1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Convertible

Three years ago, I had been looking for a convertible. Originally I was looking for a ‘64 Tempest, but it turns out almost all of them had been cloned into GTOs. Then one day my grandson was visiting from Georgia and needed a haircut, so we drove downtown and on the way back we saw this Oldsmobile sitting in a car lot. It hadn’t been there when we first drove downtown, so we stopped, examined the car, test drove it and ended up purchasing it.

Upon arriving home the first thing we did was tune it up and replace all the fluids. Next I rebuilt the convertible mechanism, which included replacing all the bushing. This was soon followed by having a local auto upholstery shop install a new convertible top. I replaced the door pins, fixed the speedometer, converted the R12 a/c to R134, replaced the defunct radio with a new “retro” Olds radio, spent weeks removing the small dings in the body, all the while using it as my daily driver during good weather. I also rebuilt all four electric window activators, replaced the center link, front disc pads, all four slave cylinders and the master cylinder.

The Olds has proven to be a very reliable driver, and as long as it isn’t raining, I use it whenever I leave the house. Hoping to have it repainted, the original Olds Medium Green this winter. The interior is in good shape and is all original. We have three labrador retrievers—a yellow, a black and a chocolate. I don’t know who has the most fun driving around with the top down—my wife and I, or the dogs. Looking forward to driving Route 66 next year since my wife just retired.

Bob Cotterell

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8 Responses to “1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Convertible”

  1. Thomas_W Davis

    I HAD A 2 DOOR HARDTOP THAT WAS EXACTLY THE SAME COLOR. ENJOY

  2. DMcG

    I love this generation of Oldsmobiles. My Mom had a '72 98 two-door that I used for my driving test, then drove throughout my high school time until I got my own car late in my senior year. Lots of memories there.

  3. MIKE READING

    BACK IN THE DAY I BOUGHT A 71 OLDS DELTA 88 ROYALE CONV. TURQUOISE WITH WHITE TOP AND INTERIOR, THE RIDE WAS GREAT, WISH I HAD IT TODAY. GREAT OLDS YOU GOT THERE, ENJOY

  4. jimmie meador

    i love this car

  5. Peter

    Hi Bob. You have a beautiful car. My friend, Bruce Albertson, owned Albertson Oldsmobile in Culver City, California, and specialized in Convertibles and Performance Cars. The big 98 Convertible was a car my Father purchased and drove for almost 10 years. Great Cars! Peter

  6. Chad Falcone

    Nice car Bob. I have multiple Oldsmobiles in the process of restoring and this just happens to be one of them. Thanks

  7. william

    one of my all time favorite cars...

  8. Mike

    Nice car Bob. What a great car to cruise around in. Those wheels may be made by Appliance Industry, a company back in the 60's and 70's. They did a lot of wheels for GM cars. I have a set very similar to them on my Mustang, there is a big A on the back side, I had a diffucult time getting lug nuts for them. When I did I cleaned them up and love the wheels.