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Although we usually feature Original Parts Group Inc. (OPGI) customer–owned cars in these “spotlight” blog posts, many of OPGI’s employees also own, work on, and drive some really nice classic cars too. Many of the interesting classics in our parking lot are daily-driven by employees and yet are also nice enough to be on display at a cruise or a show. They are nice enough that we thought you might like to see a few of them too.
The car you see here today is a 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass S Holiday Coupe owned by OPGI employee Keith Scovil of Anaheim, California. Keith drives his classic Cutlass to work every day and after 16 years of ownership he is still in the process of restoring and improving it. Although his Olds is obviously a clean classic muscle car, Keith says “It is not a show car by any means, it’s a driver with personality.” It is also a car with a pretty cool back story, but we’ll let Keith tell you that part in his own words:
“After I first got my driver’s permit at age 15 back in 2005, it didn’t take but a few weeks before I began searching for a suitable candidate car to become the basis of my long-dreamed-of classic car restoration project. I found a decent 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass S Holiday Coupe that I really liked on Cardomain.com and quickly called about it, but unfortunately the seller lived in Lancaster, California (which is a long way from Anaheim when you’re only 15 years old). Needless to say, I was disappointed that we were not able to meet due to the distance.
I next learned that there would be a car/parts swap meet held in Pomona the following Saturday, so I enlisted my father and older brother to help me get there to see what might be available. At the swap meet we quickly came across another nice 1969 Cutlass S that I liked very much. The car was in very good shape and had a 2 barrel 350, auto trans, power steering, power brakes, A/C, and a vinyl top. Although the car was advertised at $3600, we were able to strike a deal at $2500 and on August 28, 2005, I became the new owner. While we were finishing up with the sale paper work at the meet, the owner stated that he thought my voice sounded familiar. In a bit of a nice coincidence, I learned that the guy I had first called about the ’69 Cutlass on Cardomain.com was the same gentleman that was standing in front of me at the swap meet. It was the same car!
Once we got home and had the new steed in the stable, a father and son restoration project began. The first objective was to get the chassis cleaned up and squared away. As a result, new front and rear suspension was installed along with all new steering components as well as a CPP disc brake conversion kit. Back at school, my auto shop teacher was also an Oldsmobile enthusiast and he ended up giving me a W-31 spec camshaft to use in the car. We did install that camshaft, but with the stock low compression heads, it wasn’t as aggressive as it could have been. I knew the previous owner had performed a budget rebuild and the block was bored out .030” for a typical 355 ci engine. It also had standard cast dish pistons and factory connecting rods along with a stock “N” crankshaft. Initially we left the stock #5 heads alone, but it wasn’t long before the valve guides started showing wear and we had the heads serviced. During this time, my father and I decided it was time to change the camshaft to a more modern profile as well as a more street-able grind. We decided on a Comp Cams XE268 and went with full, roller pedestal mount rocker arms. As the car sits today, the engine has roughly 9.25:1 compression, along with the mild cam, headers, 2.5” exhaust, 650cfm carb, and an RPM Performer intake manifold. The engine has never been dyno’ed, but I imagine it’s good for 330hp and maybe 380-400 ft. lbs. of torque. Behind the engine we installed a 2004-R Overdrive transmission and 10” non-lockup torque converter. The rear end is a Chevy 12 bolt unit with Eaton limited slip differential and 3.42 gears.
Moving inside the car, the entire interior (along with a lot of R-Blox sound deadener) was purchased from OPGI. The majority of the interior work was performed in our home garage aside from the unassembled rear side panels and rear seat upholstery. I also went with Pro Car bucket seats up front. These days I am in the process of restoring a factory ’67 to ‘69 center console and shifter, along with upgrading the carpet from standard 80/20 Raylon Loop to the more modern Essex style of carpet.
Believe it or not, the exterior of my Olds was painted by Earl Scheib near my home in Anaheim. The paint is of the California-friendly, water-based variety. It has 3 coats of base color white along with 3 coats of clear. The vehicle was color sanded to a smooth 1500 grit prior to buffing and I think it turned out very well. Remember that this car received a body-on restoration, not a body-off. It’s a daily street car and is the only vehicle registered in my name. The car was involved in one accident a few years back when another driver attempted to make a right turn from the center lane and put me into the curb (see “Oldspowered69” on YouTube for a video/slideshow depicting the damage of said accident), but it’s a driver, not a show car. It did win a plaque from the one and only show I have ever entered it in (Main Street Car Show of Garden Grove, California), but its true purpose is be utilized and enjoyed as my daily-driver.” – Keith Scovil
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