This well-preserved two-door 1980 Oldsmobile Delta 88 would be a head-turner regardless of what was under the hood, but the hood ornament and decklid badge reveal that it’s a rare survivor with the ill-starred 350-cid Olds diesel V-8 — an underpowered but economical engine that offered 600+ mile range, but whose much-publicized problems led to a 1980 FTC complaint against General Motors.
1980 was a terrible year to buy a car in the United States. Wages were stagnant, and gas prices, inflation, and car loan interest rates were all through the roof. Big cars like the Oldsmobile 88 and 98 were hit hard: Full-size Oldsmobile sales tumbled almost 43 percent from 1979.
In that climate, a car like this diesel Delta 88 coupe seemed to make a lot of sense. The $6,716 base price of a Royale coupe was in the same realm as the fancier Cutlass models, but the Delta 88 was significantly roomier inside.
Royale trim gave you a “custom sport bench” seat with velour upholstery and a fold-down front center armrest — reasonable plushness for a reasonable price.
Even in coupe form, the Delta 88 had more space in back than a midsize car.
With the optional Super Sport III wheels, the Delta 88 coupe even looked a bit sporty, which wasn’t something all full-size cars of this era could claim.
Paying an extra $960 for the optional LF9 5.7-liter diesel V-8 wasn’t going to give you sporty performance — the diesel had only 105 net horsepower, and this was still a 3,800+ lb car with a 2.41 axle ratio. On the other hand, the most powerful engine you could order in a 1980 Oldsmobile had only 160 hp, and the standard engine in the Delta 88 was the 3.8-liter Buick V-6, which had only 5 more horsepower than the diesel and returned about 4 mpg less on the EPA city cycle. With the diesel, the Delta 88 could conceivably top 30 mpg on the highway, impressive for a full-size car. None of the available gasoline engines could even come close.
Oldsmobile also claimed that engine refinements for 1980 had “now hushed the V8 diesel to a point where you may scarcely realize you’re cruising along in a diesel at all.” So, while it might not have been fast, it promised to be reasonably painless, and with a 26 mpg EPA combined rating and a 27-gallon fuel tank, a full-sized diesel Olds had the potential to be a premier road trip car. In all, 65,332 buyers ordered this engine in B- or C-body Oldsmobiles in the 1980 model year, about 27.3 percent of production. Oldsmobile also supplied this engine to other divisions, so total GM diesel production in 1980 was almost 200,000 units.
Unfortunately, a lot of those buyers found that the LF9 engine was not nearly as painless as advertised. After it debuted in 1978, this engine had suffered a whole rash of problems, including premature piston-pin and crankshaft failures. Oldsmobile claimed those issues were addressed early on, but the diesel engine’s fuel system remained a serious weak point.
Part of the problem was that contemporary U.S. diesel fuel was often of poor quality, and the fuel shortages in 1979 meant that distributors were literally scraping the bottom of the barrel (or the tanker), making bad fuel even worse. The fuel quality issues affected all diesel passenger cars, but Popular Science engineering editor E.F. Lindsley, a diesel expert, warned that the fuel system of the Oldsmobile LF9 engine was particularly poorly equipped to filter out excess wax or water buildup in the fuel. More than a gallon or two of accumulated water in the tank could have potentially catastrophic consequences. As Lindsley explained in an August 1981 PS feature:
What happens when bad fuel isn’t properly filtered? In a typical scenario, accumulated water goes from the tank into the injection pump. Perhaps the fuel is old and gummy. Maybe the owner doesn’t drive for a day or two or the car sits in an airport lot. In any case, governor, fuel-metering parts, and pumping plungers stick or corrode. Later some of these parts hang up, perhaps only for seconds, but during that time too much fuel is injected and at the wrong time. For a brief moment peak combustion pressures overcome the head-bolt tension or break down the head gasket.
The owner may sense nothing but a momentary shudder or stumble and a cloud of black smoke, but a cascade effect is now at work. The damaged head gasket lets cooling water seep in above the piston. Being a diesel, the clearance between piston crown and cylinder head is close, and the incompressible water won’t budge when the piston crosses top center. Something must give—perhaps the piston, perhaps the connecting rod, perhaps a crankpin yields in a hairline crack. Continued running makes ultimate engine destruction inevitable.
By the summer of 1979, Oldsmobile determined that the principal failure point for engines suffering water contamination was the retainer ring of the injection pump’s governor weight. Beginning in July 1980, towards the end of the 1980 model year, GM introduced a special extended 5-year/50,000-mile warranty for this retainer ring, and offered to reimburse owners for earlier water contamination failure repairs, which could cost $300 to $500. However, not all owners received the notification, and those who did were given only about 90 days to send in their reimbursement claims.
