Raymond Arsenault on Life and Business: Ridler Award-winning ’39 Oldsmobile captures Hot August Nights Cup

The Hot August Nights Cup winner, Billy and Debbie Thomas’s 1939 Oldsmobile Model 60 convertible. Photos by Marcello Rostagni, courtesy Hot August Nights.

Starting from a one-owner 1939 Oldsmobile Model 60 convertible, owners Billy and Debbie Thomas, from Robstown, Texas, set out to build a show-winning street rod with the help of builder Harold Chapman and Customs and Hot Rods of Andice. Last Saturday, the couple’s Olds delivered big for the second time in 2016, capturing the Hot August Nights Cup in Reno, Nevada, and joining the car’s 2016 Ridler Award in the trophy case.

Second place went to the 1962 Chevrolet Impala SS of Howard and Susan Groff.

As Dan Strohl explained after the Oldsmobile captured the Ridler Award last February, the car now rides on a heavily modified Art Morrison chassis, while an estimated 90-percent of the convertible’s original body panels have been reworked to create the car’s long-and-low stance. Power comes from a 455-cu.in. Oldsmobile V-8, punched out to 470-cu.in. and reportedly good for around 650 horsepower.

Third place went to the 1955 Chevy 210 of Paul Schulz.

While Customs and Hot Rods of Andice did the fabrication and assembly, the paint, a shade called Kona Brown, was sprayed by Charley Hutton. The dual award-winner carries a fitting name, too: The couple calls the car “Olds Cool,” a claim that show judges have now repeatedly confirmed. For the win in Reno, the Thomas’s take home a check for $30,000; a customized tool box; a five-night stay at the Eldorado Hotel for next year’s Hot August Nights; a gift certificate for McCollister’s Transportation; $500 worth of Optima Batteries; $500 worth of Adam’s Premium car care products; $500 worth of AMSOIL products; the Hot August Nights winner’s jacket; and trophies for themselves and for builder Harold Chapman.

Fourth place went to the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro of Alex Short.

Rounding out the top-five cars in Reno were the 1962 Chevrolet Impala SS owned by Howard and Susan Groff of Northridge, California; the 1955 Chevy 210 owned by Paul Schulz of Folsom, California; the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro owned by Alex Short of Bluffdale, Utah; and the 1959 Rambler American two-door wagon owned by Dean Osland of Scottsdale, Arizona.

Fifth place went to the 1959 Rambler American two-door wagon of Dean Osland.

Finishing sixth was the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air owned by Jerry Jacobs of Santa Maria, California; seventh was the 1949 Cadillac Model 62 convertible owned by Harold and Tracy Chapman of Florence, Texas (also built by Harold’s shop, Customs and Hot Rods of Andice); eighth was the 1937 Ford Tudor convertible owned by Brent Schnieder of Pleasanton, California; ninth was the 1937 Ford Coupe owned by Dan Wathor of Rio Lindo, California; and tenth was the 1938 Alfa Romeo Club Coupe owned by Bart Bartoni of Modesto, California.

For more on this year’s show, visit HotAugustNights.net.