My Dad was a Greyhound bus driver and a trained mechanic. He had a 1982 98 with the diesel. He loved it and me and my brother would use it when we had a long road trip to say on fuel. It had the factory built in CB radio which made road trips really fun. No better entertainment than listening to the truckers. The seats were the most comfortable I have ever sat in a car.
I was a metal fitter on the 88/98 line at Lansing Car Assembly back in the 80s. Those cars were beautiful with a very solid record for quality! We sold them just as fast as we could build them!
My Dad bought a new 1983 Ninety Eight Regency Brougham in September of 1983. It drove so smooth and was so nice. I cried when he traded it in on a 1986 Taurus station wagon lol
@Scott Wagner it only had 30 000 miles on it royal blue with the padded top. That Taurus was bright red and had that cheap looking plastic interior. I learned how to drive in that wagon lol
Hello Adam, I am a big fan of this generation of the Oldsmobile 98 Regency. It's upright design with it's vertical taillights makes it look very tall, a skyscaper on wheels, if you will!!! Thanks for sharing this exciting video!!! 👍👍🙂
@@twoeightythreez I had this exact white car. Those vertical tail lights had all the other GM divisions salivating with envy, for none of them came close to that classy look of the Olds vertical tail light.
Hi Chris. I have a 83 98 Regency Brougham. It’s all original and I’ve won two trophy’s and a ribbon at car shows. Not bad for what they call a grocery getter. With groceries costing what they do now, it’s a high end grocery getter. 😂
Got a 84 98 right now. It drives great just her re spray and new vinyl roof put on. 307 is a little more peppy with the pollution pump disconnected and cat removal. Has a complete dual exhaust. Really enjoying driving her.
The cornering light to me was a detail of luxury. Was nice to see one of these machines at night signal to make a turn. It was a nice safety feature but GM managed to make it into a feature of elegance. Even Ford did the same thing with the Lincoln. It is a feature I simply love.
It’s a feature that should come back. Either that, or something like the Citroën DS and SM, which had lights that turned with the steering wheel, and self leveled depending on whether the front-end was pointing upwards or downwards.
@@stoneylonesome4062 Cornering light were available up to the late 2000s if I'm not mistaken. The last Cadillac Devilles, Cadillac DTS, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car came with that feature. Although turn signals mounted on the side mirrors have replaced cornering lamps they don't have the same classy effect as they became mainstream in lower priced vehicles while cornering lamps were never available in those segments
@@engineer_alv the late V8 DTS is a car I love. It owes a lot to a favorite large FWD car of mine: the Toronado. The cornering lamp as GM began using it had the best touch of elegance and functionality.
I have a “cornering light fetish”. Love them! I have had two cars that had them. 1985 Continental Mk VII LSC and my current daily driver, 2018 Buick Regal TourX.
@@wmalden I recall W body Regals and the later Park Avenues using cornering lights but I never thought the last Regals from a couple years ago also had that feature. Nice and refreshing in this day and age
Our family had the Pontiac near-equivalent -- the 2 door Bonneville Brougham -- with the 307 Olds V8. We absolutely loved it. [And today I learned (or re-remembered) that the 98 was C-platform and Bonneville and 88 were B-platform].
@@BrownsFaninIowa The Bonneville Brougham was top of the line for Pontiac, but still a notch below the 98 and Buick Electra. A smaller and cheaper car, simply put.
A-ha! Now I get it (after a little searching). The distinction is C platform (98, etc.) vs B platform (88, Bonneville, etc.). Man, 40 years ago was a LONG time ago. The car nerd things I knew then that I've since long forgotten... Still, was an awesome car. At least according to my feeble memories from 40 years ago.
@@BrownsFaninIowa Well, there you go! Those cars were terrific. I remember them very well, but my preference was always the 98 and Electra, because they were a little larger and fancier. Had both, and both were stolen.
When you say "acres of fake plastic wood" or "acres and acres of wood", well, that joke never gets old for me! Also, I'd like to point out that your passion for classic American cars, your knowledge and your soothing voice makes the greatest possible unintentional(?) car ASMR content.
I don't get the level of hate for the fake wood. I think if it's well done, it's nice to look at. Of course it's not real wood, that wouldn't even be practical in anything past the early 1900s. That being said, I do get the hate of car companies cheaping out on stuff, and he does have a nice speaking voice. I'm less into these old American sedans than I thought thanks to seeing the level of interest that can exist for them, but I still listen because he makes it a pleasant experience. I'm a car guy and I watch a lot of videos. It's a nice gentlemanly contrast to the younger guys "what's up RU-vid" and their friggin editing and music.
I have a thing for all that fake wood on the 1984 Buick Riviera. It seems the entire dash was fake wood. And the doors had fake wood with integral molded speaker grills. I just love 1980s GM cars! I can’t think of a single brand new car for sale today that I lust over. That’s why I drive a 30 year old Cadillac! Come to think of it, I think the wood on the dash of my 1994 Eldorado is real! Is that possible?
