Every Oldsmobile in 1930 was offered in three trim levels, standard, special and deluxe, all of them equipped with a 198-cubic-inch in-line six-cylinder engine.
George Shepard calls his two-passenger Model F-30 coupe a “Plain Jane” car which would have been the standard version which sold new for a base price of $895. A total of 3,726 cars like his were manufactured.
The car survived the Great Depression and World War II but nobody knows where. The earliest record of the car was when it was registered in 1957 in Maine. The old Oldsmobile passed through a few owners before it was purchased in 1968 by a man who set about restoring the coupe. The well executed task consumed four years
After 28 years, the Oldsmobile was put up for sale at the same time Mr. Shepard was searching for a closed antique car. At the time he had a 1920 Model T Ford phaeton that he says, “had air conditioning all year round.” He bought the car in the summer of 2000 in New England and the following year moved to Burke, Va. The 2,755-pound car made the trip in a trailer.
“This thing has a nice motor in it,” he says. Even so, he doesn’t want to be the driver to see if the top speed of 85 mph on the speedometer can be reached. The 5.50x16-inch four-ply tires are on demountable rims attached to 10-spoke wheels. Each wooden spoke is decorated with a diamond shape in black paint. A special tool he carries in the trunk enables him to adjust the wheel rim so the tire can be removed in case of a punctured tire. Five wheels with wire spokes were a $65 accessory.
The spare tire is mounted at the rear of the car, behind the gas tank necessitating a split rear bumper, on each side of the spare tire. Both rear bumpers are curved to wrap around the sides to protect the fenders.
“Getting all four of the mechanical brakes adjusted is difficult,” Mr. Shepard says. He adds that braking his car is always interesting.
Another tool in the trunk is the familiar hand crank. Fortunately, his Oldsmobile has a self-starter that is activated by stepping on the starter on the floor. In front of the radiator are 17 vertical shutters which can be opened or closed by turning a hand control on the dashboard.
The shutters ration the air available to be drawn through the radiator by the four-blade fan. While the engine is developing 62 horsepower it is also throwing off a considerable amount of heat.
Assisting in controlling heat from the engine are 27 vertical louvers on both sides of the engine hood.
Beside lowering the window in each door, the rear window can be lowered for flow-through ventilation.
Below the rear window, inside the trunk, is a tray to catch any rainwater that might otherwise drip into the trunk. A rubber hose then carries the dripping on down and to the outside of the car.
When the trunk is open the wood framing of the “Body by Fisher” is evident. The wood forms the skeleton that supports the metal body.
At the hob of the four-spoke steering wheel is the horn button and two levers, the left one to adjust the throttle and the right one to illuminate the nine-inch diameter “Tiltray” headlights as well as the single taillight on the left fender.
Inside the cozy cabin both the hand brake and the gear shift lever sprout from the floor. Synchromesh transmissions were not installed in Oldsmobiles until 1931. “You have to double clutch shifting up and going down,” Mr. Shepard explains.
On the inside of the passenger’s door is a convenient pocket which is the only storage area inside the car. A single wiper suspended from the top keeps the area of the windshield directly in front of the driver clear.
Mr. Shepard says his butterscotch-colored coupe has brown pinstriping and a black fabric insert in the roof. All steel “turret tops” were still a few years in the future.
The odometer now indicates 54,986 miles and Mr. Shepard has no reason to believe that figure is - or is not - accurate. With the semi-elliptic springs at each corner of the car in conjunction with the 113.5-inch wheelbase, the Oldsmobile provides a comfortable ride. Even in cold weather Mr. Shepard can easily be persuaded to take his Oldsmobile out for some exercise. He points to the engine and says, “That’s my heater.”
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