New to the Forum, need help!

[mortis08]

Hey all!! Im new to this forum and could use a little help. I recently acquired a 1978 delta 88 holiday 88. It is missing one of the headlight bezels/ turn signals/ marker lights, i have checked all the usual suspects ( Ebay, Carpart.com) and cant find a replacement! I have been looking for about a month now, and its getting frustrating. Do any of you know a place that maybe caters to Olds owners? The 88 is in sweet shape and id like to get her back on the road soon, where she belongs! Thanx in advance, Adam.

[crazy'boutOlds]

I have a 79 Holiday! I think the 98 regency of that year has the same head light bezels. I know the 79 share the same front end bezels. I remember seeing some on Ebay. I'll take a look and post what i find.

[mortis08]

thanxs for the quick response!! I do believe that the 79s have a single long blinker and a larger side marker. The 78 is like the 77, but with a small side marker light. I think the 77 bezel will work, but just the bezel itself. Thanx again!!

[Oldsguy]

Ohhhhhhh Man! I owned a '78 Delta 88 once. Very nice car, very nice lines for a mid seventies B body. Hope you find what you need. Those are really handsome looking cars....

[mortis08]

Thanx Oldsguy, and to make the car even better its a holiday 88 which means bucket seats and console shift!!! I love it!!

[2blu442]

I've got some parts from a 1977 Delta 88 pace car, not sure if they're the same but I can take some photos and get some numbers for you to view. NorCal, how far north? I'm just over the border in Oregon along I-5.

[mortis08]

Im in susanville. I think the bezel itself will work but it lacks the side marker light that the 78 has. If you would send some pics id sure appreciate it. what color is the interior of that pace car?

[2blu442]

Complete car, needs restored. Engine runs good (403) but trannie is bad. Interior is called Firethorn Red, exterior is combination Silver and Black. they called it teflon silver because the paint wouldn't stick to anything! The car was bought new here in Medford and spent it's life in a relatively dry climate, but the silver paint is almost gone on the trunk and roof. Wheels are the SSIII 15"X7" and Red. I've been collecting parts for it but have decided to focus my attentions on other projects. These are rare cars, but rare doesn't always mean high dollar. I've heard it described that in 1977 the people who bought Delta 88's were middle aged men. When it was new this car was very flashy, especially if someone put the decals on the doors saying it was a Indy Pace Car. But the young people wanted the mid-sized Cutlass cars.

I'm not thrilled about parting it out, but I do believe the parts are worth more than I could sell the whole car for. And my driveway is pretty cluttered! John

[Oldsguy]

I think there was a Hurst option for that car too wasn't there? Maybe not in '77, graphics and a shifter as I recall and the car was either black/red or silver/red. Am I wrong on that? Maybe it was just the Cutlasses.

(edit) I found this picture, turns out it was an earlier year and a pace car......

http://www.fedrelandsvennen.no/amcar...lder/pace8.jpg

[2blu442]

Good morning Dan
Yes, that's the car except the T-top was only put on the cars that were used at Indy. James Garner was involved in advertising, he may have been the driver in the pace car of the race. Rumor has it the real ones also had something under the hood that production cars didn't have! I've seen photos of fully restored cars and they are very sharp looking. But when they were new Oldsmobile missed the target audience and I've read two articles saying they were hard to sell. One article said that some dealers painted over the black/silver just to get them off the showroom floor! They do have a code W44 in the trim tag to show they're pace cars. They also have an aluminum hood which seems odd to me. The car is so big how much weight is saved going aluminum rather than steel for the hood?

[1978Holiday88]

I have been collecting parts for my 78 Holiday for several years now, and I have only seen new headlight bezels on eBay twice. I would say to check nearby junkyards or auto salvage yards, but these cars are getting harder to find. I saw a 78 Holiday several months ago, but that was the first one I had seen in a couple of years and it was really torn up. As for interchangeability, you can only use one from 78 if you want it to look like it should. As you mentioned, the 79 has a long parking light instead of two. The 77 has no side marker lights up front, so the bezel is beveled to blend in with the corner of the header. The 78 bezel is not beveled so that it can butt up against the side marker bezel.

[mortis08]

Thanx! You have confirmed what i thought. Iguess i am going to have to search all the local ( and probably not so local!) wrecking yards. My holiday 88 is in awesome shape and needs nothing but that darn bezel and lights to make it driveable!

[rfaller]

this is kind of an odd situation.usually when i'm restoring a car, i have to send out to california wrecking yards for parts i cant find here in ohio.in this case, you need to send here for stuff.those cars are a dime a dozen in the wreckng yards around here. they were never real popular around here. most just dove them till they dropped. you can probably get anything you need. if i get time, i'll make some calls monday.