Tony Oksien –CA’s resident muscle car guru
★
To ny tracks down arare and unusual Oldsmobile at a
local show and reflects on the model’shistory and a
shadowy historical connection...
E
verynow and then,avisit toacar show
throws up something weird and wonderful.
Arecent Sunday on the south coast did just
that−an unusual Oldsmobile. The Oldsmobile
Delmont 88 is one of those mid-Sixties General
Motors cars that you seem never to have heard
of as it’snot awell-known model and was built
only for two years: 1967 to 1968. The car could
be had in four different body styles, four-door
town sedan,ahard-top four-door holiday sedan,
two-door holiday coupe andaconvertible. The
Delmont was the Oldsmobile entry-level model
for afull- size ,refined, middle-class American-
built vehicle and aimed at buyers who wanted to
makeamove into more luxurious surroundings.
The Delmont 88 replaced the Jetstar/Dynamic
88 from 1966 on, and could be purchased
economically for $3202 compared toaDelta
88 costing £3661. Engine-wise, the 330cu in V
served as the standard mill, with the 425cu in V
and the verypowerful muscular Rocket 455cu
in V8 as an option. For 1967, the California
Highway Patrol purchased 1428 Delmont 88s,
coded the ‘Apprehender Highway Patrol B07’.
The cars were built at Kansas City’sFairfax plant.
As alreadystated, the car only lasted two years
and these ’67 choices were for the first year,as
1968 saw the introduction of the new 350cu in
V8 available in 2-bbl and 4-bbl versions, with
a455 now punching out 390 horses. Look out
for the distinctive red valve covers which signify
this potent beast. The Oldsmobile received
minor styling changes for the ’68 models, most
noticeablyarear bumper design that took
nothing away from its good looks.
The two-door model is one of the finest mid-
Sixties era car designs. Sitting ona123-inch
wheelbase and nearly 218 inches long, this is a
big vehicle, yet the look of the rear quarter panel
when it meets the sloping roofline isathing of
great beauty.Withall the windows down, the
space reflectsa‘teardrop’shape, making for a
beautiful, totally natural look, coupled with an
aggressive front end and signalling one of the
last of the fastback models. For me, the Delmont
is amaste rpiece.For 1967, 16,699 425cu in V
Delmont two-door coupes were built; nearly
7000 more than came fitted with the 330cu in
V8, indicating that Oldsmobile owners of the
time liked to put their foot down. Only 3525
convertibles left the factory.
Everything about the Delmont
raises questions, opinions and the
scratching of heads as folk tryto
figure out its provenance; the car
even gained an unwanted case
of notoriety with an unfortunate
inci dent .A1967 Delmont 88
was the car driven by Senator
Edward Kennedy in the infamous
Chappaquiddick episode of
July 1969. Kennedy claimed he
accidently drove the car offaone-
lane bridge into the tidal Poucha
Pond, killing his passenger,the
28-year-old MaryJoKopechene,
who drowned in the car.Kennedy
escaped and swam to the shore;
however,henever reported
the accident for some 10 hours
thereafter.Needless to say,at
his trial he was found guilty of
leaving the scene ofacrime
and sentenced to two months
imprisonment suspended. Not
only did this harm his ambitions
to be president, but it also cast a
shadowon the restofhis life. He
died in August 2009.
In Collector Car circles the ’67-
’68 Delmonts do not command
high prices, mainly down to the
public’slackofawareness of the model and a
market swamped with Sixties GM offerings–a
shameasthe Delmont demandsacloser look.
Icaugh tupwiththis1967 Delmont at the
VictoryWheelers show on Hayling Island back
in April, couldn’tfind theowner,but on closer
inspectionIdid di scover the car hadabig-block
425cu in V8 and was an auto version, making for
an excelle nt example of the breed.
RAREDELMONT
425 denotes big-block version.
That’sone girder ofarearbumper!
Tony Oksien
Muscle
carfiles
Kennedy-chappaquiddick headlines.
