When Russell Breutzmann decided it was time to get his first hobby vehicle — not something just to drive to and from work, but something to have some fun with on weekends — he figured it was safer to buy a car that was already in the family.
Now 13 years later and counting, the 1967 Oldsmobile Delta 88 convertible he wound up with has turned out to be a pretty cool deal.
“The car had belonged to my wife’s cousin and I talked to him at a family picnic and he said, ‘Yeah, I’m thinking about selling it.’ My son [Curtis] was there with me and we talked about it and went a week later to see it and liked what we saw,” said Breutzmann, a resident of Lake in the Hills, Ill. “We negotiated a price and we bought it and took it home and we’ve had it ever since.
“When I was a kid I had a ’52 Olds and then a ’56 Olds when I was in college. I figured I’d just stick with Oldsmobiles.”
The huge, red convertible was hard to miss at the family get-togethers, and the Bruetzmanns figured it would be a fun car to have for cruise nights and occasional weekend shows. It hasn’t disappointed them.
“The top goes down in May and goes back up in October, maybe September,” Russell laughed. “Once or twice I’ve been caught in a rainstorm and I’ve had to pull into a gas station under a canopy and put it back up, but otherwise the top is always down.
“It’s old-style driving. It has a big steering wheel — lots of turns lock-to-lock. Before we had the brakes done [stopping] was a little dicey, but that’s up to par now. Its just a big cruiser. It rides very nice. It’s just a different driving experience than a modern car.”
There were 140,000 miles showing on the odometer when the Bruetzmanns bought the Delta 88 13 years ago and became owners No. 3 and 3a of the car. They’ve added about 26,000 miles since then. The previous owner had done plenty of good work to keep the car rolling and in prime condition.
“The car had never seen snow. He had the engine and transmission rebuilt at 110,000 miles,” Russell noted. “It ran well. He used it and did a lot of driving with it. It was not a trailer queen, that’s for sure. The interior was redone just before we bought it in black vinyl to the GM pattern. The [power] top was in good shape and it works well. We looked at the transmission and listened to the engine and drove it and everything was fine. I have not done anything major to it. We’ve done the usual things — fuel pump, starter, brakes, carburetor.”
The convertible was offered under the Delta 88 menu, which was one step up from the Delmont 88. The higher-end Delta 88 Custom line was new for the model year. Four models were offered as standard Deltas, while two were available as Customs.
- See more at: http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/car-of...ile-delta-88-convertible#sthash.hcp9JFqh.dpuf
When Russell Breutzmann decided it was time to get his first hobby vehicle — not something just to drive to and from work, but something to have some fun with on weekends — he figured it was safer to buy a car that was already in the family.
Now 13 years later and counting, the 1967 Oldsmobile Delta 88 convertible he wound up with has turned out to be a pretty cool deal.
“The car had belonged to my wife’s cousin and I talked to him at a family picnic and he said, ‘Yeah, I’m thinking about selling it.’ My son [Curtis] was there with me and we talked about it and went a week later to see it and liked what we saw,” said Breutzmann, a resident of Lake in the Hills, Ill. “We negotiated a price and we bought it and took it home and we’ve had it ever since.
“When I was a kid I had a ’52 Olds and then a ’56 Olds when I was in college. I figured I’d just stick with Oldsmobiles.”
The huge, red convertible was hard to miss at the family get-togethers, and the Bruetzmanns figured it would be a fun car to have for cruise nights and occasional weekend shows. It hasn’t disappointed them.
“The top goes down in May and goes back up in October, maybe September,” Russell laughed. “Once or twice I’ve been caught in a rainstorm and I’ve had to pull into a gas station under a canopy and put it back up, but otherwise the top is always down.
“It’s old-style driving. It has a big steering wheel — lots of turns lock-to-lock. Before we had the brakes done [stopping] was a little dicey, but that’s up to par now. Its just a big cruiser. It rides very nice. It’s just a different driving experience than a modern car.”
There were 140,000 miles showing on the odometer when the Bruetzmanns bought the Delta 88 13 years ago and became owners No. 3 and 3a of the car. They’ve added about 26,000 miles since then. The previous owner had done plenty of good work to keep the car rolling and in prime condition.
“The car had never seen snow. He had the engine and transmission rebuilt at 110,000 miles,” Russell noted. “It ran well. He used it and did a lot of driving with it. It was not a trailer queen, that’s for sure. The interior was redone just before we bought it in black vinyl to the GM pattern. The [power] top was in good shape and it works well. We looked at the transmission and listened to the engine and drove it and everything was fine. I have not done anything major to it. We’ve done the usual things — fuel pump, starter, brakes, carburetor.”
The convertible was offered under the Delta 88 menu, which was one step up from the Delmont 88. The higher-end Delta 88 Custom line was new for the model year. Four models were offered as standard Deltas, while two were available as Customs
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When Russell Breutzmann decided it was time to get his first hobby vehicle — not something just to drive to and from work, but something to have some fun with on weekends — he figured it was safer to buy a car that was already in the family.
Now 13 years later and counting, the 1967 Oldsmobile Delta 88 convertible he wound up with has turned out to be a pretty cool deal.
“The car had belonged to my wife’s cousin and I talked to him at a family picnic and he said, ‘Yeah, I’m thinking about selling it.’ My son [Curtis] was there with me and we talked about it and went a week later to see it and liked what we saw,” said Breutzmann, a resident of Lake in the Hills, Ill. “We negotiated a price and we bought it and took it home and we’ve had it ever since.
“When I was a kid I had a ’52 Olds and then a ’56 Olds when I was in college. I figured I’d just stick with Oldsmobiles.”
The huge, red convertible was hard to miss at the family get-togethers, and the Bruetzmanns figured it would be a fun car to have for cruise nights and occasional weekend shows. It hasn’t disappointed them.
“The top goes down in May and goes back up in October, maybe September,” Russell laughed. “Once or twice I’ve been caught in a rainstorm and I’ve had to pull into a gas station under a canopy and put it back up, but otherwise the top is always down.
“It’s old-style driving. It has a big steering wheel — lots of turns lock-to-lock. Before we had the brakes done [stopping] was a little dicey, but that’s up to par now. Its just a big cruiser. It rides very nice. It’s just a different driving experience than a modern car.”
There were 140,000 miles showing on the odometer when the Bruetzmanns bought the Delta 88 13 years ago and became owners No. 3 and 3a of the car. They’ve added about 26,000 miles since then. The previous owner had done plenty of good work to keep the car rolling and in prime condition.
“The car had never seen snow. He had the engine and transmission rebuilt at 110,000 miles,” Russell noted. “It ran well. He used it and did a lot of driving with it. It was not a trailer queen, that’s for sure. The interior was redone just before we bought it in black vinyl to the GM pattern. The [power] top was in good shape and it works well. We looked at the transmission and listened to the engine and drove it and everything was fine. I have not done anything major to it. We’ve done the usual things — fuel pump, starter, brakes, carburetor.”
The convertible was offered under the Delta 88 menu, which was one step up from the Delmont 88. The higher-end Delta 88 Custom line was new for the model year. Four models were offered as standard Deltas, while two were available as Customs.
- See more at: http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/car-of...ile-delta-88-convertible#sthash.hcp9JFqh.dpuf