For the fourth time in the decade, Oldsmobile was chosen in 1977 to pace the field at the Indianapolis 500. The race edition of the Delta 77 Royale piloted by actor James Garner came with a Targa Top for maximum visibility of the car’s occupants. 2,400 replicas were built for public consumption but without the open roof design. The seller has two of these rare cars, one which is restorable and the other is a parts car. They’re offered in Pennington, New Jersey, and here on craigslist where $2,500 gets you the primary car and $1,000 the donor.
Buyers who wanted to get their hands on the ’77 replica had to order an N37 Delta 88 Royale Coupe with option code W44 and plop down an extra $900 or so. That got the buyer the special silver and black paint job (with red stripes) that the seller’s main can no longer wears. It also included a lighter aluminum hood that covered a 403 cubic inch “Rocket” V8. There were other goodies in the deal, but the bucket seats and console of the actual pace car were not made available in the replicas (bench seat, only).
As the story goes, the mostly solid replica here was stored indoors for about 35 years. It only runs off a gas can, suggesting that the fuel delivery system will need some work (maybe even a new gas tank). We’re told the car was repainted plain silver by a dealer some years ago, camouflaging the paint and graphics that made the car remotely special. The Olds has lots of power accessories and the red velour interior looks nice overall, though it probably needs cleaning. There is no rust to be overcome.
If you thought you needed parts, the seller’s donor car is available, too, though it looks rough and picked over. If you don’t want the engine and transmission, the seller will drop its price by $200. You could pull the exhaust off this one and put it on the other as it has no exhaust. The seller is willing to do a package deal for both cars, which comes to a total of $3,500 at the moment. If you’re hankering to have a 1977 Olds Pace Car replica, together this could be a good start. But as far as replicas go, these Oldsmobiles are not exactly like the real deal from Indy.
Very cool offering for 1977 from the good Dr Olds laboratory. 403ci rocket, four barrel Rochester, 320ft/lb of torque.
Tall 2.56 gear ⚙️ std. But the Dr offered a more lively 3.08, or 3.23 as options.
For the fourth year in a row? Really? How hard is that to fact check? 1974 Hurst/Olds, 1975 Buick Century 455, 1976 Buick Century Turbo, 1977 Oldsmobile Delta 88.
One month on the market at $2,500 shows there is little to no interest. These were good looking cars when new, but that doesn’t seem to count for much today.
Steve R
I once upon a time had a 77 OLDs 88. Mine was also a coupe, one huge difference was under the hood, mine had a CHEVY 350. It was a good car until had to sit outside over a winter and froze up. What should have happened that I did not know or think about was getting someone to dump another 350 in.
Otherwise it was a great car that I put loads of miles on.
An extra $900 for a stripe package. GM knew there was one born every day.
I love the red interior on the 88 and the 403 V8 should provide smooth real world (not oval track) acceleration. However, seeing the parts car paint scheme versus the plain gray featured car and the unique pace car edition appearance is totally obliterated. It is safer to have fuel that doesn’t leak and would be handy to ensure a steady gas flow when passing a semi on a 2 lane road. So we are left with a full sized extinct Oldsmobile that is 38 years old with no graphics or pizzazz to stand out at a car show. Delta 88s were great in their day but this one sat around too long.
Sorry typo. 48 years old.
Once upon a time I had one of these and really liked it and put loads of miles on it. The big difference was under the hood, mine had had a Chevy 350.Great car until I had to let it sit out and froze up. If I would have known at the time I would have found some $$ to have someone dump another 350 in. THE one advertised would be a good project I would like but since it’s in Jersey no can do.