1970 Delta 88 build sheet
July 21st, 2012, 06:47 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 2
1970 Delta 88 build sheet
First post here and in need of some information please.
My wife and I inherited her dad's 1970 Delta 88 Convertible 4 years ago and I ended up finding what appears to be the build sheet under the back seat. The car is in extremely good condition because he took very good care of it. I am trying to find out more about the car and the options that were available. Maybe even trying to find out how many more of this exact model were produced. Can anyone one please fill me in on what this build sheet information means? Your answers will be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Allan
My wife and I inherited her dad's 1970 Delta 88 Convertible 4 years ago and I ended up finding what appears to be the build sheet under the back seat. The car is in extremely good condition because he took very good care of it. I am trying to find out more about the car and the options that were available. Maybe even trying to find out how many more of this exact model were produced. Can anyone one please fill me in on what this build sheet information means? Your answers will be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Allan
July 21st, 2012, 07:27 PM
#2
Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: southeastern Michigan
Posts: 14,162
Very nice car!
What you have there is a "broadcast card," not a build sheet. Build sheets were typically much larger in size, were made of much flimsier paper, and were often found in hard-to-reach places like on top of the gas tank, inside a door panel, behind the headliner, or something like that. People who have found them usually did so because their car had been disassembled for some other reason as part of a repair or restoration, and the build sheet was found by accident.
From your description, it sounds like your father-in-law took good care of this car, so there likely hasn't been a reason for it be extensively disassembled.
What is the car's VIN? From the VIN, we can determine where it was built. Lansing-built cars did not have build sheets placed in them as the "rules" about such things were tighter there than at the other plants. The build sheet was never something that was intended to be part of what the final customer received as part of his purchase of the car. They were often just left in the car as it went down the line, and no one thought at the time that people might want to find them 40 years later as part of their process of documenting the car's history.
If the car was built at a plant other than Lansing, then it might very well contain a build sheet. It's generally not reasonable to go tearing apart a perfectly good car looking for it as there is no guarantee it will be in any particular location in the car or even that any particular car will have one at all.
Unfortunately, detailed production records were not kept by Oldsmobile prior to 1977, so information like how many had this or that option, engine, color, or whatever is not available.
We CAN tell you that production of 1970 Delta 88 convertibles totaled 3,095, its base price was $3,708, and that the convertible was available only in the Delta 88 series. Delta 88 Custom and Delta 88 Royale were also offered. Total Delta 88 production of all series that year was 203,533, so convertibles were only 1.5% of all Delta 88's produced.
People also often want to know how many are left today. No records like that are kept in any formal way on any car. Only statistical scrappage rates are available and suggest that, very generally, about 1% of any car's initial production is still on the road 25 years later. After that much time, numbers tend to level out as those remaining are usually no longer being driven as daily drivers but rather are kept like yours was, as a collector vehicle.
But take that 1% with a grain of salt. It could be several times that for a more desirable style like a convertible relative to a more everyday style like a four-door sedan. So, what, maybe 100 to 200 of these are still around today? Just a guess.
What you have there is a "broadcast card," not a build sheet. Build sheets were typically much larger in size, were made of much flimsier paper, and were often found in hard-to-reach places like on top of the gas tank, inside a door panel, behind the headliner, or something like that. People who have found them usually did so because their car had been disassembled for some other reason as part of a repair or restoration, and the build sheet was found by accident.
From your description, it sounds like your father-in-law took good care of this car, so there likely hasn't been a reason for it be extensively disassembled.
What is the car's VIN? From the VIN, we can determine where it was built. Lansing-built cars did not have build sheets placed in them as the "rules" about such things were tighter there than at the other plants. The build sheet was never something that was intended to be part of what the final customer received as part of his purchase of the car. They were often just left in the car as it went down the line, and no one thought at the time that people might want to find them 40 years later as part of their process of documenting the car's history.
If the car was built at a plant other than Lansing, then it might very well contain a build sheet. It's generally not reasonable to go tearing apart a perfectly good car looking for it as there is no guarantee it will be in any particular location in the car or even that any particular car will have one at all.
Unfortunately, detailed production records were not kept by Oldsmobile prior to 1977, so information like how many had this or that option, engine, color, or whatever is not available.
We CAN tell you that production of 1970 Delta 88 convertibles totaled 3,095, its base price was $3,708, and that the convertible was available only in the Delta 88 series. Delta 88 Custom and Delta 88 Royale were also offered. Total Delta 88 production of all series that year was 203,533, so convertibles were only 1.5% of all Delta 88's produced.
People also often want to know how many are left today. No records like that are kept in any formal way on any car. Only statistical scrappage rates are available and suggest that, very generally, about 1% of any car's initial production is still on the road 25 years later. After that much time, numbers tend to level out as those remaining are usually no longer being driven as daily drivers but rather are kept like yours was, as a collector vehicle.
But take that 1% with a grain of salt. It could be several times that for a more desirable style like a convertible relative to a more everyday style like a four-door sedan. So, what, maybe 100 to 200 of these are still around today? Just a guess.
July 22nd, 2012, 05:35 AM
#3
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 2
Thanks for the information jaunty75
My father-in-law did take very good care of this car and treated it like a member of the family. I consider myself just the caretaker but want to know more about it. From what you are saying, I don't intent on going any further looking for something that might not be there. It has the a 350 Rocket engine, can you tell me if this model had a different option? The VIN number is 354670M327539
Thanks again
My father-in-law did take very good care of this car and treated it like a member of the family. I consider myself just the caretaker but want to know more about it. From what you are saying, I don't intent on going any further looking for something that might not be there. It has the a 350 Rocket engine, can you tell me if this model had a different option? The VIN number is 354670M327539
Thanks again
July 22nd, 2012, 06:19 AM
#4
Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: southeastern Michigan
Posts: 14,162
The M in the VIN indicates built in Lansing, so it is highly unlikely that your car has a build sheet somewhere in it.
The base engine on the '70 Delta 88 was the 350 rated at 250 hp. Three versions of the 455, with 310, 370, and 390 hp, respectively, were options.
It sounds like your father-in-law was more interested in comfort and economy than in power.
The base engine on the '70 Delta 88 was the 350 rated at 250 hp. Three versions of the 455, with 310, 370, and 390 hp, respectively, were options.
It sounds like your father-in-law was more interested in comfort and economy than in power.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Uncle Hulka
Cars For Sale
34
November 2nd, 2015 06:59 AM
Uncle Hulka
Cars For Sale
71
February 4th, 2014 05:01 AM
