engine, these cars accelerate well; by virtue of the tall axle gears, they'll drive all day long at modern highway speeds without breaking a sweat.

And drive is exactly what Jack and Sue do with the Olds. In fact, taking it to shows is probably the least frequent task it sees. "We treat it like our daily driver," he said. "We go to the grocery store in it. We take it on wine tours."

"I don't think it ever would get the same attention with the Olds than we got with the Airflow..." he added, "...but then again, we couldn't really use the Airflow in the same way. "

That sort of polar split defines every part of Jack's Olds. He'll start by apologizing for some inconsequential flaw in the paint and end up crowing about how he doesn't think twice about parking it in a public lot. He'll agonize over a stain on the carpet in the cargo area and then marvel about the things he's stuffed in there. In fact, he flat-out brags about losing a rear axle at 80-plus miles per hour on a remote highway.

In a sense, Jack's gone full circle back to his early car-building days, although this time he's building mild by choice rather than by necessity. And now that he's returned, I think he's enjoying 'em more than ever. But don't say anything. Let's just let him think that it's some sort of passing phase.