Olds442redberet

I have been looking around for well over a year now for a full size Oldsmobile with a good 455ci engine to use as a donor engine for my 442. I’ve been holding out for a 1969 or 1970 model year Delta 98 in order to get what I believe is a better motor to use as a base for a performance build. Well, I finally found one at a decent price. The problem is I think it may be too nice to part out. I never realized how nice these full size cars are or how cool they are.
I bought this car with a broke motor and transmission. The car knocked bad and wouldn’t come out of first gear. I didn’t even do a test drive. The seller delivered it to the house which indicates to me the difficultly the seller was having with the car.
It has a high compression engine requiring high-octane fuel that I don’t believe the previous owners realized. The engine had some serious carbon build up. I poured some transmission fluid mixed with water down the carb and the knock is starting to subside. I will run a tank or two of 97-octane fuel through her and maybe pour some mystery oil down the carb and see if that helps to clean up the valves a little more. The transmission issue was also an easy fix. It was related to a bad vacuum line.
After I tuned the car up, had her running at 80 mph down the freeway without any issues. This is a beautiful car with a great ride. Now I see why some many people like these full size Oldsmobiles.

Octania

Oh that affliction

Just need the engine [or whatnot]
Oh damn this is too good to kick in the grave

I have a '68 W30 rustbucket in the garage for oh 20 years now because of that.

MDchanic

Ahhhh. You saved it from this guy:

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...an-5grand.html

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...969-close.html

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ury-sedan.html


Interesting, the thread in which he proves himself to be a total idiot, which included a video, and in which it was generally agreed by us that the car was going to be destroyed, is completely gone. I didn't think you could delete entire threads.

That looked like a really nice car. I'm glad you got it.
Now all you have to do is submit to the "Big Car" force, not part it out, and enjoy that Big Car ride!

- Eric

oldcutlass

Nothing wrong with joining the fleet of boat captains. That is way to nice to part out, if you don't want to keep her I suggest putting it up for sale and use the cash to finance your new engine quest. I'm glad you got running well.

Allan R

That car was running fine according to him till he changed oil (and maybe over revved it). If you check the oil you'll likely find its 40w diesel oil. He also put marvel in but it was obvious in his emails he didn't know what he was doing, and really didn't pay attention to any recommendations.

Eric (MD) is right about the original thread being deleted and that's too bad because you would have seen what he was like. The video Eric referenced shows the car very well, and bostongeorge says he's going to rep ain't the air cleaner along with detailing the cars 442 front bumper. Eric, yes a mod can delete not only posts, but threads as well. I was also surprised when that happened. Typically threads just get closed, not deleted when it becomes too heated or argumentive.

There's no getting around pulling that engine for a rebuild, even with the low miles. It would be great to see it go back into this big luxobarge though.

Diego

For what it's worth, it's a Delta 88 or a 98. The 98 never received the "Delta" designation. Yours is a 98.

MDchanic

Well, yeah, I know that - heck a mod can change the weather - but I don't recall there having been any argument or disagreement on that thread.
I recall everyone being in agreement that this guy had better sell to someone with two brain cells to rub together, or he was going to wreck it.

- Eric

oldcutlass

Without going into much detail, it was deleted at the request of the OP. Really we can change the weather... oh boy, oh boy <rubbing hands together>

MDchanic

Well, if it was more-like made invisible, rather than deleted, I'd bet RedBeret would be grateful for a copy of it, so he can get an idea of what this guy did before he got the car.

I'd forgotten about the 40W diesel oil.

- Eric

oldcutlass

Here is a copy of the original advertisement:

1969 olds 98 ls 4 door extra clean


69 with 80.000 miles has a lifter issue. Which ive cOme to learn there is a plastic guide that gets broke that holds the rocker arm. I have hundreds of pictures but im new here so i dont kow how to load them. So if you wanna see email me at ********


Im either going to sell cheap 6500 ish like it is or invest in overhaul kit then sell it for more 9 ish

The way we tracked it to valve issue and not bottom end it pouring trans fluid in intake builds the lifter up and noise goes away.

Tons of extras. Air condition lines. Brakes tires booster master cylinder stuff like that. Everything else is original. Still has factory radio

The Video was still on youtube:

MDchanic

Thanks, Eric. Unless RedBeret had a long and forthright talk with the seller (ASSuming that the guy who sold it to him was the guy who advertised it here), this may answer some questions for him.

This sounded like a really nice car, so I'm very glad it ended up with a member on here.

- Eric

DownBoy

Congrats on your purchase, I will be following your thread closely as I have a 69 delta 88. Looks great !

Allan R

I'm sure Tom wouldn't just dash into a purchase without doing some legwork on this. Like you, I'm glad he owns it now as there's about a 1000% chance it's in capable hands now. BTW, Bostongeorge's last foray onto our site was May 17 when he was looking for that elusive steering wheel.

