I've looked but haven't got a concise answer. How many 72 Delta 88 Royale convertibiles were produced? Some one said 5000 and another answer was 3900. Does anyone have this info or how can I find out. Thanks -Dan

 

They made 3900. Ken

 

3900 per The Standard Catalog of Oldsmobile.

 

Thank you Ken

 

And thank you 1969w3155

 

It's actually interesting to look at Delta 88 convertible production during the final, '71-75 run. I used to own a '75 D88 convertible, so I've had an interest in this.

'71: 2,883
'72: 3,900
'73: 7,088
'74: 3,716
'75: 7,181


I could always see why '75 would have seen an uptick as it was the last year for any Olds convertible for a while, and at that time who knew if there would ever be another Olds soft-top.

The jump in '73 followed by the fall-off in '74 more or less mirrors Oldsmobile's overall production those years:

'71: 559,607
'72: 758,711
'73: 939,530
'74: 619,396
'75: 628,902


Olds suffered a roughly 33% fall-off in production going from '73 to '74, and '75 wasn't much better. But '74 and '75 were the first full years after the infamous 1973 Arab oil embargo which saw the country's first experience with gasoline shortages and sharp spikes in fuel prices, and suddenly everyone wanted a smaller, more fuel-efficient car. Olds did go on to see 1 million-plus yearly production for several years later in the '70s and then again in the early '80s, so some of its best years were still ahead of it. Indeed, production for '76 was back to almost almost 900,000. So '74 and '75 were more or less hiccups on Olds's at-that-time steady progression upward.

 

In 1975 only 471 came of the line with a 454 under the hood. I have the privilege of owning one. I would love to know what it is in the sequence.

 

455

How do you know this? I understood that production figures by engine type are not available for Oldsmobiles made prior to 1977.

In any event, 471 out of 7,181 is less than 7%. That number seems low to me. I have to believe a greater fraction than this of people who went for a '75 Delta 88 convertible opted for the larger engine.

 

Probably the upward spike in 1973 was due to being the only convertible model for Oldsmobile. 1975 being the finial year for a soft top probably boosted sales. Jmo, Ken

 

This is were white spyder is getting his info from! 455 as Jaunty pointed out!
http://1975oldsmobileconvertible.com/

Pat

 

I see it mentions the 1975 Royale convertible coming with a 400 2-v engine. I would "guess" that must have been a Chevy 400. The one I just bought has the Olds 350 4-v. That is a lot of car for a detuned 350. Needless to say, I was disappointed when I saw small block. My 1971 came with a 455 2-v. Ken

 

Nope. Poncho.

- Eric

 

I wonder what the reasoning behind that was. Ken

 

350 was too small.
455 was too big, in terms of emissions-choked post-fuel-crisis mileage (I'm betting about 8mpg most of the time).
400 was "just right," but no self respecting Olds buyer would pay for a Chebby motor.

Just a guess...

- Eric

 

On the 1975 Royale site I read the story about the last 1975 convertible made. It was very interesting until the owner Ray, who babied it died in 2006. Then the "grieving" widow gave the car to her new husband as a wedding present. Ken

 

I've seen that site. It's a very nice tribute to the "last convertible," but I still question his data. "By most GM accounts, 90% were produced with the 350 V8." ? What "GM accounts"?

It's just not likely that so many of those cars, which would have gone to buyers looking to snap up the last of the Olds convertibles and who therefore would likely have tended to go for more options than fewer, would have been purchased with the base engine. It would be more believable if it were the other way around--90% with the 455.


Kennybill, you're right about '73 being the first year that the only Olds convertible available was the Delta. I had forgotten that. I think this is a better reason than I gave for the spike in '73 production.

 

Better than "Getting rid of that old barge" by scrapping it, or selling it to a local gangbanger for $500.

He couldn't use it anyway. He was dead. Like we'll all be.
Should she have buried it with him?

- Eric

 

No, I never considered him being buried in it. I just thought his daughter that they drove to her wedding may have wanted it or there may have been other children. With the dynamics of the "modern" family there is a chance the widow may not have been the mother of his children. Jmo, Ken

 

to anyone fyi
here is a site i found with lots of info
http://www.1975oldsmobileconvertible.com/

 

Not sure about the reasoning behind using the Pontiac 400 engine but they were scattered all thru the 1975 B and C cars, with 88s getting 2-barrel Pontiac engines while Ninety Eights and Custom Cruisers got 4-barrels. The 1975 CSM covers them extensively. Info I have says 212 1975 88 converts got the Pontiac engine. There was a Pontiac-engined 1975 Custom Cruiser in the Charlotte Zone Service Office car pool and the guys there loved it for vacation trips.

The first time I saw one I figured yahoo engine swap, then I found out the factory did it. But you notice Olds owners who got Pontiac engines in 1975 didn't squall about the Pontiac engines like they did when the General put SBC's in Oldsmobiles in 1977.