Soon, disgruntled diesel owners were filing lawsuits against GM. On August 8, 1980, the Federal Trade Commission also filed a formal complaint, charging GM with failing to notify customers of known potential defects in the fuel injection system of the LF9 diesel engine. (This wasn’t the only powertrain issue covered by the complaint — it also cited problems with the TH200 automatic transmission and premature camshaft wear in 1975–1980 Chevrolet 305 and 350 V-8s.) GM tried to shunt disgruntled customers into third-party arbitration, but that program was only available in certain areas, there were significant restrictions, and owners were suspicious of it.
At first, this didn’t hurt diesel sales. Installations of the Olds diesel V-8 engine peaked at 331,025 in the 1981 model year (with 172,350 of those going into Oldsmobile cars). The 1981 version of the LF9 also had some important improvements, like a sensor that detected and warned of excessive water in the fuel tank (which then had to be removed by a mechanic or dealer). GM offered to retrofit this water detection system to older engines for $50.
Publications like Consumer Guide now warned people to stay away from the Oldsmobile diesel V-8 because of its poor service record. Resale values took a hit as well. Oldsmobile still claimed that the “traditionally high” resale value of diesel cars made it easy to recover the hefty cost of the option, but as U.S. diesel fuel prices rose in the early ’80s, Americans’ interest in diesel cars quickly dried up. Installations of the 5.7-liter diesel V-8 sank to 156,261 for 1982 and 43,945 for the 1983 model year.
Consumer groups really wanted the FTC to force General Motors to compensate all diesel V-8 buyers for repairs to the LF9 engine’s fuel pump and fuel injectors, but GM strenuously refused to do any such thing. Finally, in 1983, the FTC proposed to settle its complaint with a consent agreement that would require GM to set up a national third-party arbitration program for owners with unresolved complaints about their diesel vehicles. The arbitration rules were more generous for owners than GM’s previous voluntary program — the arbitration was only semi-binding, so an owner who didn’t like the arbiter’s ruling could still file a civil lawsuit — but the program still required owners to prove on a case-by-case basis that their engines were defective.
Groups like Consumers Union and the Center for Auto Safety were aghast at the consent agreement’s arbitration provisions, which FTC Commissioner Patricia P. Bailey freely admitted were an “experiment” to see if similar arbitration agreements might be workable for future complaints. Commissioner Michael Pertschuk, who voted against the consent agreement, summed up the outraged comments the FTC received about the settlement like this:
The comments from consumers and consumer groups across the country provide eloquent testimony that case-by-case arbitration, in place of automatic redress to injured consumers, is a bitterly unpopular as well as unfair feature of this settlement. Consumer fury and frustration over the felt injustice of this burdensome remedy explodes from the letters. … Over 70% of them are opposed to the arbitration agreement, which they view as a repudiation of their right to automatic redress (only 14% favor it, while a like percent take no clear position). Moreover, many despair that they will ever recover their losses under this deal, since they feel individual arbitration with an adversary like GM could never be a fair fight.
The public response to the consent agreement was SO negative that several of the commissioners who voted in favor of the agreement issued separate statements explaining why they supported it. Patricia Bailey admitted the agreement “is not perfect,” but contended that it was “immediate, fair, and certain.” Commissioner George W. Douglas noted that since GM had flatly refused to accept any settlement that called for direct compensation for owners, the only way the FTC could force them to do that would be to fight it out in court, which could easily drag on into the 1990s. Douglas said the FTC team “concluded that it had gotten as much as it could from GM and thus recommended against further negotiation — for fear of losing what it had already gained — and against litigation — because of the years of delay and uncertain outcome.”
By the time the LF9 diesel V-8 was dropped in 1985 (having been installed in only 2,183 cars for its final model year), a lot of owners had taken a bath on it. If you suffered expensive repairs that GM refused to cover under warranty, going to arbitration might get you partial reimbursement, but Consumer Reports warned that full refunds were fairly rare. Even if you didn’t have any major problems, a car with the diesel V-8 was now worth $750 to $1,000 less than a similar car with a gasoline engine. That obviously hasn’t helped the survival rates of cars like this Delta 88 Royale, although it’s about as clean a 1980 B-body as you’re likely to find.
It’s not hard to understand why some Oldsmobile buyers were tempted by this package. Talking to Popular Science in 1981, Oldsmobile chief engineer Frank Ball conceded that the diesel V-8 was “not a direct replacement for a gasoline engine,” but noted, “If you’re willing to put up with its idiosyncrasies, then you’ll get 25 to 30 percent better economy out of it.”
