SeanMiller063

Why is it that our beloved Oldsmobile B body cars are shunned, forgotten about and set aside while the Mopar and chevy B body seem to have generated quite the cult following? They are comparable in size, luxury, build quality and power. For instance the Daytona is 21 feet long and the olds with the original Rocket motors would walk away from the competition.

any ideas?
racing heritage?
TV shows?

rustyroger

If that is the case, then we can enjoy our hobby at bargain prices!.
Which era are you referring to?, The '77 up B Bodies were pretty much clones with not much more than a badge to distinguish the brands towards the end of their production.

Roger.

SeanMiller063

I was referring to about 73 and down. My personal favorites are 66 and 69. I didn't say I don't enjoy the cheaper prices I mean thats probably the best part! But more part reproduction performance stuff would be nice as well. Though it is interesting to see how creative people can get.

Professur

I love my B-Bodies ... regardless of the badges.

Charlie Jones

There were a lot more Chevys made than Oldsmobiles. So the number of 60's cars surviving today will be much higher for Chevy than Olds..
The repro industry naturally gravitates to Chevy because there are more of them being restored.
With the supply of restorable Impalas drying up , you will see more interest in Olds, Pontiacs, and Buicks.

jaunty75

When? The last Impalas anyone cares about were made 50 years ago. I think that if the reproduction parts companies were going to turn their attention to the full-size BOP cars, it would have happened by now.

btw

Agreed.

1yesfan

I think most of all the cars from the 70's will start to be collector cars. All the old stuff from pre 1970 are drying up FAST. Hell nice 1973 and older Monte's, Chevelle's, Olds, Buicks, anything orig shape, nice shape are not cheap now days.

Funkwagon455

I think director Sam Raimi must have a affection for his cream colored Delta. It is featured in "Evil Dead","Evil Dead II", "Army of Darkness" as well as the Spiderman movies. Besides, when it comes to your collection,, what matters is what you want.. My daily '92 Custom Cruiser is an acquired taste, I love it. Some people loathe it. I do not let the haters get me down!

1yesfan

I had a restored 71 Chevelle, I get more questions about my 74 Delta then I did on the Chevelle. Everyone has seen Chevelles and Stangs. Yes they will always be worth more then my 74 88 Conv but there are a TON of folks out there that come up to me and say that they parents had one, hardtop or rag. Oddly I get most folks asking me if it is a 75 model???????

m371961

The 69 Daytona and 70 Superbirds were far from being just a B-body mopar.
Olds in the 60s and 70s just did not get the publicity and the company did not put as much factory backing into racing that the others did. JMHO

oldcutlass

Imho, the B body Mopars are the equivalent to the A body GM cars, your not comparing apples to apples. B body Olds are basically large land yachts for the more well to do boat captains. Well equipped and comfy with a superb smooth ride.

m371961

Agree, more like apples to pomegranates.

lemoldsnut

I remember many older folks driving the large Oldsmobiles 88 and 98 cars to tow their huge travel trailers all over the country. Like people do now with Suburbans and trucks that now have all the creature comforts the cars did back then. Pickup trucks and Suburbans back then were for work not for comfort. A 69 or 70 Olds 98 was huge and had about the highest torque and horsepower motors you could get to tow those trailers and be in comfort. The seats front and back were like a sofa. I remember seeing them with those huge clamp on mirrors all the time.

I have a 69 98 LS 4 door hardtop I have been advertising for parts for some time and to be honest there is not much interest. If that is a sign of what the aftermarket would experience I wouldn't produce aftermarket parts either. Let's face it they do it to make money.

They are great cars. Just not as followed and restored as the A body cars.

SeanMiller063

I would disagree with those who say they were very far off in size.
1966/67 charger
Wheelbase 117.0 in (2,970 mm)
Length 203.6 in (5,170 mm)
Width 75.8 in (1,930 mm)

2nd gen charger
Wheelbase 117 in (3,000 mm)
Length 208 in (5,300 mm) (1968)
207.9 in (5,280 mm) (1969-70)
Width 76.7 in (1,950 mm) (1968-69)
76.6 in (1,950 mm) (1970)
Height 53.2 in (1,350 mm) (1968-69)
53.0 in (1,350 mm) (1970)
Weight ranges from 3200lbs to 3700lbs

olds 66/68
Wheelbase 123 inches
Length 217 inches
Width 80 inches
Height 55.5 inches
Front Tread 62.5 inches

