My wife and I bought ourselves a beautiful black/black 88 as our anniversary gift to each other, and we're close to getting it fixed up enough to pass inspection and drive it as a summer play car -- mostly in great shape, a bit of surface frame rust but isn't serious, looks like they did a good frame repair maybe 10-20 years ago to reinforce rust damage on side rails and it can't have been driven much since then. Engine has never been cleaned or detailed but runs amazingly well and just needs a few gaskets and a tuneup.

This will never be a show car, I'm not passionate about being exactly stock and won't do a full restoration, I just want to drive it and love the look and the ride and the lines. We were looking for any kind of big 30+ year old convertible, and in my opinion these 1960s models that were built before I was born have a lot more character than the late 70s and 80s ones that probably would have been safer bets -- so we went on impulse and just bought the one we really liked. Hopefully it'll work out well.

The car has about 60,000 original miles and needs a couple ball joints, some tires, and some new shocks and I'll be mostly ready to be on the road (looks like it has factory original shocks, which seems crazy). We couldn't resist driving it a bit on the back road, it desperately wants to go 75 mils an hour and driving it feels just like I think it should -- like floating on an iceberg in the gulf stream.

I will need a new bumper in the rear eventually, the corners are rusted through, and I think there's something off or leaking with the top motor, it needs help to get the roof open and closed, but nothing that will keep us from getting on the road -- can't wait! I'm sure I'll come begging for info when I can't figure out a mystery or a part (I know almost nothing, but thankfully have a friend who grew up taking these apart), but I've learned quite a bit from browsing around here already -- it's nice to see everyone helping each other. Will try to include a couple photos.

 

Oh, I'm up in Western MA, by the way -- so if anyone knows of a hole-free rear bumper in New England I'm all ears

I'm just starting the list of tiny things that are missing, like the wiper control **** and what I assume is a side mirror controller in the driver door, I'm sure those will start to bug me within a couple years.

 

Beautiful car. Good luck with it.

Body and trim parts are not reproduced for the large cars. Any replacement bumper will have to come from a parts car, but you'll be able to take one from any of the full-size 88's that year (Delta, Dynamic, and Jetstar). I'm not 100% sure, but I'm guessing that the rear bumper on the 98 is different as it often was during that era.

Keep asking. People on here seem to have parts all the time.

 

Very nice.

I've got a Dynamic that year...gonna have to do a total resto but I love that thing.

Do you have the 425 or 330?

 

Thanks folks -- I'll start poking around for the bumper, they seem to be pretty rare with so many of them rusting the same way ours did -- good thing to know the bumper is shared across a few models.

We have the 425, sure seems like it will have a lot of power when it's tuned up.

 

Is this the car that was on Ebay recently? I did see it and marveled how good the body and interior looked but saw the bad bumper and it was rusty under the hood and frame looked kinda crispy. If I remenber it was a 4bbl carbed engine which was an upgrade over the standard HC 2bbl 425. I am sure it is a car that can be used for fun and I wish you luck with it. I may have some of the parts you need.

 

The 425 was the only engine available for the Delta 88 that year. The 330 was offered in the Cutlass/F-85 line as well as the Jetstar 88, which, from its beginning in 1964, was manufactured and marketed as a lower-cost, full-size Olds.

The Jetstar 88's last year was 1966. For '67, it was replaced by the Delmont 88, but, while the Delmont's base engine was the 330, the 425 could have been had as an option. I don't think the 425 or any engine was available as an option on the Jetstar during its three-year run. It was the 330 or nothing at all.

 

Thanks on the parts, Oldsmaniac -- yes, this was a CT car on eBay, which we knew was a bit risky but we fell in love with the body and interior. The engine has plenty of surface rust but isn't a function issue, and the frame looks pretty bad but is not nearly as bad as it looks, most of the crispy-looking gunk is a bad old undercoating that deteriorated and peeled off so we'll clean it up and retreat the surface rust with something better. I had a few bad moments when I bought we might have to shore up the frame, but all's good on that front. I hope we'll get a good many years of dry days out of it, we won't be out in the rain on purpose and it'll live inside in the Winter.

 

I parted my 1st car, a 66 Delta conv a few years ago due to serious frame rot. Was sad to do as I got it in 1974 and kept it all these years and had some great times in it. The 425 is a great ballzy engine. I have another in waiting for resto!

 

There's been a couple of 1966 B cars parting out on here lately- didn't jensenracing have a nice Dynamic sedan that had suffered an engine fire on here a couple days ago? A guy on ROP posted one in a NC salvage yard a few weeks back too. Either could supply good parts and coming from Indiana or NC odds are would not be rusty.

Interior-wise the 65 and 66 B & C cars share many common parts.

www.fusick.com will be a good start for piddly things you might need though as Jaunty pointed out, not much reproduction available. There's more out there for these cars than you might think, it's just knowing where to find it and what crosses to other same-years GM cars.

When I first saw black/black convertible my butt and legs started burning, but in New England that might not be as much of an issue as it would be here.

 

Great looking car!! I probably have the wiper control **** you need and possibly, the mirror control. From the picture, the mirror control trim on the door appears round rather than square. That would indicate the early mirror with only 2 cables. They are pretty hard to find. The later ones had 3 cables. I also have a complete remote control mirror with the 3 cables.

Bruce

 

Thanks bigolds -- not sure if it's the original mirror, either, but will try to figure it out. Did these come with passenger side mirrors? No sign of ever having one, and I must admit that the driver aide mirror is so teensy it seems ridiculous -- I pretty much have to squint to see anything.

I'll double check to see if there are little interior missing pieces elsewhere but I'll probably take you up on that ****.

 

Unfortunately, and much to my dismay, there was never a matching mirror for the passenger side. That leaves you with a very large blind spot when the top is up. The proper mirror is 4 1/2 inches in dia. - not huge but adequate.

 

Good to know -- guess I'll have to drive with the top down as much as I can! Which is the point, after all, so that's fine. Could be the original mirror at that size, when I get to the garage I'll check the controller trim and see what's missing inside.