For future notice, letting me know that you might be looking for a new project vehicle is probably the worst thing you can do. I will happily become the devil on your shoulder, complete with the pitchfork that has shiny tines on the tips, ready to help you into the next chapter of your road-going life. In particular, there is one person I know who thinks that building an Oldsmobile B-body just might be the thing he needs. We aren’t going to argue about building a B-body, we’re big fans of them, and I personally really like the 88 lineup in two-door form. So, off to the classifieds we go…

in 1977 the 88 was chosen as the pace car for the Indianapolis 500, in a sharp silver and black treatment that came off as a grown-up formula that had more 442 flavor than it had any right to have. With a 403 under the hood, there was even a bit of hope for some of that nearly-forgotten kick in the backside that had faded out after 1972. While we wouldn’t be in a hurry to perfectly clone a Pace Car, the silver-and-black paint job, combined with an engine that actually means business, would be a dream setup.

With that, let’s look at our project subject. All we know outside of price is that it has crank windows and no engine whatsoever. Fine by us…we’d have it in the paint booth ASAP and would be on the hunt for those Rally wheels that Oldsmobile used on just about everything. We’d see about getting wider ones in the rears, since the rear wheelwells have plenty of room inside, and we’d get to work on cleaning off the door impact strips and the excess, unneeded stuff off of the car. Underhood…a 455 would be tasty, a wound-up Rocket 350 would be straightforward, and yes, an LS would do the trick, though we’d be all about disguising it as an Olds motor so it at least looked the part underhood. Or is that too much? Whatever the case, 500 ft/lbs of torque at the wheels needs to be the goal here.

Now, to see if they’ll actually pull the trigger and try for a new project.

Facebook Marketplace link: 1977 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale