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I have taken inspiration from delta devil's thread about 80-85 deltas and 98's and would like to see who has pics and stories concerning their 1977-79 deltas and 98's.. these are what I have currently.. two 78 deltas and a 78 regency.. let's see what ya got people!
1978 Delta 88 Royale ordered new from Fred Stecker Oldsmobile in Euclid, OH. The car is still in the family and can be seen occasionally around suburban Atlanta . The cars has the 350 (Code R) Oldsmobile engine, fully loaded, all original and in excellent condition.
Last edited by Firebird61; Nov 10, 2014 at 11:21 AM.
very nice! awesome that it is still in the family, that must make you happy. i am hoping the this thread ends up with a good amount of these cars on here as i would love to see them. i think we may be in the minority compared to the 80-85 guys, but i really enjoyed that thread so i figured the 77-79's deserved some love as well.. dave
love the black and white photo oldsragger, looks mean! I wish you were in the u.s. as I would sell you a whole body since I saw the rust issues you have dealt with and I salute you for saving her... are we the only people on here with these year cars that want to share? come on folks, make this thread come alive!
77 Delta 88 Royale. Bought it for a song from the production company that films the show Grimm for NBC. My first Olds, and the most comfortable ride I've ever owned!
77 98 Junkmobile It just sits here in the driveway and collects snow.
Runs and drives, but needs a lot of work. Kinked hood, crunched passenger fender, rust holes in front floors, wrong rear bumper, lousy repaint that needs to be redone. Door corners are growing rust brains under the paint. Engine smokes out of the breather and oil fill tube, but still runs ok with plenty of oil pressure.
grimm delta, that's awesome! my girl watches that show and I saw the episode a few months ago and even though it was a fast scene, I thought it was a delta and it was.. looks like a really clean car, good score
j, rusted, busted and crusted they all deserve to be seen so cool, these cars really could run forever, I couldn't imagine any new cars now roaming the streets 35 plus years from now! thanks for the gauge setup too, I still haven't done any real work on the cars yet besides the interior on the 78 delta, but it will be a cool addition to it when I do
Djcrook, thanks, it is a really clean car. Given that the car was stored for at least 4 years, the interior suggests that the 60k miles on the odometer might be original. I replaced the fuel pump, and gave her new plugs,wires, and oil. She seems to run great. Add that to the fact that the production company wasn't looking to get top dollar, and yes, it was a great score!
yeah grimm these cars are underappreciated by most just see musclecars as the only cool classics, but how many of those would be awesome for a cross country trip with the family? not many cars match a living room on wheels.. by the way my 78 is actually still running awesome on the plugs and wires it came down the line with! gm date coded the spark plug wires for example I think mine say 3q77 which means they were produced during the third quarter of 1977. does not mean much to most but I thought it was worth sharing .
Djcrook, It absolutely means something. It is a testament to the quality of these cars. Yeah, the muscle cars are pretty cool, but there is a lot to be said for cruising around on a nice day in a classic old sedan. Nobody expecting any exhibitions of speed or power, just appreciative head nods from the people who know what you've got.
you summed it up perfectly grimm, which is funny because I hear people try to knock the build quality of 70's gm cars sometimes. believe it or not I also have a 1976(62k) and 1978(69k miles) regency that also run perfectly on the original plugs and wires, so I am sure I can maybe get a few more mpg with a tune up, but I think I will not until I have to as it is pretty cool to fire them up and know that at least on the 76 that these parts have been in service almost 40 years and still work exactly as they should, which seeing I am 41 my cars almost run better than me!
oh and I noticed you are from Oregon, I bought a 78 delta with no engine or trans from a pretty cool 16 year old kid from grants pass last year and had it shipped here to rhode island as it was totally rust free and in my part of the country, is nearly impossible to find unless the car was never used in winter.
I daily drive a '78 88 Coupe. Here's how it looked when I got it. I made a few upgrades since and will start a thread on it as soon as I can snap some updated pics.
79 holiday 88, original rocket 350 225 horses of nitrous, runs 13 flat as much as you can feed it nitrous, cruises like a champ with 3.42's. Pulled it out of a barn this year The day we met
That thing sure cleaned up nice. Naysayers might disagree, but I like those wheels on there.
Hey thanx, and yes the local olds club has some older die hards that hated them too but when i tell them i raced a vette for his wheels and won, they settle down.
Love it! I didn't know there was a thread for 77-79 Olds owners.
Might as well post mine.
Bought it from a seller on craigslist a few months ago in Tucson, AZ for only $1200. One-owner vehicle with proof (found original GM shipping invoice under the carpets when I started working on it!), the original owners are too old now and handed it to their neighborhood dealer to sell it. They had bought this 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 at Guy Oldsmobile dealership in Calabasas, CA in March 1978. They took the car with them to AZ in 1985 where it has been ever since. Only 112K miles, original 350 V8 that still runs like a dream. Needs a bit of work but overall a very nice car, I love driving it. No rust.
I ran some automotive clay and detailer to clean her up all nice, removed all that heavily-caked on dirt that was stuck to the lower parts of the body panels. Now I just need to find that Pastel Blue automotive paint somewhere to paint the rear-corner filler panels behind the bumper.
1979 Holiday 88
sold it 2007 to a fella in Saskatoon, but ran it for about 5 years at our local track.
sprayed the rebuilt 350 to a best of 12.4 in the qtr.
