When you are perusing a car catalog online, such as the docket for the Barrett-Jackson auction that kicked off yesterday, there is a good chance that you can overlook a gem simply because you are going through an overload of good stuff. When you’re seeing A-list musclecars, late model stuff that barely has any miles at all on the clock, and custom builds that would’ve had a hand-engraved invitation to the SEMA show without so much as a thought, seeing a car like a clean 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 droptop almost elicits a yawn. It’s clean, but so is every other car that is going across the block over the course of this week. Just making it down the list to this car, you pass up the likes of a W-31 Cutlass Holiday coupe, a GTO Judge, and a rotisserie-perfect Chevelle or two. What makes this thing stand out from the Lord knows how many cars that are being offered up in Scottsdale?
Oh. I see. Ignore the kind of cheesy wheel choice, and stare into that engine bay for a moment. You’re looking at a 502ci Ram Jet crate mill that is, according to the listing, “mated to a TCI 6-speed automatic transmission and is equipped with Gear Vendor Precision Torque 2900 housing.” We suspect that the trans is the 6X Six Speed, a GM 4L80E-based unit. 4.88 gears in in the back, so don’t sweat the kind of motion this big droptop boat is able to perform at any time, and don’t worry about the engine being hot with the twin electric water pumps. 
We can go through the custom parts, including the chrome-plated pieces, the B&M shifter, and more, but really, just sit back for a moment and look at this Olds for a moment. Someone went full-kill on a B-body droptop and managed to remain quite restrained in the overall presence. The wheels aren’t Conestoga wagon huge, the paint color is dead-nuts ideal, and again…that power. Hurry up, summer…someone needs to be out cruising roads lined with newly-leafing trees soon, and hopefully it’s the smart bidder who scores what should be a sleeper on the auction block.
Somebody spent way too much money on a bumper sandwich.