Just looking for a little input here. My 98 got sideswiped in the driveway (of all places)and I'm currently on the fence if I should get doors for it or just sell it for whatever I can get and cut my losses. The person that hit it will pay for the damage but I don't know if I should use the money on that or just get an older car for a project and start over. It's not a true classic but is in fairly good shape and I put a ton of work into it, more than it's worth mainly because I like it- the car itself, color scheme and the fact it has the Brougham package as most around here are base models. Now, the doors were shot anyway rusted at the bottoms but it will cost around $700 to get a pair shipped. I'd have to paint which I can do no problem.
I've already spent more than it's worth replacing parts and fixing it up mainly because I like the car and know these cars like the back of my hand. Kind of divided here, sell and get a real classic or fix it and just keep going on it.. some pictures in my album and attached.

 

If it runs and drives well, $700 seems acceptable to spend on the old girl. I drove mine every day for 13 years before I tore it to shreds to be rebuilt. Even though they have no value, they are still a good investment in my opinion, and way better than making car payments every month.

If society wasn't so obsessed with staying in style, these things would still remain on the road for much cheaper than anything after 1995.

They made millions of these b/c bodies, I'd venture to say, so the world shouldn't run out of parts.

 

It does drive ok with 144k on it and has a trans from a car with half the mileage. All I had left to do mechanically was get the carb rebuilt, new exhaust donut gaskets and a new pinion seal needed on the rear diff. Can't say it's rust free but the rotten parts are all bolt on's at least. I was just about finished with the mechanical aspect and things were looking good!

 

I think you just answered the question yourself. You like the car and the other party will pay. If you can get the $$ before you begin work, then I say go for it.
Those big 98's were some of the last of the real luxury cars. The ride and comfort just cannot be beat. The pics look really nice!

You cannot just go by the silly 'blue-book' value of an object. You have to see what it is worth to you. If you like it, it is then worth more to you. If you are tired of it, then maybe it is time you sell.
You had already done a lot to the car and selling it at a loss would be even more of a loss due to your labor just going away.

Since you said the doors were shot anyway, take the opportunity to get them replaced for super-cheap!!
Really, the other party should pay for all though, all the way down to your labor!

 

YES! You should FIX it. Donor cars are from 1980-84 Regency and 1980-94 Buick Park Avenue. I had exactly the same area damaged on my car back in 1993 by a driver that ran a red light. Body shop fixed it but didn't do a great job. After 2 years of looking at their work, I went to the boneyard and got donor doors (complete with windows, motors and locks) off an 84 Park Avenue for around 30 bucks each. Also rust free. After sanding/prime and paint they were a perfect fit. My total cost was less than 200.00 after paint.

Your car sends shivers down my back. It's exactly like my 83 Regency brougham. Same color and likely same heavy option load. Mine was blue velour interior. That car would go anywhere in style and didn't get stuck (had a limited slip differential too). Not powerful, but a smooth cushy ride. Here's a pic of it after I did all the doors. Sorry it's the only pic I have left of it. The dark areas at the back of the door are the door edge guards.

 

Allan it looks identical down to the hitch on it!

 

You should always save a Ninety Eight if at all possible, especially if it's mostly bolt-on parts that are pretty readily available. It sounds like she's a good car to you so don't let her go because of a little set back like this. Save the Ninety Eight!

 

I'd fix it, $700 comes no where near what it would take to replace it. If you feel you need another project get one down the road.

 

You like it, it is a pretty car. FIX IT (my vote).

 

I've spent crazy amounts of money on cars, just because I like them. If the car means something to you, I say fix it! It would be a good feeling to have new rust-free doors on it.

 

I really (and I mean REALLY) miss that car. It was my wedding car too!

So yours is an 83 also by the look of it. The only thing I can see different on the outside of yours is no moon roof (I hated the one in my car), or fibre optic package for the headlights/taillights. BTW, I took my wire wheel covers apart on 2 separate occasions to clean/polish them = every little piece, and then put them back together. Time consuming but looked dazzling in the sun. Those covers should be the locking ones, right?

 

I thought I was the only one crazy enough but I've done the same thing with the wires on another car I had! I tried that with these but the bolts started to snap. It is an '83, no moonroof or fiber optics but just about everything else.

 

Yup! With the screw/bolts that hold down the lock plate you do have to be careful because they won't take much force before they snap. And the center cap is only pot metal chromed on the outside. I guess there's some patterns of craziness amongst us big car owners! BTW, I have an NOS set of spokies for my 72. They've never been mounted and they look so purty!

 

If you decide not to repair let me know as I am chasing a few parts off a 1982 Olds 98 Regency Brougham cheers

 

Probably better to fix it then, replacing them would take care of 90% of the car's rust. I mainly wish I could find door panels for the thing somewhere, mine are all sunburned!

