Print edition: 
McPHERSON — Larry Helms never owned a car he didn't want to customize. And he has owned some pretty cool rides, ranging from a '41 Chevy convertible to a '50 Ford coupe to a '55 Chevy modified by Darryl Starbird.
"I was never into street rods. It was always customs for me," he said. But as often happens, when family responsibilities came along, the custom cars gave way to grocery-getters and the occasional pickup truck.
Five or six years ago, though, the spark reignited his passion for custom cars when he spotted a customized 1950 Olds 88 as he and his wife, Janet, were passing through Fenton, Mo. He mentioned the car to a buddy, who found it listed for sale on the Internet.
"So we took off one weekend and drove down to see it and ended up driving it home," Helms said.
"It was pretty much like it is now... just what I was looking for. I always wanted a chopped top," he said.
But he didn't buy the car to sit on a trailer and tow to car shows for display. "We just enjoy driving. It's been to the Black Hills... Branson six or seven times. It's been to Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, to a few of the Good Guys shows. We've put about 40,000 miles on it since we got it," Helms said.
The car has an '81 Camaro subframe under it, with disc brakes. It's powered by a heavily chromed ZZ4 350-cubic-inch Chevy V-8 that produces an estimated 380 horsepower. Coupled to a 700R overdrive automatic and a 9-inch Ford rear end equipped with 3:55 gears, the car cruises comfortably at turnpike speeds and still yields just under 20 miles per gallon.
And it sounds as good as it runs, with Sanderson headers flowing through a set of twin 40-inch "Smitty" mufflers.
The original builder of the car did an outstanding job lowering the roof by 4 1/2 inches, enhancing the profile of the Olds. A 1993 Geo teal blue color was chosen, with raspberry and cream-colored graphics added to the beltline. The car was also nosed and decked.
"We added newer, more modern billet wheels and tires, lake pipes and the spotlights. Just little odds and ends, like the LED taillights. We basically updated it," Helms said. The vent window areas were filled by metal panels, which now serve to mount a set of driving mirrors.
The stock bumpers were retained, front and rear, but smoothed of mounting bolts and rechromed. With tri-bar headlights tunneled into the front fenders, the sculptured curves in the front bumper lead the eye right into the distinctive Oldsmobile grille.
Inside, the Olds features a set of very unusual seats, donated from a late 1980s Merkur, a failed European import. "That's the only complaint I have. Those seats are not very comfortable on long drives," Helms said. He plans to replace them sometime in the near future and switch the upholstery to all leather or Naugahyde, ditching the cream-colored cloth inserts.
Gold-rimmed VDO gauges fill the full-width customized dash panel, which is accented by a highly polished Grant wooden steering wheel and a full-length center console with a burled-wood theme. Vintage Air air conditioning and a modern sound system round out the interior appointments.
"It's got some road rash on it," Helms said of the well-traveled Olds, known as "Marvin," for the Marvin the Martian cartoon character riding the Rocket 88 emblem on the deck lid.
A repaint is in the future and Helms also plans to have two sets of louvers punched in the hood of the Olds, accented with flames emerging from them — a touch that became something of a trademark on his previous customs.
"We get a lot of attention with it going down the road. That's a 'lead sled,' " he said, with a grin.
A full slate of car shows is on the schedule for this year. "We don't go for the trophies. We go for the fun," Helms said.
