Restoring classics is his driving force

LYNN – Dinosaurs live on Pine Hill, specifically in Burton “Burt” Tankel’s driveway where a 1940 Oldsmobile that belonged to Tankel’s father, and a 1959 Olds await the loving hands of a classic automobile restorer.Tankel, 84, hopes his cars are destined for an appearance on History Channel’s “Lost in Transmission” show that features a team of restorers who, according to the show’s website, “rescue and restore America’s most underappreciated classic cars.”Wedged into the narrow driveway next to Tankel’s house, the cars have fallen victim to time with flat tires, broken steering and faded paint jobs. But Tankel said his cars are tributes to the golden age of the American automobile and he has no intention of parting with them.”I don’t want to sell them. I want to live long enough to get them restored,” Tankel said.With its white-walled tires and driver’s side chrome-encased spotlight, Tankel’s Series 90 L40 Custom Cruiser came out of the showroom equipped with puncture-sealing inner tubes. He recalled riding in the car as a boy and using its rear seat retractable armrest as an impromptu road for his toy cars.”That was my father’s Oldsmobile. He bought it brand-new in 1939,” Tankel said.The Olds became Tankel’s daily car until he entered the Army in 1953. Newer Oldsmobiles took the Series 90’s place, including the 1959 Holiday SceniCoupe Dynamic 88 with its state-of-the-art transmission. Tankel last drove his father’s car in 1979, but he drove the Dynamic 88 to classic car rallies and Oldsmobile celebrations and mourned General Motors’ 2004 decision to discontinue Oldsmobile production.A Roxbury native who has lived in Lynn since 1971, Tankel worked for the former Northeast Airlines and, later, for Cablevision. Tankel and his wife, Liceria, have been married for 51 years and have a daughter, Remy, and a son, Simon, a car buff who drives a 2015 Mustang.”I’m not a Mustang guy but that engine throws you right back on the seat,” Tankel said.For Tankel, the aging automobiles occupying his driveway are a reminder of his youth, including his father’s death two years after purchasing the Series 90, and an era in car production when chrome adorned cars and drivers stayed loyal to automotive brands.”I’ve had nine Oldsmobiles, four Camaros and a Cadillac,” Tankel said.He wrote “Lost in Transmission” producers earlier this month and described his cars and his dream of having a mechanically inclined “guardian angel” restore the Oldsmobiles.”I’m going to the grave with them,” he said.