However, there are good reasons why the diesel engine was notorious, and collectors still aren’t lining up. After buying this car for $6,900 in 2022, the owner tried to flip it at Mecum Dallas in September 2023, but the bidding stalled out at only $7,000.
Related Reading
Automotive History: 1978 Oldsmobile 5.7L Diesel V8 – GM’s Deadly Sin #34 – Premature Injeculation (by Paul N)
Vintage R&T Reviews: 1978 Oldsmobile 88 and 98 Diesels – A Decent Start, But Some Questions (by Paul N)
Curbside Classic: 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Diesel – In Defense of the Olds 350 Diesel V8 (by BigOldChryslers)
1985 Cadillac De Ville 4.3 V-6 Diesel: The Most Underpowered Cadillac Since Before WW2 (by me)
For the want of an inline water filter, General Motors lost another battle,
The Perkins 354 and M-B OM352 were about 120 BHP and reliable little truck engines – for reference. Probably too tall to fit the engine bay.
That interior looks very plush – for a 1960s Vauxhall.
I had one. Loved it until it blew up, 3 times. GM wouldn’t stand behind it for repairs . Changed the oil every 2000 religiously. Finely basically gave it away.
Wow, that green interior is something! I like it, but I can’t imagine many ordered it.
Also, that 88 seems to be standing on its tippy toes; a set of new springs must have been installed. I hate new springs for that reason: too often, you end up with a ride height that’s in the clouds. I remember having to cut a half-coil from the new front springs in my Mustang, and replacing coil springs is enough of a drag without having to do it two or three times as you sneak up on the right amount of coil cutting.
GM in that era was also still very keen on their “computer-selected” coils, where there could be a whole bunch of different coil spring lengths for a given car depending on the specific powertrain and combination of optional equipment. Easy enough for them to do, probably very difficult to match precisely with aftermarket replacements.
It appears there’s enough ground clearance on this car to change the oil without using jack stands or ramps.
The badges on the rear were taken off and replaced incorrectly. The OLDSMOBILE and DIESEL badge go together on the right side, to read as a single phrase, and moved up an inch or so
Ahh, good catch, I didn’t know that.
The factory often didn’t do a perfect job on those badges. They were apparently installed separately and sometimes slightly misaligned or misspaced. It always bothered me to see “Oldsmobile Diesel” not quite lined up.
When I had cars repainted, I took photos and measurements, removed the adhesive badges and reinstalled them myself. I guess I’m picky about those things! Besides, painters often ruin the flexible plastic badges on Chryslers and throw them away.
They forgot to tell us the 600+ mile range was due to end of life of the crankshaft!
I worked with a guy who had an ’80 Delta 88 diesel and was very happy with it after he installed a water separator. He then bought an ’81 for his wife and it was nothing but problems up to and including the crankshaft and flywheel separating so Olds claim that crankshaft failures were solved early on is false. It sounds like a torsional vibration problem.
It may have been a matter of similar failures with different causes. Olds engineer Frank Ball admitted that they had crankshaft failures on early engines due to casting porosity problem, which was a manufacturing issue. However, crankshafts can also fail for other reasons, including the water contamination combustion overpressure issue E.F. Lindsley described.
Yes very likely true but it also shows just how marginal this engine was. My guess is GM was pushing anything that would improve fuel operating costs. The Olds diesel and the Cadillac V8-6-4 were both greenlit without sufficient development testing is my guess.
One uncle, an oil company retiree, bought himself a very expensive Seville diesel. Living in El Paso, he bought a tank of Pemex diesel in Juarez. If US fuel was low quality, Mexican was worse. At least the car stopped running soon enough so no damage was done. Dealer refused to clean up the fuel system under warranty. Never had a problem after that, buying branded fuel from his former employer, CalTex (Chevron-Texaco).
I still have one of these diesel Oldsmobiles, an ’82 still on it’s original engine at 230K. One of my best car bargains as I paid $200 for it in 2001. Over the years I had quite a few of them and still have a huge stash of parts.
I have to wonder if the Olds diesel fiasco wasn’t the beginning of the end for Oldsmobile, between the diesel problems and the slowly losing of identity. My parents had bought a brand new 1989 Delta 88 and I remember in the early 90’s my mother getting a letter from GM/Oldsmobile stating that despite recent rumors that Oldsmobile was not going anywhere.