69/70
Wheelbase 124 inches
Length 218.6 inches
Width 79.9 inches
Height 55.5 inches

Weights from 3400 to 4000

SeanMiller063

they Daytona Wheelbase 115.8 in (2,941 mm)[1]
Length 221 in (5,613 mm)[2]
Width 76.4 in (1,941 mm)[3]
Height 61.4 in (1,560 mm)[4]
Curb weight 3,841 lb (1,742 kg)[5]

oldcutlass

The Daytona and Superbird were a limited edition production car and not very popular in its day. It was produced specifically as a requirement to enter the model into racing. They were butt ugly and prone to overheating at slow speeds. I'd bet half got their noses knocked off while driving. The fit and finish of the car was terrible. Dealers could not give those cars away, some were parted out on dealer lots.

Charlie Jones

Beaudry Chrysler -Plymouth in Tucson , AZ had a Superbird in their showroom in 1970. It was priced at $4400. Everybody that wanted it couldn't afford it.
I heard later that the dealer "arranged" to have it stolen so he could collect the insurance money. Just a rumor.
Perhaps it still resides in Mexico today?

russell7088

When my 70 pops up at cruises it changes alot of minda bout the grandpa delta 88 with the looks of mine, the black really brings out the body lines and it show how sharp of a ride these things are. if a 65-70 came with a rear gear ratio option that made it more of a performer then people would be wanting them more.

Kennybill

I got "shunned" by 2 "Oldsmobile" owners Saturday night. Beautiful evening for a convertible ride. My Lady friend and I drove up to Geneva on Lake Erie. It's about 60 miles north of me. Quite a few old cars on the main strip. Near Ashtabula harbor a 1971/72 red Cutlass convertible coming toward me. I wave, nothing, he goes by. Later near Geneva, a burnt orange 1970/72 442, coming at me. I wave and again nothing. Pretty hard to miss a green 1971 Royale convertible but maybe they don't know that it's an Oldsmobile also. I give an acknowledgment wave to other old cars just to be friendly. Most wave but the Oldsmobile "A"body guys don't wave back much. It might be just me but I notice it and I always comment about it to my lady friend. Anyone else notice this?

jaunty75

Question asked and answered! You don't know what kind (year) of car they have, and they're just returning the favor.

Kennybill

Well, I knew they were Oldsmobiles. At 20-25 mph sometimes hard to tell the year plus who knows if it was a real 442 or a Cutlass. Other brands would wave, kind of like the motorcycle riders do. I also have a motorcycle.

btw

Unlike Corvette ownership where the wave is practically mandatory and sought after, it doesn't appear to carry to the other brands. I wave at everyone whether I'm in my D88 or my L48.

Just keep waving. Eventually they will figure it out.

SeanMiller063

Thats lame. I'm sorry maybe they didn't see you? Or they didn't want to recognize it was an olds....

Charlie Jones

Us "B" body guys are like Rodney Dangerfield .
" I get no respect."

oldcutlass

The wave is definitely a Jeep thing...

SeanMiller063

I've gotten it a time or two in the 88 a few nice cars.. but mostly newer "muscle cars" doing fly bye's

MDchanic

I generally wave to all the old car drivers, and they generally wave back.

I bet the two guys who passed you also owned Harleys.

- Eric

Olds64

If they were in A bodies they probably couldn't move enough to wave their hand. Those things are so small.

quaddriver

Where I live its the acid belt - the crap they spray on the road reduces 5 year old pickups to gaping holes. As a result, almost no indigenous olds here, made it. it was a shocking find to discover my 78 98. when you go to the shows, its all novi, chevelles and mopar with an occasional gran torino thrown in. almost no BPO.

Redog

The problem with Oldsmobile owners is that a good chunk of them think "Oldsmobile made two models of cars, The Cutlass, and everything else"

Been shunned quite a few times. More in my Alero than my Delta, but it still happens more than I'd like it too.

The one comment I get a lot with my Delta is "Why didn't you just buy a Cutlass and modify that" or "That's a waste of a good Olds motor going in that Delta" I just respond with "I'll keep my Delta, because I don't feel the need to conform to everybody else"

rustyroger

Over here just about every American car driver will hoot and wave at others they meet. It doesn't matter what make or model, they are rare enough to warrant this.
It's not just American car drivers, VW beetle, Citroen 2cv, and Reliant drivers among other cars with much of a following all do the same.

