We were an 88 family in the 60s and 70s. We had one Dynamic 88, two Delmont 88s and three Delta 88s. In those days, 88s were the best cars around, and my dad loved them.
I grew up in these cars. My favorites were 1965, 1968 and especially the very elegant 1970 4dr hardtop. All of ours were four door holidays but the 1970 was spectacular.
The best memory of an Olds was my uncle's '50 Rocket 88 Club coupe when I was 7 or 8, going to Flint from Detroit on US 23 at 112 mph. My aunt was sitting in the back seat & couldn't see the speedo but mentioned the telephone poles were going by awfully quick. He worked at Holley carburetor in the lab and did some "tweaking" to the 88. The smile on my uncle's face was priceless.
@@thehopelesscarguy The only comment I remember my aunt made while getting out of the 88 for lunch at the Howard Johnson's in Flint was " We're making better time than I thought" and said it with a laser focused glare at my uncle and he just shrugged his shoulders. Later he mumbled to me that he didn't buy it to look at it. The great thing about having a large family that lived and worked in Detroit was most of them were gearheads and car people. Back then it was an exciting time to experience some awesome cars.
Thank you for the video. I enjoyed the OIdsmobile Eighty Eight history. It went up until the end. I would like to see videos on Oldsmobile Ninety Eight and Toronado and Pontiac Bonneville and Parisienne and Grand Prix. I really enjoy this video.
When i was a little kid we had a 59 Dynamic 88 wagon, i think since it had power window on the tailgate it said 'Fiesta' where the key went to operate, we later had a 66 Toronado. Early 80's i worked PT at a Sunoco station and a woman customer had a Custom Cruiser, BIG to say the least My father had a Delta 88 brougham with 307==what a DOGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG I would have to see the top speeds in real life, sounds a little upgraded
Agree with those who like the systematic way you do these. Good job. I would add that for the 1976 models a bigger change than a spring-loaded standup hood ornament was the introduction of square headlights, only legally approved for use in the US the previous year, when the 98 and a range of other US cars featured them, but the Delta didn't receive them until '76.
I have a 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham loaded moonroof 307 V8. I would not sell that car ever. What a wonderful car it has been over the 36yrs that I have owned it.
Nice. When those were new I was stationed at Ft Gordon with a guy that had a picture of one hanging in his locker. I always wondered if he ever bought one.
Thanks for the video on the 88's. My parents owned a '67 Delmont 88 with a 425. I ❤ that car.. I used to ride & fall asleep in the back deck.. How safe was that, eh?? LOL
I recall that my grandfather had a 62 Super 88 sedan. It was his last car. I recall thinking that the dash and the "deep-dish" steering wheel were works of art, and always loved watching the speedo turn from green to yellow to red!. I don't know what the hp rating was, but I recall the air filter cover said "High-Compression" on it. It was way cooler than my family's 64 Plymouth Belvedere with the 318 and it's terribly austere dashboard.
These full-sized cars are not meant for speed but easy cruising and are bulletproof. Hyundai and Kia have major engine issues in which insurance companies don't want to cover some of these cars .
Great video & history of these great auto’s! I always believed GM lost a lot of gusto when they quit making Oldsmobile! As a mater of fact I believe it was the beginning of their downfall from the top of the heap. Bean counters were taking over. I, myself, owned 2 Oldsmobiles, 1972 Cutlass “S” which I purchased, new. Also I owned a 1989 98 Touring Sedan, which I purchased used in 1993. Both were great cars.
@@PontiacFan68 When the Bravada first came out, Car & Driver said "There is a new Oldsmobile and it's not a Cutlass". A surprise after the Cutlass, Cutlass Supreme, Cutlass Ciera & Cutlass Calais.
My First Car ‘72 Delta 88 Royale Hardtop. Dark Blue with a light blue Vinyl top. PW, PS, PB, Tilt, A/C, Biscuit Cloth Interior with folding center Armrest. I paid $900 I was 15 years old in 1976. I had to wait a year before I could drive it “Legally” ;) There was NEVER a Cleaner Car. LOL
Wow, engine technology came a long way: ten years after this early 1950s Oldsmobile, which produced 134 hp on a 4.98 liter engine, a similar naturally aspirated engine of only 2.2 liters (134 cubic inches), less than half as big, could produce the same horsepower. Better metallurgy yielding a higher compression ratio is the reason. Also I am guessing the distinctive "hump" at the top of the engine was due to the engine configuration, a high-profile 'straight 8'. A boxer engine would have resulted in a lower center of gravity and lower profile. Cool hump however.
Olds had gone V by this point but it would be a few years before hoods would flatten out. The 1950s saw one of the biggest bumps in engine output. I actually have 2 planned short videos on that subject.
During the Korean war the U.S. Air Force began moving from piston engine to jet aircraft. That enabled the refineries to have excess high octane capacity, which allowed compression ratios of some U.S. built automobiles to increase.
@@timothykeith1367 Yes, and there's also this toxic anti-knock chemical which had a good run despite the evidence it was nasty: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraethyllead
I know plenty about Chevy so as I watch this I'm comparing Chevy models, olds did well,58 however Chevy looks better, great info and photos,,,again good video
I a friend who had back in highschool,it was his grandma old car. I'm not sure what year it was but it was late 60's and he baby it. It was in the late 70's I went to highschool...1977
The Starfire was a model, not a trim package. Despite sharing the 88 wheelbase, it had its own series designation and model for model was priced about 25% above the Super 88, at 98 levels (except for '66 when it was decontented) I liked them in the 60's, but (to me) the 71-76 Olds style interpretation of GM's B body was the least successful of the four, and the 77-85 version generally lost out to Buick (and Pontiac, until it became a Caprice clone). Thereafter they were all just dull, dull, dull - until the LSS, which wasn't marketed as an 88 (15-17% more expensive), but an excellent 88 based platform alternative to the Aurora. Would not minding finding one of those - with supercharger.
The Starfire started as a trim level and was separated, as was often the case in those days. And even after it was separated, the difference really was just trim.
I love the "Hopeless Car Guy! Very informative. Does anyone know of a good channel that discusses cars of all sizes of the 1960s. Perhaps a Tailfin channel as well. Also could you please let me know if you collect 1:64 scale diecast models! Have a great day!
this is the one chuck berrie wrote that song about trading in his broke down raggadey ford for a rocket motor with a jet off take off power olds was king at daytona beach raceway to
@@thehopelesscarguyyes. All Pontiac V8s were the same size. The later 265 and 301 were a short deck version. "Unusual for a major automaker, Pontiac did not have the customary "small-block" and "big-block" engine families common to other GM divisions, Ford, and Chrysler. Effectively, Pontiac's V8s were all small blocks, sharing the same connecting rod length 6.625 in (168.3 mm) (except for the later short deck 301 and 265 produced in the late '70s and early '80s before Pontiac adopted universal GM engines)." en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_V8_engine
@@pdennis93 Technically they were neither Big Block nor Small Block as they were the only block, and I really shouldn't be surprised I was called on this.
