A rust-free North Dakota car is something dreams are made of. Hear me out. Some parts of the state don’t use road salt, so this 1985 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Brougham Sedan is rock-solid, according to the seller. It’s posted here on craigslist in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the seller is asking $4,400, with free delivery anywhere in the Mpls/St. Paul metro area. Dang, tempting. Here is the original listing, in case this one quietly slips into a storage unit somewhere.
For those of you who may be scratching your head and thinking, North Dakota? What is that? Well, it’s a U.S. state bordering on Canada, Montana, Minnesota, and (hold onto your hats) South Dakota. Remember Theodore Roosevelt? The youngest U.S. president of all time, the one who got shot in the chest and kept going with his 90-minute speech? Yeah, that guy. He went to western North Dakota to try cattle ranching and general cowboy’ing in the 1880s, building up his body after having a sickly childhood. He’s the same guy whose wife and mother died on the same night! Just imagine that, it would be overwhelming. North Dakota was his place to get away from everything and to toughen up both his mind and body. He became an amazing president and person after his experiences there. So yeah, North Dakota, it’s a fine state, you really should visit it sometime.
Back to this faded-but-reportedly-rust-free Olds 88 diesel. It has the typical 1980s white paint issues, with portions as vast as the North Dakota plains worn down to gray primer on the trunk lid and part of the hood. While it’s said to have “NO RUST!”, there are a few areas showing some surface rust, and some underside photos would be nice. Oldsmobile offered the eighth-generation 88 from 1977 through 1985, and this is a Royale Brougham, but isn’t as loaded as you’d expect.
No power windows! I wonder if that’s a North Dakota thing, where the original owner didn’t want to be too showy, or want to deal with electronic things such as a button that moves your windows up and down? It appears to have power locks, which were optional, so they checked the box for that. The seats look outstanding, with maybe a hint of fading on the velour over the decades. The steering wheel has seen better days with major cracking happening there, unfortunately, and the headliner is drooping as you’d expect after 40 years.
The big thing with this car, and the major part that would make it a standout at any Cars & Coffee event, is the Olds 350-cu.in. OHV diesel engine. Rare to see today, this one would have had around 105 horsepower and 200 lb-ft of torque when new, perfect for effortlessly gliding across North Dakota at highway speeds. Backed by a Turbo-Hydramatic sending power to the rear wheels, the seller says this one turns over as it should, but isn’t starting. It may need a fuel pump, or maybe it was sitting for a while; we don’t know. One thing I do know, is that Teddy Roosevelt was an incredibly interesting person and a great president, North Dakota (especially the western part) is worth a visit, and this car would have a crowd around it at any diesel pump in America. Have any of you owned a diesel sedan from the 1980s?
This is one solid looking Eighty Eight. I’m kind of surprised at the cracks in the steering wheel. The headliner not so much, thats unfortunately common. By ’85 I don’t think Oldsmobile was selling too many diesels. Which is unfortunate because by the time this one was made I believe they had many of the bugs worked out. It’s a nice color combination too, white exterior blue interior. Hope it gets a good new home and gets driven and enjoyed. And thank you for the brief history lesson too Scotty. It was very informative and I enjoyed it.
Thanks, sir! I would love to have this one, mainly for the unusual factor, car shows, and maybe for regional road trips.
Well Scotty…. you’d have plenty of room for your 6 ft. 5 frame and you’d get great fuel mileage. Just hope you don’t mind rolling down your own windows lol.
Beautiful lines on this era of Delta 88s.
Dr Olds offering up a diesel ⛽️ option.
Good write-up Scotty. I liked the historical refresher on Teddy Roosevelt. Probably not many non-car people would guess Olds offered a diesel in the 80’s. Torque was good, but 105 horsepower…..
Put a LS in it!
One of the few car fears where that comment is not trolling.
I remember the 307 being a popular swap into these because the transmission bolted right up the same (so I was told.) I worked on a couple that said diesel on the decklid, but had spark plug wires. One of the senior techs clued me in to the 307 thing.
I was thinking a Duramax swap would be more fitting.
Us diesel fans love the 30 mpg, and dependability, not the tire roasting acceleration. And for any area’s with emissions testing, changing this to gas violates the EPA certification, near impossible to do all the needed changes.
But there goes the 30mpg! For those in emissions testing area’s, swapping in a gas engine violates the EPA certification of the car, and is illegal. It’s possible to do so but the changes are so many that it’s near impossible and then the car has to be re certified by the EPA.
I am no expert but I believe a 1985 would be EPA exempt. Knowing the particulates of the old diesel…which doesn’t bother me…a gasoline engine would be cleaner from a particulate standpoint.
I don’t spot an aftermarket fuel/water separator under the hood. I’ve seen a lot of these that had that added, as I understand that was the downfall of many of these diesels. Still a good looking car that could use some paint, but that’s about all.
Love to hear from some 350 diesel owners what their real true mileage was with these Deltas.
