I spotted this 1972 Oldsmobile Delta 88 across the street from a wedding in South Illinois we recently attended. The shade of green is actually what caught my eye—”That’s got ’70s written all over it,” was my exact thought.
It’s always nice to see a little (Pinehurst) green peeking out in the middle of winter, wouldn’t you agree?
That car is in wonderful shape. It won’t stay that way if the owner routinely subjects it to those conditions, though.
I like it, I just wonder what kind of shape it’s in? Driver, yard ornament, grandpa won’t give up his keys or the title but doesn’t drive?
It’s amazing how sleek and graceful this car looks for its enormous size. Especially when compared to the later models with the blocky federally-mandated 5mph bumpers and formal roofline.
For a while during my 1970s kidhood, I wondered if all Oldsmobiles came in this green. Because it sure seemed like it.
Nope, my dad had a ’71 Delta in cinnamon red with white top and interior.
I have the convertible version of this car, currently sidelined with a slipped timing chain. Who ever thought nylon timing gears were a good idea?
“Every 5 minutes in America, a 70’s land yacht is neglected”
Cue sad music.
“They have no one to speak for them”
Insert shot of sad looking Delta 88
“Won’t you help them?”
“Just $50 dollars a day can help provide oil, fuel, trans-X and provide cars like this Delta 88 with a warm garage to call home”
“Donate now, we accept Visa, MasterCard, and Discover. If you act now, you also get this tote bag and T-shirt with I carry a torch for cars that carry vinyl tops slogan”
“Please donate today”
A brougham is a terrible thing to waste.
“Remember, every acre of vinyl, velour, or old-growth Di-Noc we lose…is gone forever.”
Give a hoot…
Shouldn’t we be saving more than just the Pontiacs?
That’s a picture of the late Iron Eyes Cody. Does he have a son? The ideal spokesman for this cause would be somebody with a name like Iron Oxide Cody.
Should we get Sarah McLachlan to do the PSA’s?
Were any 1971-72 Delta 88’s not made in this color? I drive or jog past three 1971-72 Delta 88’s on a regular basis, and all three are in this same shade. Even this period review of a 1971 Delta 88 has a car with the same color:
My mother’s ’72 Cutlass Supreme was this color with an identical vinyl roof.
Mine too!. Green vinyl interior to match the vinyl roof. Mom took it because it was the end of the year, and her preferred color (Baroque Gold) was not available in a car she wanted. Another relative bought a Delta 88 sedan the same Pinehurst Green. In truth, it was one of my least favorite colors that year. I tried like crazy to talk her into the Viking Blue Cutlass Supreme convertible on the showroom floor. White top and interior. Had I been able to tell the future, maybe I would have tried the investment angle.
I have seen that “road test” of the Delta 88 before and I was in shock! What was the point of them thrashing the Delta like it was a race car? That car has no business flying around a race track at high speed…it a a cruiser for a nice trip down the freeway, or maybe towing an airstream.
With even clicking on the link, I know what video it was.
Of course it was none other than our good friend Bud Lindeman from Car & Track. If you dont like to seeing big cars thrashed, dont watch the other videos. On the other hand, if you do enjoy seeing then new land yachts driven within an inch of their lives with Bud Lindemans soothing “Old Gold”(or is Kent) voiceovers, then keep on watching.
For awhile, all of the Car & Track video were up on YouTube – but most of them got taken down. The way they put these beasts through their paces was amazing — I remember the Buick Riviera test featuring an especially brutal/awesome 180-degree turn. 0-60 in 8.8 seconds is very impressive for the big Olds, as is the way it got around the track… obviously a boat but very neutral through the corners and not as much lean as you would expect. The slo-mo shots in these videos really give you a good idea of how crappy tires were back then.
John Davis who?
MotorWeek who?
I don’t think even Jeremy Clarkson is worthy of holding the OG Bud Lindeman’s jock.
There is a site called Testdrivejunkie, that has a bunch of them on there. 70’s vintage Stig from Car & Track was a hell of a driver, anyone that can hold a Buick Centurion in a drift through a turn with the rear wheels smoking gets my vote.
The most amusing (and abusing) Bud Lindeman video I saw on You Tube of this series was the ’71 Chrysler New Yorker road test. Seems the customer base wanted a smoother ride, so it appears Mopar engineers dialed back the firmness on the spring rates for the ’71 car. The understeer tells the story. Alarming to my preservationist eyes are the high speed brake tests. Lock ’em Jack!!! Much noise, slide and smoke accompanied by severe rear axle hop. No, a 1971 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham is not a car to flog around a road course like a BMW!!
