Oldsmobile only built 1 W-31 4 speed convertible factory drag car, as part of a special partnership with the five-car Smothers Brothers Racing Team. The 5 cars, plus 2 exhibition cars represent Oldsmobile's most potent combinations for the 1969 model year, and the car we're focusing on is the only surviving member of the Smothers Brothers Racing Team. It's the King Olds sponsored 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass S convertible, powered by a W-31 Ram Rod 350ci engine and 4 speed transmission. The car ran in G/Stock in 1969 and H/Stock in 1970 NHRA competition.
Oldsmobile pulled five cars off the assembly line (all with different body styles, engine and transmission combinations) and built them with just enough aftermarket parts to be legal for NHRA Stock Eliminator. Headers, engine blueprinting, traction bars, aftermarket wheels and a few other items were allowed. All five cars were painted similarly and featured similar graphics. The only survivor is a car that was driven by Jim Waibel out of Florida. He raced this car for a little over one year, and turned it back in at King Olds after he raced at the inaugural 1970 NHRA Gatornationals at his home track in Gainesville, Florida. Also, the car was part of the ribbing-cutting ceremony in 1969 at the now famous Gainesville drag strip.
The car sat dormant for decades, until the right guy came along to buy the car and do it justice. Jeff Kane bought the car a few years ago and has spent many hours researching to accurately rebuild this car to its as-raced condition. It's a beautiful representation of the sole survivor, and it's truly a piece of drag racing history, as one of the few Oldsmobile factory drag cars.
