Modern Muscle Featurettes

"Oldsmobile Jack"

Text and photos by Steve Wingate

I’ve known Jack Butler indirectly for over seven years.  His wife works for me, and as long as I’ve known her, she’s always talked about Jack’s obsession with cars. 

“Cars, cars, cars, and more cars.” Deb tells me.  “That’s all he ever thinks or talks about.”  I often remind her that there’s far more destructive things for a grown man to be obsessed with… like blondes.  She always laughs when I tell her this, and I can tell that her husband’s obsession doesn’t exasperate her as much as she lets on.  In fact, she shares it to an extent and finds it endearing.

You see, Deb and Jack own a pair of 1984 Hurst Oldsmobiles.  Hers has the original 307 cubic inch power plant, whereas Jack’s 84 has had an Olds 455 crammed down it’s gullet.  Jack did the conversion himself, and is very proud of his handiwork.  It’s not unusual to see Jack ripping around my hometown in his big block monster, usually just “cruising”, but sometimes “really lettin’ ‘er have it.”

Anyway, I’d been after the Butlers for some time to let me shoot and record their Oldsmobiles, and I finally got that chance in the Fall of 2004.  I arrived at their house that sunny autumn afternoon and found not just the Hursts, but ALL of Jack’s cars on display.  The neatest thing about this shoot was that everybody who passed by on that little country road slowed down to look at Jack's cars all lined up across the lawn.  To see what everyone was looking at, click here to continue.

Note:  Jack is an avid collector, but has also made it his goal to own as many cars as he possibly can in his lifetime.  What that means is that every car you see in the following pages could possibly be for sale or trade.  If you're interested in any of Jack's cars, click here.

<back