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Looking at a 1969 Delta Royale, need help from big car guys Updated with Photos
Hi All
I answered a Craigslist ad to purchase a 1969 455 that was complete but tired. Now the owner is wanting to sell the car it came from, which he put a rebuilt 455 in 10,000 miles ago. I'm thinking this might be something special, but I don't really know much about the full sized cars. Its a 1969 Delta Custom Royale 2 door hardtop, 455 and dual exhaust with S manifold. Distributor is 1111936, carb 7029251 air cleaner housing code is OS. Bucket seats, power drivers, console, power windows but not AC, power drum. Pretty sure its the 4 row radiator. Halo vinyl top, dog dish hubcaps. Light rust in the trunk and drivers floorboard so I expect the front and back glass is just starting to leak, bumps just starting in front fender heels. One small dent in right rear quarter panel, overall very straight car. Broken tail light lens, one headlight surround broken, cracked windshield. Could be a nice daily driver pretty easy. Interior is all original and needs re-done soon, looks good but I expect the seat seams will start blowing out soon if the car was used as a daily driver. Red exterior but paint is faded, white interior, white vinyl top. I've no idea what a fair price is and he's asking me to make an offer. I heard it run, but the tags expired several years ago when the owner had a stroke. The trim tag shows assembly plant BC, block just has a large C stamped in it. Funny, the C is maybe twice as tall as the numbers stamped into the block. Any thoughts or insights from the Classicoldsmobile community? I don't need another project, but if this is something unusual like the W34 Toronado I found I'd try to buy it and put it in the cue to restore it. John
Joe, your probably right. It has the shark gill trim on the side and I once had a 1971 Delta Royale that had that too. I looked at the trim tag but didn't photograph or write any of it down. The back seat still has the heavy clear plastic cover with I think a diamond shaped texture to it. The seats and carpet look original, the black carpet is faded and white bucket seats have the plastic back and sides starting to crumble. Not sure about the dog dish hubcaps, but most everything else looks the correct age for the car.
I'm showing that the '936 distributor was only used on the 1969 W-34 motors. All RWD high compression 455s and lesser Toros got the '935 distributor. The only difference appears to be the mechanical advance curve. Both got the same vacuum canister. All RWD AT 455s got the '251 carb also.
I'm showing that the '936 distributor was only used on the 1969 W-34 motors. All RWD high compression 455s and lesser Toros got the '935 distributor. The only difference appears to be the mechanical advance curve. Both got the same vacuum canister. All RWD AT 455s got the '251 carb also.
That's interesting on the distributor. I just double checked it and its 936, it also has red overspray under the grease which looks consistent with the rest of the engine. The date code is 8K so I'll need to look at the build date on the trim tag next time I look at the car. Since the W34 was an option in 1969 I was hoping the W33 was too, but the reading I've done on old threads make me believe it wasn't.
OK, you piqued my interest, so I did a little more digging. Apparently the 1969 CSM was printed too early to include the L32 motor - which is the 390 HP 455 used in the W-33 and police packages. The engine assembly matrix in the 1969 PIM shows that the column for L32 was added in Rev A to the document (Aug 5, 1968) and does show that the '936 distributor was used on the L32 motors as well as on the W-34s.
OK, you piqued my interest, so I did a little more digging. Apparently the 1969 CSM was printed too early to include the L32 motor - which is the 390 HP 455 used in the W-33 and police packages. The engine assembly matrix in the 1969 PIM shows that the column for L32 was added in Rev A to the document (Aug 5, 1968) and does show that the '936 distributor was used on the L32 motors as well as on the W-34s.
Nice find! I'm jealous.
Thank you for taking the time to dig Joe. I've got the engine in my garage, now if I can come up with a price that both the seller and I can agree on for the rest of the car! I'm sure it would be a nice highway cruiser, and once restored a sharp looking car too.
Thank you for taking the time to dig Joe. I've got the engine in my garage, now if I can come up with a price that both the seller and I can agree on for the rest of the car! I'm sure it would be a nice highway cruiser, and once restored a sharp looking car too.
Well, I went back and looked at the car again. Its got a lot of potential, but needs a full restore in my opinion. The present owner likely has more into it than I'd be able to pay, but here's some photos for you guys to check out. I believe the paint is original with touchups, faded and in some places flaking off. Vinyl top needs replaced, package tray shows damage from moisture. The trunk still has the factory mat with light rust underneath. The gas tank looks like its been replaced, newer looking than I would expect. The front windshield is cracked, I don't see rust in the dash but there is light rust under the carpet on the drivers floorboard. No cracks in the dash. Interior may be original and preserved due to the heavy diamond patter clear plastic covers. But I'm guessing the stitching is old, at if driven much would come apart and need redone. The engine is a rebuilt one with Ka heads and has about 10,000 miles on it, I do have the factory engine. Four row radiator, but its a replacement not a Harrison radiator. The S manifold does look factory and has a shroud over it I'm guessing to prevent heat soaking of the steering box & hoses. Tags expired in 2009, nice tires but are cracking due to age. Correct 9.3 rear end but no sway bar like the police package. Dual exhaust system must have been replaced not long before it was parked. It does have a bad exhaust leak on the passengerside manifold, but that's a common T manifold even if it needs replaced. Oh, to go with the trim tag build date the original block is Julian date 190, the heads are 288, the intake is 289. Then the distributor is 8K and I can't read the number after that. I also have what looks like the original carb, number is correct. Check out the photos and if you guys have any questions or comments please let me know. I still need to talk with the owner about what he needs to get out of the car, but if I pass I'd be glad to help anyone here who might be interested pursue it. John
September 22nd, 2018, 05:13 PM