@@jdslyman I bought it in 2018 with 24,000 miles on it. Today it has almost 49,000 miles on it. Yes, you are right. It’s a fine car. Drives down the highway straight and true with no vibrations. I love the magnetic ride control. It runs flawlessly. I did the test for exhaust gas leakage into the coolant when I first got the car and it tested perfect. No trace of any exhaust leaking into the coolant. Several months ago I had both shift solenoids in the transmission replaced with an improved design that doesn’t fail prematurely like the ones from the factory that did fail on me! I limped home with only second gear and reverse. It’s my daily driver, but I don’t drive it hard, if that matters at all. Approximately when should I expect the head gaskets to blow? Just the other day I was looking into this guy from Limerick Pennsylvania. Jim Adair. He claims to have repaired over 1,000 Northstar engines over the years. He charges a flat $2,650 for his service. He removes the engine, replaces the head gaskets and installs head bolts that don’t pull out of the block like the originals. He replaces several other gaskets and some other stuff and reinstalls the engine. I’m on the fence as to what to do. Sell it soon before it fails. Drive it till it blows and repair it. Drive it till it blows and junk it. I’m left scratching my head…
@@CH67guy1 Yes, it is. All of the Sevilles, DeVilles and Eldorados of the 1990s and 2000s are real wood. As a Cadillac tech, I accidentally broke the trim plate around the shifter of a 1998 Seville STS once and that was when I realized it was all real. It's not cheap to replace either, so be careful with it!
@@CH67guy1 Yes , that transmission repair was common on pre-1996 4T80-E transmissions. The TCC filter in the lower valvebody would pop out and put a side load on one of the shift solenoids, causing the solenoid to break. There was a kit that came with two new solenoids, a new TCC filter, and a bracket to install over the filter to retain it so it would not push on the solenoid. It also came with a longer bolt to accommodate the bracket thickness. As for the head gaskets, as long as you maintain the cooling system, you should be okay. The vast majority of head gasket failures I encountered on Northstars could be traced back to cooling system leaks and overheating. On your Eldorado, a common leak point is the heater crossover pipes that run across the back (firewall side) of the engine. They are formed painted steel and eventually rust out, especially if driven during salty winters like here in Michigan. The water pump housing/coolant crossover gaskets (there are four of them) are another common leak point. If you ever have to have the head gaskets done, the best thing to do is have Time Serts installed in the head bolt holes. This will ensure that the new head bolts will not pull out of the block. These engines generally need to be removed to do this, so it is best to have the entire engine resealed at the same time. There is a procedure to remove the lower crank case seals and oil pan gasket and replace them with grey GM engine sealant. This is a permanent repair and will not leak again if performed correctly. Like the other person you mentioned, I have done a ton of them during my tenure at a Cadillac dealer as a tech. The Northstar is an otherwise great engine. Lots of people bash it, but they have a bulletproof lower end (especially with 8 qts of oil) and we never really had issues with internal parts failing with the exception of the low tension piston rings causing oil consumption on the 2000-2003 versions. They also produce a good amount of power for their time, and they sound great when zinged up to 6500 rpm. For reference, we used to charge 35 hours to do a full reseal and Time Sert install at the dealer, so the price you were quoted for labor is very fair. Although my opinion is biased because I have always thought those Eldorados were beautiful cars, I see no reason to let it go if it is in otherwise good shape. I myself owned a 1998 Seville SLS for 9 years and only got rid of it because I needed a more efficient commuter (2013 Volt which I still have today). I wish I had had the space to keep the Cadillac.
Agreed on the armrests! I place a towel on the center console of my 2016 Escalade to cushion my right elbow (c'mon Cadillac, give us back some plush interiors). I also really miss the pillowed cloth seats in the '80s-era full-size GM sedans. They were the best for road trips.
--They won't. Everything today is about sportiness, function, and keeping building costs low. It's why we have almost the same exterior colors with only grey or black interior choices with few exceptions. I miss those comfy interiors too along with the array of colors to choose from. 🙁
My father ordered this back in 1980 in top trim level and diesel. He did install a water separator filter and it never gave us any problem. Most highway driving did indeed yield 28+ mpg. His also had the built in CB radio which never really was used. I drove it often including with a utility trailer attached. Having picked up stainless steel casting from Mobile Al docks, I can attest to lack of power coming up and out of the Mobile tunnel heading to Pensacola. The only slower car I ever drove was a Volvo 240 diesel in ‘82.