Tom - did the car come with the original wheel, or did BG put on that wood 3 spoke he was saying he bought for it? Hope you got the original included with the deal, as the telescopic feature is not that common for the 60's. So I guess the bottom line is whether you're going to keep this and redo the engine or flip it for some cash? Depends on how much you paid I guess. BG was asking a lot for it, and that was also a topic of discussion (demand/rarity/market etc) we had in his original post that got deleted. That, and his comments about production/colors/rare 455HC engine (standard for the car), and 442 front bumper....The NADA guide (if you trust that) puts this car in the range of around 17K if everything was stock and perfect. There was other information in the original post about some of the conversions that had been done to this car that indicated it had been modified in a fair number of areas. IIRC it also has changes to the ignition system? Personally I hope this turns into your DD to enjoy and cruise it. I realize that's a pipe dream considering the cost of premium fuel it needs and the incredible mpg it gets

Olds442redberet

To answer a few questions:

Yes I bought it from the same fellow who posted it on OC.
He was an all right fellow, young and still learning. As with a few other people I’ve talked to, he receive a lot of information from the internet and Ebay. The car is nice and he was attached to it, which effected his asking price. He did sell the car to me at a reasonable price, which will be reflected in my asking price of $4900.00. I will post it on Craigslist locally for $5500.00.

Thanks for the info on what this car actually is. It is a 98, and not a Delta 98. See, I too don’t even know what I’m talking about when it comes to these cars. I guess I am still learning as well. Any advise or thoughts on the car will be greatly appreciated. That’s the whole reason I join the site. Your knowledge and input is greatly valued.

I posted the car in the “Cars for Sell” Section.” I have learned from watching others that these cars need to be driven and enjoyed otherwise they’ll deteriorate just sitting in the garage. Since I already have two classics I will sell this one. I hope the asking price is fair. So I will give it two or three months to sell before I start taking parts from her.

I will be replacing the rearview mirror with the one from my 1969 Cutlass. The chrome on 98 mirror is exceptional where as the chrome on mine isn’t.
I also plan on keeping the jack. I’ll leave the hook in the trunk. That’s it. I’ll leave everything else for the next owner, including the am/fm wonder bar radio (which I really want) in place.

lsutigers93

Beautiful car...GLWS another one of us boat captains or an ambitious XO will give her a good home!

MDchanic

Well I'm glad you got it, and I hope you can find it a good home. These are fine vehicles.

What am I saying? I hope it grows on you and you keep it and pass it on to your kids.

I notice your snapshot shows it in its favorite environment.



- Eric

64Rocket

You don't need a 69/70 year 455. You can use any 455 block, the year does not mean a thing. Once you tear it down, change pistons, cam, machine block, change heads, machine the heads, port work, and so on, so on ,and so on . What all you have done has change everything and nothing is left of the engine you started with. It does mean you started with older metal. The high nickel content is a wife's tale. The rods are all the same, blocks, heads also. The diff in the blocks is the clutch pivot point, other wise nothing. Sure some steel heads are better than others, is a believe some say, but on the street you will never see a diff.
So in short, why destroy a nice car, when you can pick a 455 from the wrecking yard and do what you need.

Gene

MDchanic

+1.

- Eric

oldcutlass

+2, it is a beauty. Someone will step up and appreciate it for what it is. The price is more than fair if you got it running right.

Olds442redberet

You are so right. This car needs to find a good home. Heck! Even my wife agrees with you. So I will do my best to sell the 98 to someone who will take good care of her. .

I hope $5500.00 sounds about right on the price. It's listed at $4900.00 for fellow members.

Thanks for the input.

Olds442redberet

It took ninety dollars to fill her up! My truck doesn't even have a gas tank that large.

Olds442redberet

I've posted the car on line with no bites. Any idea what cars like this are going for these days? I am not real worried about selling it. I really like the motor and I don't mind parting it out. It has literally tons of good parts on it. LOL

I am now asking $5000.00, but I am willing to sell her for $4500.00. I think she's worth a little more. What are your thoughts?

Allan R

Much as I hate to say this, there's just not a lot of demand for this kind of car even being in fantastic shape. Just my opinion - drive it till it's not practical, then if you've still got no bites? You've done your due diligence giving the market its chance. I hope someone comes along soon who's really a B body addict.

LOL - tons of parts is no joke. What's the weight on that thing? Must be close to 5000.00 lbs?

redoldsman

Man I hope somebody steps up and buys that car. It is way too nice to part out.

MDchanic

Here's my opinion, as a person who's had a Cutlass, a Skylark, a couple of Chevelles, a Monte (all of these '70-'72), a '73 Delta, and 2 4-door '68s - a 98 and an 88, both with the same 455 you have, and who loved my '68 fullsizes:

What it is "worth" and what you can sell it for in a reasonable timeframe are two different things.

I agree with you and with Collector Car Market Review that it is worth about $4,400.
That said, in a market where there is very little demand, and not much supply either, it is extremely difficult to establish an accurate universal value, especially for a huge item that is very difficult and expensive to move out of its local market area.
Someone a few hundred miles away may be willing to buy it for your price, but not willing to spend the additional money to go look at it, then have it shipped back to him. Someone even farther away might find those added costs even more prohibitive.

If you keep it on the market for that price for a year or two (or more), you'll probably finally find a buyer, but if you want it gone this year, you'll probably have to lower the price by at least $1,500. Regardless of its "value," it's just not worth that much to actual people with actual money who might be interested in it.

The same goes for the parts: There are very few people looking to buy these, and very few looking for parts. If you part it, you may sell it all eventually, but you'll probably get sick of looking at most of it, junk it, and lose money.

Sorry. I love the car, and know there are people out there who'd buy it, but...

- Eric

oldspackrat

Tom,
We may be stopping by tomorrow early afternoonish? I'll give you a call. I would love to see this car in person.