Grasshopper Green is what dad called his 72 Ambassador Brougham 2 door…With matching Green Vinyl…Nice Car. our first with AC , IIRC.But he was convinced it blended with the trees.other drivers cant see you till you pull out. Dad Thought that made Green as Bad as Red or yellow for a color choice for what opposite reasons. he chose blue later in life.
That Color gave way to more Olive greens from sea foam as far as the popular hues offering color it seems .
Grasshopper Green is what AMC actually called the color themselves:
http://www.tcpglobal.com/aclchip.aspx?image=1972-americanmotors-pg01.jpg
Judging by the plates, that car hasn’t been driven since at least 2001, when Illinois did its last reissue.
That house looks less than lived in, as well. All things considered, this Olds is in pretty good shape.
As a kid I paid no attention to Oldsmobiles apart from 442s.In my ignorance we thought they were old peoples cars.There were some nice lookers that I never noticed,thanks for opening my eyes
If the Olds has as much deferred maintenance as the house . . .
While I wouldn’t refuse one of these if it were offered to me, if I had a choice I would always take the sleeker looking LeSabre. The Olds fender bulges give it a more porky and ponderous look.
All these years later it has become so obvious that this car has utterly absurd proportions.
Its also interesting to note that this type of vehicle also coincided with the complete irrelevance of USA designed cars to markets outside North America.
Oh yes – The Centurion came in this same combo as well with deep green “leatherette” interior. It was my absolute favorite in 71-72.
@Carmine, That Guy: Yer killin’ me…. just killin’ me.
Seriously, coming from an Olds family from the 60s, and having happily owned personally a (factory) burnt ochre/burnt ochre (ie., orange/orange) 74 Delta 88 Brougham sedan (400/400), I regret seeing this old fella expiring in a side yard. These were very good, strong, reliable cars for the time and purpose.
/I really like the Arts-and-Crafts bungalow it’s beside- the Harvey Ellis arch on the verandah is flawless.
I don’t know why, but I have always liked this version of the Delta, def. one of my favorites.
And hey, if you’re going to have an early 70’s land yacht, you might as well have it in 1970’s green!
The body is in amazing shape. It must have lived inside most of its life since the body hasn’t rusted below the rear window. The channel surrounding the rear glass has no drain holes so water collects under the chrome molding. By the time you see rust, it’s too late. It probably has low miles too since it still has quarter panels.
Love the car: love the color. it’s a Royale too so it will have nicer interior.
The rust creates drain holes — right into the trunk.
If this car does indeed sit outside, stripping the vinyl roof covering and painting it instead would go a long way towards ensuring this car’s future survival.
It kills me seeing nice older cars sitting out in the weather IN FRONT OF A GARAGE! Maybe they have a couple of fine cars in that garage, but I’d bet it’s just full of junk and clutter. But then again, if all the survivors were kept inside, there wouldn’t be any classics at the curbside.
Nah, that’s where they keep the corpses. The Oldsmobile’s big trunk comes in very handy for murdering people.
I seem to recall the convertible in the film used cars being an equally interesting brown ;o)
There was a Delta 88 in Used Cars? I remember Kurt Russells brown Buick Centurion convertible, but not a Delta, though there are tons of cars in the movie so I could have missed it.
NOTHING says “1970s” like that green! Green was everywhere – Impalas, Chevelles, Camaros…and these.
Incidentally, for some odd reason, the 1972 Impala was one of my favorites. Perhaps in looking at the Olds, the proportions worked even though they were huge gas hogs and my love moved downward to Chevelles and smaller.
Had a 69 Delta 88 same color – 455 2bbl. It had a gas pedal that must have been the same size as a GM bus – huge. And I floored that pedal as often as I could as the big 455 would really howl…..
Held together well though, had over 90K miles when I bought it and only problem I had in two years of ownership was replacing the water pump…..
For an Illinois car and one that now has sat outside for over 11 years, it’s pretty straight. It doesn’t matter if these cars were “relevant” outside of the U.S. or Canada. These cars were made for North Americans to drive on big, wide open roads. There is nothing better than a big, full size cruiser for a full-on coast-to-coast road trip (although I’ve done such trips by myself in a 1980 Toyota Tercel and an ’83 Dodge D-150 with slant six . . . both with no air . . . both in the summer!)
In other CC posts, I mention my Dad’s ’71 Olds Custom Cruiser which he had from October, 1971 until trade in time on a ’79 GMC High Sierra in Novembere, 1978. The mass of the car was sluggish off the line, but once going, it was an “Oldsmobile Rocket” as it had the four barrel 455. Kick in the secondaries and watch the gas gauge wiggle and drop oh-so-slightly. 7-14 mpg!!!