Thank you Adam! I was not expecting this at all! This video is appreciated tremendously! Oldsmobile Ninety Eight indeed! I liked this generation a lot too. I especially like when they added the updated Regency Brougham package for 1982 with the new Brougham seat design and updated steering wheel in 1982. As you know I own a 1996 Ninety Eight I drive daily. It tried to recapture the look of this generation 1980-1984. I was a huge fan of 1963, 1965-1966, 1968, 1969-1970, 1973, 1975, 1980-1984, 1991-1996. There are others, but those stand out for me. It was the details. You covered it so nice in this video with the information, features, and the footage. The thing I will never understand was the engines. I knew the 307 had torque, but seemed underpowered. I know the Cutlass Supreme 442 had the high outout 307 at 165 hp. I do not know why they did not offer that in the Ninety-Eight and Toronado. I liked the loaded Eighty Eight Brougham and Brougham LS from 1984-1985. You could get more gauges. I saw them on Custom Cruiser and some Ninety-Eights and Eighty-Eights. It was a gauge package.It gave you temp, oil, and voltage. The Custom Cruiser had more controls because it was a wagon. You are telling the truth about the headliner. Several of those features from this era Ninety Eight ended up on the Eighty Eight and Custom Cruiser wagon.
Hi Adam, I had an Aunt and Uncle from Ohio that were big Oldsmobile buyers having had many over the years. My Aunt always had two door models and my Uncle was the four door person of the family. I recall one year when they visited us here in Connecticut they drove her 1976 Oldsmobile 98 which was in a cream color with all the power options. What a boat that was. On the occasion of a trip we took to Ohio in 1973 I was able to ride in my Uncle's 1970 Oldsmobile Holiday four door also in a cream color. They certainly were big ,luxurious cars that still had some power back in the early seventies. Thanks for the video.
One of my favorite eras in Oldsmobile. These 98’s and Delta 88’s were popular in our extended family and when we all got together, the driveway and surrounding street looked like an Olds dealership. I had a 1980 Olds Cutlass Supreme and loved that car.
We were a big Olds family too. I had a 1979 Hurst/Olds with a 350 V-8 and T-tops. They aren't super valuable today, but it turns out that it was a pretty rare car. I still kick myself for not keeping it.
I had a 1980 4 Door 98 Regency Brougham with a Oldsmobile 350 gasoline V8 coupled to a THM 400 transmission. Used it for 4 years from 1985 through 1989. Absolutely a bulletproof combination, although I did have to change the timing chain and plastic sprockets.
Oh man...thank you for this!! My Grandpa bought a brand new '85 98 Regency from Bommarito Oldsmobile Cadillac GMC out in west county STL. I absolutely loved it, and was so crushed to see GM downsize it in '86. To the armrest on the interior, I believe they even had an "R" embroidered into the armrest. The 98 Regency was his, and he bought a Delta 88 for my Grandma... As always, thank you so much for the great video, Adam.
@@charlesmcginness7214 You're correct! Well... that's embarrassing, but thank you for the correction. I could have sworn it was an '85. Maybe it was an '84? I'm 49 yrs old, and I was 10yrs old...that was a lot of beers ago!!
@@jefweb5043 I’ll be 53 soon. Remember that time so well because my aunt and uncle took me car shopping any time they went. They had a beautiful ‘83 Park Avenue. We looked at the “cut down” Cadillacs in May of ‘84. They ended up buying another Park Avenue. I was as excited as it it was Christmas morning. I was used to new model years coming out in the fall but May was unheard of. Maybe your grandfather bought a left over ‘84 in ‘85. A lot of older folks didn’t want the “smaller” cars. I thought they were great!
G'pa did go for a couple of the FWD Ninety Eights, an 88 and a 91 Elite - gotta say the interiors were still very roomy, and they were comfy cars. By then I was able to drive and I thought they drove fantastic. I went on to own several cars with the 3800 V6 and just LOVE that engine. Favorite had to be my Bonnie SSE, white with white alloys and peanut butter leather.
My dad had a titanium grey 1985 Olds Delta 88 Luxury Sedan, fully optioned (with wire wheels!), with the Olds 307 v8...to Adam's point it was VERY smooth and refined, but very little oomph. It could cruise silently all day at 75-80 mph, but there wasn't much reserve. The engine sounded like it was in another zip code, so quiet. The car was fairly trouble free, and he drove the wheels off it in his consulting engineering business...going over 200K miles. The leather seats, though large, with big, wide bottom cushions, were not that supportive. Ultra thick cut-pile carpeting and opera lights on the B-pillar made for a luxurious ambiance. At the end, it was pretty tired, but a solid, well built car...the transmission never failed. The car never let him down, ever. Just a competent, stately wafter.
Growing up, I knew someone who had an '84 98 Regency Brougham. It looked just like the lead photo to this video. Dark maroon interior/exterior, matching quarter vinyl roof, coach lights, fender skirts. Just different wheel covers. Everything you described in this video about these cars rings absolutely true to my memory. It had the 307 engine, which was not especially enthusiastic particularly by today's standards, but it was smooth, reliable, and did the job well. Such a comfortable and spacious interior, nothing like it is available today. At that same time, our next door neighbor had what I think was a '79 or '80 Delta 88 Royale. It was white with a blue interior and had that God-awful diesel engine. He had the block heater for it, and I remember the extention cord running from their house to the car every year from late fall to early spring. The noise and smoke that thing made in the cold weather until it warmed up always fascinated me though. He was retired WWII era air force, so I'm sure he knew how to get it started and running even on the coldest winter mornings if he needed to go out. Thanks for your wonderful channel, Adam!
