1969 88 Convertible

The front end seems to sit lower than the rear and I am wondering if I might need springs up front..The measured distances to lower front fender.lips are 10.25 (drivers side) and 10.00 (pass. side). Wondering if anyone knows if my front is too low... Otherwise everything appears tight up font with no squeaks or rattles but shocks have a bit of bounce in them..What shocks are recommended for front and rear? Thanks

joe_padavano

The Chassis Service Manual describes the places you are supposed to measure ride height and the specified dimensions for checking. The ride height is measured to the flat surface on the bottom of the rocker panels, next to the pinchweld. There's too much variation in the fender openings for that to be a useful place to measure.

1969 88 Convertible

On closer visual observation, I think the rear might be too high in comparison with the front. Whatever the correct height is the car should be relatively level and mine is not possibly because of airshocks. The vintage photo shows a very low stance so I am less concerned now...I ordered to Torque Thrust Originals this morning and will have a local tire shop mount Cooper Cobras. That way they can check alignment, etc...

Human

'69 Deltas often sit too low, especially in the front, because they were built with seriously weak springs. GM was trying for a softer ride and missed the mark terribly. After consumer complaints of poor handling and excessive bottoming out, they came up with a dealer-level workaround fix of installing heavy duty coil-over shocks in an attempt to firm things up a bit. I don't know whether the problem was corrected at the factory during the '69 model run but it was definitely fixed by the time the '70 models came out. I can only imagine those weak springs would be even weaker almost a half-century later.

joe_padavano

Have you got a Dealer Service Bulletin reference on this?

Olds64

Oldsguy's 69 Delta 88 never had any trouble with the front sagging. We replaced the bushings and steering components but didn't have to replace the springs.

Human

No, I don't have documentation on this. I just know what I was told by my father, who was an Oldsmobile district sales manager in the Charlotte Zone from 1959-1991. I suppose it's possible GM didn't consider the problem serious enough to issue a service bulletin and left it to the dealers to sort the problem out on a case-by-case basis. They also may have quietly fixed the problem during the model run. He purchased a '69 Delta sedan for my grandmother in about 1974 to replace her '63 Holiday 88. He said he'd been able to get the car for a very good price, in part because of the model's reputation for weak springs, even though Grandmother's had been retrofitted with coil-overs when new.

1969 88 Convertible

1969 88 Convertible

Trying to post several pics of the car with seemingly lowered front...Currently as p225/75r15 tires all the way around...Note where front fender lip overlaps whitewall..

Olds64

NVM, it was a bad pic.

Like Joe mentioned the Chassis Service Manual will have the procedure to properley measure your ride height.