The original rendering presented to Jimmy Jackson by Greening Auto Company | You’ll find little argument here that the best of car builders are artists of the highest order. But unlike painters, who start with a blank canvas, car builders are more like sculptors, who have to work within the constraints of the marble. As Michelangelo famously said, “every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” It’s with that thought in mind that we take a first look at the 1961 Oldsmobile F-85, being carved out of metal by builder Jesse Greening of the Greening Auto Company and will make its world debut at the SEMA Show, K&N Booth 22755.A few years back when Jesse was picking up a car to be rebuilt for another customer, he spotted the F-85 nearby, faded and pretty well stripped out. Like a sculptor examining a block of marble, Jesse could envision how the Olds could be transformed. So he brought it home as well, locking it away in a storage building until he had the time to start work on the Olds. 
The interior of the Olds F-85 as envisioned by M&M Hot Rod Interiors | Years passed until Jesse’s good customer Jimmy Jackson was poking around the shop grounds looking for something interesting for their next project. When he stumbled across the Oldsmobile it was love at first sight. Further it would make a great complement to Jimmy’s 1968 Camaro, which Jesse had also built. The scope of the build was agreed-upon and artist’s renderings of the completed car were presented. Jimmy greenlighted the program and Jesse was off and running, and like most artists, happy that the Olds build had found a patron. 
The Oldsmobile body with the floor cut out, awaiting the Roadster Shop chassis | The car was brought into the shop and stripped bare. Any cases of tin worm were dealt with and fresh metal welded in place. The floor was cut out of the unibody as the Olds would soon ride on a Roadster Shop chassis and a new floor and rear wheel tubs were fabricated in-shop. And not only would it carry the Roadster Shop’s front suspension, but also its independent rear suspension as well. The folks at the Roadster Shop explain that the geometry of the IRS is designed to work with the larger, heavier vehicles, but also as an optimized system with its independent front suspension. This provides optimal geometry from front to back and the best vehicle handling dynamics for the application.Power will be generated by a 700 horsepower LS7 Black Label engine from Mast Motorsports. Black Label refers to products developed in-house by Mast. The build starts with a fully-machined aluminum block that’s topped off with Mast LS7 305cc cylinder heads. The hand-built LS7 based engine utilizes a Mast Motorsports-developed camshaft with a strong lope that creates great mid and high RPM power for the kind of street manners required of a daily driver but still can be used in competition, if you’re so inclined. 
The Olds body dropped onto the Roadster Shop chassis - a perfect fit the first time | Topping off the engine is a Harrop Hurricane ITB manifold from Australia. It has eight separate long, straight ports, positioned horizontally, with a smooth transition to the inlet port to increase flow efficiency. It’s capped off by a carbon fiber cover that hides all the wires and hoses. Feeding air into the Harrop Hurricane is an inlet in the hood fabricated to accept two K&N panel air filters. So when you lift the hood, all you see is motor. But with the hood down, a rubber gasket provides a tight seal so cold outside air is directed through the K&N filters and into the inlets.Power is driven back through a GM 4L80E four-speed automatic transmission upgraded from stem to stern for an increased torque capacity by Bowler Performance Transmissions. While well-known as a durable and responsive transmission for Chevrolet and GMC light truck applications, the 4L80E has also been used by high-dollar brands like Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, and Rolls-Royce. Stopping this beast is left to the experts at Baer Brakes, who are suppling a package that consists of 14 inch rotors and six piston calipers all around. 
Wheels designed and machined in-house at Greening feature a subtle stripe of orange | Other suppliers to the project are first-class companies including an Ididit Steering column, Lokar throttle components, Classic Instruments, and Vintage Air air conditioning. M&M Hot Rod Interiors will handle the upholstery.Wheels were designed and machined in-house, and if you look carefully, you’ll notice that one spoke has a thin stripe of orange paint – a color that matches the orange exterior of the ’68 Camaro that Jesse built for Jimmy. And when completed, the car will be painted in stunning black, with a subtle stripe of that same orange. If you'll be in Las Vegas for the 2016 SEMA show, this will be one that you won't want to miss. It will be located in the K&N Filters booth, #22755. |