Dad was a car distributor for Oldsmobile. My mom had a new 78, 79,80 cutlass supreme and a new 81, 82, 83 and 84 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight. I believe the first three were Regency models, and the 84 was a Regency Brougham with the velvet interior, electroluminescent coach lamps between the front and rear doors and the plushest carpet I have ever seen in an automobile. Still have a lot of dealer brochures from the early 80s.
1980 you could still get the 403 . 6.6 liter.. I had no complaints about the Torque & H.P. moved the 98 perfectly.. But the options by 81 were definitely under powered.. The Diesel was absolutely dangerous on a two lane Highway & slow as hell in city traffic if you needed to pull out into traffic..
Instant like. We talk about this model on one of the Brocasts. I learned to drive on a 1980 Ninety-Eight Regency sedan that brought me home from the hospital when I was born. My brother learned to drive on a 1983. Both were 307s. Mine had the 3 speed auto with the cornering lamps; he had the 4 speed over drive. The back seat was undeniably sofa on wheels. Both sedans are still in the family. And we love ‘em.
We had (2) 1980 98s growing up and both had the wonderful diesel engines. Aside from all the issues with the engines, they rode like a dream. So comfy and to me some of the prettiest styling of the era. I am partial to fender skirts. I think they are so classy. One funny memory of riding in one of these diesel barges, is one time we took off from a red light and there was such a thick and dark cloud of black smoke the people behind us had to pull over because they couldn’t see where they were going 😂
Hey Adam… this is Randy Norris… from Troy,MO. I have a 1982 Olds 98 Regency… with 58,000 original miles… it’s the very exact same light tan color at the 7:27 timeline in your video… only mine is 4dr…. It has the marvelous 5.7L 350 diesel engine with the TH200-4R 4 so tranny with overdrive. All my power windows still work.. cruise, tilt, factory installed cassette stereo… analog clock on the dash… both driver and passenger side…6-way power seats… arm rest in the rear seat.. light gray pillow-top seats front and rear… I am the 3rd owner from new!!! It was an original Oklahoma vehicle… the man I bought it from lived in an Indian reservation in lower Oklahoma… 60 miles north of Texas ! So… even the entire underneath of the vehicle has almost NO rust at all… still has the fender skirts on it…I am 53…. And grew up riding in early ‘70’s Grand Marquis’… Mercury Monterey’s… Cadillac Fleetwoods… etc…. No comparison to the ride quality of those “Land Yatch’s”. Great memories… and now I have one of my own…. Thx for the great video!
I have one of these. It's a 1983 with the regency trim, I've got the pillow top seats, top end radio, and the rare gauge cluster package. No cornering lights or fiber optic though unfortunately. I had a fair bit of trouble with the computer controlled carb when I first got it but I converted it to analog and it's been a great car ever since. Absolute tank in the winter, it performs better than my lincoln with traction control! I've really grown into liking the car, it really is one of the better ones ove owned
In this era of "luxury" cars that claim luxury by taking a corner at 60 miles per hour and lap the Nurburgring like a formula 1 car - it's a pleasure to see a true luxury vehicle. With a quiet cabin with plenty of room to stretch out in and those comfortable seats to while away the miles on - That Ninety Eight was one fabulous vehicle. Those seats also tended to have a longer bottom cushion which gave greater support to the entire body when seated and made long trips much more comfortable. When one sees a near $100K new Cadillac today and observe what seems to be the same diminutive bucket seat they put in a Chevy Trax, well, you understand why so many have moved to full-sized trucks. The cabin room, seat dimensions and quiet available with their full frame/body configuration are the modern day equivalent to vehicles like that Ninety Eight in terms of comfort while underway, ( Ha! But so is the handling!)
My father had the two door one in Royal Blue. I was just a kid; but, the styling of the car still made an impression on me. I remember noticing the size of those doors. Huge! This was a great nostalgic experience for me. Thanks.
My mom dated a guy with a 80 Deville Coupe. I was in middle school and that 80 impressed me so much. Of course my mom had a 78 Honda Civic so this caddy seemed like a revelation. 😂. The caddy was on the same chassis as this Olds. Beautiful riding car. Quiet and smooth. GM knocked it out of the park with these cars. The 80 still had a decent engine.
My father bought a 1980 it had a 403 . 6.6 liter V8 .. pretty sure was available in Cadillac & Buick . Same motor that was similar or same in Trans AM.. I drove that 98 and she was about as fast as any automobile made at the time . A great cruiser and a blast at the Drive in Movies 😅.. I had a small Datsun 210 as my daily driver . Slow as all get out off the line , but was a great car , incredibly good MPG .. Wishing I still had them both . Appreciate your sentiment for the Honda & the Cadillac. :)
I had the 1983 Olds Delta 88 Brougham 4 dr sedan- the ceiling drooped but back then it was easy to find somebody to fix it. My transmission went out - got a life time warranty repair from a friend of mine who worked for ScAamco - the trans went out again - he gave up and sent me to a buddy of his who put in a turbo 350 which apparently was a direct bolt up. The trans never went out after that. I screwed up and used Armour All on the dash which caused it to crack. On or about 1991 I sold the car to a guy in Dallas , Tx who bought it for his mother-in - law - she was still driving it into the late nineties. I thought the fit & finish was really pretty good and I believe Oldsmobile set some sales records with that model.