Roger.

Jamesbo

Don't wave, give them the Dr's "V"

D. Yaros

I can't say I have ever been shunned. Most folk seem to appreciate the B Body Olds. Do they think of it as a muscle car? No. But, that does not bother me because I know they probably also think that Henry Ford invented the first American car and the automobile assembly line.

btw

I take extreme pleasure in knowing that my all steel rear fenders are nine feet long, that the chrome in my bumpers and headlight assembly is still fashionable, and that at least a team of style designers took the time to hand draw the fender script that adorns my car. Can't say that for anything else on the road. Happy motoring!

gregc

My first B Body Olds was a 1975 Delta 88 Convertible. It was certainly a challenge finding body parts to restore it. Aside from the scissor top, many of the body panels weren't interchangeable with the other divisions B-Bodys or other 71-74 Deltas. It eventually burned down in the highway. I was sad when that happened. I then replaced it with a 75 Caprice Convertible, not as luxurious as the Delta, but a B-Body none the less. I also owned a 96 Impala SS, it was a nightmare trying to get it to pass smog, so I ended up releasing it. But now I have several B-Bodys in the 77-86 range. 77 Buick Riviera (basically a Lesabre Coupe with Electra trim and factory rear disc brakes), a 78 Impala Landau Coupe, an 85 Delta Royale that I'm converting to a Holiday 88 Clone, and a 86 Buick Lesabre Estate Wagon. It's surprises me that Pontiac, Buick, and Olds had the Floor Shifter and bucket seat option on their sport coupes, but the Chevys didn't. I made my own anyway by using Monte Carlo Buckets, Console, floor shifter and steering wheel. The other divisions used their G-Body cousins to make their bucket seat floor console options.

redoldsman

Corvette drivers are really big on the wave. Did they invent it? Who the heck knows. It was probably around before 1953. I have never noticed a prejudice from A body owners against B body owners.

MDchanic

When I was a kid, and I used to drive around with my father in his 356B, all of the (very few) Porsche drivers would flash their headlights at each other.
I imagine that this greeting came about because at the time, there were essentially no other cars on American roads that had a feature that allowed them to flash their headlights.

When I got my first 911, I would always do the same thing, and I noticed that pretty much everyone in a 356 or an early 911 would return the greeting, but that the (rich) drivers of "new" Porsches would ignore it (and studiously look away from me as they passed).

Similarly, when I ride my BMW twin motorcycle, the BMW riders always wave, riders of most other makes usually wave, but riders of sport bikes (sleeveless T-shirt and full-face helmet) and Harley riders NEVER wave.

I wave to everyone I pass who is driving an old car, and to lots of people who aren't (everyone wants to wave at the giant pink car), and almost all old car drivers wave back to me (giving some slack for slower reflexes and poor eyes, which seem to disproportionately affect old car drivers these days... ).

- Eric

Fullsizelover

I had an 96 Impala SS for almost 5 years as a daily driver: BEST car I ever had, only the alternator and fuel pump had to be replaced. Sold it for the 76 Custom Cruiser because I wanted a '70s station wagon on the same platform. These cars are so simple to maintain, there is (almost) nothing that can't be unbolted within 15 minutes. Back on topic: here in the Netherlands I usually get a thumbs up or people shaking their heads looking at the Olds, I think we are hybrid country number 1....

Don R.

I currently have a 63 Starfire and a 67 Plymouth GTX. I love them both but IMO they are totally different cars. The GTX is a typical mid-size musclecar, lightweight, cheaply made, noisy and a bit violent in performance. The Starfire is long, wide, low and heavy like a 60s big car should be. It is MUCH more sophisticated in build quality, ride, and noise control with a combination of luxury and smooth performance. Two different tools but they both do their jobs well.


I do agree that our big Oldsmobiles are not well known today. Every time I take my 63 to a Cars & Coffee type show I get a lot of lookers and questions, almost no one knows what it is but when I tell them most people of a certain age remember someone who had a similar car, and everyone likes it. I don't mind that, I would rather have the only Olds at a show than have 10 cars just like mine - the Chevy and Ford problem.