Here's my '79 Holiday 88 just back from the resto shop with new paint, new vinyl top, new head liner, tears in vinyl seat repaired, faded and scratched plastic panels repaired and dyed, new door seals, new hood insulation pad, and a few other minor fixes. She looked good before but now shines. Always a solid runner, loves to cruise the highways. Getting ready to put her to bed for the winter.
Last edited by jmatusiak; Sep 3, 2022 at 04:57 PM.
Reason: Adding photos
A little something sneaky...
here are some pics of my new (to me) 83 Royale. Overall clean car that needs some love, but runs and drives fine. Good score for $800.
This is my group right here. In 1996 I purchased a 79 delta 88 with the 305 as my first car at 16 years of age. Blew up the motor within a year ☹️ 23 years later I picked up this 77 with 350 4bl which is a close cousin and she’s a beaut Clark if I do say so myself. Just put these wheels on last fall Which really change the look Stock hub caps American racing wheels
Hey, I'm new to the forum, and this thread caught my eye.
I have two Deltas. Pictured is my 1977 Delta 88 Royale that I have owned since 1988. I have only seen one other black on black before today (1977-1979). Then I saw "Local Hero's" car in this thread. So now I know there are at least three! I still have the original Chev 350 engine, but it is sitting on my garage floor. In the engine bay currently is a warm-up 455 from a '72 Delta.
The other one is a 2 door 78 Delta 88. I bought that one around 2002. It had been in storage for 10 years after getting a bright metallic fleck gold paint job. I am hoping the color will come back in style some day! It is missing the headliner and carpet, but complete and running otherwise. It has been in storage since, but it will be coming out hopefully next week. It will be the daddy-daughter project for when she gets her licence in a couple years.
I did have a 3rd, one I bought last year as a parts car. It was a two-tone blue '78 Holiday with the console. Unfortunately, the previous owner did some poor decision making and decided the drive the crap out of it through a field, blowing the engine and caving in the rear quarter panels and trunk (might have been alcohol involved?). I am currently building up the frame (which was in mint condition) from that one to eventually go under my black one (when it gets the full restoration this fall).
I have been going to cruise nights and car shows for about 30 years now with the black car, and have only seen 3 or 4 of the 77-79 Deltas. They are rare, especially the 2 doors!
d88force,
I really like your Delta in black. How about a picture of the interior and the engine compartment? Here's a couple of pictures of my 1978 Holiday coupe. It was special ordered by the original owner in 1978 with the 403, Holiday 88 package, towing package with 3.23 gears, HD cooling and suspension, and NO A/C. It's a 43k mile survivor car that's all original except the headliner, tune-up parts, and rear sway bar I added from a 1996 Impala SS for better handling.
I don't suppose the outer rear bumper fillers are not damaged on the 78 Holiday parts car. I'm looking for an original pair to replace the poorly fitting aftermarket ones I have on there now?
78Cutlass4Speed, Sorry, none of the filler pieces were decent (typical). I have aftermarket ones on the rear of the 77 and they took some work to get fitting half decent. The ones on the 78 "Goldsmobile" are hanging on by the paint. I'm afraid they will fall apart if I do over 65mph or hit them with the hose.
I'll post more pics when I get a chance.
455ci shoehorned into the '77 Delta. It is tight with the power brakes and the AC! Custom AC bracket to mount the newer style Compressor. Picked these V/C's up for $100 from a friend of a friend. Had to get them cut down and welded to fit. Scored the dash pad from an '84 back in the 90's and there is only one tiny crack in it now. Original black seats and door panels. Carpet and headliner replaced back in the '90's as well. Grant steering wheel with Olds logo horn button.
The 1978 Delta, originally bought as a parts car, but it was too good to part out!!
It has been in storage for a long time, but it is now out and getting fixed up as a father/daughter project. Had to pull the hood and fender to fix the leaking heater box assembly (rotted at firewall, go figure). Fixing a couple tiny holes in the floors (teaching the kid to weld), and the new carpet from NOS Reproductions should be here next week. We'll replace the headliner while we have the seats out. I am looking for a new headliner board, if anyone in Ontario has an extra kickin around! Mine is missing
Runs great with an Olds 350 with a mild cam and Thrush exhaust.
Good luck! Basic mechanical parts are all still available through your local parts store, but any body, trim, HVAC type stuff will be tough. Posting on these forums helps if you are looking for specific items. I have bought as many good parts cars as I could in the past.
d88force,
I really like your Delta in black. How about a picture of the interior and the engine compartment? Here's a couple of pictures of my 1978 Holiday coupe. It was special ordered by the original owner in 1978 with the 403, Holiday 88 package, towing package with 3.23 gears, HD cooling and suspension, and NO A/C. It's a 43k mile survivor car that's all original except the headliner, tune-up parts, and rear sway bar I added from a 1996 Impala SS for better handling.
I don't suppose the outer rear bumper fillers are not damaged on the 78 Holiday parts car. I'm looking for an original pair to replace the poorly fitting aftermarket ones I have on there now?
Cool! Just watched this on Youtube last week. If you ever decide to sell, please contact me!
79 holiday 88, original rocket 350 225 horses of nitrous, runs 13 flat as much as you can feed it nitrous, cruises like a champ with 3.42's. Pulled it out of a barn this year The day we met
Virtually identical to the one my dad had. When I saw the barn pic I had to do a double take. BTW, I sent you a PM.
didnt know they come with black interior either.