To Die for!!! I have a burgundy 81 Olds 98 4dr Diesel. Pillow top cloth, the absolute most comfortable car I own!! I love the 80 81 grill!!! Just a beautiful car!! So comfortable, warm, and whisper quiet inside!!
I had a 1982 delta 88 royale which rode extremely comfortable . Such a good looking car and very roomy. The modern generation will never know this kind of luxury...
I had an '82 Regency 4 door, 307, throughout most of the 1990's. Had that exact interior in light grey. Dead reliable, and routinely got 21-22 mpg highway. There is no equivalent to these cars today, and it's a shame. I think the end of Olds began around the time of the "This is not your Father's Oldsmobile" ad campaign. Father's Oldsmobile is what made them great!
Own an 1981 Olds 98 (Diesel) WITH the gauge package. And leather. It has 30,000 original miles and was own owner. Runs and drives like a dream. It’s obviously slow and loud on the outside. On the inside and on the open road hard to beat.
Back in 1980 my dad bought a pristine metallic-brown ‘72 Olds 98 which he kept for about 4 or 5 years. It rode like a big Cadillac - like sailing on a big fluffy cloud in the sky. About 35 years later (maybe 8 or 10 years ago) I bought a pristine, low mileage, light-metallic-blue, huge 4-door ‘86 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham powered by the 307 Olds engine. It was one of the best cars I’ve ever owned. Way back in 1966 or ‘67 when I was a 7 or 8-year-old kid, my dad brought home a like-new, 2 or 3-yr-old, gold-mist ‘64 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. I’d be happy to have any of those 3 cars today! Or the Olds featured in this video! It no doubt rode as nice & smooth, and was as plush as any of the big old Caddies and Olds of the American “land-yacht” era!
My dad bought a new diesel, from Willowdell sales company, a John Deere dealer that also sold Olds. The JD mechanics about shit, it was so bad. Dad got a replacement engine for little cost from olds and the second one was not bad at all, however the dealer would install John Deere fuel filters on the car, big improvement. The fun story is GM sent a snot nosed expert out to show them how to rebuild injection pumps. He demanded a special dust free room and special air filtration systems and told them they didn't know anything about injection systems, the JD service manager and one of his mechanics over lunch opened up two pumps and spread the parts over some newspapers on the bench. Little snot nose crapped when he got back, they made him watch as they rebuilt the pumps and installed them in an 88 and a 98, the cars ran great. Old Bob who grew up fixing tractors since he was a kid in the 30's just laughed and told the little snot, we know more about injection pumps than you ever will so buzz off Years later I purchased a 15th anniversary hurst from them, one of my favorite cars, a real cruiser . Also owned a 66 Toronado, one of olds best designs, GM destroyed Olds
These '98 Coupes as you show here were gorgeous substantial luxurious roomy and could tow an RV if properly equipped Along with the Buick Park Avenue.....my favourite cars ever....any year '75 onward
I owned a 1981 Oldsmobile 98 with the 307. The headliner had to be repaired. I remember doing a water pump and a power steering pump as well as the power seat motor. The engine was very smooth but under powered. It was a very comfortable car that ran great when I sold it with over 180,000 miles on it. If only they had offered it with a 350!
Great review Adam. On the gas pedal size comment, my Air Force pilot stepfather always loved the fact that Olds brake pedal was at the same level as the gas pedal thus making an easy to shift the foot from gas to brake without having to lift your foot. Also, I had 77 Chevy Caprice coupe with the 305 v8 and after 150 thousand miles, you couldn't tell if the engine was running at idle when stopped at a light! It was so quiet and smooth. Good handling with the F41 suspension but never got better than 18mpg with or without passengers.
I'm an Oldsmobile fan but one thing I found underwhelming then was it having a V6 for an engine. Id rather spend more at the pump but have the engine I preferred in it instead. The 98 from this time is a car I dreamt of owning even as a teenager back in those early 1980s days. I loved both the 98 and the Toronado and still do today as an old man. I still hope to own one of these.
I had an '82 Olds 98 2-door with the 307CI V8 when I was a senior in high school. Since I worked at the airport, I ran that car on 100LL Avgas. Boy, that car loved that gas.
