Tag: 1978

1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Diesel: In Defense of the Olds 350 Diesel V8

Posted on by
Note: Today’s post was written by Mike Batch Kirouac, AKA BigOldChryslers, another ex-patron of CC. Please welcome him here to RG! -Klockau

My Grand Dad always had a beater, for everyday driving, and a good car, which he bought new and brought out only on special occasions. Once, he said he’d buy a new car when he retired and give his current garage queen, a 1966 Chrysler sedan, to my Dad. In 1977, Grand Dad did retire, and Dad held him to his word.  To replace the Chrysler, he headed down to Carter Chevrolet-Olds and placed an order for what is oft regarded today as one of General Motors’ biggest blunders: a 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 with the then-new 350 CID LF9 V8 diesel engine.

The Delta 88 4-door sedan was the most popular 1978 Olds to be ordered with the LF9 diesel. Much like the base-model 1966 Chrysler, the 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 was advertised as more car for not much more money than “lesser” automobiles. Undoubtedly this appealed to Grand Dad’s innate frugality, as it still allowed him to have an upscale, but not ostentatious, full-size automobile.

Continue Reading →

1978 Lincoln Continental Town Car: Your Best Bet’s A…Well, You Know…

Posted on by

As a member in good standing of the Lincoln and Continental Owners Club since 2015, I always have an eye out for interesting old Lincolns. That includes when I’m on the way to work, stuck at a red light, or perusing CL and ebay. Just last week I spotted this one on the electronic bay, and the condition was such that I was compelled to share it!

A triple Wedgewood Blue 1978 Lincoln Continental Town Car with the mighty 460 CID V8 and only 50,300 miles on the clock. Yowza.

Continue Reading →

1978 Sedan de Ville

1978 Cadillac Sedan de Ville: Broughamy Christmas!

Posted on by

Merry Christmas to all at RG! Wait a minute Klockau, you may be thinking, why are you writing a post on a day of rest, relaxation, celebration? Easy, I am typing this at approximately 3:35 PM Saturday, December 22nd. This particular Sedan de Ville is about as holiday-hued as you can get, at least this side of a Continental Mark IV Lipstick Luxury Group or Jeep Grand Cherokee Orvis Edition, anyway. But I digress! So if you are avoiding relatives or hiding out with the last of the Christmas cookies, here’s something to read.

Continue Reading →

1978 Grand Safari

1978 Pontiac Grand Safari: Maximum Massey

Posted on by

Note: Today’s post is by a friend of mine, Mike Massey. As a fellow member of The American Brougham Society on Facebook, he shares my love of full-sized, woodgrained station wagons, and owns a Roadmaster Estate Wagon, among other vintage GM rolling stock, today. I’ve always loved the 1977-79 B-body Pontiacs since my dad had a brown 1979 Bonneville sedan. That car was the subject of my first-ever car memory. Anyway, here’s the story of Mike’s dad’s special-ordered ’78 Grand Safari! -TK

OK I get lots of questions on comments about this car, so HERE is the long “novel” of our ’78 Pontiac Grand Safari, which we owned from 1978-1986, and how we came about owning it.

Continue Reading →

Brougham For Sale: 1978 Mercury Marquis

Posted on by

Remember Jason Bagge? Sure you do. He’s the Pacific Northwest’s Brougham Whisperer. He seeks out, buys, refurbishes, and sells on classic 1970s Broughamtastic Broughams to happy new owners. Many of his previous cars have been featured right here on Riverside Green, including his 1976 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight, 1976 Caprice Classic Landau, 1976 Bonneville Brougham, 1972 Bonneville four-door hardtop, and 1973 Imperial LeBaron. Well, folks, he just can’t keep anything, ha ha!

Nope. He finds something cool, fixes it up, sells it on, spies another classic ’70s yacht, and repeats the process. All the aforementioned Detroit land yachts are long gone! If he has a car you like, chances are you can get it-for the right price. And now, ladies and germs, he’s selling a very nice 1978 Mercury Marquis. And it can be yours!

Continue Reading →

LTD 01

1977 Ford LTD Landau: Love To Drive

Posted on by

I have always loved the Ford LTD. The top trim full-size Ford. Top of the heap. The most Broughamtastic. But what does LTD stand for? There are many opinions. One favorite is “Luxury Trim Decor.” But no one is certain. Ford never truly defined it. But no matter what one’s opinion is on the lux-Ford acronym, one thing it most certainly meant was luxury.

LTD 02

If I start talking about the LTD’s history, we’ll be here all night. And I want to focus on my favorite, the 1975-78 models, so let’s try to be concise, shall we? The Ford LTD first came on the scene in 1965, as a deluxe trim Galaxie 500, available initially in two- and four-door hardtop versions.

LTD 03

In that same record-sales year for Detroit of 1965, its arch-rival, the Chevrolet Caprice, also appeared, initially as only a four-door hardtop.

Continue Reading →

New Yorker 01

1978 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham: For Your Consideration

Posted on by

Well! I started off this morning planning on writing up a friend’s simply fantastic 1970 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. But then, I logged onto The American Brougham Society today at lunch and saw that the proprietor of the Broughamiest FB group around had posted pictures of this simply sensational 1978 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham. I love these cars, a lot. Wrote one up on the old site some years back, and fully intend to do a full writeup here on RG eventually. But just look at the color combination! Holy moly! I had to share this immediately! Continue Reading →

1978 Pontiac Grand Prix – A Dramatically New Car!

Posted on by

In 1978, the Pontiac Grand Prix was downsized, along with its corporate cousins, the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and the Chevrolet Monte Carlo. And the Buick Regal, of course, which I covered previously here at RG.

78 Cutlass & 78 Monte Carlo

Phase II of General Motors’ downsizing had begun. The Colonnade midsizers of 1973-77 were but a memory, and Bill Mitchell’s Sheer Look, pioneered by the 1976 Cadillac Seville, was applied to all A-bodies, including the A-special GP and Monte.

Continue Reading →

1978 Chevrolet Caprice Classic – This B Was The Best!

Posted on by

B is for B-Body-in this case, the Caprice Classic. 1977 was a big deal. Downsizing came for all biggie GMs, and the results were most excellent! The downsized 1977 B-bodies took the U.S. market by storm. While all the various corporate variants were well-received, from Impala to LeSabre, there is no doubt the Chevrolet versions were the top sellers.

1976 Caprice Classic Landau. Owned by Jason Bagge.

The 1976 Caprice Classic was the last of the gunboats. It had been around since Autumn 1970, when the smooth, swoopy and gigantic 1971 B-Bodies debuted. All 1976 Caprice Classics sported an attractive new nose with rectangular headlights. But it was just a place holder, despite the great new look. There were some very different big Chevies just around the corner.

Continue Reading →