The Oldsmobile Delta 88 was chosen to pace the field at the 1977 Indianapolis 500. As was typical GM practice, dealers produced a batch of replicas for sale. This silver-and-black beauty is one of 2,401 replicas built and was sold new by an Olds-Pontiac dealer in Indiana. It looks like a great survivor with 85,000 miles and paperwork. Now located with a dealer in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, this Olds is available on Bring A Trailer, where the current bid is $9,000.
As far as big cars go, the Delta 88 was the full-size Oldsmobile best seller in the 1970s. Following the rest of GM’s big cars that year, it was downsized for better fuel economy, without reducing passenger or luggage capacity. Perhaps that’s why the 88 was chosen for Indy 500 pace duty, though no convertibles were in the lineup. The powers-that-be ordered more than 2,400 copies for public consumption, with or without the Indy 500 decals this example proudly wears.
These cars were finished in two-tone contrasting paint and featured bright red cloth interiors. Under the hood of the seller’s replica resides a 403 cubic-inch V8, which may get the job done since the cars were about 800 lbs. lighter than the 1976 editions of the 88. This automobile cost more than $8,000 when new, which sounds cheap nearly 50 years later. And the MSRP sticker comes with the sale.
This Olds looks first-rate, and the only potential issue may be a little oil leaking around the front of the oil pan. If that’s the case, a new gasket should take care of that. The options are many, but don’t seem to include T-Tops, which would have made sense for the Indy connection. If you’re looking for a rare car, could this Olds be it? I know I’ve never seen one of these replicas up close and in person.
What are the odds that in a span of 3 days we’d see TWO Delta 88 Indy 500 Pace cars on here. But, man, what a drastic difference in condition from the one we saw on the 7th. That two tone silver and black is really sharp where they made the paint lines looks really great. Very nice one here. If you’re in the market for one, this one is probably it.
It’s hard to believe that this was the car chosen to pace Indy that year. Besides the Trans Am, nothing really special was going on in the American automotive line up around that time. A special paint job on a grandpa car does not impress me.