Had a 1982 olds 98 Regency, and ir was a great car. Lots of parts were interchangeable chassis wise with a Caddy, and the 307 ci olds engine was a great advantage from the diesel, or the HT4100. Great to ride, and drive.😊
Those Ninety Eight’s of that generation were some of the best. Very luxurious and handsome. I owned an ‘83 Delta 88 Royale Brougham coupe in ‘87. It was a very good looking and luxurious car. I thought about,buying a Ninety Eight but I was only 25 years old at the,time and thought that it just wouldn’t be a young persons car, even though a Delta 88 was far from being a young persons car…LOL. I still think that the early 80’s generation of the Nighty Eight Brougham sedans were such a beautifully designed car with the fender skirts and formal roof treatment. Great video! ❤
Nothing summarized the 1970-80's more than this one view at 9:56. I was 21 when this 1981 Olds 98 came out and I loved it and all the GM cars of these decades. Now it has the look of furniture. To respond to your question on why arm rests are not comfy and plush - I think that cars now are meant to be easy to clean and durable with smooth plastics mostly. These old plush seats stained and ripped somewhat easily. Love the channel. Feature a 1967 Pontiac Parisienne sometime if you can find one in good shape. Another interesting car from this era is the 1979 Buick Regal with the turbo option, probably hard to find.
This is Gerry..the 88 Eldorado guy from VA. YAS....I owned...from 1989-1996....a wonderfull 81 Regency coupe...waxberry metallic....with the exact color seats in your example.....what a great car overall....slow.....after getting rid of my 460 4V Colony Park....lol....cars would pass the 98 like I was chained to the guardrail. Great gas mileage.....reliable.....Y-code 307. Had new headliner....viral top....repaint.....than like an idiot gave it to my younger brother.
I had one and the guy that owned it treated it like it was a Corvette he put upgraded wheels and tires and suspension and exhaust and it really handle being a big heavy duty car I truly enjoyed it anybody that can get one will not be disappointed!
HI Adam. Thank you for this new video. It reminded me I had a 79 Olds 98 I seem to have forgotten! I remember picking up my beautiful, triple-black sedan and thinking I was the king of the road. Beautiful car, beautiful leather seats and so comfortable. Of course, I was thrilled with the NEW Fabulous diesel engine (only a $2000.00 option!) that promised all sorts of driving heights. It was smooth, quiet and so comfortable and it would get 25 mpg at 80! Then the engine failed out of warranty. Hence the amnesia.
The first time I came across one of these Oldsmobiles with the 5.7 diesel was in about 1989/90 when the owner of the garage said they had just pulled out the diesel and replaced it with a crate 350 petrol V8, it was a lovely car.
You could still get a 350 V8 with the 1980 Oldsmobile 98, but the overdrive transmission wasn't available yet. My parents used to have a 1985 Olds 88 Brougham, and it was a great car. So smooth!
I special orderd a 78 Olds Vista Cruiser Wagon, totally loaded with the 5.7 Diesel. Loved the big wago hated the slog slow engine. I was on the road a lot and racked up miles. head gasket blew after warranty ended and GM fixed the car. All in all it worked out well and was a beautiful car.
Thank you, the Olds 88,98 of this Era were great looking cars. The first time I saw one was at my aunts house, she had a 98 it was a 4 door but a beautiful looking car that rode super nice. Thanks again for the great video of a car make that somehow bit the dust.
GM made rolling artwork in their heyday. El Dorado, Riviera, Toronado and the mid-sixties full size Pontiacs were all automotive sculpture. In 1976 11 year old me was still mesmerized and impressed by the sheer presence of his uncle’s Firethorn Red 1976 Coupe DeVille, but looking back I have to I agree with your take: the 1971 B bodies marked the beginning of the end of GM as a styling and engineering tour de force as badge engineering and cost cutting took over. It was a hell of a legacy to throw away. OTOH, the C8 Corvette shows the world that the fire is still lit: turn the engineers and stylists loose!
I factory ordered a 1978 403 V-8 for pulling a 21 foot tandem trailer. The car was a Delta 88 4 door. It was a beautiful cream colour. However, the engine developed a camshaft knock when it was first started. The dealer said not to worry. I ordered a 1980 Delta 88 for pulling our trailer. It had a 350 Olds engine. The car arrived and I was ready to undercoat it the first night. I saw the small TH200 transmission and my heart sank. The car was factory ordered complete with HD transmission cooling etc. It had an aluminum hood to save weight. It had the spoke hubcaps etc. The car dealer said not to worry because GM said there was lots of warranty. My automotive friend teaching at an automotive tech school said that the TH200 had parts thinner than an apple juice can. He was not impressed. The dealer said to drive the 1980 4 door Delta 88 back to him. He had an Olds station wagon due in a few weeks. I drove to pick it up. The station wagon had a 350 Olds V-8 with a TH350 transmission. It turned out to be a "lemon" In fact I did use the car to pull our trailer but it never had the power of my 1969 Chev 427. (The Chev 427 Caprice was also factory ordered. I kept it for 100,000 miles until premium gas became difficult to find.) In the Rocky Mountains, I would let the station wagon churn in first gear through some of the high passes going 25 mph. I had a number of defects repaired under warranty. I then left General Motors for a number of years. One service manager said he thought that GM had built some engines out of "reject" parts. I came back to GM in 2008 when I purchased a GMC Duramax powered 3/4 ton truck. It pulls a 5th wheel with no problem. The Allison transmission shifts like a dream. The Oldsmobiles are no more. There is a reason why General Motors is called government motors. I was sure disappointed in some of their products back in 1978, 1980, and 1981.