 

Be sure to use some armor all or son of a gun on those vinyl parts if the car will reside under the sun most of the time. They help replace the chemicals in the material that break down over time and sun exposure. I typically apply it once a year in the spring. When I was younger and had time, I would do it more often.
My '78 Pinto survivor is an existing testimate to how well those chemicals help. We have been using them since day one. Only cracks are in the driver's seat; the rest of the interior is fine. In fact the dash is still factory fresh!
Using sun shades and tinting the windows can help reduce the heat and UV rays, too.

 

I wish the last owner did, the car was a bit neglected when I found it, an old lady owned it and probably would just drive it and forget about it. I actually stopped using Armor-all years ago as I read conflicting stories that it does the opposite once you stop using it, drying the plastic out.. sounds like it helped in your case though! I heard something called Aerospace 303 was good but never tried it.

Tried to take some better pics today but with this garbage weather here not easy.

 

My vote is to save it also.I had a 79 2 door. I miss that old girl seeing your make me smile.

 

I also heard of armor all drying things out, so I switched to Son-of-a-gun by STP back int he late 80s. It seems to do a great job. I use it on weatherstrip, too.

 

I know exactly how you feel. I did an interior door panel replacement on mine with donor parts from another 98. It had a burgundy interior so I ended up dismantling the door panels and transferring the wood grain parts. Looks like you also need some vinyl repair on the armrest. Check and see if you have a Dr. Vinyl nearby. They can do some wonderful things including replacement.

For your consideration, if you want to redo the woodgrain here's a link to a company that does that film. http://www.aquatransferprinting.com/

The damage on the drivers door looks very fixable. I agree with your decision to replace both though, especially with the seam rust issues. You may need to replace that lower trim on the rear door? It looks like it has quite a twist in it. Maybe it will release and straighten. Also make sure that C pillar damage is fixed right.

IIRC your car is a code 10 or 11 for paint color

 

Keep and fix!!

You paint cars?

 

Aerosace 303 is great stuff. It is expensive. I get it at West Marine. I think itis worth the money.

 

Allan: that's what I've been hoping to do, find a car with good panels and swap over the upholstery. Most cars I find though, even if they have less options are in better shape with less mileage so I wouldn't feel right trashing one. At this point I wish I found a solid base model to pick everything from. Never even thought of transfer printing, I'll have to look into that.
I don't do painting but there is aerosol bc/cc touchup paint I can get and the results are about as good as a real paint job. I did the entire tail panel and bumper filler in that and it turned out great. Durability isn't half bad. I figure with the doors it'd hold me over until I ever got the car redone completely. Stuff looks good!!

 

Sounds good. BTW I think the base regency has different trim pattern on the woodgrain. Didn't have the 'inlay' light color around the perimeter of the dashes and upper panels and you'd need to swap all the door carpet and velour trim too. It's a big job. But if you find a donor, don't hesitate. Get the trim and do the transfer. The Regency Brougham has better appointment and sound padding than a plain Regency. BTW take a look at your differential. If it's like mine it will may have a limited slip. It will likely need gear oil change with 144K on it. Make sure you use posi fluid or gear oil and additive. It smells REALLY BAD when it comes out so be prepared, and have a LARGE catch basin too!

 

Been there done that with the differential! No posi here but as part of my year long rejuvenation of the car I had the axle shafts out to replace the bearings and seals as one of them was shot. I still need to do the pinion seal. One thing I hear mentioned from time to time is the timing chain.. at what point should I look into that?
The thing with this car though is sometimes I'm tempted to just sell it and get one with low miles because they're so cheap (though most aren't Brougham's). I've put time and money into the car as if it were a 60's era 442 or something so the point of sanity is gone now but still, at the slightest setback I feel like ditching it for all the imperfections. I just got the electroluminescent lights working despite the other setbacks so at least progress continues. To get a decent parts car I'd probably have to get another Brougham and likely spend $2k.. and the whole car would be nicer than mine so I wonder what I'm doing sometimes!! I feel like it's such a great car and after 30 years it deserves a little attention.

 

I feel the same way sometimes about my car. You're not alone. Believe it or not that car is now a 'Classic' according to the age definition, so keep plugging away. After all is said and done you'll be happy you kept it.

Those B pillar lights use a special ballast that's hidden in the trunk on the drivers side. Glad you found it and got it replaced. I think those lights were one of the coolest exterior features of the car, especially at night - great photo op.

Timing chain? Believe it or not I never did mine - EVER! and when I sold it the car had over 200K on it. Started and ran like a dream. In retrospect I should have kept it. Would have lasted much longer than the 1995 Regency Elite I replaced it with.

