Heavy Metal: 1968 Oldsmobile 4-4-2

Do any of you have Is it the younger of the older children? In my neighborhood, all the kids were older, so while I might sometimes be looked down upon as a bandwagon, the things these kids liked—like music—slowly rubbed off on me. The same goes for cars.

My family used to rent a house in Dewey Beach, DE with two other families. Of the eight children, only two were younger than me. Of the older guys, Dan Martinez is the one who loves cars the most. He was also a budding heavy metal guitarist, and his future band Solitude built a strong following on the East Coast and even managed to land a record deal.

Dan’s mother had a new 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Holiday Coupe, which was her primary mode of transportation in the 1980s. I grew up listening to the unique sound of Oldsmobile. Of course, with one year left until he got his license, Dan already knew all about Oldsmobiles, no doubt helped by regular purchases hot rod and Automotive Technology. At the age of 15, Dan began looking for a 4-4-2 formation.

What ended up in his garage was a beat-up Willow Gold 1968 4-4-2 whose original owner was a woman. Options include automatic transmission with center console, air conditioning, vinyl roof and wheel covers.

For the next year, Dan’s sister, Denise, drove him to school until he got his driver’s license. A minor fender bender stranded Olds, which meant he had to scour the local junkyard for parts, but he did get the scoop on the Hurst/Olds “Force Air” in 1968. Since the new parts needed to be painted, Dan opted to repaint the whole thing, using a bright orange similar to Embrace Orange, leaning towards the red side. Local GTO hotshot Jim Hostler also helped with the high-end rebuild and rear-end updates. The vinyl roof is gone, but the trim on the C-pillar remains.

I was still a kid during that time, but I was able to enjoy that connection because whether I was visiting the Martinez family or our annual beach rental, it was always enlightening to see an interesting old car on the street . The impact was so great that when I was looking for a car of my own, I almost knew enough about Oldsmobile to ask the right questions and ended up finding one for myself, despite my desire A GTO.

My family then moved to New Jersey. I remember visiting Wilmington and happening to see Dan and his shiny car on Greenhill Boulevard. Alas, I was behind him and when we turned in different directions he wouldn’t recognize me driving my mom’s car.

Dan has maintained a 4-4-2 formation throughout the years. Instead of enjoying it as much as he had hoped, he parked it at the house of band member Rod Kopp. Unconsciously, 18 years have passed, and the band, education, professional life, and family all need his attention. Being forced to move Olds from Rod’s yard was the motivation Dan needed to get back in the driver’s seat again. It spent a year at Bill Cannon’s Awesome Engines facility in Selbyville, where the engine, transmission, fuel system, cooling system, brakes and suspension were restored. However, the body needed attention due to smoke seeping into the cabin, so another year was spent at Carmen’s Auto Body in Aston, Pennsylvania – where Carmen surprised Dan with a new vinyl top. Dan was personally responsible for the dash, interior, electrical and sound systems.

Forty years later, the 4-4-2 formation looks like what you see here. Another personal favorite of mine is the W36 stripe, which was an option only in 1968. Considering the high school parking lot was dominated by Chevys, Dan deserves credit for bucking the trend and representing the best of Lansing for forty years.

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