royale 75

My 1975 Delta 88 Royale has the scissor top and it works great. The big advantage with these is that the mechanism all goes to the rear when down, thus eliminating the wasted space in the back seat area. Mine is the original mechanism and has clearly been lubricated with white lithium by the original owner who I bought the car from 9 months ago. My guess is you'd have a hard time getting a conventional unit to fit. You may want to try refurbing the scissors - just my opinion.

How can I determine what gears are in the rear end of my 75 Olds 88 royale? I'd like to bump the ratio a bit but need a starting point. What options are readily available?

Having had the window ball/socket mechanism come apart, I opened it up and popped it back in. It took quite a bit of force to get it to do so which made me think I'd be OK for another stretch. 2 days later same thing. Seals etc... are old and hard which I'm sure increases the load on this joint. Any advice on what exactly to do? Not sure how available the mechanism parts may be.

Thanks for the reply - yes - I completed the swap and it was not too bad. Brackets were the biggest issue. The 455 is high performance (10:1 and big cam etc) and I underestimated the torque convertor issue. I have a stall convertor arriving any day and will install this weekend. I know some think this is sacriligious but it will be a freebie swap in the end. My Olds 350 will go back into the 73 Pontiac ragtop and I'll get my $2500 investment back and still have a nice set of magnesium wheels, a ten CD changer, 300W amp and about 400HP (according to my estimates) under the Olds hood! Couldn't resist.

One way to diagnose fuel pump is tie a pressure gauge into it at the filter (if I'm not mistaken some vacuum gauges can also be used for pressure measuring. I just had this problem with an 88 Blazer and after giving up, the guy I hired found the fuel pump only capable of 7 psi (just barely enough to idle).

How much trouble will I have bolting a 73 pontiac 455 into a 75 Olds? I believe the "corporate" transmission should bolt up (6 bellhousing bolts.

I was reading about stall converters and now wonder what kind of performance I'll get from the 400 tranny in my 75 Delta when I replace the anemic 350 4bbl with a pretty hot 455. Any predictions? Am I going to be dropping the tranny for a torque converter upgrade?

Thanks - I oredered from Summit today, along with oil pans set that was only available in cork locally.

I am trying to replace the header gaskets on a Pontiac 455 and my local auto parts store has several Mr gasket kits but not one for this engine. As I try to find the right set, I've considered if the stock metal set along with high temp copper silicone wouls do just as well. Never messed with headers before and only want to do it once! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />Any suggestions?

How can I identify the 400 vs 350 turbo? I am putting a high perf 73 Pontiac 455 into my 75 olds delta 88 which has the factory 350 4 bbl and whatever tranny came with. Tranny is excellent and has only 80k miles on it so would keep it in if it can handle the power of this 455. I have the Pontiac tranny and assume it was a 400 on this originally. Although it is alledged to be rebuilt, don't want to take the chance if the orig olds will handle the job reliably. Any advice?

I am taking a 455 from a 73 Pontiac grandville and putting it into my 75 Olds delta 88. How can I determine what tranny is in the olds vs the Pontiac? I assume the 455 only came bolted to a 400 but wonder if my 350 4 bbl olds delta could have a factory 400. The olds has only 80k orig miles and tranny works great so I'm tempted to keep it versus the pontiac which seems to work fine other than it doesn't downshift upon acceleration as it should (works fine manually and shifts solid. Pontiac tranny is alledgedly rebuilt but who knows. Any advice?

I've never looked to see what tranny is in the ol;ds. With the 350 , it didn't matter. Do I assume correctly that both 350 and 400 Turbos were potentially put in a 75 Olds and that with the 350 4bbl engine option I ,may still have a 350 tranny. How about radiators? Any difference in size/cooling capacity between 350 and big block options? I was planning to have mine professionally flushed/rodded when drop the 455 in.

I have a high performance 73 Pontiac 455 that I am putting into my 75 Delta 88 which has a 350 4bbl. Olds tranny works great - any concerns it won't take the load of a 455? Am I correct that this swapout will be essentially a boltup? Any other advice/warnings? Not sure what trany came in my olds. Could it be a 400?

Any opinions out there as to the value of a recently redone Pontiac 455. It has 10:1 pistons, 3/4 cam, Edelbrock intake/carb, headers and runs flawlessly. I've seen/heard it run and I believe the guy knew what he was doing when he built it about 4k miles ago. Its in his 73 Grandville ragtop which I really don't need/want but would love to swap this motor for my stock 350 in my 75 Delta 88 ragtop. Opinions? Anyone need a 73 Grandville convertible w/ 110k miles? Comes with stock Olds 350!

Just picked up a stone chip on the windshield of my 75 Dela and wondered how readily available windshields with the built in wire antenae are. Any suggestions?

Should be readily available from most any auto parts store.

Having owned GM cars for almost 30 years, I've seen a bunch of Quadrajets. Luckily, they've all worked reasonably well and so never been in one. I have, however, heard horror stories of their difficulty to rebuild, to the point folks swear its not even worth trying. I've done plenty of one a 2 bbl carbs and most of these were Rochesters - no problems, always successful. I'm poised, kit in hand, ready to go on my '75 and thought I'd inquire before I commit. Any advice?

Discs are far better from a performance standpoint. I converted a 69 Camaro front end from drum to disc and would have NEVER imagined the kind of performance improvement I got! It was a different car. My opinion on your other question is that drum brakes are not rocket science and that a "qualified" brake mechanic can handle the job. Note that the definition of qualified is worthy of debate. I really haven't messed with new drum brakes recently (not sure if I've owned anything new long enough to replace rear brakes) but I assure you there are plenty of cars on the road with drums like yours and an experienced brake guy can handle the job. With someone experienced to coach you could handle it yourself! That's how I did my first one 30 years ago (just never take apart more than one wheel at a time so you have a "correct" reference).

Guess I can only speak for powertrain type items as we make sensors of various types - temp, speed, liquid level, and pressure.

My 75 Royale convertible was at least close to the end - built April 16, 1975 in Lansing and delivered to Troy, MI. in June. Glenn, do you know how many they produced that year? Seems I've seen a couple conflicting numbers.

I can verify that as an original equipment supplier, we are required to produce service parts for GMSPO for 10 years after end of regular production. I will admit that we do everything possible to reduce that period, such as offering a one time but at lower price etc... as it is a real pain to maintain the original production equipment (and floorspace) while always bringing in new equipment for new products/programs/customers. Our efforts usually fail and we are stuck running small quantities for the ten year period.

Sorry - my delta is in nearly perfect condition and I'll keep the perfect but boring factory caps on before settling for wires in, how do I say, rather bad condition. Thanks anyway.

86 2 dr - doesn't your 75 Delta have an electricly operated valve? Not sure when GM went away from hot water valves, but in my mind its a good idea for the reasons you noted regarding door seals. I'm in Florida so I really need to do whatever I can to keep the A/C cold! In fact, I bought the car this winter and its in great shape - except the A/C doesn't work. Thats my next project as its getting into the low 80's on a regular basis. Low humidity so ragtop weather for now! won't be long before its too hot for top down and A/C is a must (daily driver).

Are these original equipt for a 75 Delta? If so and they are of course 15 inch, I'd be interested in seeing pics of them. My current ones are still 100% perfect, but quite plain. Send photos to: raycal40@concat.net

I'm having problems finding an electricly operated hot water valve (heater control valve) for my 75 delta. Vacuum operated units are readily availble but won't do me muc good. Any help out there with sources?