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1960 Oldsmobile Super 88 Is 20 Feet of Custom Candy Orange Paint

When's the last time you looked at a stunning old car but didn't know exactly what it was? Well, this 1960 Oldsmobile Super 88 is like that, particularly because it's so rare, but also due to the customization.
1960 Oldsmobile Super 88 Is 20 Feet of Custom Candy Orange Paint 7 photos
Photo: Hoonigan AutoFocus/YouTube screenshot
1960 Oldsmobile Super 88 Is 20 Feet of Custom Candy Orange Paint1960 Oldsmobile Super 88 Is 20 Feet of Custom Candy Orange Paint1960 Oldsmobile Super 88 Is 20 Feet of Custom Candy Orange Paint1960 Oldsmobile Super 88 Is 20 Feet of Custom Candy Orange Paint1960 Oldsmobile Super 88 Is 20 Feet of Custom Candy Orange Paint1960 Oldsmobile Super 88 Is 20 Feet of Custom Candy Orange Paint
Famous drift photographer Larry Chen recently stepped a little out of his comfort zone to film this feature for Hoonigan AutoFocus. It's representative of that period of car design but doesn't have all the chrome we're used to seeing.

The owner says they only made this car for one year, 1960, but that's only part of the truth. The 88 was a line of full-size cars that lasted from 1949 right until 1999, and for the first couple of decades, it was Oldsmobile's money-maker.

Convertibles, coupes, sedans with the bubble roof - they made it all. But it had to be "leaner, lower, wider" like they said in the ads. If we remember correctly, in 1959, GM began to make the B-body chassis that everybody had to use, and it was up to Pontiac, Buick or Chevy to come up with original designs.

This coupe belongs to the fourth-generation Oldsmobile 88, which only lasted for two years. And this front end was only offered for 1960. 2-door cars were called "Holiday Scenicoupes," while four-door hardtops were called "Holiday Sport Sedans."

And then we arrive at the custom changes. The car is done up like a custom SoCal lowrider with the paint being its most attention-grabbing feature. The Candy Tangerine finish is comprised of a silver undercoat, followed by a hand-turned silver leaf and pinstriping, embedded into layer after layer of candy orange paint covering nearly 20 feet of sexy bodywork.

The trim looks normal, but the Super 88 used to be known as the "chrome mobile" and that alone should tell you that a lot of the decorative pieces have been removed or shaved. Not much is happening on the chassis and engine front, other than the obvious air suspension needed to get this Olds sitting right.

The shotgun exhaust is nice, but a pretty common upgrade. The Tuc N'roll interior is quite nostalgic, representative of the California scene, and sports a few touches from the father of the owner, who originally bought the car.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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