Welllllll.........it's not quite G-body specifically, but the reason I did it was because it is specifically for my G-bodies.
I ran across my "NOS" dealership keychains and rear dealer stick-on nameplate recently. Which got me to thinking about other dealership stuff. I recalled the dealership always had these tire ash trays laying on everyone's desk and piles of advertising matchbooks with "Special feel in an Oldsmobile" on them while I was waiting for delivery of my 85. Like a dumba$$, I didn't even consider snagging everything I could back then, I just asked them about keeping the window sticker. At 24, you don't usually think that far ahead. "But yeah, we remove these for customers all the time!" My luck I got a rookie who had absolutely NO idea about how to remove it and tore it to shreds getting it off. I remember being so friggin' mad about that. I got a "dealer copy" as a consolation prize, but it wasn't the same as an actual window sticker. I always seem to get the "dumb" ones. 🙂 I should have done it myself. But back then, I had no idea I'd still have the car today.
So back to the matchbooks. Messing around on ebay, I found the EXACT style matchbook cover I needed...so I picked up 84 and 87 ones too, since I got both kinds of cars. The goal is to make some matchbooks to lay around inside the car, on the dash, in the ash tray or console or something, to give it that little extra dealership swag that likely nobody else will have when showing the car. More of a conversation piece. I hardly ever see that kind of stuff. And since I'll probably NEVER see an 84 H.E. Miller Olds or 85 James Olds dealership matchbook the rest of my life, I figured I should just attempt to make a small run of my own "dealership" matchbooks. Here's the actual real-deal 84 and 85 Olds matchbook covers. Made by Superior Match Company out of Chicago. Sadly, they closed in 1990.
The 84 shouldn't be too difficult to replicate, but the 85 had some raised gold metallic hot stamping action, so it looks dark in the pics, but it's actually a brighter gold in good light. I cannot duplicate that easily, so I'll just have to compromise. Anyway, the insides of the matchbooks have writing on them showing the entire Olds lineup for that year. I was debating on whether to replicate the inside printing or not, but ultimately decided to give it a whirl.
So with that, I decided to see what I could work with and see if it would even come out halfway correct-looking.
Keep in mind, these are quick drafts printed on regular paper and no way shape or form are ready for prime time (I even misspelled "88 ROYALE" on one line. Fixed it already.) But I think it's passable. I just need to get some 110 lb cardstock...or actually equivalent weight gloss coated cover stock to make the matchbooks. To do it more exact, it'll need to be more of an eggshell color or off-white. But regular white will probably do.
And then I also need to get some striker material for the matches. I was able to source some dark charcoal adhesive strike sheets that should fit the bill and cut the size I need for the strip across the back.
The dilemma now was wtf, I need to get the whitehead black matches!! These are wider than normal, and take 30 match counts. Which aren't your standard 20 count and the covers are a tad wider than the typical 30 count matchbooks. I tried contacting some matchbook companies to see how much it would cost me to get some custom ones made. OMFG! It wasn't horrible, but I'd have to order, in most cases, 2500 or more!!! It is only several hundred dollars though doing it in bulk with the artwork and setup fees, and I'm sure it would work, but it's a bit way too much money for a few matchbooks. And I'll have more matchbooks than the dealership had probably. I'll never need that many in my life.
Ebay comes through again! Generally, you can find a single dealership 30-strike matchbook or two going for 12-15 bucks or more EACH. I got lucky. I found a box and a partial box (total 89 books) of 1986 Oldsmobile matchbooks for a very reasonable price considering the project. We'll see what happens. Maybe I can get something that works in the end. I'll update this if/when I get some workable prototypes finished.
I ran across my "NOS" dealership keychains and rear dealer stick-on nameplate recently. Which got me to thinking about other dealership stuff. I recalled the dealership always had these tire ash trays laying on everyone's desk and piles of advertising matchbooks with "Special feel in an Oldsmobile" on them while I was waiting for delivery of my 85. Like a dumba$$, I didn't even consider snagging everything I could back then, I just asked them about keeping the window sticker. At 24, you don't usually think that far ahead. "But yeah, we remove these for customers all the time!" My luck I got a rookie who had absolutely NO idea about how to remove it and tore it to shreds getting it off. I remember being so friggin' mad about that. I got a "dealer copy" as a consolation prize, but it wasn't the same as an actual window sticker. I always seem to get the "dumb" ones. 🙂 I should have done it myself. But back then, I had no idea I'd still have the car today.
So back to the matchbooks. Messing around on ebay, I found the EXACT style matchbook cover I needed...so I picked up 84 and 87 ones too, since I got both kinds of cars. The goal is to make some matchbooks to lay around inside the car, on the dash, in the ash tray or console or something, to give it that little extra dealership swag that likely nobody else will have when showing the car. More of a conversation piece. I hardly ever see that kind of stuff. And since I'll probably NEVER see an 84 H.E. Miller Olds or 85 James Olds dealership matchbook the rest of my life, I figured I should just attempt to make a small run of my own "dealership" matchbooks. Here's the actual real-deal 84 and 85 Olds matchbook covers. Made by Superior Match Company out of Chicago. Sadly, they closed in 1990.
The 84 shouldn't be too difficult to replicate, but the 85 had some raised gold metallic hot stamping action, so it looks dark in the pics, but it's actually a brighter gold in good light. I cannot duplicate that easily, so I'll just have to compromise. Anyway, the insides of the matchbooks have writing on them showing the entire Olds lineup for that year. I was debating on whether to replicate the inside printing or not, but ultimately decided to give it a whirl.
So with that, I decided to see what I could work with and see if it would even come out halfway correct-looking.
Keep in mind, these are quick drafts printed on regular paper and no way shape or form are ready for prime time (I even misspelled "88 ROYALE" on one line. Fixed it already.) But I think it's passable. I just need to get some 110 lb cardstock...or actually equivalent weight gloss coated cover stock to make the matchbooks. To do it more exact, it'll need to be more of an eggshell color or off-white. But regular white will probably do.
And then I also need to get some striker material for the matches. I was able to source some dark charcoal adhesive strike sheets that should fit the bill and cut the size I need for the strip across the back.
The dilemma now was wtf, I need to get the whitehead black matches!! These are wider than normal, and take 30 match counts. Which aren't your standard 20 count and the covers are a tad wider than the typical 30 count matchbooks. I tried contacting some matchbook companies to see how much it would cost me to get some custom ones made. OMFG! It wasn't horrible, but I'd have to order, in most cases, 2500 or more!!! It is only several hundred dollars though doing it in bulk with the artwork and setup fees, and I'm sure it would work, but it's a bit way too much money for a few matchbooks. And I'll have more matchbooks than the dealership had probably. I'll never need that many in my life.
Ebay comes through again! Generally, you can find a single dealership 30-strike matchbook or two going for 12-15 bucks or more EACH. I got lucky. I found a box and a partial box (total 89 books) of 1986 Oldsmobile matchbooks for a very reasonable price considering the project. We'll see what happens. Maybe I can get something that works in the end. I'll update this if/when I get some workable prototypes finished.
