“Hemi Joel” Nystrom is no stranger to the pages of BangShift.com. We shared his story of building a F.A.S.T Hemi GTX for drag race warfare, we showed you video of him drag racing, yes, drag racing his Duesenberg and now we’re back sharing another cool car story from his shop. Nystrom’s latest automotive adventure is by far his most personal that we’ve documented yet. He’s bringing his first hot rod back to life.
Working at a gas station as a kid, Nystrom spent lots of time with a guy who loved to brag on his bad ass 1967 Olds 442. He talked down all of the local hot iron that showed up at the place for gas, and held court telling wild stories about how fast the car was and all the stuff he had done to it. Nystrom, the wide-eyed, car obsessed youngster was all ears. The mental picture he had formed about the car resembled the baddest super stockers in the land.
Then, magic happened. The Olds owner needed to use a truck, which Joel had. In exchange Joel would get the keys to the Olds for a week. By his own admission, Nystrom hauled a year’s worth of ass in that week and soiled his shorts a few times trying to pull the big ‘vert down on four wheel drum brakes.
The bad news was that after a week, the carriage turned into a pumpkin again and the Olds went back to the owner. Joel pestered the owner to sell to no avail, but two years later the phone on Joel’s wall rang and the guy on the other end of the line was getting married and had to sell the Olds 442 convertible, and quick. $700 later, Joel had the car. he whipped it into shape, toured the country with it, blew up a couple of motors in it and then parked it…for 23 years. Luckily, the parking was inside, so the car itself is in good shape. The mechanicals need the work.
Joel’s project thread is awesome because it includes a ton of vintage photos documenting the cars earliest days in his possession, the glory years, and now the beginning of the rebirth process. Joel will be taking the car on Power Tour 2011 to complete the full circle reincarnation to road trip cruiser!
This is one you have to check out!
Project Thread: “Hemi Joel” Nystrom’s 1967 Olds 442 Rebirth!
