18th Dec 2002, 12:20
My aunt and uncle had one with a 455 under the hood. Rocket V8 is an understatement. This thing was a "Go-mobile".
27th Oct 2004, 23:28
I agree. My '75 Delta 88 is a road beast, takes up one full lane, and will f*&^% up any rice grinder trash in it's path. I love my car. It's fast and I love how anyone who tries to race me gets utterly humilated by my gigantic supercharged land barge. It only has 79,000 miles on it now and like you said is quiet as a cat in idle. It has come through time to smash and destroy the trash on today's streets.
29th Dec 2004, 07:52
Oh, so you "snatched up" this car because you were afraid the grandkids would beat on it and destroy what was left of it, so you get it and then burn up the tires for blocks and floor it from stoplights?
Right, sounds like the car is in good hands now!
8th Dec 2006, 20:35
Hehe "supercharged land barge" sounds about right with almost 500 lbs of torque.
25th Nov 2008, 09:47
"19th Jun 2008, 15:27
Betcha this car has been junked, crushed and recycled into 3 Hyundais by now..."
I'm the original commentor. I love how people like you think that Japanese tin cans are superior. The car is still on the road, eating Hyundais and Hondas for breakfast. Keep driving your econobox, It keeps the price of oil down for people like me who actually have a real taste in cars.
25th Nov 2008, 20:11
Restore one and take on a very long trip. I rode in one ice cold A/C from Delaware to Fla. non stop and it was comfortable and smooth.
26th Nov 2008, 17:04
The "original commentor" isn't into restoration. Sounds more like he is just going to beat the hell out of it until it falls apart, sad...
27th Nov 2008, 08:33
Well I originally submitted the review. And to the poster above me: Yes, I did do a partial restoration of this car. This included a professional paint job to the tune of about $4000 and an engine rebuild at 172,000 miles last year.
You should not assume that this is my only car, it isn't. It would be quite foolish to use as my daily driver, although with plummeting gas prices, I gave into temptation causing me to use it a lot more this fall.
You should also not assume that I pound on it every time I drive it. But you gotta have some fun driving a car like this once in a while.
This car is what it is. If you like tiny imports with high revving, bumble bee sounding exhaust pipes large enough for semi trucks, well then good for you, whatever lights your fire. To me a front drive subcompact is not as fun as an old muscle car or land barge like this. So forgive me for hanging on to a piece of something similar I owned in my youth. It was a time when cars had style and personality.
4th Jan 2009, 04:36
I have a 1970 Delta Ragtop. 455 rocket in it.
This car still has the original ball joints in it and drives straight as arrow. My 4 kids and wife can ride in comfort.
The wiring harness has roughly 6 to 8 wires in it.
Anything can still be repaired at a low cost.
90 miles an hour seems like 55.. with one finger on the wheel; that is hard in any foreign car.
All eyes, young and old, think it is the coolest. Headers and side pipes make it a growler.
9th Dec 2010, 12:41
I had a 1971 88 Royale that I purchased in 1983 and drove until 1994. The transmission died and I was forced to give it up then. I bought that car with 100,000 miles on it and drove it 100,000 more. It started off in Mississippi, did many trips to New Orleans, Alabama, Florida and Memphis; then I drove it + a U-Haul to New York where it went as far west as Pittsburgh, as far East as Maine, north to Montreal and South to Washington.
I did spend thousands of dollars on paint, engine work, and suspension repairs, but, then again, I only paid $650 for it and the insurance and registration probably cost me as much as the car. It slurped gasoline, got maybe 10 MPG in a combination of city and highway driving.
What the fans said above is largely true: I often drove it with one finger on the wheel, it once ate a 1980s Lincoln (seriously, guy pulled out of a parking lot, I was stopped in the road, he hit me anyway. Big long gash on the side of his car, nothing on mine, he looked, I looked, and he just drove away because it was his fault and I didn't have any damage). Heat was great on that car, we used to drive around in the winter with the windows down. When I say 'we,' I mean it had seatbelts for seven, and you could get a reasonably comfortable nap on the front or back seat.
That car was everything good about Detroit.
23rd Feb 2011, 13:45
My Aunt was 59 when she bought her 1970 Delta 88 brand new. She owned a 1956 88 before that. That little ole lady loved that 455 under the hood, and I was fortunate enough to be the main driver when I turned 16. The car and her both are gone now, but the memories of both will live on in our family. My only regret is that I didn't end up with the car when she passed. It was sold, and I don't have any idea where it ended up, but whoever has it, I sure hope they have kept her running. What an awesome car.
15th Jun 2002, 08:54
You tell , em, Brother!