Spent about 12 hours on the road last week. Here's what I was chasin':

1) 1974 " sage green" Olds 98 Regency- equipped with AIR BAGS (!), Catalytic converter and all the options of the Regency including Tiffany package. Had some surface rust issues, interior needed some elbow grease along with some dents/dings and paint scraps/gauges. Son claimed 25,000 miles (?) and I saw evidence of body work on rear passenger quarter that he said his father must have had done before he died ". Overall, she needed some lovin' to make her shine again.
I realize airbag option is rare but seller seemed to believe it was really valuable. He stuck at $8500 and I wasn't anywhere near there.

2) 1976 Olds 98. 38,000 miles. Cream body w/burgundy top and interior. Pics looked good. Nice young guy selling. Train wreck of a car. Rust/paint issues/bumper fillers missing/chrome accents missing/interior stained and packed with household goods. Ugh ! He was at$4800 (!)...I was at @1200-1500.

These guys gotta stop watching these " Car flipping" reality (?) shows.

 

Hey, wow a 74 98 Regency Coupe WITH ACRS? That is super rare! 74 was the first year of the Regency coupe as well as the airbg system so both combined is almost in heard of. I do have to question the Tiffany aspect as I'm pretty sure only the 72 was offered as a Tiffany to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Olds...pretty sure on that point. I wish you had more pics of both cars..I'd love to see the interiors of both. These my not have the wide demand of the smaller cars but there is still a fair and growing demand for them. They are becoming more and more sought after because they truly stand out in the crowd.

What exactly are you looking for anyway?

John

 

Yes, I'm aware of the Tiffany Anniversary package in 72 but the car did have the embroidered center armrests and a clock framed by decorative swirls and the name Tiffany on it.

 

Those seem like pretty cars. $8500 for a 74 98 would be a fair price if it was in good condition. Hopefully they don't deteriorate too much before someone buys them.

 

The seller did have an interesting story: About a decade after purchasing the Olds, GM contacted the owner and offered to buy the car back from him. " Why would you want to do that" ?, the owner asked. Well, since it was one of the earlier versions of the airbag, GM wanted to test how well these early versions held up. " How do you test them", owner logically aked. " We crash them" said GM. Mercifully, the owner said " NO THANKS"....and another classic Olds lives to tell the tale.

 

Wow. Where was that Ninety Eight when we were searching high and low for a 1974 ACRS car for the 100th Anniversary parade?

Glad you got pics of the ACRS-equipped steering wheel and the ashtray, which are different from the non-ACRS cars

I've always felt one reason ACRS didn't take off back then was that neither tilt nor cruise was available with it. That and the expense of it. Antilock brakes were an Olds option as early as 1971 and the expense and perceived trouble down the road kept it and ACRS low-order options until insurance companies got behind them.

 

The pic of the radio is very blurry so I can't see the writing on it. The swirls on the armrests were not specific to Tiffany models of any year. All Regency models with cloth interior had those through 76 and possibly even later. The leather interiors did not have them however.

Great story about the car's owner saving it from destruction by GM! I would have thought they may have wanted it for a museum piece.

Keep the pic coming.

 

According to the parts book, the 74 Regency used a different digital clock from the other B/C models.
p/n 417220 was a one year only part.

Here's a pic of a 75 I found online. If you look real hard you might be able to see the script on it, but I can't tellwhat it says. Anyway, definitely not the same clock as fmbjogger's '74..

 

Great pic! Notice the differences in RH side of the dash compared to non-ACRS cars. The ashtray is moved up and under the clock and the RH knee pad and lower valance are separated from the LH piece to allow the passenger airbag to deploy.

 

Definitely a different clock face from the '74. The '75 and '76 Regency clocks are the same and they say "Regency" in script just above the digits. I'd like to see a clear pic of the '74 clock. '74 was the first year of this dashboard setup. There are a lot of little one-year only items on the '74.

Yep, the whole lower trim panel is different than a standard one. It actually juts out a bit on the driver's side which I imagine is where the airbag and related components are housed. I believe the whole lower panel is still one piece but the seam that you see is actually the airbag "door". I've seen other pics that show this better and I actually saw one of these cars in a yard in AZ years ago.