Got air conditioning problems with your Olds Delta 88 convertible? If it’s in Tulsa, OK, you take it to R.L. Fix.
It was air conditioning more than anything else that “killed” convertibles, and this ’75 Delta 88 Royale was the last year it was made. It looks like this one is in the beginning stages of being renovated. Got to have working A/C, in this day and age.
I suppose Mr. Fix only had a few career choices, fix it man or drug pusher.
Good that he listened to Nancy Reagan.
I suspect that Mr. Fix-It is a bit older than that 80’s vintage campaign…
Working a/c is not going to do much until he gets that back window replaced. I missed some shots a week or two ago of a really nice 88 convertible at a store parking lot. I am starting to see more of these out driving than I have in a long time.
Agree with John C – someone named Fix just had to open a repair shop.
There may be a reason for that increased visibility of these era cars. 2 reasons. 1. I suspect these are finally turning the corner from “old cars” to “classics” in away the next generation hasn’t. 2. When I was looking for one from this era, I noticed that the big Caddies and Lincolns were heinously overpriced in many cases. I’d been trying to find a powder blue ’75-’76 Sedan DeVille or ’75-’77 Continental. There was junk for $2K and the nice but not perfect stuff they wanted $8K or far more than that for. Like it was a Stingray or something, and the ads were always full of false bs information to try to up the price (No, sir, that’s a regular Fleetwood Brougham with cloth upholstery not a ‘Talisman’….)
With a few exceptions, the Electras, 98s, and Marquis, even if loaded, go for far less, and nobody tries to pass them off as super rare. Eldo vs 88/LeSabre verts, same deal.
JP ;
It turns out you’re dead wrong ~ one of the very best things my then young Son taught me was that you _CAN_ run the AC in a Rag Top with the top flopped ~ it works a treat and doesn’t beat up the AC at all .
This being a GM product , I imagine even more so as IMO , NO one does AC like The General .
-Nate
+1 I actually enjoy A/C more that way, I have it on with the windows open when driving. It’s that exact feeling you get when opening up the doors of an air conditioned building on a hot summer day where you get that whoosh of dry cold air but are still plenty warm. I almost never drive with A/C on with the car sealed up, I hate being cold.
My dad’s best friend had a 1965 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88(one of the Miss America Pageant cars, white with red interior). It had air conditioning that would cool the car with the top down in hot weather and heater that would keep you toasty in cold weather. The only thing the top was actually needed for was to keep out rain or snow. He traded in his year old 1964 Impala convertible on the Old’s. It was the same way on the Impala.
I like the night shots. Google says the shop is right on Rte 66. A/C isn’t a necessity in Tulsa in December, but it will certainly be a priority in 6 months.
Here’s that car’s twin in seemingly better condition in Mineola (Long Island), New York, although I suspect it may not be a driver. Still, its rear window is intact.
Back end (tough lighting conditions):
Baby blue must have been the most popular color on all of these 1975 last non-Cadillac convertibles!
2014 Woodward Dream Cruise
Let’s hope he can live up to his name!
Beautiful photography.
Same color as my ’75 98…horizon blue.
LOL! I used to work there! Yes, friends…the founder was actually named R. L. Fix. He died about fifteen years ago at around 80 years of age. Before he died he sold the business to his long time employee Craig. The building used to be a grocery store/pharmacy but has been an auto repair garage for around 40 years if I remember correctly. Craig is an ace mechanic and loves vintage iron. You will often see many vintage cars parked in front of his garage. My favorite is the ’55 Studebaker President Speedster in tri tone pink black and white
Semi-OT: A Flickrite who gets a LOT of good car pix:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/patrickjoust/
He’s mainly ‘urban decay’, but I’d say 20% of his shots are CC-worthy cars. He knows how to pick them and how to shoot them.
R. L. Fix. The name is perfect. Let’s hope this 88 receives all the treatment the name implies!