Hello all! What a great Oldsmobile site this is! I have had my Olds for a while, but I am a newbie to all of this, so I hope all of you will be willing to share your knowledge with me.

I have a 1976 Olds Regency 98 that I truly love, but it needs a bit of work. It was left in the care of my parents while I was living out of state, so for the most part it has sat in one spot (unfortunately outdoors) for the last 3 years. It is mechanically sound, (can't believe I popped the battery in and it started up with minimal trouble) and the body is rust free due to living in the desert.

However, among other things, the New Mexico sun has taken a toll on the weatherstripping and the plastic pieces trimming the stationary triangular windows on each side behind the backseat passenger windows (I don't know the proper name for those).
I am trying to start with the easiest projects for this, so those are my first two priorities on the long list of things to do.

I'm afraid to take it out on the road yet because I'm worried whats left of the plastic will just disintegrate, and damage the vinyl top in the process. So, any advice on where to find replacement plastic trim pieces and appropriate weatherstripping will be much appreciated. I don't have a huge budget to work with, so I am trying to find a good balance of quality and affordability.

Thanks!

 

Steele Rubber in NC has the trunk, door and roofrail weatherstrips. Fusick will have the door and hood bumpers. Both have downloadable catalogs.

www.steelerubber.com

www.fusick.com

The plastic window mouldings are going to be dicey. I'm not aware of any reproductions and NOS is going to be tough to find.

 

elle,

Welcome to our site. I owned a '76 Regency Coupe for a while. Very nice car, excellent highway car, I never had a complaint, well except for the time it spun out on highway 75 North of Dallas the winter of '96. We were headed Southbound about 40 miles into Texas and the roads had iced over, or at least the overpasses had. I still remember the name of the next exit, it was Eisenhower Expressway. It was a slow curving, almost straight overpass and the rear started to overtake the front of the car. No amount of steering correction helped so we spun around about 720 degrees and finally ended up on the right shoulder just after the overpass, there was a long incline of about thirty yards down to the service road below and the car slid sideways about halfway down. No damage to the car or the passengers (my family) so I drove the rest of the way down the incline to the service road and continued the trip. Great car!!!

 

Hi guys!

Thanks for such fast responses.

rocketraider: Thanks for the info. I will be calling Steele Rubber to make sure I get exactly what I need. I was worried I wouldn't be able to find replacement plastic pieces...do you know of anyone who has had any luck fabricating a workaround? I can't be the only '76 owner with that problem. Also, what does NOS stand for in this context?

oldsguy: Thanks! They are tough cars, aren't they... Great story, glad your family wasn't hurt. Experienced that myself, only with a friend, in his car. Did about a 540 degree spin and ended up facing oncoming traffic. Luck was with us that day, no damage to us, the car, or anyone else.

 

Welcome to the site. Post some pics so we can see your car!

 

NOS = New Old Stock. Factory issued old stock parts that have never been installed on a car. It's out there and generally goes reasonable since 76 Ninety Eights aren't exactly high on the collector car radar screen.

However, there ARE a few people who seem to grab up everything in sight, price be damned. I fight them on eBay all the time for stuff for mine.

 

Hi elle, Welcome to CO
one more thing about NOS. Depending on age, and how it was stored, it can darn near be perfect, or it can be a little rough due to moisture, oxidation etc. I haven't seen anyone selling NOS offer a real solid guarantee.
One other term you might see is OEM. Original Equipment Manufacture. Doesn't mean that it's new. Just means that it was manufactured as original equipment for your car. Definitely used, but can be in any kind of shape, from blah to oooh, aaah
Be careful about some of the evilbay auctions. They can be misleading in the way they are worded eg: as close to NOS as you will find.

Sometimes you will find parts that have been reconditioned. Again they are not sold as new, but dang some of them look it. Restored parts usually cost about the same as NOS because a lot of time and work goes into putting them back into "mint" shape.

I like most of the GM resto authorized repro stores. They have great products, and as far as I'm concerned, most of it is as good as NOS and would pass for NOS at a show/shine.

PS: I started my 98 ownership drive back in 1973 (it was actually a Custom Cruiser, but close enough) and a variety of 80's right up to my 95 98. Love the cars. One of them saved my life. Gave it's own life to protect me from a T bone idiot turning left against a red light where there was a no left turn restriction. All I felt was like someone gently pushed me from the left side. When I got out of the wreck, the only thing that was still any good was the passenger side of the car . It was a white FULLY loaded 1983 Regency Brougham. At the time it only had about 125000 miles and was not even close to worn out. I miss that car

 

Hi Elle,

Do you still have your 98? I just joined this forum and I am lovig it! I have 2 '76 Regency Coupes. Let me know how you're making out with your car (if you hopefully still have it).

John