Jim & Joan's J-2
Article by Alan Waters
The Texas Classic Car Show (TCCS) was a few weeks away and a registration form came in the mail from Jim and Joan Bailey for their 1957 Oldsmobile. The registration form indicated the car was a Super 88 two door coupe with the J-2 option. I remember wondering what a J-2 was at the time. I would find out later. Patsy entered the registration information into the TCCS database and I didn't think much about it after that.
The original TCCS date was October 19, 2002 but bad weather forced the postponement of the event until November 2, 2002. November 2nd was a cool overcast Saturday but the turnout for the inaugural TCCS was really great. One of the cars that ventured out that day was a Gold Mist Poly colored 1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 with the J-2 option. The weather once again turned bad and it started to sprinkle around 10:30 am and the show was called at 12:15 pm when the rain was coming down in a steady stream.
The awards presentation saw the Drivers Choice and Sponsors Choice award go to a 1957 Oldsmobile (can you guess which one?). I was only able to get over and see the '57 for a few minutes during the show but thought it was a spectacular car. It was only the second time the '57 had been in the rain since the restoration was completed in 1992.
The '57 was purchased in 1989 in California from the original owner for $900. The original owner was the little old lady from Hollywood (not Pasadena). The car needed a lot of work to bring it back to life. This was a nicely optioned car having power steering, power brakes, power windows, power seats (2 way), whitewall tires, outside rearview mirror, push button radio, tinted glass, dual exhaust, spinner hubcaps and the J-2 package.
The J-2 option included 3 two barrel carburetors, a special intake manifold, 10.0:1 compression ratio, special air cleaner, throttle linkage and head gaskets. When Jim and Joan purchased the '57 the original 3 two barrel set up (the J-2 option) had only one two barrel carb in place, the other two had been removed and the intake manifold had a plate over each removed carb intake. The original air cleaner had been slightly modified to handle the plate covered intakes. The air cleaner was another item that required a little work to bring it back to stock. The J-2 cost $83 and gave the 371 cubic inch Olds V-8 engine a total of 300 horsepower.
The body work was another challenge. A dent was pulled in a rear quarter panel, the front fenders needed a little work, and the doors were replaced. After the body work was completed the car was given a fresh paint job using the original Gold Mist Poly color. The gorgeous paint job was done in Jim and Joan's garage. The restoration took place between 1989 and 1992. The results are amazing.
Please check out the pictures of the car available on this website. TCCS Chairpersons Van Redin and Alan Waters were very fortunate to have Jim and Joan permit them to conduct a photo session on the '57 in February 2003. Both Van and Alan used Nikon 995's for the photo shoot. Van and Alan hope the photos do justice to the incredible restoration of this classic '57 Olds.