Well I created this account about a year ago, actually, but couldn't get it to register, forgot about it, then remembered it, got it activated, now here I am. Back then I had a 1986 Custom Cruiser, it'* gone, sadly, I was fond of that car. I'll introduce my car then myself

Now I have a 1977 Delta 88, Goodwrench 350, TH350 trans, gold(?), wrecked at some point by one of the PO'*, the header panel has a Y still visible in the missing center ornament, making it from a Royale, my car is a base model. So here'* the good and bad with the car I'm calling the Bronze Battle Cruiser.

The good:

Had good tires when I got it, and by good I mean they are round, hold air, and have tread, but they suck at biting and getting traction in the rain. Fun, sure, but annoying as well.

New radiator, reman starter and alternator, hoses, belt, fairly new water pump, fuel pump replaced 10 years ago, AC was updated to R134a in 1998, works great

Has a GM Goodwrench crate rated for 260HP, which I will squeeze out of it somehow, and a strong transmission behind it.

Body is solid, rust on the pass side fender, and drivers side door, no body rust.

The bad:

It has electrical gremlins, the AC thermostat inside the car is bad and I cannot find a replacement part, keeps the blower on low, gonna junkyard hunt. The windshield wipers are rigged with a hot wire from the battery, I'll figure out why the PO'* did that at another date. The headlights dim significantly when I turn on the heat / air, could be the battery, the battery is a year old and it sat for about eight months of that.

The seats are worn out, the rear sail cloth is dry rotted, the carpet is kinda trashed, the dashboard is cracked, the kick panels have been kicked into oblivion, the drivers side kick panel isn't attached anymore, I can't get it to stay attached.

Emergency brake did not work when I got the car, had to replace the release with one out of the junkyard, cable type out of a late 70'* LeSabre.

Front and rear brakes had to be replaced, about to the fronts. Shocks also had to be replaced, still needs springs, it leans on the pass side.

Rust on the pass side fender, and drivers side door. Rockers have odd dents in them.

Car was wrecked previously and the pass side fender has holes drilled for chrome trim, the drivers side does not. Header panel is from a Royale, my car is a base model.


Now, about me.

I'm an Oldsmobile guy, thru and thru, not one of those "Olds engines are the best!" types, I mean an Olds 350 is pretty sweet, they have good castings, but my GM Goodwrench (basically Chevy) 350 crate is more than adequate.

I'd rather drive a yacht like this than a "Sporty" car like an F body Camaro, 'cause let'* face it, they weigh 3,400lbs with a 350, or more, sometimes 3,600+, my car weighs 3,678lbs with a 350, AC, and no other options, I could do with a rear window defroster, but hey, can't have everything right?

I'm of a firm belief that few cars interest me unless they have at least four barrels feeding eight cylinders spitting out two pipes that sound like the trumpets of hell. So yes, I am of the "No replacement for displacement" mindset, 'cause, who doesn't want a ton of rumbling iron under the hood eating up more fuel in one day than a Prius could in a month?

Speaking of hybrids, I hate them, and electric cars, utterly despise them, they are impractical and illogical. Why do I say this? Because a car should be built to last, through thick and thin, through hard times and easy times, through hell or high water, a car should survive. I beat the hell out of my '86 Custom Cruiser, and my father did the same to that car, for twenty years it served us. A hybrid needs new batteries in 10, I am not easy on my car, but Oldsmobile bragged about how tough they are. Ever seen the posters of the mustached very 70'* man blazing up a dirt road? Back then GM accepted that this is a largely rural country with many rural roads, and the cars they build should be able to handle the majority of the roads, therein, they should be rugged back road cruisers, as well as city dwellers. And that'* what my Delta 88 is, most people don't realize that, but if you really look into them, that'* what they are. They are at home in the city or on the old highways of yesteryear. Go into the boonies with your Leaf, or Volt, I'll laugh when I see you looking for an outlet on a tree you so love hugging, if I offend anyone with this, I don't apologize, it'* how I feel about them.

Now that is out of the way, that'* me, Ben, and my car, the Bronze Battle Cruiser. I'll be rumbling up the road for many years, to the tune of a guitar riff, 'cause, like Oldsmobile'*, metal is forever.

Welcome to the forum Ben, not may of the old full frame v-8 cars left out on the road. I know what ya mean about how fun they are to drive. In the 90'* I picked up a cutlass with the diesel. I pulled that gutless thing out and installed a 403. Bolted right in and that car was a sleeper after that. One wheel peel for miles!

Welcome to the forum.

welcome to the site, not to many prius loves around here

I'd hope not, unless it has an LS or other small block.



Yeah there aren't many, if I see me another B body Olds wagon on the road, I'm liable to follow it home. I love my current car, but I'll be getting another wagon soon. I've seen one other 77-79 Delta 88 around town, but only once. As for the diesel, all of those diesel engines GM put out back then where odd, modern Duramax is pretty cool, but back then most of 'em where, well, gutless.


Anyway, thanks for the welcome folks,

Welcome to the forum Ben. Ya olds are tanks they just kept going. Even though I put a lot of repairs into my previous 81 cutlass, it was a powerful blast to drive.
I got the FWD Pk ave Now, due to the rust on frame and body mounts given way on the Cutlass.
Keep working on the battle cruiser...!!

I cannot believe I missed this thread back when you posted it, had to post to welcome another from my home-town, grew up in SW, lived there about 20 years, but no longer live there.
Welcome to the forums Ben!

Heh, if Roanoke lives up to its nature you might wind up back here, just about everyone in my family has lived places other than Roanoke, but they always wind up back here, and my moms side of the family isn't even originally from here.

Anyway, thanks for the belated welcome.

I have become more of a country dweller over the past few years, I spent a good 20 years growing up not too far from the Towers Mall area, loved the area, ended up moving to SE for a while, a bit rougher area, but I still had a few friends there.
I do miss the area, but now I enjoy living around the Lake, nothing like lake living, only downside is all of the nats, mayflies, etc...
If I ever move back to Roanoke I'll probably look for a place in the Cave Spring area, there of back to SW where I spent the majority of my life.

I grew up out in the Bent Mountain / Back Creek area, I like the Cave Spring area, though it'* slowly being suburbanized. My father still lives in the house I grew up in out in Roanoke County.

The lake is nice, but holy hell it'* expensive out there. Every time I pass through westlake it seems like something else has been built.