ADRL.us :: Beyond the Guardwall

Oddy’s Austin On the Way

Ever wonder where the stars of the National Guard ADRL got their start?

In the case of legendary tuner Jim Oddy, who now serves as crew chief on the National Guard-backed ‘57 Chevy that Joshua Hernandez drives in Pro Extreme action, it was this little ‘48 Austin Gasser that initially carried him to drag racing glory. Capable of running 8.70s at 160-plus mph over the quarter mile in its prime, the Austin later saw street duty in Toronto, Montreal, Burlington, VT, and finally Long Island.

The car now resides back home in the Buffalo area (above) in the care of John “Trouble” Cassiol (pronounced “Casio”), who has been lovingly restoring it since rescuing it eight years ago from Long Island in deplorable condition.

That’s Oddy (right) back in the day tending to the blown 392 Hemi that Cassiol has replaced with a similar piece, complete with 354 heads, a Delta blower, Hilborn injection and backed up by a vintage Torque-Flite transmission. As a historical bonus, all machine work on the new motor was done by Oddy himself at Oddy’s Automotive up in Elma, NY.

“A rich man should really own this car, but I’m getting it done only because of help from some very talented and very dedicated friends,” Cassiol says. “Guys like ‘English Wheel’ Bob, ‘Double-A’ Al Nespo and ‘Peppermint Patty’ Snyder, and of course Jim Oddy, along with a whole bunch of others, are what makes this thing possible.”

Not only has money, or more specifically the lack of it, held up progress on the restoration at times, but Cassiol suffered some serious back injuries recently that hinder his personal efforts. Still it’s a labor of love that he’s determined to see through to completion.

“People love this car. You can see their eyes light up when they see it. I can’t tell you how many people tell me they remember it and exactly where they were when they saw it race,” he says.

Its racing days are over, Cassiol says, but that doesn’t mean the noble Austin is being relegated to trailer-queen status.

“I’m not some rich car collector who wants to put ropes around it; I love it when people want to see it up close,” he says. “I let them sit in it if they want to and I’ll take their picture with their camera if they want a memory.”

In fact, that’s Cassiol’s true motivation behind the project, the preservation of memories.

“I can’t tell you how much I loved seeing Jimmy’s face when he first saw it a few years ago when it didn’t even have the right engine in it and was still covered in primer with just some vinyl lettering on it. He thought he’d never see the car again and there it was and you could just see all the memories flooding back. But I told him then, though, ‘You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. I’m going to bring this back to exactly the way it was.’”

Cassiol says he hopes to finally have the car finished and painted to period-correct specifications by next summer and plans to bring it out to a National Guard ADRL event or two so Oddy can get reacquainted with an old friend and maybe even make a few laps in it.

“This car is a very important part of drag racing history and an important part of Jim Oddy’s 50-plus years in the sport,” Cassiol declares. “I’m determined to make it perfect for him and everyone to enjoy.”

National Guard Pro Extreme crew chief Jim Oddy was reunited with the ‘48 Austin he campaigned from the late-‘60s to early-‘70s a few years ago at the Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The car’s current owner, John Cassiol, says a lot more has been done to the car since in order to make it a true period-correct piece.