1979 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale from North America - Comments

A.C. compressor replaced twice.

Brake linings replaced.

Water pump, fuel pump, and battery replaced.

Basic periodic maintenance.

I bought this car from the original owner, who collected Oldsmobiles, and he had ordered this one at the local dealership and used it sparingly until he decided to part with it. Happily I was there when he agreed to sell it.

I bought it because it has a 350 engine and no computers on board. I intended to keep it for a long time, and it has served me extremely well over the twenty one years I have owned it. Since I'm now past the age of sixty, I may never need another car.

This one does everything I need a car to do, and does it well. Comfortable, reliable, and roadworthy.

The Air Conditioner works hard in this hot, humid climate and has been replaced twice. That's the only weak point in the car. Otherwise, an outstanding piece of engineering.

Maybe if Olds had kept building them like this one, they would still be around.

I've had my '77 Delta 88 (same basic car as your '79) since 1987. I bought it for college for $1,150 and I've had it ever since. The car is now approaching 300,000 miles and I still haven't found a reason to replace it (I did buy a sports car along the way that I use only on weekends). I'm only 34 and I'm thinking this might be the last car I'll ever need to own. I do wish, however, that I could go back in time and buy a brand new one (unfortunately, my four years in college were spent in Rochester, NY so the salt the vehicle endured during those years has had a lasting impact on the body/frame).

As I look around on the net, which has now become the nation's marketplace, I see a lot of 70's models with 350 or larger engines for sale, usually by someone who has inherited the car from a deceased relative, or bought it from an older person who is often the original owner.

Not everything that G.M. built in the 70's is worth owning, but a great many of the Buicks, Oldsmobiles, and Chevrolets, with 350's, 403's, and 455's, were excellent, durable, reliable cars that were comfortable, roadworthy, and stylish. If you only drive a few thousand miles a year, the poor gas mileage typical of these engines will not penalize you, since you will save substantially over the cost of a new car, lower your insurance rates for the older models, and sacrifice only an airbag, and the bragging rights that go with owning a new model.

It is style, usually, and the desire for the latest model that drive us in the showrooms, but as you grow older and more practical you realize that the real bargains are in the 70's models. The 50's and 60's models are collectible and now command high prices, but the 70's car are affordable, and worth owning. Before G.M. went astray trying to copy Japanese designs and abandoned the basic rear wheel drive, v-8 concept that made it a standard of excellence around the world, these were the best cars built, and the best value for the dollar. Still are.

Find one, love it and keep it, and it will reward you with long years of service. I have two GM models, one a '67 and one a '79, with less than two hundred thousand collective miles on them, and both perform flawlessly, with only routine maintenance. Good hunting.

It's a real shame they (Olds) couldn't keep their 350 (or their 403 for that matter) they weren't particularly efficient, but they were as bullet proof as Detroit V-8s ever got. Olds' final V-8 the 307 (basically a destroked 350) was last used on their Custom Cruiser wagon in 1990 (and replaced by a Chevy 305) a real shame GM made such poor decision regarding Olds.

Ya, GM really could've made better decisions like keeping some Olds V-8s they were far better than Chevy V-8s on many occasions.

The 307, the 350, the 403 and the original 330 all had 3.385" strokes. The 307 was a DE-BORED 350.

The interesting thing about a 1979 88 Royale is that a 455 should basically bolt in. The external pickup points of the smaller engine series and the larger series were the same, the real difference was the deck height of the engines. So a 400, 425, 455 looked a lot wider, but was not any longer.

R.