(Pics) 1967 Oldsmobile 4-4-2

I have always liked the fake louvers on the hood of the 67

Posted by: @bob-jackman

I have always liked the fake louvers on the hood of the 67

 

They do look great, Bob ! H61 did a fine job with this diecast replica and was able to do several versions and colors of this one, including a convertible, I recall.

I have the Olds 442 "Hurst Hustler" edition. It comes with a pair of cheater slicks and different wheels..

Mike, how many strings do you have to pull to get a SR-71 to do a flyover for your 442 picture? 

Lol, I guess it was just unfortunate for me that both the 442 Olds and the Lockheed SR-71 were each models and not the real thing !

Actually, I did get to see and photograph a real SR-71 when one did some fly-overs at the Chicago Air Show at the Lake Michigan site many years ago. It was a last minute replacement for the remarkable British Vulcan V-bomber which had crashed near the Glenview N.A.S. during practice for the show.

Posted by: @rich-sufficool

I have the Olds 442 "Hurst Hustler" edition. It comes with a pair of cheater slicks and different wheels..

I have "more than a few"  of these, in all body styles, but I dare say YOU have the rarest version. The edition of those extra wheels is a very nice (and rare ) touch! 😎 😎 

@mikedetorrice I think it was 1970 when I took the company's 'deuce-and-a-half'  from Bangkok to the port at Sattahip to pick up supplies. The B-52 AFB at Utapao was attached. There, lo and behold, was the super secret SR-71 (or perhaps the CIA's A-12) on the runway in front of its hanger. I was floored at this futuristic space ship looking thing. I was talking to an airman about how secret it was and he laughed and said when the colonel/pilot came out in the morning to inspect the craft, he found a little Thai boy playing inside it. I think the plane's security detail got court marshalled.

Posted by: @bob-jackman

I have always liked the fake louvers on the hood of the 67

 

+1.  The red line tires really add to the overall look as well.

That is a great story involving the U.S.A.F. SR-71 or A-12. I would bet someone got called on the carpet for that incident !

Those planes I believe could (and did) fly out of certain S.E.A. airfields in the Far East, including Clark A.F.B. in the Philippines. One staged out of one of our bases in 1968 to fly over North Korea to see where the U.S.S. Pueblo was being held. It also sent a rather "pointed" message.

And on an automobile subject, I understand some servicemen put their car in storage until they returned or they may have purchased a car overseas and had it shipped back to the U.S.A. when they returned home.

@mikedetorrice most of the single officers in my company bought Japanese cars through the PX and the Nissan Fairlady (AKA: the 240Z) was very popular. Family guys bought the Toyota Crown which was a really cool luxury car. If they had it delivered to Thailand, they could sell it for at least twice what they paid for it (a 100# tariff on cars not produced in Thailand) or had it sent to San Francisco so when they cleared Travis AFB, they could hop in the car and take a leisurely drive home.

I, too, was fortunate enough to see a SR71 Blackbird take off at a Norton AFB airshow back in '84.  What was REALLY lucky was that I'd just arrived and the aircraft was taxing on the runway waiting to turn and get takeoff clearance.   You can see the afterburner exhaust shock waves on take-off!  I almost peed myself in excitement! 

I've enlarged one of the photos.  You can see the pilot that is in a NASA astronaut flight suit.  That's necessary due to the extreme altitude ceiling the SR71 Blackbird flies which is around 85,000 ft.  

Ahhhh!  That was in the early days of Highway 61 when they were producing models that no one else had ever done!  With the original mold, they made the Hurst Hairy Oldsmobile exhibition car.  It featured twin supercharged Oldsmobile engines using the front-wheel drive transaxle from the Toronado.  

That's a great-looking Highway 61 drag race Olds 442 and a very cool story of the encounter with the SR-71. Kelly Johnston and the Skunk Works really outdid themselves with this vehicle. It was under development more than 60 years ago .......  

I have the red Hurst 67 and the the 66 Hurst Hairy Oldsmobile.  Unfortunately, In my 4 years 4 months, I never saw a SR-71.   Closest I might have, I was riding the bus back to Ramstien AB and someone said there was a SR-71 taking off.  But by the time I got to the window, all I saw was the glow of two after burners in the distance. Did see a U-2

at the air show at Ramstien.