I bought a 1978 Delta 88 Royale from the local dealer in Newport News VA. It had one size up tires, I had wanted the F41 (handling package) but it didn’t have it. I ordered the sway bars and the rear trailing arm reinforcements also. The car ran rather sluggishly and was only getting around 15 mpg in town, loads of black smoke on acceleration. I had been trained as a diesel mechanic during my time in the Marines, so I suspected the pump timing was off, I even bought a Diesel timing light adapter, but it was erratic. I finally found some good information on the Roosamaster pump’s internal timing marks so was able to determine that the factory mark was off. Two months later the dealer’s service manager called me and said I was dead on, there was a service note that a batch of the Diesels had mismarked pump adapters. 22 or better in town MPG and 31 on the highway. After I installed a set of Koni shocks, the car could take an on or off ramp at double the posted “safe speed”. My sone was a year old when I bought the car, he was driving it when a drunk turned in font of him at a majr intersection.
The earlier 120 hp version (prior to 1980) was not insignificantly quicker; I want to say some 4 seconds or so quicker 0-60. I would not actually call it “underpowered”. The Europeans were especially impressed by it. But emission changes to the 1980 105 hp version really took the edge off it.
I still wonder how all this would have played out had GM put a water separator on it and not rushed it into production otherwise. And then added a turbo to it, like MB did to their 3L five. Would the whole diesel boom have lasted much longer?
The best thing about the Olds diesel was that pulling it left room for the Olds 455. I had an 81 Buick Estate Wagon and when the diesel died that’s what I did. It was a perfect sleeper.
In our taxi company, we had many Oldsmobile diesels come along. Every single one had a bad engine. We’d swap out the diesel for a common or garden variety 307 and voila, a cheap taxi.
I was a taxi driver before UBER ruined it, I remember these cars vividly! It was a shame that I he General couldn’t cure the ills and hat plagued these vehicles! I wish diesel had caught on bet so many of the engines grenaded that it never had a chance!
Not all Oldsmobile diesel engines failed.
My Dad bought a Cadillac Eldorado Diesel in 1979, and on the recommendation of a diesel mechanic, installed a water separator immediately. It was a miniature version of what equipped big diesel trucks, and mounted neatly on the firewall. If pushed, that might have violated GM’s warranty but between that and twice more-frequent-than-normal changes of the $50 stock fuel filter, the engine still ran well at 90,000 miles in 1994. The rest of the car actually held up worse. The extra-cost Firemist paint flaked off…in one spot, in the shape of a man’s hand, where obviously one of the United Auto Workers less meticulous members put his palm on the middle of the decklid. The fabric headliner separated from its backing and was held up with staples. The vinyl roof shrank out from under the crown molding on the roof; a piece of aluminum roof flashing covered the gap and actually looked pretty good.
In 1994 at age fifteen, the Eldorado Diesel was traded toward a used Ford Taurus station wagon. It ran locally for several years more at least, recognizable not only by its rarity but by its by-then plain grey primer after the Firemist paint was all gone.
In early 1985, one of the custodians at my law school bought a used one, probably an 81 or 82.. She said she got a better deal because of the diesel, and toldmethatwastheonlywayshecouldafforda car that nice. She was a nice lady, and I have wondered many times how it worked out for her.
I still think the 1980 restyle of the 88 was a botch of the clean (if undistinguished) 1977-79 version.
I, too, like the looks of the 1979 better. This guy certainly seems to be enjoying his! 🙂
I don’t particularly like the styling of these but being most accustomed to them as beige on brown 4 doors with the later amber/red taillights that were quite common during my childhood this green on white coupe with the earlier all red taillights is much much more attractive, especially with the super stock wheels. That velour interior looks so cozy too!
I bought a 1980 Bonneville Brougham Diesel coupe for $250 years ago. The head gaskets were bad and the owner told me that it would over heat quickly. I wanted it for the honey comb rims but had a 13 mile drive home. I called a mechanic friend who told me to loosen the radiator cap! I did and the temp gauge never moved past the normal point.
I owned it long enough to have the wheels changed over and that was it. A man saw it sitting on my driveway and offered me $750!
Bye Felicia!
I bought a new one in 1982. My first new car. It was possibly the worst car GM ever made. Besides the engine blowing up, there were electrical issues and even the paint peeled. I sold it for pennies on the dollar after two horrible years.
Pretty cool you wrote about my dad’s “Kermit” car. He loved these cars. He had two. One was giving to me to drive in high school, a white 1982. I had it floored everywhere I went, learned to power slide on gravel and jumped many intersections. I was a somewhat wild kid, so smart he put me in this diesel. It went nowhere fast, but given enough room got rolling pretty good. I defiantly could have been nicer to it.
After the white one he found this green one that was in almost perfect shape when he got it. It had a very minor paint blemish in the right rear panel and it bothered him. So he had the entire car repainted and the shop did a very good job. We considered keeping it, but the green never was easy on my eyes. Dad took a big trip out to California in this green car with mom. But it mostly sat covered in his shop for years until he sold it. A few times a year he took it to church and out for a weekend drive. We took turns driving it before the sale. Good memories.