Introducing, the Bronze Battle Cruiser, the 1977 Delta 88

Heh, 205's? That's scary, these barely 8.5" wide tires don't bite as it is.


Also, thanks n2fordmuscle.

 

I bought a 1984 Delta 88 Royale 2 door new. I ordered the handling package which did not include any upgrade to the tires. They wanted an extra $80 for whitewalls! It came with a set of 205/75R15 Firestones. They sure didn't stay on long. I got a nice set of 225/70R15 BFGoodrich T/A Advantage tires. Basically a white wall version of the Radial T/A. Just wish I could get a set of the Comp T/A HR-4s again. They were an incredible white wall, and CHEAP!

 

Problem is, I don't really like white wall tires, too much upkeep. I don't mind white letter tires, they're acceptable when they are a bit dirty. I'll probably go with some 235/70R15's, BFGoodrich Radial T/A's, white letters, or some Mastercraft Avengers.

 

Oh, before I forget, inventory of the car, automotive archeology as I call it.

4 empty packs of marlboro cigarettes-recycled, saves a tree...maybe a branch

6 empty cans of redbull- turned in for deposit-.30

1 empty mc-d's french fry container-composted saves garden fertilizer-$3.50

1 old blower motor for the heater- recycled scrape metal-$3.00

1 not so safe full sized spare tire + wheel- spare tire becomes a tire swing-$5.00 save wheel for new spare tire-$50.00

1 funnel- plastic- $2.00 metal-$ 3.00

1 empty coca cola can- another .05 for deposit

about 30 cents worth of change, so that brings the cost of the car down to $649.70.
A fork wedged beneath the bottom and back of the passengers side of the front seat. (Yes, a metal, household fork.)- antique silver fork-$25.00

A seemingly unused AC Delco oil filter-$8.00

1 toy Smurf statuette- .50

1 toy Minion (From the Despicable Me movie franchise, think it makes noise but the battery is dead)-???

And some paperwork, documenting things like the transmission having its fluid and filter changed back in 2k3. - priseless

Lastly, 1 dead cigarette lighter.-valued collectable wrothy of The Road Show.

Total-$97.15-$650.00=$552.85 actually cost of your car...

 

Congrats on the beast

I strongly suggest you 'test" tire size before you buy anything new. 235's are on my Buick and I have no tire rub, my Buick for some reason sits kinda high in the front end and is still all stock. I have a Bud who winter drives a 198? Olds full size 4 door, 235's on the rear but has to use 225's on the front. His car clearly sits lower on the front and 235's rubbed the wheel well on tite turns.

 

I kept 235/75R15's on my '86, same chassis, no rubbing. I know I can fit a full 10" wide tire all around, seen it done, just gotta get the wheel spacing done. Here's the size difference:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tirecalc.php?tires=215-75r15-235-70r15

They aren't much taller, but they are a lot wider, I might go for a even wider tire in the back. A 275/60R15 is only marginally taller than a 235/70R15, but it's a lot wider. I know a lot about this car because it is mechanically the same as my wagon, except for the engine and trans.

Also, thanks for the congrats.

 

Nice ride, DR and you can't beat the price. I'll bet it cruises nice on the highway.

 

Yeah until you hit the brakes, and realize the rear end needs a bleed or rebuild, and the shocks are so worn that the springs will cause you to float about. Once I fix those things it'll be great, can't even feel that turbo 350 shifting. I don't think I want another AOD transmission.

 

So, I figured out what's up with my brakes. One of the back left brake shoes is loose and is rubbing against the drum. Drum doesn't seem hurt, but I'm gonna go ahead and get shoes and wheel cylinders when I get paid Friday. Looks like the car has fairly new drums. Pics below.


Also found some holes in the exhaust system past the muffler, guess I'll just assume the rest of the system has hidden holes too, and get it replaced before the inspection is due this February. Probably go with a single 2" in and a dual 2" out Cherry Bomb Vortex, they sound pretty nice, and they're only about $50-60.


Pics of the drum brakes

Rear Left:






I know you're probably thinking, the wheel cylinders look fine, why replace them? Because I don't want to take the chance of them coming apart and me having to mess with this antiquated nightmare of a braking system. Simple as that, do it once, forget about it.

