1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 convertible

This one isn't for sale. It isn't a Toronado. It isn't a station wagon. But it is MINE!

I just picked it up yesterday. I saw it for sale on the lot at a local auto repair shop. The shop was going to fix it up and resell it, but I bought it as-is.

It needs 101 things, but it runs and drives and the top goes down I think. I haven't tested it yet.

The odometer reads 61k, but that could easily be 161k. The body is in very good shape, and that's the original paint. The car, however, is a northern car, having been originally sold to an owner in Syracuse, New York, and it looks like from the registration sticker still on the front window, that it lived in New York at least through 2005. Where it's been since then I don't know. I think it came out of Pennsylvania, and the previous owner never bothered to remove the New York registration stickers.

The car is VERY low-option. The only things of consequence I've come across are remote control driver's side mirror, AM radio, and simulated wire wheel covers. No A/C, no power windows, locks, or seat, no cruise control or tilt wheel. Of course, there are very few things that can go wrong!

The engine is the base 350 with 2-bbl carb.

I'm leaning towards the mileage being 61,000 because a number of parts look to be the originals. The original spare tire is in the trunk, a bias-ply Firestone. The master cylinder has TWO hold-down clips. I've never seen that before. Is it original?















The AM radio was replaced with a period-correct AM/FM/cassette. The original radio is in the trunk. That black plastic bag contains the convertible top cover.








Glovebox finds. The selling dealer, which is difficult to make out on that one form, is Norm Rothschild Buick-Oldsmobile in Fulton, New York. The dealer is no longer in business, and Mr. Rothschild died in 1988.

Original owner was a lady.









The car joins the fleet!

 

Awesome Olds! congratulations. a fun car.

 

Thanks!

 

What a sweet car. Looks like wire wheel covers too. I like it when folks post other stuff that they buy or own. It’s a lovely car.

 

Have you christened your new yacht yet?

"She's a beaut, Clark."

 

That's a SWEET looking Olds! What are your plans for it?

 

Thanks, guys!

First off, I don’t normally name my cars. I think my wife would look at me funny if I did. This one is just “the convertible.” The other two are “the red Toro” and “the white Toro.” This way, my wife knows which car I’m talking about if I tell her I’m going out to work on one of them or take one for a ride.

If I said something like “the ‘73" or “the ‘77,” she wouldn’t know which one I’m talking about. I can’t say “the red one” because two of them are red, although the red Toro is officially “Carmine Red” while the convertible is officially “Cranberry Red.”


As far as plans, the immediate plan is to give it a tune-up and an oil change. I haven’t actually pulled the dipstick yet to check the oil level. It does run and drive, and I did drive it home the five miles from the dealer lot. But looking under the hood, everything just looks so OLD. The spark plug wires look like they could be original. Ditto for the alternator and fan belts. I don’t think I’ll replace the alternator as long as it’s working, which it is. But I’ll certainly clean things up. It does idle a bit too low, almost stalling, when waiting at a traffic light. Hopefully a tune-up will take care of that.

None of the interior courtesy lights light up when the doors are opened, so I’ll have some fun with that. Could be just dead bulbs, but maybe bad door jamb switches. I haven’t checked any of the exterior lights. The turn signal indicator lights on the dash do not flash when the turn signal is activated, and I hear no clicking sound. I haven’t checked the exterior lights to see if anything flashes. I don’t even know if the headlights work, and I haven’t yet tried to put the top down!

Anyone know if the master cylinder could be original? It sure looks old enough to be. I’ve never seen a dual master cylinder with TWO hold down clips. I opened it up to check the fluid level, and that was a half-a-chore in itself as, once the clips were pushed aside, I had to pop the cover off by tapping it from the underside with a screwdriver and a hammer. The level on one side was fine while the other was down about half. For all I know, the fluid level hasn’t been checked in forever.



The car did stop just fine, and the pedal feels firm. I will pull off each wheel and check the wheel cylinders and other hardware and probably put all new hold-down hardware and shoes in the rear and new pads and such up front. I’ll likely replace any rubber brake hoses.

While I have the tires off, I’ll check them for a date code. I couldn’t find one on the side of the tires I can see, so perhaps on the inside if there is one at all. While the tires look fine and certainly hold air, they could be 20 years old for all I know.



This is the third Delta 88 convertible that I’ve owned. I had a ‘75 from 1994 to 2001, a ‘67 from 2009 to 2020, and now this one. Just have a thing for them!

 

Great looking car Jaunty. She may need a lot of your time but it does not look like you have to correct someone else's half _____ed repairs.

 

While I can't say for sure it's original, I have seen multiple cars that are original that had this type of master cylinder. I think it was a supplier thing or brake type (Delco vs. Bendix). I do know I've seen it before, but it isn't super common compared to the master cylinder with the single clip.

If there's no date code on the tires, you know they are pretty old!

Sure does look nice and presentable as-is!

 

Thanks, but this just shows the beauty a of "20-footer." If you look closely at one of the photos above, specifically the one showing the passenger-side door, you'll see some unpleasantness.

Here's a closer look at it. Not sure how it got there as there doesn't appear to be any underlying rust or a dent or anything that might have started the paint peeling off. Maybe just a location where the paint wasn't well applied, and time has taken its toll. It's the only place on the car with any real paint issue. There are few nicks here and there otherwise, but they're not enough to worry about.

Anyway, I will eventually have the door repainted. They'll have to do some blending to match the rest of the car, but that should be doable as I don't want to have the entire car repainted. The paint is otherwise quite presentable, and I'm 99.99% sure it's original.

 

I want to say that the design is a Moraine, and I think elB is right, the factory had two suppliers, so whichever was in stock during manufacture was the one used. I've also seen many of both designs on late Sixties through late Seventies GM cars, no matter what size, even a couple trucks.
Funny thing, thinking of the name 'Moraine,' reminded me of my '70 Holiday coupe; it had Moraine front disc brakes (they were an odd size compared to both '69 and '71 model years with disc brakes), but my master cylinder definitely was a Bendix design, the single longitudinal wire holding the cap. Now, by the time I owned it, it was already a quarter-century old, and who knows if the master cylinder was original, or a service replacement?

 

It's hard to put miles on convertibles in the winter states, so I agree 61,000 may be original.

As for the master cylinder, I haven't seen a 71-76 GM B body with that style reservoir from the factory.

Cool car!

 

That's a nice looker, Jaunty. Between the '67, 73 and '75, I'd pick the '73 as the best-looking, Always liked the way the Oldsmobile stylists did the flaring around the wheel openings on these.....

 

I have to agree. My '70 had the same arch styling, and that was taken all the way to '87 with the Cutlass, and whatever last year the full-size ended on. It's why I'd choose an Olds over a Buick, Chevy or Pontiac.