I really like my '77 Delta, but...

Man I wish I had a wagon, something about driving a sedan just ain't right. I mean the car is lighter, more nimble, gets better gas mileage than my 307 did in my '86 Custom Cruiser, and I have a 350 crate engine rated to put out somewhere around 260 horses... But... It's missing a row of seats, two windows, and several more feet worth of roof.

So here is the problem, I really like my Delta, good power, comfy, way better handling than a wagon, but I want a wagon. My Delta is far from done, still needs springs, sits 2.5" lower on the back pass than drivers side, and 2" lower on the front pass than the front drivers side, which means ball joints, tie rods, center link, idler arm. Still need to fix the exhaust, I don't like getting fumigated out of my own car, and I need to rebuild the carb and convert it back to an electric choke, and that doesn't even get into the cosmetic work the car needs.

So I think I'm going to try to find me another longroof B body Olds and if it needs work that renders it undriveable, stuff it into the RV "garage" my grandfather built to house their '79 Chevy Breadbox RV many, many years ago. I'm not ready to part with another car, so I guess I'll have two before this year is over. My driveway is going to wind up being a yacht club

 

I hear you, man!
No matter how many cars I have, I still keep looking at ads for something cool.

And if you have space available, you WILL fill it with something...and then you'll just go find more room!

 

No truer words were ever spoken!

 

Yeah of course, what's a house without several land yacht's sitting around to annoy the neighbors?

 

Take your time looking. There are deals to be had out there. Also, keep your eye out on the streets. Sometimes those 'mechanic specials' are sitting in driveways without being put up for sale. Doesn't hurt to ask....

 

There is a older couple with three or four Custom Cruisers from the 80's, two blue with wood grain, one red with wood grain, they rotate 'em and drive 'em all. I wonder if they'd part with one? They saw me in my Olds CC once, the old man did a double take, I don't think he'd seen one in a while.

There are also a few other older folks with these cars squirreled away still in nice shape, albeit the 307 HAS to go, there is no question about that. I never much cared for that engine, and 350's are cheap. Sometime around June I should have a bit of money saved up, be able to find me a wagon I can hopefully at the very least limp home by Fall. Hoping to find one in a tolerable color so I don't have to worry about paint, blue, white, grey, something along those lines.

 

If you concentrate on the Buick Estate Wagons and Olds Custom Cruisers from 77 through 80, you stand a quite reasonable chance of getting a 350 in it already. Every so often one of the late-70s Buicks does come up for a reasonable price. In the mean time, keep driving the old Delta, and talk to and make friends with the elderly owners of the cars you like. That way, when they decide to sell, you will be the first person they think of.

 

Oh I have no intention of parting with the Delta, I'm already fond of the car, and it's got a lot of potential, though I've had two people try to buy it from me this month alone. I just wish it had the power six way adjustable seat, I don't like sitting all the way on the floor.

Custom Cruisers actually had the 350 thru 1983, I've seen 'em, but they are very rare. And any Oldsmobile past about 1976 is VERY unlikely to have an actual Oldsmobile V8, mine didn't, VIN L, 350 chevy 4bbl, if it had been VIN R it would've been a "R"ocket V8. My father almost bought a 1983 Custom Cruiser with a 350 that was used as a flower car for a local funeral home (and occasionally hauled a few dead people), he thought it needed more work than the '86 he wound up buying, but he ended up being wrong. Oh well, would've been a sweet car, was black inside and out with tinted rear windows and those creepy curtains in the back.

But yeah, I don't mind spending the $1,500 for a new crate engine like what sits in my car, I can get a used intake, rebuilt transmission, manifolds, ect pretty cheap. So I don't mind if it's got a 307 or no engine at all.

 

Too bad this one is so far away! It would be a great project!

http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30305

 

I'm all for a good drive to look at a car, but that's a bit much, I don't think I could drive to a farther destination in the continental US from where I live.

All kidding aside, sweet find, but, however I wouldn't want anything with that much damage. The '86 Custom Cruiser I had was sold partially because of its damage, quarter dent, leaky quarter windows, seals long gone, interior a fading memory, dents, dings, and scratches abound, rust starting to creep in, that car was just too rough. I'd like to find something with straight body panels to work with, I do loath bodywork.

Apart from needing the pass side fender, and drivers door, my car is rust free, and apart from some rocker damage and a couple minor dents, and my bent trunk lid, and screwy bumpers, my car is straight. I swear somehow my front bumper has been pushed farther over to the drivers side, not sure how. They're pretty tough, I've attacked my neighbors trashcan a few times 'cause they leave it sitting in the middle of the alley, I hit it with the bumper and punt it like a football with a quick jolt of the throttle, it's fun.

I did find an '89 custom cruiser which is a mirror image of the parts car I had, but they want too much, and it's all the way in greensburo NC.

http://greensboro.craigslist.org/cto/4359576312.html

EDIT:

Also turned up this

http://roanoke.craigslist.org/cto/4378303490.html

 

Seen this one - in your own Craig's List.

http://greensboro.craigslist.org/cto/4359576312.html

 

Yeah saw that, but that's about an hour and a half away, down in Greensburo NC, well near it. If I wind up buying a car that far away I'm gonna have to convince my older brother to ride with me and drive my Delta all the way back up here. Though 2k isn't a bad price for an '89, they're always loaded in '88, and '89 'cause GM was trying to get rid of all the spare parts they had warehoused to their eyeballs.

 

Hour and a half? That's just a one-way commute where I come from.....

 

You have wagon blood in your viens. Don't get in a hurry. I'm sure there are some decent wagons and good buys out there near you.
Don't put any more into the 77 Delta than you have to. Keep it as a driver.

 

Oh no, I've got plans for this tank, I'm going to focus on handling with this car, and cruising with the wagon. The Delta handles way better than most people would think a car like it would. Need some better tires, sway bars, springs to lower it so it doesn't have 15" of ground clearance at the back bumper and 13" at the front. I'm gonna keep it and see how it holds up, then do some serious work to it after I get a wagon.

Well not all of us live in Oregon, friend. I can be in West Virginia, North Carolina, or Tennessee in that time. My commute is about 15-25 minutes depending. It's about 16 miles round trip.