One owner, everything works as it should, and original paint, mostly intact. The description makes this 1975 Oldsmobile Delta 88 convertible sound pretty good, doesn’t it! It’s located in Knoxville, Tennessee and is up for sale here on eBay, where the opening bid is $600 without a reserve.
The clear implication in the ad is that this is the original owner pictured with his car. He looks pretty happy, doesn’t he? The car looks pretty clean, although not pristine by any means. As the ad says, “no high dollar wax jobs here.” One other thing noticeable in this shot is that I’ve never seen wheels like this before. They look like a factory optional wheel, though, and after googling, I found a set on a 1971 Delta 88, so perhaps they were fitted to other years and added to this car.
The damage to the right front fender looks like the worst part of the car from a body point of view. The seller states “ZERO cancer rust in the body, period.” I hope that just means no rust at all. They also mention a new $400 top, which looks pretty nice as far as I can tell, and the ad says the top operates properly.
While the interior isn’t that bad, the seller does mention three tears. Given how nice the rest of the car is, I’d try to get those repaired as sympathetically as possible. And yes, I’d replace that steering wheel cover. I remember installing those on my parents’ cars when I was in high school. With everything else working and 56,784 miles, who knows, maybe the steering wheel rim is in nice shape under that cover.
Nothing out of the ordinary here, a 350/Turbo 350 combination with working air conditioning, and that’s just fine with me! I wouldn’t be trying to set any speed records with this car anyway, and the small V8 is just fine with me. I can’t see this staying low, but if it does, I might just have to make a trip to Tennessee! Tell me why or why not!
That’s a great car. Very desirable these days. 10 years ago you couldn’t give these away. I’m sure it will sell for 7-10 grand.
Dad owned one of these when I was growing up. It was ratty even in the 90’s but ran good. The holes in the top were no problem since it was a California car and never saw rain. He’d drive it from the coast out to the desert to work. I think the idea was that a huge car might do better hitting one of the random cows on the highway. They tended to congregate on the road at night where the asphalt was still warm.
Only thing it ever hit was a poor little bat, which was stuffed perfectly into one of the grill squares and was a perfectly shaped fuzzy cube when we finally noticed and extracted it.
I believe he sold “Ruby” to some guy who got free diesel through his employer and who was intending to put a diesel engine in it so he could cruise on their dime. Amusing plan I think. Wonder if it ever happened.
That big ratty land barge was my introduction, and the start of my love of convertibles.
Could be wrong – I read the ad as it would need a new canvas top that he estimates the cost at ‘around $400’ – not enough pics to discern.
Nice car but not at the suggested $7K bid .
Capt Doug, that’s what I thought at first too, until I looked at the pictures and thought the top looked nice. But you may well be right!
Wheels are really rare.
I remember these coming into the dealership right off the transport trailer from the factory.. Everyone in the shop would sit in it for that “new car smell”.. Crazy mechanics.. The convertibles seemed to have a unique fragrance all their own..
They were big, but the Olds 98 was bigger..
Nice find.. I know a lot about these cars.. Worth the money..
I had a ’73 with the 350 2 barrel. The trans was a TH375, which I had never heard of (number has something to do with the length of the transmission housing?) but it shifted like silk. It was a great car. This probably is too. All things being equal I would seek out a 71/72 model for more power and to not deal with emissions equipment.
I wouldn’t pay $7k for this, remember the $3800 brown Granville from a few weeks ago?
Love the car, love the color. But if seriously considering purchasing this car, keep in mind it has the dreaded “scissor” folding top frame as discussed recently. They’re ok if they work, and a disaster if they don’t. Test the top up and top down function over and over before buying. Be sure and keep all the pivots on the folding frame well lubricated. Other than that, get the paint on the fender re-done and blended, put the top down, drive and enjoy.
His $7k suggested price includes free shipping so it can clearly be bought for less. I’m not a fan of these land yachts – I sold them in the late 60’s and early 70’s – I prefer greater road feel than these offered but this does seem like a good one.
He mentions everything is for sale. Can anyone tell me how to “see” his other ads?
Every since a friend in high school drove a 73 delta 88 convertible with the 455 I have like these cars. His was blue with white top and white interior. Dad bought it new. This one looks ok. Maybe the low miles add more value to this than I realized because the price seems a couple grand high.
Hi Peter R, he only has one other listed that I can see. Either click his user name or “see other items” in the upper right of the Ebay ad.
I had a ratty ’75 Caprice Classic back in ’95. When I went to sell it the phone was on fire. I was practically interviewing people. Ended up cutting a nice deal with a good guy who still owns it to this day.
These wheels are nice looking, but heavy as they’re polycast. Wanted a set of these or the 77-78 Custom Chrome rim for my ’76 98 but I ended up selling it.
Had a75 back in 82 paid 300 for it in the winter had a bad head gasket but drove it home they had been driving it just kept putting coolant in it. I swapped the motor out with a good running 350 . They were real dogs it would have been better I am sure with a 455 . end up doing body work with a friend that summer he was a good body man did nice work. Car looked great red with white int and top. End up trading it in on a 88 gmc pickup and didn’t get much for it. That car was like riding on a cloud