Also, here's the pass side, it looks fine, but I replace brakes in pairs, it's not safe to do it the other way.

SPIDERS!





Also, here's the exhaust hole I found.



So yeah, to do list with the car:

Brake shoes and wheel cylinders.
Shocks, gonna go for Bilstein's because they cost the same and are better than AC Delco OE's
Exhaust, full catless 2" aluminized stainless with a Cherry Bomb Vortex 88106 (Will wait on new exhaust if rest of exhaust is suitable for inspection, holes past muffler don't matter much in VA)
New stereo
New center link, tie rods, idler arm, ball joints, they all look kinda worn, rather replace them before the steering gets spooky like it did on the wagon before we replaced them.

 

I replace wheel cylinders proactively, same time I replace brake shoes. They are so inexpensive, it makes no sense not to.

 

Exactly, also, I found something ELSE that is broken. :banghead3:

Front pass side shock bushing, needs shocks upfront too.



Front drivers side isn't far behind it.



My reaction to the thought of doing 55 with the front right in that shape (Which I have already done) was pretty much a speechless one. I was utterly dumbfounded I didn't wreck.

 

That just goes to show how incredibly over-built these old beasts are! Good choice on the Bilsteins, too. The OE G.M. shocks are HORRIBLE! Took them off my Delta after less then 6 months. Go figure. Take delivery from the factory in December, replace shocks and tires in May. What a car that thing wasn't! And now I'm looking at an 85 Buick LeSabre, which is the same car all over again. Just hope there really is no such thing as a 30 year old lemon!

 

Well, it's like I said, I paid $650 for a 350 crate, turbo 350 trans, and a good set of tires, all of which are already part of a car. Got a free radiator, rebuilt alternator, and rebuilt starter out of it too. Though I have little faith in either the starter or alternator, both are remanufactured units from Advance Auto. We had a starter identical to the one (Found the receipt in the glovebox of the Delta) on the wagon, that 307 murdered it in 6 months, snapped the head clean off in February of 2k7, was freezing my rear end off for the better part of half an hour swapping on a used one we had laying around. I'll probably change the starter in the spring, possibly the alternator too. Can't find any documentation of it having a water pump put on, and most of this paperwork goes back a ways. So I'll swap the water pump too, I'm of the "If it has that many miles, and still works fine, you better replace it because it won't work fine when the weather is too terrible for you to feel like working on the car." mindset.

Anyway, I noticed the car was leaning on the front pass side once I got it out of the yard and into the driveway. 'Course my first reaction was "Oh great, so much for good tires". Checked the tire, didn't seem to be low at all, didn't need a pressure gauge to tell me that. I noticed when I leaned on the car checking the tire that something squeaked under the car when the suspension went down. So, I put my weight on the front pass side corner, could tell something wasn't right, suspension was way too soft compared to the opposite side. So, I got down in the driveway to see if anything was visibly wrong, I was braced against the car enough to push the car down and see the shock sticking out of the bottom of the shock mounting hole on the pass side.

I'm gonna put on Monroe Sensa-Trac shocks for now, $50 for the set, and Wagner rear brake shoes, with new wheel cylinders also made by Wagner, the Monroe's only have to last until sometime in summer 2014 or fall of 2014 when I replace the tie rods, center link, ball joints, and put four new bilstein shocks on the car. It'll cost me about $70 from RockAuto, and a days worth of cussing at old stubborn bolts.

I think I'm gonna have to see if I can get a friend of my fathers let me have 15 minutes of time with his lift so I can figure out if there is anything else I need to worry about.

 

When you are ready to replace the tie rods and ball joints, buy this tool from Harbor Freight. It will separate those bad boys in seconds. You will wonder why anyone in their right mind would EVER use a pickle fork to do this job.

 

Yeah I've seen those ball joint separators, definitely gotta get me one. There is a harbor freight in downtown Roanoke, so, I'll have to go out that way at some point and get one. I'll bookmark it on their site so I can keep track of the part number, make sure they have it in the store. I'm not driving across town to find out they don't have it.