Minneapolis Street Sighting: Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale

As I've written numerous times before, these Oldsmobile Deltas and midsize Buicks have quickly become my favorite 1970s GM boats. I see the Delta 88 convertibles represented quite well in my area, but that doesn't mean I shoot every single one I can find; more often than not, the Minneapolis examples I find are in terrible condition and need extensive work to be roadworthy--and even more often than that, they're infected with bling. Sometimes, I catch one that's not quite a beater, but not in pristine shape, either.
I was patrolling a well-frequented neighborhood, and having zero luck. For whatever reason, I decided to turn the corner onto Grand from 31st, and lo and behold, I found something awesome. Sitting all alone with the exception of an Audi A3, this Delta was baking in the hot Minnesota sun; I stopped to investigate, and no sooner than I hopped off my bike was I approached by the owner--I honestly got scared, and tried to make up a witty excuse to not piss him off. Turns out, the guy's a car enthusiast who bought this from his son, who was going to "make it look dumb with those huge wheels and funny colored paint jobs." Hats off to you, for rescuing it.
The car is a 1974 (I think), and has been in his family since new; when the owner's father died, the Delta was given to the third generation (the son of the current owner), who promptly began scrawling up plans to have this featured in RIDES magazine. Thankfully, the owner thought that idea was ludicrous, and destined to buy it back.
He's had it for three years, and plans to fix all the mishaps, including getting a new convertible top, and redo all the plastic/compounds including the entire front fascia.












Normally, I would whine and bitch about how this car could be better, but its clear the owner has plans to restore it to its former glory; as it sits, it's honestly not in too bad of shape--it just needs minor work here and there. The fascia is cracked and warped, and that's on the to-do list; those silly half-chrome headlight eyebrows are next to go, as they "simply aren't needed--they blind traffic as well." Good idea to remove them, then.
One of the owner's biggest planned changes is the wheels. No, not gigantic 26s or even 30s, but a set of Oldsmobile Cutlass wheels from a G-Body 442 painted to match the car's color. The original hubcaps will be polished and then only used at shows or where originality is necessary--good plan, I say.
As for the car itself, I've always liked these; only recently did I discover that yes, they did come in other colors besides formal colors. The Delta 88 has been one of my favorite Oldsmobile lines for awhile now, and I don't see that changing. Kudos to the owner for keeping this one on the road for as long as he can.