Junkyard Find: 1984 Oldsmobile Delta Eighty-Eight Royale Brougham
You want class? In 1984, Oldsmobile had class in dump-truck quantities. Just listen to how the name Oldsmobile Delta Eighty-Eight Royale Brougham rolls off one’s tongue.
This car, one of the final examples of rear-drive/full-frame Oldsmobiles ever built (1985 was the last year for the rear-drive Delta 88), may not be quite as Broughamic as the ’72 Mercury Marquis Brougham we saw last week, but you can still see the last hurrah of mid-60s-style luxury for the masses in this car.
The 140-horsepower Olds 307 V8 wasn’t much engine for a 3,635-pound car, but it was smooth and quiet.
Such luxury!
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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- Jalop1991 There is no inflation. Everything is cheaper than it was 5 years ago. SHRIMP AND GRITS!
- ChristianWimmer Exterior and interior look pretty flawless for such a high mileage car. To me this is an indication that it was well-maintained and driven responsibly. It’s not my cup of tea but it’s bound to find an enthusiastic owner out there.And with ANY car, always budget for maintenance.
- Fred I'm a fan and watch every race. I've missed a few of the live races, but ESPN repeats them during more reasonable hours.
- Mikesixes It has potential benefits, but it has potential risks, too. It has inevitable costs, both in the price of the car and in future maintenance. Cars with ABS and airbags have cost me at least 2000 bucks in repairs, and have never saved me from any accidents. I'd rather these features were optional, and let the insurance companies figure out whether they do any good or not, and adjust their rates accordingly.
- Daniel Bridger Bidenomics working.
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I own and drive one of these (but getting another car so that I'll have to drive it a lot less). I'd like to buy some parts for it, but I can't even seem to find many of the parts anywhere. Any ideas? Some of the covers of the controls on the console and the electric seat have come off. The front grill has a few pieces of plastic broken and I'd like to get that replaced. Several of the plastic covers for the lights on the front have also suffered some damage. The engine works fine, though, and has less than 80k on it. If it makes any difference, it's the coupe.
We had one of these in the family for years . Tan 1980 Base 2-door with optional(?) Landau roof. My dad bought it used in 1984, drove it for years, then handed it down to my uncle. My uncle drove it for another couple years until the rear bumper snapped off on a railroad track and he dumped it for a brand new '95 F150. To this day I still remember pulling up to his house and seeing the retrieved bumper sticking halfway out of the trunk!