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79 Olds Delta 88 4dr Diesel

Posted By: AdventurerSport

79 Olds Delta 88 4dr Diesel - 02/06/24 07:38 PM

My boss has his father's 1979 Oldsmobile Delta 88 4 door sedan with the 5.7L Diesel. Very, very clean (never driven in the rain, snow, mud, etc), and the engine was upgraded with a few components (for reliability) years ago by a local diesel shop.
Not a hot rod nor seriously modified car, just reliability upgrades and SUPER clean.
Trying to get an idea of what it could sell for, if anyone would even be interested.
Great example of the era, but not exactly "desirable" (obviously)

Appreciate any thoughts, advice or opions. Thank you!

JS
Posted By: not_a_charger

Re: 79 Olds Delta 88 4dr Diesel - 02/06/24 07:59 PM

$3k tops, if someone wants a diesel. Very narrow market.
Posted By: AdventurerSport

Re: 79 Olds Delta 88 4dr Diesel - 02/06/24 08:01 PM

Kinda what I was thinking...I said $2,500 and my boss thought $3K to $3,500 (high end).
While it is VERY clean (cleanest one I've seen since the early 80s), we all know about the Olds Diesel.

Thank you!

JS
Posted By: oldjonny

Re: 79 Olds Delta 88 4dr Diesel - 02/06/24 08:31 PM

My boss (at the time) had one of those gems. I don't know how much he actually drove it because most of the time it was at the dealer for work.
Posted By: Mr PotatoHead

Re: 79 Olds Delta 88 4dr Diesel - 02/06/24 08:33 PM

Them things rock...can you post a pic?

My first Coupe De Ville was a smoker and my umm GM truck had the same.

Sorta hard to get used to it in the caddy as that GM is a loud rattler but overall it was a great car.
Posted By: larrymopar360

Re: 79 Olds Delta 88 4dr Diesel - 02/06/24 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by Mr PotatoHead
Them things rock...can you post a pic?

My first Coupe De Ville was a smoker and my umm GM truck had the same.

Sorta hard to get used to it in the caddy as that GM is a loud rattler but overall it was a great car.
Aren't you waiting on an '81 Cadillac "4-6-8"?
Posted By: topside

Re: 79 Olds Delta 88 4dr Diesel - 02/06/24 10:20 PM

Just as a candidate for an LS-swap Sleeper, if it's super nice, $3,000 should sell it right away.
For that matter, an inexpensive SBC swap could net someone a nice highway cruiser and solve any Diesel issues.
Might have to do something with the fuel system, at least flush it ?
To someone who's not worried about the GM passenger-car Diesel thing, I would think a super clean one with no problems might pull $4,500...but might take a while.
Posted By: Neil

Re: 79 Olds Delta 88 4dr Diesel - 02/06/24 11:10 PM

Diesel engines on those can be converted back to gasoline.
Posted By: Mr T2U

Re: 79 Olds Delta 88 4dr Diesel - 02/06/24 11:42 PM

those Olds deltas were one of the best selling cars of the year in that time frame. they are nice driving cars.
bolting in a gas 350 can be done in a weekend.
it's a easy swap. i know several people who have done it. i have head all the gas wiring is still in the engine harness. just unwrap and everything plugs in.

back in the days i used to own a 80 caddy Eldorado diesel. had replacement motor with a new injector pump installed before i bought it. i probably put 50K miles on it in under 2 years.
was a fantastic freeway driving car. got 25+ mpg while driving 75+ on the freeway. i .loved that car when i was driving all over the us from car auction to car auction. i was a used car buyer for a multi location car dealership. i had to buy at about 50 cars a month. i was on the road about 20 days a month buying cars.
Posted By: AdventurerSport

Re: 79 Olds Delta 88 4dr Diesel - 02/09/24 10:06 PM

Here are a couple of photos, car has 60,293 actual miles! One owner (deceased) and the estate is thinking of selling.
Thanks for all the opinions, I'll post this in the For Sale/Other Brands section as well.

JS

Attached picture 79OldsmobileDelta88photo1.jpg
Attached picture 79OldsmobileDelta88photo2.jpg
Posted By: 71GTX471

Re: 79 Olds Delta 88 4dr Diesel - 02/10/24 12:03 AM

Friend of mine had one of those in his shop back in the day & it would barley run, muffler was packed with soot.
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