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My name is Robin. I am from The Netherlands and I am 19 years old. We've had an Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Brougham in our family for around ten years. My daily driver is a 2002 Volvo S40.
Due to regulations the Olds has been sitting in the garage for around six years. In The Netherlands we have to pay monthly road tax ('wegenbelasting') for a car, depending on the weight of the car.
A car is considered an oldtimer once a car is older than 25 years in The Netherlands. When it becomes an oldtimer, it is exempt from road tax.
This means relatively cheap driving, right?
Everything was fine untill the state raised the age of an oldtimer to 40 years. Since the car is registered as built in '78 it wasn't an oldtimer anymore uptill 2018. Paying road tax for a car this heavy is no fun so we stored it.
In 2018 the car became an 'oldtimer' again. However, my parents never had any time to make the car ready for the road since then...
This week my parents got divorced, which means my mother will move out. My dad doesn't have time to restore the Olds and my mom won't have a place to store it. This would mean we had to sell it. Since I've had really good memories with this car as a kid I don't want it to be sold. Sooooo, I will become the owner. The Olds can stay here at my father's place where I can try to get the car back on the road.
It's an olive green four-door Delta 88 Royale Brougham.
To do:
The car is leaking oil, just as every American car does . It's the transmission fluid. It doesn't leak much but after all these years it doesn't have anything left, so it will need some new ATF before I can take it out of the garage.
I'd like to give the car some proper service. I have done some maintenance on my own cars before, but doing this on the Olds will be something different I guess. That is where this forum comes in handy
It will at least need some fresh engine oil.
Once that is done I can take it out after three years and give it a proper wash. As a car detailer that won't be difficult.
There has some welding to be done on the front bumper and the rear left wheel arch.
Other than that is the car in a pretty good shape since it has always been kept inside, although I do expect some surprises such as dried out rubber and things like that.
I don't have any pictures yet but I will post some soon!
I hope to find a lot of relevant information and interesting people here helping me to bring the Olds back to its glory!
Last edited by Robin2000; February 22nd, 2020 at 01:51 PM.
Since the car is registered as built in '78 (actually I believe it's a '81)
If you will tell us the car's VIN (Vehicle Identification Number), we can tell you exactly what model year it is. If it really is an '81, how did your government decide it was built in 1978? Olds did not build new cars to sell them three years after they were made. The VIN is visible through the windshield on the driver's side at the base of the windshield.
If you can tell us the information on the body cowl tag mounted to the firewall on the driver's side (or better yet, post a clear photo of it), we can tell you the month and year the car was built.
This is what the cowl tag looks like. This example is for a 1970 automobile (a Chevrolet), and the code on the lower left to the right of the rivet (3E) indicates that the car was built in the fifth week (E) of the third month (3). Given that model year production generally ran from August of the previous year through early July of the actual year, this car, being a 1970 model, was built the fifth week of March 1970.
If you will tell us the car's VIN (Vehicle Identification Number), we can tell you exactly what model year it is. If it really is an '81, how did your government decide it was built in 1978? Olds did not build new cars to sell them three years after they were made. The VIN is visible through the windshield on the driver's side at the base of the windshield.
If you can tell us the information on the body cowl tag mounted to the firewall on the driver's side (or better yet, post a clear photo of it), we can tell you the month and year the car was built.
This is what the cowl tag looks like. This example is for a 1970 automobile (a Chevrolet), and the code on the lower left to the right of the rivet (3E) indicates that the car was built in the fifth week (E) of the third month (3). Given that model year production generally ran from August of the previous year through early July of the actual year, this car, being a 1970 model, was built the fifth week of March 1970.
Thanks. I confirmed that it is an '78 and that it is a 'Royale Brougham'. The car was first exported to Germany after it was build and later to The Netherlands. We have it since 2006 and it has been stored for 6 years now.
Welcome Robin,
Tons of
knowledge on this site. You came to the right place!!!
Post some pictures when you can, maybe before and after a detailing???
What transmission is in the car? Does the pan have METRIC stamped in it? The US car transmissions of that era leak as they age.
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone
I searched my computer and found some old pictures from 2011/2012!
Here's the Royale Brougham on one of its last meetings 8 years ago:
Next to my aunt's '72 Caprice:
When it was still driving its yearly American car road trip:
The one time we even went on vacation in the Oldsmobile. The car doesn't even fit in the parking spot haha!
I'm already saving up money to get it serviced. Thanks to the forum I've learned quite a lot about the car already. Luckily I also have some family members and neighbours who are into American cars. I hope I get the Olds running again soon!
February 19th, 2020, 11:04 AM
. It's the transmission fluid. It doesn't leak much but after all these years it doesn't have anything left, so it will need some new ATF before I can take it out of the garage.