My family moved from Alabama to Texas around this time. I remember the car we had didn't have cruise control. My mom had to tell my older sister to sit next to her to work the throttle for the last hundred miles or so, her leg couldn't take it anymore.
My folks bought this car brand new and drove it off the lot..My Dad paid cash for the car and it really was beautiful..It was a beautiful dark wine red with dove grey fabric interior..My Dad loved that car and put over 160.000 miles on it before they traded..
This was a nice video. You were well articulated as usual and it was very educational, especially the engine info and of course everything else. Always a pleasure to watch your videos Adam.
Back in the mid 80's I bought a 1984 Olds 98 Regency Brougham sedan, right after selling my troublesome 83 Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance. I loved that 98 Regency and the comfort was out of this world. Great car!
My parents passed on to me their ‘84 triple blue fully optioned 98 Olds when they purchased their new Mercedes in ‘91 and I loved that car and had it for many years. Drove it for many years and wish I still had it now. Before the ‘84 sedan my Dad had an ‘81 black over red velour 98 coupe. Both were great smooth riding beasts!
Love those cars! I had 5 mostly Cadillac 5.7 diesels....80,81,82,83 and an 84....only had a blown head gasket on the 80, I was seventeen and had it replaced with an Olds gas..then sold it, missed the clanking diesel sound! Now I would give happily pay $500, 000 to have them back! Great video 😊
Adam, you have nailed it concerning the center armrest. If a manufacturer goes cheap on something constantly used by drivers, the rest of the car is junk, in my opinion. I immediately lose interest. Very, very few vehicles have comfortable armrests. If I'm not comfortable, then it's not owned by me. A highway or boulevard car absolutely needs to keep its passengers comfortable.
In 2017 when I was shopping for cars, the entire car lineups of Honda and Mazda failed for me, due to their armrests being so far back (and non-adjustable) that you couldn’t drive with your elbow on it. My arms are average-length for a 6’ tall person. I ended up getting a 2017 Ford Fusion, which just barely met my armrest criteria, and Ford had done an interior refresh for that year, going to their rotary gear selector with new center cosole. Their 2016/earlier models would have also failed me for the armrest. It’s as if the car-interior designers had no knowledge of the typical dimensions of the human body.
I had a customer in Central Oregon that rolled one of these in a triangle from his home base to San Francisco to Salt Lake City. It was a great car ... his being a four door ... white w/ blue vinyl top and blue interior. As it neared 300K miles, the spring in the hood ornament broke causing the crest to fall over. We all laughed about it and suggested he write Oldsmobile a letter complaining about the unit not having longevity. He did. A factory rep replied and had him meet up the local dealer where they replaced it at no charge. Photographs were taken of everything including the odometer reading in excess of 300,000 miles! I'm not sure what became of it all but thought that was pretty cool. 307 was a great engine.
My dad, at least until the 1980s, was a Buick-guy. Me? When I was out of college and buying my own cars, was an unapologetically Oldsmobile buyer. I bought, new, a series of Cutlass coupes which I just loved. (Sadly, I seemed to be the only one buying a new Olds.) I never drove or owned a Toronado but I sure wished I had. The Ninety-Eight was a car your dad drove. Or the local vicar, if it was a prosperous parish. A beautiful car. 👍
I had a 1980 2 door in triple maroon. I bought it used in 1987 from the Chevy dealer where I worked. Mine had the Turbo 400 transmission. The most beautiful car I have ever owned, it succumbed to Chicago winters in 1994 and it had to go. I miss the car, but not the EIGHT miles to the gallon I got, no matter city or highway. Great video on this classic GM car.
The 1980-1984 Olds 98 was one of the best looking cars from that time period although the '81 was the least desirable. The 1980 model was still available with an Oldsmobile 350 V-8, gas not diesel. The 1982 model received an updated steering wheel design along with the multi function turn signal lever which had the windshield wiper controls integrated into it. 1982 also introduced the radio design that GM would use for the next twenty years. My Father was an Olds dealer back then so I got to examine and drive all the different models back then. The 307 V-8 wasn't a screamer, but is was adequate and very smooth.
