hey friends, at least a year ago I posted some photos of fitting 1976 regency seats into my 78 delta royale with the plans of doing the car over in silver.. busted *** for the last two weekends with some help from my 13 year old daughter who did a great job helping me prep the panels for dying with sem color coat. I decided to sell this one in favor of a 78 regency which I will be picking up out of ohio in a few weeks. enjoy!

 

got these floor mats from a 82 delta and dyed them to match the carpet, then moved on to the headliner.. I know it is not the factory style fabric, but I thought it would add a little luxury. craft store 5 dollars!

 

sail panels were next along with prepping panels for dye which consisted of washing them then going over them with presta scuff stuff which is used in paint shops as a final wet scuff before paint. it abrades the plastic slightly to ready the surface for adhesion promoter then sem color coat dye which works great and would not even come off with a finger nail after it sat for 24 hours..

 

starting the dye process..

 

panels done!

 

can't believe these used to be tan!

 

looking clean..

 

you just cannot beat these interiors!

 

more interior shots..

 

although the interior color may not go with the outside color to most, keep in mind that this car was going to be painted silver.. not bad for dye out of a spray can I must say.. between the carpet, dye, and additional materials this interior job cost me less than $300 dollars and about forty hours labor including the floor fabrication and rear seat upholstery and rear seat frame fab to go with the split bench as it used to be a straight bench with the tan vinyl seats. I will be posting it in the for sale section probably tomorrow night , but wanted to share this first. hope it is informative and I can answer any questions for anyone else who needs help..

 

That came out really nice.

Someone should finish it in black on the outside.

Then I can somewhat re-live my 79 D88 years from 1984-1997.

 

very nice

 

thanks guys, I love these cars as my first car in 1989 was a 78 delta royale silver with red interior. 50 bucks with a rod knock and another 50 for a 71 cutlass s to donate a 350 for it.. man I had some fun times in that car!! I actually bought another mint rust free body out of Oregon that someone linked to here from craigslist awhile back, so if this car does not sell, I have no problem keeping it to finish the other one. but since I found this one in ohio in the right colors, I just had to have it even though it is a 98 regency.. 76k miles and the interior in red this nice seems pretty hard to find as I have looked

 

Man, you did a lot of work but it sure turned out nice. Enjoy.

 

thanks guys, I busted *** on it but I feel like superfly every time I slide behind the wheel!

 

So how did the seat dye hold up to that? Nice job by the way

 

Awesome job Dave! It really looks great. The 98 looks like a clean, original car so that looks like a good buy for you.

 

59 the seats came out of a 76 regency that I had so they are the original mahogany color and I did not touch them, but rather did the interior to match them.. I did dye the floormats though and I did notice the dye wearing where my right heel rests.but the original floormat color was close anyway and out of an 81 delta. but I dyed grey leather seats and door panels black once on another car and drove the car for another two or three years with no wear through on the leather and vinyl.. so for cloth seats and carpet I would not think it will hold up but with proper prep and adhesion promoter, I would not hesitate to do vinyl and plastic besides floor or seating, as it will hold up well over time especially on seldom used or garaged cars.. and yes john, the silver one has 76k and I am buying it from the son in law of the original owner and it is the colors of my first car so I am pretty happy! I will be going to ohio within a month to get her and drive her home.. if the delta does not sell I will keep it for my other rust free body as every time I sit in this car, I just do not want to sell it!

 

Nice work, looks really good

 

Awesome Dave!


2 quick things for you. I just spotted this post about a '79 Delta in a yard in VA. Maybe you need some parts for either of your cars.


https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-junkyard.html


Also, we just watched the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty last night and there was a delta almost exactly like yours in one scene.

 

thanks for the info john.. you are one of the people who really want to see everyone here better their cars and knowledge of them.. someday I will stop buying and start finishing them!

 

Ha, thanks Dave. I try to help out whenever possible and I'm happy to say I'm not the only one on here that does. I think that's what great about the classic car hobby. Many of us are in the same boat, searching for hard to find parts and the concept of "one hand washes the other" tends to be the norm.


I really can't wait to see your 98 with a fresh coat of paint on her! Maybe by the 2015 New England Olds Club show ?!

 

since I have sworn to myself that this is the last car I am buying till it is 1969 gto time john, it just may happen! but once I start, I always get carried away so I at least hope to start on it by then.. I am still wanting to incorporate the moonroof as it will really make the ride more pleasurable on the right days. and yes I am glad for the friends and knowledge gained from joining this site, lots of great people!

 

That looks awesome! The new color is far more classy! Great job!

 

Very cool Dave. I hope you find a good roof. It is truly an awesome option to have. I can't tell you how much I love opening that roof when the weather is right. Aside from just how cool it is, I get a tremendous sense of pride knowing that I added that in myself! I guess you could actually paint the car and then install the roof afterwards since your car has a full vinyl top, right?

 

thanks donuteater, believe it or not it is all going into another car someday but I had to do it either way.. I am very happy with the way it turned out and also happy that my old 76 regency still lives on in another three or more cars! that's where the seats came from as these were tan vinyl and clean but plain.. either way john, the roof is going to happen! I am a pretty good fabricator so I have no issues making it work but just hope the donor roof already functions at least

 

I love your determination Dave! I just learned of a Cadillac restoration / junk yard in the Boston area. Check it out...maybe he'll have a roof you can use. Especially if you're confident in your metal-working skills, I'm sure you can find one and make it work.


http://gatelyrestoration.com/antique...llac-parts.php


It's a real shame that your red 98 had so much rot because otherwise she was in great condition. I ALMOST felt bad stripping her apart with you, almost Too bad you had to get rid of her in a hurry, there was still a little meat on those bones. Any chance she's still sitting in the yard she went to ?

 

thanks for the info john, I will find one for each of my oldsmobiles and make them all they should be! even though my first was a 78, the 76 looks so elegant and majestic and I cannot wait to finally get down on it since it is such a nice car to finish. yeah I hated to break the 76 down but the bottom looked like the titanic so it made it an easier decision. no john that car was gone the weekend I was told it had to go as metals recycling is right down the street. sad as it did have more to give even though it was pretty thoroughly stripped!

 

Ha, yeah I remember the underside being just terrible. The Titanic is a good comparison lol. Nice shot of her on the flatbed with another wreck piled on top! How come you cut the front of the fender on the 98? I think I can see some of the yellow tape that I put on the car lol.

 

I cut the fender end off because the silver car has some type of bad repair in that corner where it meets the header but the bottom was way rotted so I kept the section just in case I need it for a graft as I need to change the header as well. I cannot wait to finally arrange for a place to blow one of these apart and just do it!

 

Wow, it's great that you're able to do that kind of metal work Dave. Very impressive. I'm sure whenever you get around to diving into the '76 98, she will come out absolutely beautifully!

 

wow nice work, is it difficult to dissasemble the dashboard? how many bolts/screws is it total?

 

thanks oldsragger, the dash is simple as it is really just a cover once you remove the woodgrain face plates, section under steering column and the glove box door. I think it was about four Phillips screws followed by about 20 1/4 head screws along the inside edges of the dash cover. gently pop out the speaker covers and there are torx head screws in there and the defrost hole. I think six. it took about an hour to remove, it was way more simple than I thought. if I remember right, you fixed a ton of rust on your car, good work and I am sure there are not too many cars like that where you are!