okccadman

i just rescued a 1967 Ninety Eight Convertible from an uncertain fate involving 20 inch wheels. i am having trouble deciphering the data tag. i can find info for Cutlasses but not the big cars. Here is teh info:

078
67-38467 LAN 3754
048-D Y-8
ES 2ETR
4F

I know it is a Saffron Yellow car with Yellow top and Yellow Interior. Also most of the triple yellow cars i have seen have tan headliners and tan matching top bows and brown dash/carpet. This one and a few others I have seen have black headliner bows and trim. Was this a running change late in the year maybe? Thanks in advance - Jim

jaunty75

Comments:

1. Nice car. I have a '67 Delta 88 that had the same color scheme. The all-yellow look was a "Spring Special" for 1967, although that color scheme could certainly have been ordered at any time.

2. You should always post a photo of the cowl tag as attempts to transcribe what it says almost always result in errors, and you have at least one in what you wrote.

The "078" at the top is likely 07B, which indicates the build date as the second week of July 1967, so this car is a very late model year build.

As far as the other codes, I don't know what the "048" means (probably interior color scheme), but the "D" indicates "strato-bench seat."

The colors are as you assumed, with Y = Saffron lower body color, and the 8 indicates a yellow top. Your car has a white top, so the top has been changed.

The other codes show the following:

E = tinted windshield and windows
S = power trunk release

2E = air-conditioning
2T = power antenna
2R = rear speaker

4F = remote outside mirror



Here's a photo of my car the way it looked when I got it. The paint was faded, but the interior was in very nice shape as was the top. Mine also apparently came with a yellow top, but it was replaced at some point with a black one. I have a 378 trim code where you have 048, but I don't have a decode for it, so I don't know if the brown interior is the original color.






I had the car repainted, and I didn't really want a yellow car, so I had it done in red. Here's what it looks like today, this time with the top up.





Good luck with your car. It's great that you saved it.

jaunty75

Here's what the cowl tag on my '67 Delta looks like. In addition to the 378, I've never been able to find out what the 5H code means. The 5Y indicates deluxe seat belts. 05D at the top indicates 4th week of May 1967 build date. No idea what the D way over to the right just above and to the right of the "N" in LAN means.





The W indicates tinted windshield only. On your car, the E indicates, as noted, both tinted windshield and side windows. The 2T and 2R are the same as yours, and the 5Y indicates, as noted, deluxe seat belts.

m371961

Gotta love those big verts. I don't think the world will ever see production 18 foot convertibles again.

jaunty75

I should say that, while I've never been able to definitively find what 5H means, the car did originally have a power antenna, and I'm guessing it could indicate that. There is no power antenna on the car now, and the right rear fender, where it would have been located, has evidence of having been replaced, so it's possible that the replacement fender didn't have a cutout for the antenna, and the owner at the time never bothered to put a power antenna (or any antenna) back in. There is a switch for a power antenna on the dash.

(Nothing like quoting oneself!)

chrisneu68olds

Is it possibly 038? That is a code for Yellow for 1967 98's.

okccadman

Here is my data tag. As you can tell, someone went a bit crazy with the John Deere Green paint under the hood.

jaunty75

That's definitely 048. Not surprising, really, as it's a little more difficult to mistake a 4 for a 3 than it is to mistake a B for an 8.

The interior of his car is white, not yellow. Is it possible the 048 means white interior?

okccadman

My interior is definitely yellow, not white. It has been redone long ago but all indicators indicate it was always yellow, including the yellow coordinated rear seat speaker grille. The top has been changed from yellow to white at some point as well.

jaunty75

My apologies. In this photo, it looks white.

chrisneu68olds

Yep, you're right. I was thinking a possible typo.
I don't see White as an option for a 1967 98, the closest light color is "Pewter" and those codes are 011, 021, 041.

Since someone has to make the plates by hand, I wonder if it is a typo on the tag itself?

Allan R

So you had it professionally re-painted at a shop? I thought you tried painting it at home. (those pics are no longer posted I see) The car looks great BTW. Curious, didn't they use a rubber bumper filler on the 67 front bumper?

jaunty75

Yes, after living with it for about a year, I had a paint shop re-do it. Much better result.

There's no rubber bumper filler. Wouldn't that have been something that came along when the energy-absorbing bumpers did in the early '70s? There would have been no reason for rubber fillers unless the bumper could move relative to the car, and these didn't.

Allan R

I was curious about that because our 67 Cutlass had those rubber bumper fillers. They go onto the top of the bumper and are cushion points for jacking. My 72 has them on the rear bumper, and I know that some models had them on both front and rear. Just seemed like the left front corner of your bumper was missing something. It's not in the same alignment as the passenger side. Was it bent or hit at some time?

jaunty75

The front bumper is not perfect. Compare the views from the left and right side.

The left side is angled down very very slightly compared to the right side. It's so minor that I don't worry about it. If the car was ever hit at that location, it was before my ownership.







Here's a head-on view. Things are reasonably symmetrical, except for the RCA license plate. Yes, that's overspray on the headlight surround trim at the far right above and to the right of the outboard headlight. That was left over from my painting attempt, and I hadn't yet sanded it off.

Allan R

Car looks great! Be careful on that trim bezel. You might want to try a solvent on the paint before you try sanding it. BTW I really like the silver accent on the lower part of the body and wheel openings. Have you ever given thought to changing the top to a white one down the road? Sort of match up the interior?

You're right - the bumper alignment isn't that bad especially from head on.

jaunty75

I should be more careful in my choice of words. I would definitely try removing the paint chemically before resorting to abrasives.

This was standard on all Delta 88s that year. See below from the '67 brochure.




Things were different for the Delta 88 Custom and the Delmont 88. For the Custom, there was a wider trim piece that ran the length of the car a few inches above the lower edge.




while the Delmont 88 had a trim piece in a similar location to the Custom, but is was narrower and less ornate. Both also featured trim that went around the wheel wells.




Of the three, I think the treatment the Delta 88 got was the best looking.



The interior is actually brown, but, regardless, the top is in very good shape, so I'd be reluctant to spend money on something like this until the need arises. One day, if I still own the car when the top needs replacing, I'll consider it.





Yep. Overall, though, I'll be the first to admit that the '67 full-size Delta 88's (and perhaps, by extension, the entire '67 full-size line-up) were probably not the prettiest cars the company ever made, especially looking at the front end, but they were very consistent with automotive styling of the era.

To me, the front end is a bit of a tangle of chrome of different sizes and shapes that don't really mesh as well as they could.




Oldsmobile dialed things back a bit for '68, and I think the overall look was cleaner and more attractive. I especially like the split grille with body-colored metal between the two halves and less chrome overall. Olds would keep the split grille for many years following.






Not that I don't love my car, mind you!