'58 Oldsmobile 88 Diesel Rat Rod Lowrider Makes Waves on Social Media

1958 Olds, getting the Rat Rod treatment.

The SoCal street rod scene has deep roots stretching back seven decades. Through the medium of Hollywood, street rodding became a transcontinental phenomenon. 

During that evolution, car collectors invested increasing amounts of time and money into creating pristine showcase vehicles that are strikingly beautiful. Just as a few of today's billionaires compete in a rich man's space race, so we've found others who seek out premiere builders to win them awards. "Whatever it costs, I want you to win me a Ridler Award." 

It was against this backdrop of perfection and prestige that the rat rod scene emerged. Instead of seeing who could spend the most money to re-create the perfect dream car from the past, rat rods allowed wrench-turners and welders to focus on creative self-expression. You didn't have to worry about a perfect paint job. In fact, the grittier the better.

A lowrider look is the final vision for this build.

What caught our eye about this rat rod build featured at autoevolution.com was how they dropped a diesel engine into a 1958 Oldsmobile 88. Those were the days when an auto body was truly substantial. Some cars were built like a tank. Fuel was abundant and cheap. Style took precedence over aerodynamics. Fuel economy wasn't even a consideration.

According to the article by Aurel Niculescu, the 88 as a brand was born in 1949 and had a 50 year lifespan. Some considered the late Fifties era to be a forerunner to the 60's Muscle Car era.

The car featured in this story was created by THD Performance. (THD is short for True Horsepower Diesel.) The author notes that THD specializes in all things diesel, including Cummins swaps and fabrication. It's obvious they have fun in the Rat Rod realm as well. 

Now that we live in the social media age, it's no longer good enough to create a car and use it for local cruising. Which leads to the next part of this story. THD Performance asked Dom Höst, a pixel artist, to make a dream version of what they were intending to create so they could share it on Instagram.

There weren't a lot of details posted, other than the fact that it's likely to be powered with a Cummins diesel. The author speculates it will likely be mated with a twin-turbo companion kit. 

If you want to see some very cool builds, you should check out their gallery on Instagram Do a search and you will find them at truehorsepowerdiesel. 

The original article about the build can be found here at Autoevolution.  

Follow THD Performance on Facebook here.

Here's another build they've been working on at THD.

Do you have a cool diesel ride that you're proud of an want to share? Tell us about it in the Comments section and leave your contact info. We'd like to see it and share it here.