Stan, I owned a 1979 Delta 88…trouble prone but excellent economy…high 20’s to 30 depending on speed. I also owned a 1981 Chevy Caprice, again same mileage and a 1982 Caprice Wagon. I loved those cars. I bought a 79 Custom Cruiser Wagon with a blown diesel and a wrecked 75 Cutlass with a great 350 Olds engine. Had it swapped and it was a fantastic car. Wore that body out and bought an 80 Cadillac…had the engine swapped in it and the engine had well over 200,000 miles on it when I sold it and it still ran great. Hope this helps.
Thanks 👍🤝 Thomas.
This one clearly has a blown head gasket. How can I tell? Because it is an Olds Diesel. If you get a year out of a set of head gaskets, you’re doing good.
My guess is fuel related, either fuel pump/injection pump from experiences with this engine. These cars would run with a blown head gasket, just not very well. Overall, if maintained the later diesels were reasonably reliable. My guess is this one has been sitting.
I have over 12 Oldsmobile diesels and 6 of them running and licensed, and I have yet to encounter the blown headgasket. Not to say it doesn’t happen. The reason you hear about this so much is that the bad news gets all the play, the good news of thousands of happy diesel owners gets no notice. Usually it’s water in the fuel that causes the issue, diesel guys know how to prevent this.
It’s $4,400 for what is basically a roller. It’s hard to see four door with as many issues as this, paint, interior, mechanical bringing that amount. There is a lot of competition in this segment of the market, it’s not hard to find 4 doors from this era in much better shape for the same price.
Steve R
Dang you, you guys talked me out of it… (thanks!)
Mornin’ dude, now not so fast, my friend, I knew folks that had HUNDREDS of thousands of miles on these, I think Geomechs has some praise for them. The car diesels were riddled with so many obstacles. One of the biggest was, diesel wasn’t available at most stations yet, and you had to fill up at those crime ridden, disgusting urine soaked truck stops. “Daddy, this place smells like tinkle”. Cold weather being their biggest nemesis. Many were started on ether, that didn’t help the head gaskets, and short trips, stop and go, carbon buildup, these were road engines, like all diesels they need to run HOT, not overheating, but a cool running diesel is the kiss of death for one. I’ve always felt a diesel has no place in the passenger car market, but still better than an EV, that’s for sure. Yeah, I’d yank the “oil motor” and get a gas job, be a wonderful car again.
I agree better than a EV and yes dieselslike to be run hot not idle cold. I did a couple of diesel to gas engine swaps back in the early 1990s with a fiend in a few of these. Remember o change the cluster gage and fuel system.
Lol 🚻
Way back when, a local dealer had an early 80’s Olds station wagon on their used car lot. Bright red, with red interior. Mint condition, low miles and they wanted around $1100. Sadly, it was a diesel. Had I had the extra cash? I’d have bought it and done the 350 swap.
This engine in my ‘81 Riviera wound up throwing a connecting rod through the oil pan on my way to the airport, but before that it took my dad and me all the way from Houston to Buffalo and back with no issues. It did zero to sixty in a week and a half, but it also got 600 miles on a fill up, so we wound up making more stops for beer than for fuel. At the time a shop in Houston specialized in replacing these diesels with rebuilt Olds 350 4bbl gas engines, so for like $2,100 I had the fastest Riv on the road. Drove it forever and still miss it…
Ahh the comments maligning the Olds Diesel. Our Cutlass Brougham Diesel served us faithfully for 3 years new from the showroom in 1981 up to 125k miles! Only once did it leave us stranded. A rare, freezing Mississippi Christmas when the diesel gelled. Lots of those 5.7’s in my hometown. I don’t recall blown head gaskets but I do recall bad oil pumps, fuel pumps, starters, and other supporting equipment. But the biggest issue was when they wouldn’t start w/out spraying starter fluid in the intake. Many people were still driving these diesels into the 90’s. I think the key to the longevity was farm diesel.
Maintenance, careful attention to where you bought your diesel. Someone maligned truck stops in another post, but they were usually a good place to buy diesel because the high usage didn’t allow water and other contentments to form.
Had a ’79. Got close to 200,000 miles. Had trouble when I moved from Boston to LA. Gas station left ignition on & wrecked the glow plugs, wouldn’t admit fault. Got a separator in LA after car died on freeway. Once back East, she died on a cold day right before Tobin Bridge. That taught me to use the additive all the time. As it got older I noticed some issues with transmission which Olds replaced. Ended up belonging to a VA based Disgruntled Diesel Owners group & did get some money in the end. Bizarrely, the car’s end came when it was stolen & found beached. I got it running but gave it to my mechanic to sell.
Even with the problems, I did enjoy the car. Probably got an average of 26mpg.
When I first got it, I read the manual(!) and took note of the oil specifications GM listed. When I called Boch Olds & asked them what oil they used, the answer was, whatever comes out of the nozzle that’s attached to the barrel. That led me to a gas station & a glorious man who suggested a new ARCO graphite oil which is the only oil it ever got. I attributed the near 200,000 miles accumulated to that oil.
Ernie Boch: “Come on down!”
I saw Ernie Bock Jr. play in a band with a lot of talented Boston-based musicians, including Barry Gaudreau and Sib Hashian of the band Boston.