Hey Adam, Well thanks for another excellent review that features this 81 Oldsmobile 98. Of course I remember these big GM full-size cruisers. At this point in my life, I had become a total Ford fan, a full-on IBMer and loving every minute of it. But, I still had a few of my car detailing customers I had been cultivating since high school. One of those customers had a 79 white, over light blue velour interior, 98 Regency. No vinyl top, but it did have the loose pillow seats. They were very comfortable, it was a smooth riding car. And yes, this one did have the 350 c.i. desiel engine in it. This was my first experience with one of these GM 350, desiels, converted from gas engines that we were hearing so much about. The owner was selling this otherwise beautiful 98 because of that engine. The engine was loud, but not like a V8, that we all loved the sound of. By this time, it had a little less than 100,000 miles on the clock, and so far, had no major engine issues with it, but he was expecting them at any time, so I was detailing it to get it ready to sell. He actually had me put it on the market and manage the sales transaction for him. It was a very nice car, it looked great and was in excellent condition. On the weekends, I would make sure it was shining and would park it on street corners and in shopping mall parking lots. It got a lot of attention from interested buyers, but that desiel engine usually proved to be a show stopper. Before I would show it, I always would make sure it was warmed up first. It took about 2 months, but I finally sold it. In my opinion, that 79, Oldsmobile 98 was an icon for all of GM's poor decision-making, that, in my opinion, defined all GM cars. So sad, but very true. There were so many examples of things that could have had better design qualities, which is why I refer to it as GM's iconic poor-decision making that could be found in all GM cars. As soon as you popped the hood, the first thing I noticed was the 10 mile long upper radiator hose. I can't understand why, but all GM cars seem to have those long hoses. While I'm not an automotive engineer, it seems to me that long rubber radiator hoses would be the weakest link in an engine cooling system, so they should be avoided. If you look at Ford or Chrysler built cars, you won't find any cooling system hoses that long. Although it wouldn't be fair to bash GM's long hoses without mentioning the less than 2 inch, hard to replace, section of hose used on Ford's 460 engines that bridge the distance between the water pump and front of the block. I have owned several Fords, Mercurys, and Lincolns, all with 460s, under the hood, many at the same time, and never have I had one fail in any way. But it is something I think about all the time, especially on hot days, crossing the Mojave desert at 70 to 80 mph, or climbing steep grades in the Sierras, and yet none have ever failed me. Great review Adam, and ya gota love GM.
Hi Adam, Really enjoyed this video, as it brought back memories of a gorgeous red 1981 Delta 88 Royale four-door that my family bought fully loaded. Our Delta 88 was put into service not only for long road trips, but also pulling our 3,000 lb motorboat regularly from our driveway to the local lakes where we would use it. Unfortunately, my brother had an incident with the car where it slipped into lake Michigan all the way up to the front wheels while he was trying to get our boat out of the water. He couldn't pull the car out of the lake because the trunk was so large and airtight that the back of the car was floating and the rear wheel drive was no longer in contact with the boat ramp. The car was pulled out of the water by a friend's Jeep, and my brother then successfully loaded the boat and drove it home. We had to have the transmission drained twice of water that had gotten into it, along with the rear differential but, amazingly, the car seem to suffer no ill effect, and continued driving perfectly for three or four years after the incident. All of the electronics continued to function, the electric windows, door locks, and seats never failed, and we were amazed at how resilient the car turned out to be - the velour seats sat on our front lawn for 2 weeks drying out, after having been submerged in the big lake. Our Delta 88 had the 307 and we got very lucky with the transmission, which never gave us any problem despite having been submerged and used heavily for towing over the years. We also found it to be adequate as a tow vehicle, though it didn't have as much grunt as the 1986 Mercury Marquis Colony Park wagon, we replaced it with in 1986. Loved that car, but I always thought that the 98 Regency was even more handsome, especially the rear treatment, versus the Delta 88. They were very solid, reliable vehicles at that time and, in my opinion, the best looking of the GM full size cars that all shared that same basic chassis. 😉😎
Adam i have a 1984 98. The same color as your 81. It should be called Sand Grey. Mine his a Royal blue interior and a blue quarter vinyl top. The 307 as you said is not a hot rod by any means. But it is reliable as reliable as hell. And it is Bulletproof my father bought his new it was later handed down to me and I still have it to this day. The car has over 151000 miles and it'll still turn right over and I have no fear of driving it anywhere it is solid as a rock. Even the interior there isn't a rattle or a shake in it. My other car is a 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale with the 350. I was lucky enough to purchase this car from the original owner with only thirty-three thousand original miles on it. The car was dealer service and kept in a climate-controlled garage. It is a real time capsule. I stripped off all the Pollution Control devices such as the catalytic converters I put true dual exhaust on it even got rid of the PCV valve. It was like the car. A shot of espresso. I love both cause they were built when Oldsmobile was at their best
We had a 73 Buick Park Ave Electra, pillowed valour int, 455, that was the best riding car I've ever been in, comfort is what it was all about, olds made some great cars as well.
Really the last of a generation. I include the 70s GM cars here; even though these engines were much smaller and more eco friendly, the basic design is unchanged. I was off to college in ‘84, and shortly thereafter we’d see a major evolution of all things automotive. Thanks Adam, another excellent production.
1980 to 1984 were my second favorite models. They had the distinction that 98s had but lost in the 77to 79 models but my favorite years for 98s were the pillared sedans from 1965 to 1969, with the 1966 being my favorite. My aunt had a 1966 pillared sedan burgundy with a beige top and burgundy interior. It was a beauty.