The car does deserve the attention. If you buy a parts car? Use it and then throw all the no good parts from yours into it and send it to the crusher.

 

Yes repairing them was actually the easiest thing I did on the car! There is a kit on ebay with an inverter and a strip of the material. All I needed to do was get some spade connectors and crimp them on for the inverter, and a little soldering/regluing on the lights. Fired it up early this AM and it looks wicked! I will try to get a pic, it really does look cool.. makes me want to keep it even more now.
Hopefully I have the same luck with the engine, so far so good. It does start and run well. If I had my way I'd have that out of the car too! I had to replace some vacuum lines and just ended up taking everything off the top of the block just to degrease and repaint things. It took me over a month!! Must find a parts car..

 

I used to pressure wash my engine compartment routinely to make sure it never got out of control. Of course with the black engine color it's easy to overlook gunk. Also used to clean the frame (high pressure water into the holes on the frame) to keep it from rusting from the inside out.

 

I always do that with the frame rails when I first get the car to see if it's been cared for properly. No pressure washer here but brake cleaner worked wonders on my engine when I first got it. I had the valve covers off and all the retainers to paint on this thing. Took a while but turned out good. Engine looks like it's been rebuilt from the outside!!

 

Looks to be in very nice shape. Only things I needed to do with mine was change a leaking valve cover (passenger side - yuk-what a lot of crap to move) and the water pump. Of course the water pump failed in the middle of winter and I didn't have a heated garage to work in. Even though that's a low compression 140hp motor, I have to give it credit for reliability and ability to move that big car. IIRC mine weighed in at around 5300 lbs? Check your door sticker; I'd be curious what yours is. There should also be a sticker in the trunk that lists all the Olds RPO codes for options installed in the car.

 

Yes I know all too well about that RH valve cover, what a project that turned into! Putting it back while keeping the gasket in place, bolts lined up and not scratching the repaint was also fun. Last owner's mechanic only used RTV on them and it didn't hold up too well. Water pump was already changed by the looks of it (was painted chevy orange of all things). Engine wasn't half as nice when I got it, air cleaner was all surface rust.
The door sticker lists my GVWR at 5190 lbs. No RPO sticker in the trunk, wish there was. I've always wanted to contact the historical archives online and see what the MSRP was for the car and where it came from. It has no rear defrost which I found unusual.. also has made it difficult to source a good dash bezel with better chrome (most have the switch cutout). Another thing I wish I could restore vs replace. Seems to be a common problem.
Motor seems good so far, haven't used the car long term yet since I've had the F-85. Best way to describe it is a little mushy but adequate, but better than average for the standards of the day. The trans it has in it now is a hackjob install of a TH-350 and it doesn't feel right in the car; RPM's are too high and noisy at cruising speed. So much $$ to make things right on this ol girl!

 

Just to clarify, the GVWR is approximate weight with the car full of passengers. So if we use an average person weighing 170 pounds X 6 seats, that is 1020 lbs. Which is a more realistic number.

My 4 door delta 88 weighed in at 3632 with no occupants and 1/4 tank of gas, and my 2 door delta weighed in at 3590 with no occupants and a full tank of gas.

Hope this helps. The base model deltas are actually lighter than many of the "muscle" cars. Especially if you have the factory aluminum bumpers and hood option.

 

Figure on a 98's frame weighing 20 more lbs, a steel front bumper adding 75 lbs, a steel hood adding 30 lbs, and power windows and power bench adding another 50.

I'd guess the 98's at or around 3800.

 

I'd also venture to say, that the electras were the heaviest. The gas door alone weighs about 7 lbs, and they had 80 lb steel bumpers on both the front and the back, option for air ride, and bigger steel hoods with hydraulic shocks.

The caddies were bigger, but I don't think the bumpers had as much mass.

 

I had the rear bumper on a scale just before I replaced it and it was an even 50lbs, much lighter to carry than it looks. Your Delta is about the same as my Caprice weight wise. Never knew Electra's used shocks for the hood, did Caddy as well? Wish these were as popular as the muscle cars but they seem to attract a different crowd.

 

If you're still taking votes...FIX IT!!

 

Shawn,
Hows the settlement and door replacement going?

 

Decided to hang onto it, I put too much work into it to take a loss selling it, and honestly even if it's crusty around the edges too nice of a car to sell. I'll probably do the doors in the spring when the weather is consistent and warmer. Still hope to find a parts car to get them from. Right now just finishing up the mechanicals, carb rebuild, fix the exhaust leak by the crossover, and put new tires on the back. Thanks for the votes of confidence, it did make a difference. Very discouraging when you just about finish a project and get a setback like that.

 

Glad to hear it's a keeper. Will watch for you to resurrect this thread when the body work gets done. Love to see it back in it's glory.