As a huge Oldsmobile fan for the last few (five) decades, this one caught my eye. Being a two-door model, it’s even more unique and it appears to be in nice shape, despite its Utah sun patina. This 1969 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Holiday coupe is listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Ivins, Utah and the seller is asking $11,000. Here is the original listing, and thanks to T.J. for the tip!
Gorgeous. Oldsmobile made the sixth-generation 88s from 1965 through 1970 and then they underwent a radical design change, as did the Olds 98 series. They didn’t come in a station wagon, otherwise, buyers could get a variety of body styles, from hardtops, no tops, the number of doors, etc. The seller has some great photos here in the super beautiful Utah area, very well done, seller!
There’s no reason for anyone to remember this, and I can barely remember if I have pants on anymore, but, my dad had a (used as always) 1970 Oldsmobile 98 four-door sedan in this color with a somewhat similar interior and it was my favorite car that our family had. This is one long, low, sleek car, especially in a two-door hardtop. The seller says the paint is original and there appears to be some rust, or at least surface rust, in areas, but I can’t imagine it’s too bad if it’s a Utah car. Hagerty is at $11,200 for a #3 good-condition car and $6,000 for a #4 fair-condition car, just for the record.
The first thing I notice, unfortunately, is the driver’s side armrest, but that should be able to be brought back with interior “paint”, maybe? Do any of you have experience with that? The seats are fantastico in what Oldsmobile referred to as “Excella, a rich, coarse-woven body cloth with metallic-yarn highlights. Trim is in supple, saddle-grain Morocceen vinyl.” Does it get any better? I think not. As expected, the back seat looks like new and the trunk is BIG.
Speaking of big, the engine is Oldsmobile’s 455-cu.in. OHV V8, which had between 310 and 390 horsepower in the 88 line. This one has a rebuilt two-barrel, so it has to be the 310-horsepower version with 490 lb-ft of torque. It looks clean and even though it isn’t a great engine photo, at least there is one, unlike a lot of other listings. It sends power through a three-speed THM-400 automatic to the rear wheels and the seller says it runs really good, but add an AC compressor to the to-do list. What’s your guess as to how much this car is worth, or what it’ll sell for?
Dr Olds bringing the torque 👍
This brings back memories!!! I know I’ve mentioned we had a reef turquoise 70 Ninety Eight 4 door hardtop. I always thought it was interesting how for ’69 the steering wheel was flipped upside-down with no emblem, just Oldsmobile script, and for ’70 it was 180 degrees the other way ( looked better to me, the other way just looks upside down) and they had the Olds emblem too. Another neat feature you rarely see is the bucket seat and console option on these 88 2 doors. This one looks solid, way better than ours looked in the 80’s. Nice find T.J. and thanks for the memories Scotty!!! You even have a picture of the biggest gas pedal in the business too!!!
I just remembered, I still have the brochure from when my Dad bought our ’70. Olds Escape machine. Complete with his handwriting, and notes all over the cover about the deal.
Its stuff like that you tend to hold onto.
Nice to see the factory front floor mats in a rare color. Did the rear mats survive?
Its hard to tell, they may be under that large mat the covers the whole rear floor. I havent seen one of those mats in decades!!!
Olds did make an 88 wagon back in ’69. My neighbor bought one brand new, metallic blue with the fake wood grain sides. He kept it for years.
Not until ’71. Professional cars like ambulance and hearse, yes. They were cowl and chassis.
Nope, only the Vista Cruiser which was based on the Cutlass A-body platform.
Oldsmobile(s) were numerous in my growin’ up years. First one replaced my dad’s bought-new 1940 Plymoutn Business coupe which he bought along with me (adopted). That car was traded for one with two rows, our first Olds, a 1949 model 76 (6-cylinder 4-door, 3-on-the-tree, in ‘pea green’. Then a 1950 ’98” our first with Hydramatic. Then MY FIRST car a 1951 88 hardtop coupe for which dad paid $995 (for a 4-year-old car!). I still have the tiny newspaper ad for it and the business card of the salesman. Great memories with that car.
For the Love of OLDS! My first cars were a 66 Dynamic 88 convert followed by a 69 Delta Royale four door sedan in metallic gold with black vinyl roof and damask interior. Unfortunately, *YOUNGMOBILE * and *Not your father’s Oldsmobile * were no help saving Ransom Eli*s baby in an increasingly youth oriented market. I hope someone can find a Lucille 🎵 to ride 🎶In this 🎵Merry Oldsmobile 🎵. Guess I’m the one who just put OLD in Oldsmobile! 😅 🤣 😲
Really they rode a pretty good wave through the 70s and 80s with the personal luxury crowd. Cutlass was the best seller a number of years giving Olds the coveted #3 spot in sales many of those years. Sadly this tapered off as everything became fwd. Gm homogenized the brand until it was no longer distinctive. Maybe it was our fathers who bought them after all.
