Darrell Greig's: The Johnny and Lucille Story

Laguba Beach, CA

Story and pictures by: Darrell Greig

After losing my Dad in the summer of 2004 I wanted to restore one of his last projects a 50 Olds 88 2 door sedan. But it did not take long to find out that I did not have the money to fully restore it.
     
1-Johnny Jan 2005 a   1-Johnny Jan. 2005

By a little fate I stretched out my dollars & bought a Black 50 Olds 88 Coupe (Lucille)Very Clean Stock Body 72,000 miles

  • Fresh 350 Chevy (Moderate Build) 350 Trans
  • New Leather Interior
  • Black Lacquer Paint (Looks Great but A lot of Up Keep)
  • It was a perfect car for me ready to go.
     
Lucille (2)   Lucille (3)
     
But I still had a hard time letting go of my Dad’s last project (Johnny). After a little planning I thought I could do the drive train. With a ruff paint job I would make the theme a Saturday Night Dirt Track Racer. Oldsmobile with its new Rocket Engine (Some Say the First Muscle Car) won over half the NASCAR races in the first 3 years 49-51. The cars are rare because of all the racing professional & amateur. So a dedication to the racing history of Oldsmobile would make sense and be fun. Heck that’s what credit cards are for.
     
2-Johnny at shop   3-Johnny ready for the trip home
4- Johnny Eng 1   4-Johnny Eng 2
4-Johnny Eng 3   4-Johnny Eng 4
4-Johnny Eng 5   6-Johnny Paint 1
6-Johnny Paint 2   6-Johnny Paint 3
6-Johnny Paint 4   6-Johnny Paint 5
6-Johnny Paint 6   6-Johnny Paint 7
6-Johnny Paint 9   6-Johnny Paint 10
6-Johnny Paint 11   6-Johnny Paint
     
I had a lot of help to get Johnny going. My goal was the up coming L.A. Roadster Show held on Father’s Day each year. I went a lot with my Dad. I found an Edmunds 2-Duce Manifold with 2 stock Rochester Back Draft Carbs. Eddie Edmund made these in 1949 for the new Oldsmobile Rocket Engine. The Brakes, Radiator, Carbs, Shocks, Gas tank, Front End, Steering & Column all have been rebuilt. Exhaust out the side with glasspacks. I painted it over 2 weeks with a couple of dozen Rust-oleum rattlers & a one very sore finger.
     
7-Johnny Int 1   7-Johnny Int 2
7-Johnny Int 3   7-Johnny Int 4
7-Johnny Int 5   7-Johnny Int 6

 

Johnny gets a lot of action at car shows. Some ask when I am going to finish it. Some ask how the Carbs get air. Some just shake their heads and walk away. But the car guys get it & enjoy the look.

   9-Johnny Father
     
Lucille does pretty well herself. The names come from old Oldsmobile commercials. For years they used a young couple named Johnny & Lucille for years in their advertising.
     
Lucille (4)   Lucille (5)
Lucille (6)   Lucille (7)
Lucille (8)   Lucille (9)
Lucille (10)   Lucille (11)
Lucille (12)   Lucille (13)
Lucille (14)   Lucille (2)
     
Thank you Darrell for the pictures and story of how your cars came about. To all our readers out there, be sure to look for these two cars in Darrell’s “Year in Review” car shows.

 

By hrhwp

hi this is my bio. :)

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