84delta

Hey guys,

So, I'm a new member on here.. Had my Olds for about 2 years now.. Got it for free from my girlfriends' grandma.. It was her main car, bought off of a lease in 87 and driven until shortly before I took it..

The car is an 84 Delta 88 Royale Brougham coupe.. It's got the 307, 4 speed auto, mostly power everything, and most "normal" options for the day.. I don't have any pics of it when it was 100% original (with her), but I'm still trying to find some..

Mainly, the car has been a back-up car / project car.. I would have liked to have alot more done to it by now, but some unexpected costs hindered progression.. Such as cooling system failure, a terrible bearing squeal, new brake lines, windshield, etc.. But overall, the car runs strong, solid, and great for what it is.. Has never given me any "problems".. I mean, there's this and that, but the car is also old.. But considering some old cars I've driven, this thing is super solid.. Especially rewarding seeing as how it's a 307..

The mods thus far consist of an Alpine CD/iPod headunit, aux gauges, pillar mounted tach, Edelbrock air cleaner, rebuilt Q-Jet, ghetto-fab exhaust with glasspack, completely new heavy duty cooling system with tranny cooler, new fan clutch, a/c removed, new-ish tune-up, g-body Cutlass 442 wheels with letter tires, Caddy Fleetwood 5.0 litre emblem, all new bulbs and lighting all around.. Some stuff like that..

My friend who's been helping me with this car said that this is the strongest 307 he's ever worked on.. The only one better was in a street built 442.. Even the guy at the shop across from his house called it a factory freak.. haha

The gameplan for this car was to do a mild build on it and basically just take it to shows and ride around from time to time.. However, given the situation I'm in right now, I might sell my current car (2006 Cobalt SS 2.4) and actually fully build this car up.. Crate Chevy 350, rebuilt 700R, rebuilt 3.73 posi rear, new suspension and brakes, update steering, new bushings, etc. Basically, update it all.. If you do that, you can have a "brand new car" for maybe around 5k.. And it'll run forever and be solid as anything.. Plus, that's like 1/4 the price of a real new car..

So, we'll see.. Regardless, here's a few pics.. The first few are older, original ones from the old hubcaps and such.. The first show it was at.. The last one was the day I got the 442's on it.. But it was really dirty.. lol

Thanks!

citcapp

Nice looking Olds. Myself and another of others on the site believe in keeping a Olds all Olds. Please Consider a Olds 350 or 455 instead of the Chebby engine. If your convinced going with the Chebby we have a forum for other engine installs on the site. You won't get much help in the big or small block forums

Oldsguy

Nice looking Delta. Welcome to CO.

84delta

Thanks guys.

Honestly, for awhile now, I was just figuring on getting a Rocket 350 and calling it a day. However if I'm going to be using it for daily driver work, I'd rather have a crate motor that i know everything works.. And I really wouldn't have the time nor money to do a rebuild on the Rocket how I'd want it done..

Honestly, I don't even have an issue with the 307, however it's got so many vacuum issues and such that it makes it a pain to work with sometimes.. I've worked with the vacuum hoses, rebuilt the carb, etc and I've still got a throttle issue at times.. So I'd rather just pull the 307 and put a motor with real power in..

However, a guy at my work at a 78-ish 98 with a 455 and it's a nasty ride.. But for ease of install, I'm staying small-block..

76 Regency

Hi 84 Delta and welcome to the forum. I agree that an Olds should be kept with an Olds powerplant. That 307 sounds like it's a great engine to keep in the car....it might be worth figuring out the vacuum issue versus pulling a perfectly good, original motor (especially to replace it with a Chebby!)

Also, you never know you'll have to adjust the front springs, etc due to a difference in engine weight.

As for your friend with the '78-ish 98, the last year that Ninety Eight's came with a 455 was 76 so either it's an older model than you may think or a 455 was dropped in it. If his car looks somewhat like yours, it could very well be a '78 but if it looks more like mine (in my avatar) then it's '75 or '76. If it is like mine and he is parting it out, I would be interested in seeing what else the car has to offer.

Again, welcome to the site and enjoy your Olds as long as you can!!

vette442

If you do much of anything to the engine, you'll be hosed on PA emissions inspection unless you run classic plates. If you have classic plates, you can't use it as your only car, so you'll need to keep the Cobalt. It's such a nice car as-is, you'll probably be going down an expensive path of regret. Also, as nice as they are, the market for these cars is slim enough that you'll never get your money back out of you modifications if you go to sell it someday. I'd just enjoy it for the nice classic that it is.
Terry

84delta

Yes, but for all the driving I do, I cannot use the car as if for my daily.. I've got 83k on my cobalt and it's a late 06.. lol

But as for the car in question, it originally had a 350. He got both cars as a package deal. That one with the 350 and the other with the 455. Then just put the 455 into the coupe..

And trust me, I'm already into this car money-wise far too much that I'd never make it back anyway.. haha

car_designer

Welcome to the forum 84delta.

Very nice looking Delta. Always good to see others keeping and fixing up B-Bodies.

If power isn't a main reason for swapping the engine, I would agree with others. Try and sort out the vacuum issues. Once that is done the car should be quite reliable.

I have an '83 Delta 88 and it runs great. I have no problem trusting it. Over the last couple of summers I have taken it on a few trips from 300 to 600 miles each way with no issues.

fdwheelman

First off... I got to agree with the ones above... Don't change the 307 unless you HAVE to. Buy, collect, invest in an Olds 350/403 or even a 455. You'll be happier with the results when you're done.

I wouldn't change it's status either. With an 06 Daily Driver, you have the dependability factor built in. I have a 78 Holiday 88 that I drive daily and an 01 Bullitt that parks in the garage. There have been times that I GLADLY parked the Olds and jumped in the Pony. The problems I ran into on the Olds where things that a 32 year old car would have to expect. It's now "Daily Dependable" and a pleasure to drive.

With those said...

Congrats! I too have an 88. I've had a LOT of fun working on it. Busted quite a few knuckles and cussed more than enough at it... But I've got it to a state now that I have autocrossed it and loved it, and showed it, loving it there too... It's been a good car! I got a couple more braces to throw in her to tighten her up, then it's on to upping the brakes. In the mean time, I too am collecting parts to do a mild 350 build.

HolidayCoupe

Now thats an approach....I love them big bodies, You have a sweet looking Olds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

snowballs442

I would not change the 307 until I had to. I really do like the Delta 88s and you have a nice one. I noticed that the last picture the car has cutlass wheels on it. What is the gas mileage on it? Mine is about 22 mpg.