Hi Rick,
I’m guessing your Metallic Gold was probably Chevrolet’s Champagne Gold which my Dad had on his ’70 Impala of which the identical twin can be found in the centerfold of the dealer brochure.
First comment didn’t post so here it is again.
Hi Rick, your Metallic Gold is probably Chevrolet’s Champagne Gold that was the color of Dad’s ’70 Impala and a twin in & out to the one in Chevrolet’s dealer brochure.
That’s a beauty for sure…..love the big 88’s and the body integrity on this generation is superior to the one that followed in 1971. Maybe that’s the reason I own a ’70 Delta 88 Royale with the mentioned rare buckets and console option, along with about everything else Olds offered in 1970. GLWTS!
Your Eighty Eight sounds like a keeper @ Chris. Ive never seen one with buckets and a console in person, only in the brochure that was my Dads and pictures.
Beautiful style, somewhat like the same year Eldorado in the rear, and the Toronado in side profile.
A young business man’s car, someone who wanted something a little more special than a full sized Chevy. His boss would have been the Eldorado owner.
“Excella, a rich, coarse-woven body cloth with metallic-yarn highlights”. Yeah, those metallic yarn highlights were very scratchy on bare skin.
Great article Scotty I too have a soft spot for Oldsmobiles having grown up in an Olds family. One of the more memorable cars was our brand new 70 Delta 88 Custom town sedan, Sherwood Green with black vinyl roof and gorgeous black cloth interior. Best of all 455/2V 310hp. The 15” tires didn’t stand a chance against the massive torque. I think the 69/70 Olds 88/98 had one of the better looking instrument panels of all times. This 69 Royale looks like a great find!
My ex father in law had a 68 Delmont 88 back in the eighties and it had the 455. Man that thing would burn the tires near off the car, filled the inside with smoke. It seemed like it laid a patch that was a quarter mile long!
I had a 72 olds 98 in college bought it for 600.00 no rust and 42k on the clock, the spare tire still has the plastic wrapper on it. I did the points etc and overhauled the quadra jet and it was one of my all time favorite cars ever!
My Dad had a gold 69 with oyster vinyl seats. Had 150k miles when he sold it. Saw it 2 years later still running. Still miss that car.
Ours was an Olds family,too.Ma got a new 68 vista cruiser to haul my minibike in,traded it for a 73 Delta 88,black with burgundy int.Pimp car. Man,my 16 year old,newly licensed ponytail looked good blowing around in that car . I always bought Olds after that .Lot of Cutlasses.Like I say when my physician writes me a good script,THANK YOU,DOC
To Scotty, as someone who’s had experience in upholstery repair, I’d say that armrest can be painted.
When I did it back in the 80s, I had a small compressor in the back of a Dodge Aspen and squeeze bottles of colors to mix into a Binks 150 gun.
For vinyl seat repair, I’d pour a molded mix onto the seat to get the grain, repair the seat with warm paste material, and put the grain mold on that to form the grain, then shoot the dye. If you did it right, it turned out good.
These days colors are available in aerosol spray.
Malco brand works well, dries soft on carpet, not like a Brillo pad back in the day. Duplicolor is available in a few colors, too
Find a replacement for those chalky armrests, if at all possible, and clean and paint those. When the plastic is dried out like that from the sun, there is no real way to bring it back. It’s a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.
This car is beautiful and in my favorite gm color if it was a Pontiac it would be April Gold I had an executive safari station wagon in that color 4bbl is.Must!
Rick I bet that 66 Dynamic conv was a sight to see. A high school friend had a low mileage mint 66 Dynamic 88 hard top time capsule that was gorgeous. The 88 Royale was the perfect Oldsmobile for those that didn’t want to go over the top in an Oldsmobile 98 and it was the perfect compliment to the 98 I’ve always loved the 88 Royale any year..
Oh yes! Red body with red interior and white top. I bought it from my parents in 1969. It was the center of attention when I drove the Homecoming Queen in the parade. I would have kept it, but an unfortunate accident (oil slick on highway) sent into the front end of a truck, causing frame damage. I was told if not for the weight of the body, it might have flipped. I survived with no significant injuries. I don’t think I’d be so lucky with most of today’s vehicles. But my current low mileage Town Car Signature Limited is about as safe as can be.
Parents bought a 68 Delmont 88 455 new, in 76 after I turned 16 my sister & I got to share said car, 77 I decided I wanted a 73 Chevell SS 350 so my dad let me trade the 88 for it, if I only knew then what I know now, I should have taken the engine & rebuilt it then put it in the Chevell since we only got $350 for it, like an earlier comment that 88 would smoke tires for a block & a half, stupid is as stupid does that would be me lol