1977 Olds Delta 88 Royale 'Indy Pace Car Replica' 403 v8

[Lanning Auto Body]

We bought a 1977 Delta 88 Royale 'Indy Pace Car Replica' that was torn down and is in pieces and are having troubles finding all the parts. We are wanting to rebuild it but can't seem to find any diagrams, schematics or decent under hood photos. We have the 1977 Olds repair manual, but the photos aren't as detailed as we need them. If anyone can point me in the right direction to find these or knows of a site where we could find these, it would be appreciated.

the only thing currently in place under the hood is the engine. we have boxes of parts, bolts, brackets, ac, power steering pump, etc, etc, we found some diagrams, but can't find a complete diagram of under the hood. photos of various angles would help greatly.
As it is we are not certain what we have and what is missing and we are trying to get an inventory on the parts we do have and piece it back together so we can order the parts that were lost or need to be replaced.
what we need the most is pictures of the engine compartment / underhood, diagrams or schematics.

[2blu442]

Hello
I had one that I sold last year, but I do have some photos of under the hood. I'll try to post them to my photobucket site this evening and will send you the web address. John

[2blu442]

I found the pic's of under the hood and posted them at:

http://s90.photobucket.com/albums/k2...%20Pace%20Car/

I have other photos of the car, but only took the time to upload the views under the hood. I hope this helps! John

[Lanning Auto Body]

thanks, those pics were very helpful.

[paceindy77]

Lanning Auto Body.
Jeff Here! Call me a should be able to help you with the 77 pace car. I am the advisor in the Olds Club on the 77 Pace Car. I also am the only one in the country that sells the decals & stripes for the car. So give me a call or email
Jeff
email paceindy77@yahoo.com
W(215) 561-6160 9-5pm est.
H(302) 995-1778 after 7pm
Cell (610) 659-2743 anytime

[Lanning Auto Body]

Hi, I tried contacting you a couple weeks ago via the Olds Clubs web site at the addy listed there, but I got mailerdaemons saying that email is non existant. Glad you saw this and responded, I have a few questions if you wouldn't mind.

First problem I ran into is... well, my dad, lol, he tossed me at this car in a sink or swim method, he has been working on cars for most of his adult life and owns Lanning Intl Auto Body, I recently went to work for him to learn mechanics. I have worked on my own vehicles before and he is willing to answer any questions I have and help when needed, but consider me a newbie.

When I first tackled the job the only thing in tact under the hood was the engine and the brake fluid reservoir, all other parts are in boxes, by boxes I mean lots of boxes. The vehicle had apparently been torn down by it's previous owner and never rebuilt. Dad bought it as it was. I have managed to get the AC system pieces in and hoses routed, the radiator, radiator housing, fan, power steering, alternator and most of the underhood wiring in.

The problems I am running into is:

1. The power steering pump and the brackets we have for it seems to be sitting wrong. also the belts seem to be lining up different that what the 1977 Olds service manual says(thought it will line up) and I can get belts on in a different pattern than the book suggests. I know that there are missing parts, such as( I am suspecting) spacers and possibly a bracket. The power steering fits into place on the bolts it should, it just doesn't sit and line up with the belt pulleys properly.

2. The alternator seems to have the correct brackets but it also sits odd and the belt won't fit to what the service manual suggests, though I can route the belts "properly" though differently.

3. the horns I know fit behind the front end panel, however, I can't be certain where, but the bracket the horns are on it looks like to me is that they bolt on to the radiator support into bolt holes in the TOP of the support.

4. The wiring and how it lays under the hood is also a thorn in my side, I want to make certain that it is routed correctly and that nothing will get pinched or bound. I have found some pictures in the service manual for under the hood wiring diagrams but the wiring on ours is just different enough from the pictures to be a hassle.

5. We are installing aftermarket headers, the instructions say that the brake lines need to be rerouted to under the front cross member, can they instead be rerouted over it, I slipped the headers up into place and without moving them, the header does just touch the break lines, so they do need to be moved, however I noticed that there does seem to be room on top of the cross member for the portion that would interfere with the headers to be rerouted.

[joe_padavano]

I don't have all the answers, but here are a couple:

Originally Posted by Lanning Auto Body

1. The power steering pump and the brackets we have for it seems to be sitting wrong. also the belts seem to be lining up different that what the 1977 Olds service manual says(thought it will line up) and I can get belts on in a different pattern than the book suggests. I know that there are missing parts, such as( I am suspecting) spacers and possibly a bracket. The power steering fits into place on the bolts it should, it just doesn't sit and line up with the belt pulleys properly.

