You guys know me with these diesels. I got a lead on two diesel Oldsmobiles that are tied up in the original owner's estate. I got the address, made the call and took a ride out to see them the other day, not knowing what models they were or what to expect. Holy Cow. What they showed me was a beautiful first year diesel 78 Delta 88 Royale coupe with a solid metal top, no vinyl roof, with just over 10k miles and an 83 Custom Cruiser diesel wagon with 50k miles. Both cars are loaded to the top with options, twin power seats with recliners on both cars, full leather, not vinyl interiors which is unheard of on a Cruiser or a Delta of this era but from what the dealer booklets show, leather was an option. An 8 track stereo on the Delta, digital cassette on the wagon, even the wagon had the fiber optics along with cornering lamps on both cars. The wagon also had a power moonroof which I did not think was ever offered on the Custom Cruiser but it sure looks like a factory roof to me, not an aftermarket. I have found that most diesel Oldsmobiles are either loaded up with everything or stripped down with no options. These two have everything. The Custom Cruiser has not been run in years but the Delta started right up and runs as new with it's original diesel engine, not a replacement goodwrench. The wagon still has it's original engine as well. I need another car like I need a goat. I can not get hold of the cars until the titles are found but I did make an offer. Part of me says I should walk away because I am totally out of space for another car. I am overloaded enough and need to sell stuff, however, on the other hand, I do love these Oldsmobile diesels and these two are rarer than hen's teeth and hen's don't have teeth! I gotta stop myself. It's like a drug I guess.

 

... And in other news, I've got a friend near here who'll give you a great deal on some goats!



- Eric

 

Goats? You mean more than one goat? Oh man give me his number.... Wait? Enough already. I have to get back to work. Stupid diesels. Stupid goats....

 

That's awesome. If you have the opportunity post pics please. You should definitely go check them out again... just to make sure you need them.

FWIW, do you have any idea how easy it would be to get the Custom Cruiser running? I thought parts for the Olds diesel engines were essentially non-existent...

 

I took photos but I would rather not post until I have control of the cars. There may be a few more diesel nuts who will recognize the cars. They said the Cruiser ran excellent the last time it was used so I expect it will come back to life just as the Delta did. I have a number of Oldsmobile diesels and the ones I bought that did not run, I was able to bring them all back to life. I know the diesel Olds engine all too well. Question of the day, has anyone seen a Custom Cruiser wagon with a power moonroof?

 

The '83 sales brochure lists the electric sliding glass astroroof as an option for the 98 and 88, but not for the Custom Cruiser. It also lists custom leather trim as an option for the 98, but not for the 88 or Custom Cruiser.

 

I know, thanks Oldsfan. I looked at my Olds brochures from 77 up to 84 and while the Delta pages did show a leather option for the Royale, including photos, being offered up to and including the 81 brochure, the 82/83/84 brochures do not show a Delta leather option anymore. I also could not find leather or the astroroof as an option on any Custom Cruiser, it was either cloth or vinyl. However, this car has them both.

 

Herbie...you are giving me a "woodie" with all these Diesel cars. I have yet to see a Diesel Olds in my travels. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

I checked my dealer information album last night. It shows no availability of the astroroof or leather interior on the Custom Cruiser. It would be interesting to see the SPID label and the body tag to see how the car codes out.

 

After seeing this post I began to wonder about the differences between the Goodwrench 350 diesel and the Oldsmobile 350 diesel. Apparently, the Olds 350 diesel was painted blue while all of the Goodwrench engines were black. Other than that I've had a hard time finding information on this. Were the Goodwrench engines simply Olds 350 diesels rebuilt by GM, or was it a Chevy / Corporate GM block (like the 6.2L and 6.5L diesels)?

 

Far as I know there are no differences, other than the updates that made them run for more than 20,000 miles.
I think the point is just that essentially every one of these failed and was replaced, and that finding one with the original motor is very unusual.

- Eric

 

Eric, thanks for the clarification. I've also heard that nearly all of the Olds diesels were replaced with the Goodwrench engines. It's too bad that Olds dropped the ball on diesel engines in the 70s and 80s.

 

Had GM Corporate let Oldsmobile pick the brains over at Detroit Diesel Division I think the Diesel program would have been much more successful.The Olds gas engine had the strongest bottom end and the engineering chops to pull it off, but as usual bean counters screwed things up and cost the company a lot of warranty money after the fact. Had they only done things on the front end instead of the back end...

Marketing bears its share of blame too for advertising the Diesel as "low maintenance". Too many owners took that at face value, and a lot of Diesel owners had no business with a Diesel car.

Good finds. Sounds like that wagon might have been built for someone with connections.

 

That is correct about the factory Olds diesel being painted Oldsmobile blue. I have one Olds Diesel with the Goodwrench replacement engine, they were dark gray to be exact. I always thought the Goodwrench diesel was very different than the factory engine which is why they are, for the most part, trouble free.

 

Hmm...

 

hey, my dad had a 1980 chevy halfton truck...and it had a factory olds diesel in it...cool uh..

 

I ran a parts business for years and we had two of the Chevy 1/2 ton trucks with the 5.7 Rattlers in them. We put over 100k on both of them. I think the key was they almost never were shut off. We found the biggest problem was the electronics that ran the glow plugs. In time they all got a 350 or 403 installed. If you get one of the Rattler vehicles and put a gas engine in them it makes for a very nice car as the diesels had the extra insulation and sound deadening materials. Makes them pretty nice cars. We did a gas conversion on a early 80's Cadillac with a 403 and it made a fabulous car out of it.

 

When I first got my driver's license, I took my driver's test in a 1980 Eighty-Eight Royale diesel. The examiner looked like Farrah Fawcett, sat sideways in the passenger seat with her clipboard on her knee, and didn't wear her seatbelt. Mom was really pissed that I let her smoke a cigarette in the car, but hey, I got my license!

 

 

.... You made me laugh Olds64 with your empty post with the shocked face. Wow, lucky you Mr Human! When I went for my driver's test, I used my friend's old boring Toyota and my examiner was a big bald heavy guy of about 60 who forgot to use underarm spray that warm spring day...... However, at least I passed my test without puking....

 

I got my license in our 81 Delta 88 4 door with an Olds 307. What a great car that was.