Minneapolis Street Sighting: Oldsmobile Delta 88

As I continue my Oldsmobile spree, I would like to focus on what I think is an odd year for the Delta lineup; this 1969 car is one of the Delta 88s that I am not madly in love with. From the profile, it looks like a generic 1960s car, and it is. 1969 was a weir year for GM's cars; this is just my thoughts, but the only cars that looked good in 1969 were the Cadillacs. All other brands have either mismatched styling, or their cars look...odd. And Oldsmobile is no exception. The Cutlass looks awful, and that styling paired with the wagon body looks atrocious, and even their "halo car", the Delta 88 succumbed to crap styling disease.

Thankfully, by 1972, the Delta 88 would look good again; the odd front fascia would be gone, and like the Cutlass, the front fascia is what bothers me here. I do like that the Oldsmobile family front is instantly recognizable, but those headlamp clusters are also shared with many other GM cars that aren't Chevrolet. Would it be fair to say that Oldsmobile's 1969 lineup comprised of parts-bin specials? Seems a bit sad to say that, but I would say its fairly accurate.

On the surface, this Oldsmobile is a fantastic looking car; the paint and vinyl roof both show some scarring, but they're both original; ditto to the trim (both chrome and non)--every peice of trim, and every badge on this 1969 Delta 88 is straight and unmolested right down to the full-width lettering that graces the decklid. The wheels, while not original, look quite at home here aside from the wretched, afterthought fake spinners wheel nuts.

This is the exact criteria I enjoy shooting, and this one is awesome; this is the first of its generation that I would see, though I fear the fate of this example; with the for sale sign, and it being in a crappy neighborhood, I can only shudder and what might the fate of this poor Olds finally is. Will it succumb to donking, or will it be derbied? Or will an enthusiast buy it and restore it to its past glory?

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale two door

I love Oldsmobiles; I can't help it. Obviously, some of the more modern Oldsmobiles do absolutely nothing for me (I'm looking in your direction Acheiva, Aurora, Alero, etc but the older cars interest me quite a bit. I have a strange fascination with cars of the Malaise-era and no one did it better than GMs as far as the domestic cars go. Big engines with decent performance potential, a wide selection of bodystyles, and parts interchangeability made the GM vehicles of this era last exponentially longer than their Ford or Mopar counterparts.

I have always liked the Delta 88 lineup of Oldsmobiles, especially the two-doors. The car looks badass, and even the name sounds cool. I don't care for the 1990s Delta, but the RWD ones are too cool; obviously I dig the 1970s ones most, but the 1980s two-doors are pretty close on the coolness scale. Unfortunately, not many are left stock. Here (as well as the deep south), these cars succumb to the donking trend more often than not, so finding a nice one is getting increasingly hard.

But that's exactly what occurred this past summer; out of nowhere, it showed up parked on a side street--and I did a double take. I've never seen one this clean--even in Lawrence; I did shoot a clean four door quite a while ago, but this two-door is where it's at.

Cars like this are pretty rare in my area for a few reasons; as I explained above, donk customizing has gotten the best of most of the non-rusted ones left; and that's a shame because these look very nice when well preserved. And this one was--quite so.

The paint looks absolutely pristine; no evidence of any non-stock additions, rust or otherwise; even the often-torn vinyl roof is still intact--and in great shape to boot. Whitewall tires and wire hubcaps certainly make this car stand out--and make it stand the test of time as well. I'm not quite sure how old this example is, but I would guess it's a pre-1985 car judging by the lack of third brakelight.

Obviously I didn't open the doors, so a mere glimpse inside is all I had--and it appears that this Olds does duty as a well preserved daily driver; hell it's got groceries on the floor for crying out loud. If that doesn't say "daily driver", I don't know what does.

This thing would be classified as a classic by me; it's a nice car, it's old enough that it isn't common, and despite the bling crowd, these big coupes do have a cult following. I wish more car enthusiasts took notice and saved these before they all go extinct.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale

I already showed off the red Centurion, and I featured a blue Delta 88 a couple days ago--now let's get back to some formal colors for GM's personal luxury convertibles. I know these cars from about a block away--and my hunches were right.
I spotted this one just off France, in a neighborhood I've never really though to check out. In an area littered with Prius', Highlander Hybrids, and the occasional Honda Civic, this classic Olds was the only thing that stood out. And for good reason-- aside from being the only older vehicle in that area, it was also the only domestic in a four or five block radius. Was a cliche sighting for me? Maybe--these Deltas aren't exactly rare birds perse, but I still love them all the same. I know that these shots were rushed, as the composition isn't great, but it was nearing 100*; not quite what I'd call habitable temperatures, much less outside.










By now, readers should be aware of my fascination with GM's forgotten cars--I don't like the Caprice convertibles as much as I like these--and I have no idea why, either. Black is probably one of the better colors for these cars; not only does it make this big GM appear more upscale that it already is, it hides the length fairly well. Though I wouldn't call these "long", they do have presence. Wire wheel covers, minimal chrome, and a color coded roof certainly make this Delta look the business.
While I'm used to seeing blue with navy blue, red with white interior, and silver with gray interior, the black with maroon interior is probably the classiest combination I've seen; I didn't get a good look inside as I was a bit nervous to do so, but black over maroon is probably the combination for these; luxurious, classy, and not over-the-top; I love it!
Despite the run-down looking appearance, with a coat of polish this big Olds should be as good as new; I'd clean out the interior as well, then I'd drop the top and cruise. After all, what's the point of having a big convertible if you're not a cruiser. That's what this Delta 88 is all about, and that's what it needs to be doing instead of lingering outside someone's house.

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.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Oldsmobile Delta 88

Please excuse the lousy picture quality, and lighting; this is another vehicle from my "quantity > quality" days. Spotted probably in winter of 2008 or early 2009, this particular Olds used to be a quite a staple near MCTC. Okay, so it probably wasn't all that special, honestly. I did see it daily (or at least whenever I had class), so I figured I'd come to campus early and shoot it. Good thing I did, because it hasn't been spotted since the winter I took these photos.
As one can tell from the "Baby on Board" sticker in the rearmost glass, this old boat was likely someone's daily driver. While it isn't the best choice as far as gas mileage goes, just a few years ago, older vehicles were just cheap transport. Now, though, this car would be prime "donk ryder" fodder; it's got RWD, and it's a "big body." Just they combination that they lust after; I don't think they'd be wetting themselves over this one, though.
While the paint was pretty good, especially for a vehicle of this vintage, it definitely showed obvious signs of "daily driver syndrome." Rust didn't hide itself, leading me to believe this vehicle did double duty as a daily driver and a winter beater. Honestly, to most people, that's all an older car ever was supposed to be.
And here's why it saddens me. Most cars don't live past the daily driver stage; I do realize that's normal, but as these older cars die and most modern cars become "older", I will have lost interest in shooting. Why? Because most cars most after 1990 don't really excite the way cars like this do. Yes, I know that an Oldsmobile Delta 88 (especially this generation) will never be looked upon as truly wonderful collector car, but that's why it interested me enough to shoot it. It just isn't a car one sees everyday.