This is a common problem. There are two spacers. The first goes over the stud at the bottom of the front cover. This is a tube about 3/4" long. The second goes under the leg of the bracket that bolts to the bottom side of the block. This one is also about 3/4" thick. I've used an oversize hex nut in a pinch. Pick one that slips over the bolt easily, not one that threads on.

2. The alternator seems to have the correct brackets but it also sits odd and the belt won't fit to what the service manual suggests, though I can route the belts "properly" though differently.

A digital photo would help us here.

5. We are installing aftermarket headers, the instructions say that the brake lines need to be rerouted to under the front cross member, can they instead be rerouted over it, I slipped the headers up into place and without moving them, the header does just touch the break lines, so they do need to be moved, however I noticed that there does seem to be room on top of the cross member for the portion that would interfere with the headers to be rerouted.

I've put the line on top of the crossmember with no problems. I would think that is a safer location anyway. Good luck.

[Lanning Auto Body]

Thanks for the help, I'll hopefully get some pictures up later today of the power steering pump and alternator and how they sit.

I ran into another problem, upon closer inspection while fitting the headers in place, I noticed that there is a cross member that runs across the center of the car about 4-6 inches past where the headers end and are supposed to tie into the exhaust. I dug out the page we got with the headers and noticed that the headers were the wrong ones for the 1977 Delta 88 pace car, they were instead the ones for the cutlass.

I have looked on about 10 different web sites and also a local speed shop and am having trouble locating headers for this vehicle, anyone know where I could find them? All the sites I have been to have had headers for delta 88's but just not for the 1977, they either have them for up to 1976 or 1978 through to the 1980's.

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by Lanning Auto Body

I have looked on about 10 different web sites and also a local speed shop and am having trouble locating headers for this vehicle, anyone know where I could find them? All the sites I have been to have had headers for delta 88's but just not for the 1977, they either have them for up to 1976 or 1978 through to the 1980's.

First, I'd be suspicious of those listings. The B-body cars use one frame for 71-76 and a different frame for 77-90. There is no difference between the 77 cars and the 78-90 cars. Second, there are few headers for the B-body cars because these are not popular performance cars (with the exception of the Caprices and Impalas). The 77-90 B-body cars and the 78-88 G-body cars use the same motor mounts and frame mounts and the crossmember should be in about the same place. I'm aware of problems with using G-body headers on the B-body cars. I suspect this is due to the diagonal braces that run from the crossmember to the frame side rails. You may not be able to run off-the-shelf headers on this car.

[J-(Chicago)]

Good luck with that. I have the same problem right now actually. The A body cutlass headers should fit if you remove the braces. I don't know the issue with the A/C box yet, but I'd imagine it will need to be deleted for the headers as well. I'm not going to be able to drop the motor in for a few months as I am taking the car apart at the moment, but I'll let you know what I end up doing.

[J-(Chicago)]

Has anyone tried Omega headers on a 77-90 B yet?
I may just check that out as well.

[Lanning Auto Body]

I did manage to get the cutlass / 403 headers into it, had to move the brake lines on the driver side and remove the starter to get it in and on the pass side i had to take the oil filter housing out and do some finagling to get the pass header in. they do fit though.

one point, put the driver's side header up into place but do not bolt it in, then bolt the starter back in place, THEN you can bolt the driver side header in.

on the pass side, it's much easier to bolt the header in if the AC isn't in, but after you get the header in the AC fits right back in.

[Olds64]

That is good that you got headers into your car. So, you ended up using Cutlass headers? If you could post a link to the headers you used I am sure that would help out alot of people.

[77IndyPacer]

I have a 77 Pace Car that is almost completely stock under the hood. If you are still in need of pics of the engine bay, let me know what part you want pics of and at what angle(s) you need them taken and I will do my best to help you out!

[77IndyPacer]

yeah, if you don't mind, please post that info on the headers you got to fit. I tried to put some on my 403 a few years ago. Nothing would fit because of the way the frame is shaped around the engine block.

[awspeich]

And if you need more, I too have a low mileage all original car that I can take photos of if you need them. Just let me know what you need. - AL