A 1953 Oldsmobile 88 Convertible that was originally customized by George Barris and Dean Jeffries had been sitting in a garage for over 50 years before being discovered by Chip Foose. The car was originally built for twin brothers John and Bill Glazier back in 1958.
Foose explains in a video on his YouTube channel, “Foose Deign,” how he discovered the car on the Hemmings site almost a year ago. As soon as he saw the car, he reached out to the current owner, Craig Glazier, one of the sons and nephews of the original owners, not to buy it, but to help him clean it up and sell it.
The video documents Foose meeting with Craig and exploring the condition of the car. Craig tells Foose that he and his brothers were never allowed to touch the car while growing up. The two of them end up inflating the tires and pushing the car out into the daylight.
It was important to Foose to preserve the originality of the car by only cleaning it and not restoring it. Other videos in the YouTube series show that Foose even had a replica made of the original license plate shown in photos of the car. They also show Foose taking the car out for its first drive in over five decades.
The Candy Apple Red Olds is currently up for auction on Hemmings.com. It features gold trim, a blue-and-white interior, and a McCulloch-supercharged 304ci V-8 engine with automatic transmission. The auction ends on Friday, May 16.
