Custom Car Chronicle
In the Works

Oz Welch Project ’41 Olds

OZ WELCH PROJECT 41 OLDS

Master builder OZ Welch, owner of OZ KUSTOM is building a new personal ride. 1941 Oldsmobile 30window coupe with Buick front.

 
[dropcap]O[/dropcap]z bought the car as a project from Sacramento Customs. The car is an 1941 Oldsmobile and came from the show with the Buick front end grafted on. Oz like the overall look of the car and decided it would be a perfect candidate for a next personal Custom. The only thing he did not like about it was that with the new Buick front end, the rear of the car looked a bit to short.

Oz decided to built this one as a three-window coupe. He is always looking for some new shapes in the cars he built. So Oz decided that after doing the ’39 Cadillac Hard-top for John D’Agostino, and an ’41 Cadillac with Padded top he would do his own ’41 Olds as a three-window coupe. As a three window coupe he could give the top new shorter shape which made it more in proportion with the longer front end of the car. And the three window Coupe would be a nice new style to add to the full fenders line of recent Customs from his Oz Welch Kustom shop.

When it was time to chop the top, Oz decided to move the top forward a bit to make the rear appear longer, more in proportions with the longer Buick front end. He moved the back portion of the roof 8 inches forward, chopped the a-pillars 4 1/2 inch and the rear 6 inches. Right now the chop is roughed in place and has the right look and feel. To further lengthen the rear Oz will stretch the rear fenders a little bit.

CCC_oz-41-olds-in-the-works-03Snapshot taken by Oz after he had the rough shape of the roof tacked in place. This shot also shows the ’41 Buick front end and how the Olds hood was extended and reshaped to make the Buick grille and front fenders fit.
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CCC_oz-41-olds-in-the-works-01The c-pillars have been removed completely at this point. The rear of the roof has several relieve cuts allowing for reshaping the roof to the right shape for the shorter top.
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CCC_oz-41-olds-in-the-works-02Door frame was cut and tacked in place to get a feel for the new window height. Later it will be cut, lengthened and reshaped to fit the new opening.
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CCC_oz-41-olds-in-the-works-04The new position of the rear window shows how much shorter the roof now is.
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CCC_oz-41-olds-in-the-works-05Rear quarter windows are now filled in giving the top an complete different feel.The C-pillar metal of the Olds top has been reshaped and welded in place to form the 8 inch shorter top.
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We will keep an close eye on this one from Oz. And when there are new developments we will do a follow up here on the Custom Car Chronicle… stay tuned.

 

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Rik Hoving

Rik is the CCC editor in chief. As a custom car historian he is researching custom car history for many years. In 2004 he started the Custom Car Photo Archive that has become a place of joy for many custom car enthousiasts. Here at CCC Rik will bring you inspiring articles on the history of custom cars and builders. Like a true photo detective he will show us what's going on in all those amazing photos. He will write stories about everything you want to know in the realm of customizing. In daily life Rik is a Graphic Designer. He is married to the CCC webmaster and the father of a 10 year old son (they are both very happy with his excellent cooking skills)

4 thoughts on “Oz Welch Project ’41 Olds

  • Always cool to see new stuff coming out of Oz’s shop. Although he often has a modern twist to his builds I really do love almost all of the stuff that comes out of his shop.

  • OZ does great custom work, I find these coupe always look a little strange when the quarter window is removed for a three window look.

  • I haven’t figured my way around to properly utilize this website yet. I have had a 1941 4 door Cadillac since 1985. to me honest it’s a piece of shit four-door sedan with some rust issues . it’s not my love but I’ve had in a long time since 1985. Within the last year somebody stole my stock baby chrome fins. I still have the stock tail lights. butt they looking incomplete without the baby Crome fins. I’m NOT Willing to pay the price for stock chrome bolt on fins. I am considering up to a major restyle of tail lights on my stock 41 Cadillac. So keeping a simple what would you suggest? they can either be molded in or floating… I’m willing to consider ideas. it’s not like I’m restoring the car. It’s just AINT worth it being a four-door.

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