My experience with ’80’s GM diesels is a bit less than positive. These were essentially 350 ci gasoline engines modified to handle diesel fuel but not to withstand the loads imposed by the higher compression requirements. I bought 9 brand new GM vehicles, including a couple of 7000 series trucks, in 1983 & ’84. I can say, unequivocally, they were all close to junk. Enough so that I’ve not bought another GM vehicle since. The situation was aggravated by the fact that GM’s customer service department was staffed by people who had better things to do than addressing customers problems. We actually had to threaten a lawsuit over transmission failures in order to get the attention of the Company.
Problems like:
(two) Transmission failures in cars driven less than 18k miles.
A starter failure on a car less than a month old.
A horn failure on a truck less than 3 months old.
A string of failures on the fuel tank transfer valves of 3 pickup trucks over a 3-year period.
Failure of 2 power window motors on two cars less than a year old.
Failure of 2 windshield wiper motors on cars less than a year old.
An engine failure (cam shaft) at 23k miles.
Five diesel fuel pump failures on 2 diesel cars less than two years old.
Paint quality so poor that hand-size patches fell off on trucks less than 2 years old.
Multiple windshield washer pump failures in three cars less than 3 years old.
Air conditioner leaks and failures in cars and trucks less than 3 years old.
A spare tire carrier failure in a 2-year old truck (dropped the spare at 65 mph on the turnpike).
Leaking fuel tanks on pickup trucks (both 2 tanks on each of 3 trucks) in less than two years.
Broken brake lines on 2 pickup trucks in 2 years.
So much for “Professional grade”; Unless your profession is a thug or junk dealer.
put a 455 in with o/d paint it and fix the headliner and put the chrome super stock wheels on it and you would be styling. got to lose the diesel engine good for scrap
As much as I like the 455, I like the diesel better, 30 mpg as opposed to 12 at the very best. There’s many many Olds diesel guys out there who love the diesel engine.
The pre-1981 non-DX blocks were not good. 1981 and newer were actually pretty decent. I know many that drove these 200k+.
They were indeed high maintenance, as all diesels are. To the point above about heat and ensuring they are warm enough before driving, perhaps this is the biggest one. While it applies to all diesels, the Olds 350 was notorious for breaking or stretching head bolts due to the enormous pressures (22.5:1 compression) if these were not religiously started and warmed up for 15 minutes. American drivers never really were known for being inconvenienced as such, and a lot of these suffered a premature death because of it.
Also, it was just stupid engineering to not include a water separator as every other diesel ever made had.
The only “high maintenance” was frequent oil changes, no tune ups, no spark plugs, no carburetor, etc. I start my diesels and go, no lengthy warm up. I do drive gently for a short while, but I do that with every vehicle. As mentioned, most head gasket issues were from the water, Olds used a reservoir in the tank with warning lamp to catch the water, you’re right, a dedicated separator would have been better. I have some 79-80 Olds diesels, they run just as well as the DX but I agree with you those are an improvement.
A non running Olds Delta 88 with a wanna be diesel. How much does it weigh ?
I don’t know if later ones were better- and I’m not buying a pig in a poke to find out. My Dad had an ‘80 Eldo diesel which was a beautiful- unmitigated disaster. My best friend had the V6 version in a Celebrity- not beautiful, but a disaster just the same.
“No” doesn’t have enough letters to communicate how much I don’t want this.
Re the Diesel Water Separator issue:
The special non-removeable filtering element inside the standard fuel filter (a “square-ish” steel container mounted underhood near the fuel pump) – had the ability to filter out not only dirt in the fuel, but also water by using a coalescing action created by the element having an “Asphaltene” coating.
The problems were that (a) the filters were rarely changed on-time and often there were inferior aftermarket filters used when they finally were changed, and (b) the filter was only able to absorb “X” amount of water before the coalescing action stopped functioning.
Commonly, the use of inferior fuel which had far too much water in it compromised the ability of the filter to do its job properly in a short time thus causing failed pumps and injector nozzles.
BTW Back in the early 1980s, Stanadyne – the maker of the RoosaMaster fuel pump – estimated that fully 70% of the pumps returned to them under warranty had nothing wrong with them and a simple test bench testing and repackaging sent them back on their way to the dealerships. Misdiagnosis of course.
Can we blame GM for a lousy Diesel system design? Yes. Can we blame the dealerships for untrained technicians? Yes.
Now, it’s all “water under the bridge” I suppose.
RB
I worked at Olds dealers as a technician for 15 Years starting in 1980. All of us techs were well trained as well as Oldsmobile could train us. The majority of those things were piles of junk! A sick joke they played on the public. I am sure the Phoenix eat didn’t help much, but even a majority of the replacement engines were garbage right out of the crate.
Get this car for $2500, install a 350, 403 or 455.
U-Tuber Junkyard Digs Kevin & Angus proved one of these WILL, in fact, tow a boat over some distance. Granted, it was flatland towing, no crazy Eisenhower/El Cajon pulls or anything like that. They did do HGs tho prior to starting out & still had some unresolved problems with the injection pump but the car pulled it off & looked supremely comfortable doing it.
For a grand, it would be fun to fool around with & get it running but this guy needs to get a reality check & come back down to earth on his ask.