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Hello from NW Indiana! 1967 Delta 88 Custom Holiday Coupe
Hello everyone!
I joined the forum to hopefully learn a thing or two or twenty as I work on my 1967 Delta 88 Custom Holiday Coupe. It was given to me by my wife's grandfather and it has been sitting since around 1986 but likely has not been daily driven since 1973 (the newest registration I could find for it). It has some holes in the rockers, holes in the floor, and the trunk pan is pretty thin too but the body is straight with no previous bodywork I can really see. Shows 70K miles on the Odo which I'm pretty sure is accurate.
I'm not planning on doing a frame off restoration or anything like that but I do want to make it into a "somewhat" reliable driver again that looks good from 20 feet away. Even accomplishing this is going to be a challenge for me!
Anyways, I will probably be asking all sorts of dumb questions about parts crossing between models and such as I get deeper into this due to the fact that any parts that aren't power train related are looking pretty much nonexistent. Thank you in advance for any help I'll probably need in the future!
Welcome, that looks like a worthy project! A lower mileage, all there, COUPE!, known history, 425 High Compression engine and it should also have a TH400 switch pitch/variable vane torque converter. You are starting off on the "right foot" with this one.
You'll have to learn the differences in Delmont, Delta, Custom and Ninety Eight to make sure you get the right grilles, headlights and trim if you need any. There are a couple guys here who might have it and I don't think they're that far from you.
You'll also learn what crosses over to other GM cars. Your Delta is a GM "B" body and shares things like glass and weatherstripping with a same year Impala 2-door hardtop.
Your first acquisition should be a a 1967 Oldsmobile factory chassis service manual and Fisher body manual. Lot of us here have factory parts books and can help you with factory part numbers.
How "northwest" Indiana are you? If you're up near the Lake, Illinois Valley Olds Club is in Chicagoland. The Indiana group is over near Fort Wayne.
Last edited by rocketraider; Yesterday at 09:32 PM.
Congratulations on the project. We all started knowing little/nothing, so don’t be shy. I very clearly recall looking under the hood of my ‘66 98 with smog equipment and being mystified about what ran where and why. Completely mystified. Of course, 40 years later I can see the hoses, wires and pipes in my mind.
Your car is unusual in the classic car world for a couple of reasons:
1) Not a Mustang, Corvette, Camaro or Cutlass
2) In the Olds world (werid in itself…) very, very few of us have “Big” cars like 88’s and 98’s (and Starfires…)
3) You may be well below my current age a bit north of 60, it’s generationally interesting you care about this kind of history. Carry on!
As you start digging around for parts, be aware that your engine is an Olds 425/455 in parts books today. Also most of the mechanical parts you need will work if they come from an Olds 88 or 98 anywhere between 1965 and 1970, excepting brakes which are a little harder.
Good luck and have fun, the interior will clean up well because that vinyl wore like iron. I see it still has the original factory floor mats, that’s a plus too!
Cool car, but be aware of the challenges you face. I have a 67 Delta. This is not going to be an easy restoration. Even some normal wear items are no longer available These cars have virtually zero support in the reproduction aftermarket, so there are virtually no patch panels available. Despite being a B-body, nearly no mechanical or body parts are shared with Impalas. Even normal wear items like steering, suspension, and brake parts are either unobtanium or only available from select few providers (and priced accordingly). Steele Rubber does sell all the weatherstriping. The reproduction Impala trunk pans can be made to work. Correct upper ball joints and the steering center link are only available from Rare Parts. A handful of interior parts (arm rest pads, rear package shelf) are available from sources like Hubbard's Impala Parts. The rear axle could be a Pontiac-sourced 8.875" axle with a ten bolt cover and 12 bolt ring gear or the 9.3" Oldsmobile Type O axle with a 12 bolt cover and 12 bolt ring gear. Parts for the Pontiac axle are limited and for the Olds axle are nonexistent. The steering linkage can be either Thompson or Saginaw type, and the parts are dimensionally different and do not interchange, so be sure you know which you have. If the car has single exhaust now and you want to change to duals, the only way to do this is with the unique driver side exhaust manifold, which fortunately is reproduced. This is shaped to clear the steering box. The bucket seat frames are the same as those used in the A-body cars, but the upholstery is unique to the Delta and no one sells pre-made kits. I had SMS rebuild my door panels at great personal expense. It only took 18 months five years ago. Last I heard they were up to a 30 month backlog.
I'm certainly not trying to discourage you, but do this with your eyes open. The Delta Custom is a cool car and the buckets and console were standard equipment in the 1967 Custom coupes (bench seat with armrest was an option).
