1983 Oldsmobile 88 Royale review from North America

Fuel tank rusted out (typical up north)

Fuel pump died (service item)

Wiper switch wore out, wipers wouldn't cancel off.

Rust holes into trunk just below the rear marker lights (typical up north)

This was my winterbeater car from Nov '96-April '97. It was two-tone, taupe over brown (yecch...) and it was extremely rusty.

I bought it from the company I was working for, it used to be their company car but they thought it was dead... just had bad battery cables and hadn't ran in two years. New cables, and a little ether down the carb and it fired right up.

I used to fall asleep some nights because I got so comfy in those huge plushy seats with the heater cranked up, plus even with worn out shocks and springs the car had such a luxurious ride to it.

Also, my girlfriend liked it because the back seat had the space of a sofa when you slid the fronts full forward... if you get my drift.

After the fuel system issues were worked out ($110 for a new tank, $40 for a new pump) it was good to go. Gas mileage wasn't great (15cty, 22 hwy) plus back then I could still go to the Indian reservation and get premium real cheap.

The body was very rusty, it had been driven year round thru many winters on salt-lined roads. The door panels would flap in the wind sometimes, but it was funny. The power windows and locks still worked, even with the doors falling apart.

Wiring harnesses would sometimes fall apart from getting weathered, but they were easy for me to fix.

Never had any internal engine or driveline trouble, had to do the customary regasketing of the carburetor and the adjustments therein, ran like nearly new after that. It would burn some oil on cold startups, but I installed sparkplugs that were made to burn off the oil.

For the amount of wear tear and weathering this car had, it sure was a trooper. I hope to find another one someday that's not rusty and been taken good care of, just to have as a nice weekend cruiser.