Clif Inman's 1954 Oldsmobile

A photo of Clif with his Olds taken when he was 16. Clif is the kid with the shades on. Photo courtesy of Clif Inman.

Another photo of Clif's Olds. Photo courtesy of Clif Inman.

In progress. A photo of Clif's Olds taken after it had been lowered, nosed, and shaved for door handles and ornamentation. Photo courtesy of Clif Inman.

1954 Oldsmobile Super 88 two-door hardtop owned by Clif Inman of San Jose, California. Clif, a Willow Glen High School alumnus, caught the rodding fever after hanging out at Tut's Auto Supply on Lincoln Avenue. The Olds was his first car, and he bought it from a car lot in 1958. The car was mildly restyled. Nosed, decked, lowered, and shaved for door handles and ornamentation. It was also dressed up with lakes pipes, and in 2022, Clif told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama that he had a couple of different shops that worked on the car. "Flyers Body Shop in San Jose and a guy we used to call "Bondo Pete." I don’t remember is shop's name. Just the nickname we laid on him."

Traded for a 1957 Chrysler Windsor

Clif used to hang out at John's Drive-In in San Jose with the Olds. Someday in the late 1950s, he saw a sleek 1957 Chrysler cruising the Drive-In, and he was instantly hooked. Around 1960, he sold his Oldsmobile and bought a black 1957 Chrysler. By then, Clif and a buddy had painted it in Clif's parent's garage. "We flamed it," he told Sondre. In 2015, Clif told Kustomrama "I was just a punk kid all of 19 years old at the time." He bought the Chrysler from the same car lot that he bought the Olds from in 1958.