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Hi all! I'm the proud new owner of this here 1971 Royale convertible. It was offered to me at a price that anybody would be a fool to say no to, and since I love these cars of course I was overjoyed to buy it. I am not new to the world of '71-76 GM B-body convertibles and have owned many over the years, as well as a bunch of hardtops. I have mostly owned Pontiacs, but this is my third Delta 88 convertible. I also own a '75, but it needs more work than this one for sure. Interestingly enough, I only met the owner and eventual seller of this car because my '75 was parked outside and visible from the street, and he decided to swing back around for a chat. Anyway...
Right away I know this car will be a keeper for me. Not just because it is my favorite year of the body style, but also because it has a lot going for it, and the circumstances under which it was made available to me. I am going to keep it, finish it and enjoy it. I run my own small restoration shop, so this is old hat for me, however I do have a couple questions in particular.
First off, I LOVE these SSIV wheels! I don't know that I had ever seen a set in person prior to seeing this car, and I understand they are quite rare. Question is, just how rare? I haven't been able to find any numbers on them. Also, when it comes time to properly restore them, I have worked with materials similar to this polycast before, but not on wheels. Is there a preferred method and paint type for properly stripping and prepping these wheels for repaint? I always research everything first and only do things the right way. Do it right and do it once, for the long haul. Any tips/advice on these wheels would be appreciated.
Also, the 455 in this car has a set of Procomp aluminum heads on it, sourced from "Mondello". Unfortunately that is all the info I have on them. I am well aware of the difference between Bernard Mondello and Mondello Performance, but I am wondering if there are any identifying marks or characteristics that I can use to try to determine who exactly they came from. I am quite leery of Procomp heads regardless of source, due to having read about many quality control issues on a variety of their castings over the years, but I understand the heads actually sold through Bernard are supposed to be quite good. Any insight on this would be appreciated as well. The engine seems to be in fine shape, though I have not yet driven the car myself or run it very long. It sounds very nice, feels healthy when I gave it some foot in the parking lot here, and I see no smoke out the tailpipes or hear any abnormal noise from the engine. It seems to be quite aggressively cammed, which I don't think is very fitting of a full size cruiser like this, so I will be switching the cam at least, and addressing any carb/distributor changes required to make this more of a mild mannered cruiser engine.
This car does need a lot of small stuff, and I will be moving from Nevada to Texas in just a few months, so I will likely not have much time to work on it in the foreseeable future, but I always like to start my research early and make a plan before I just jump in.
Oh, one more thing.. this car has its original B-body 12 bolt rearend, but I have had no luck finding axle seals or anything else for it, and it needs them. Any insight on where I might be able to find them, other than NOS on eBay?
I appreciate any insight/advice you all have.
Last edited by SSIV; January 15th, 2022 at 12:11 PM.
The car has had a few modifications done to it that I do not care for and will be undoing, and unfortunately it has also had some poor quality work that also needs to be corrected. The paint is not perfect by any means, and I am concerned about it lasting over time, but for now I'm going to leave it. It looks good from 20-30 feet, certainly very presentable as a driver, so I'm going to address the significant panel and window fitment issues the best I can, put the interior back together, then sort out a few mechanical issues it has, then just drive it.
Last edited by SSIV; January 15th, 2022 at 12:08 PM.
Unfortunately, it needs more work than it looks like it those pictures. This car is a classic case of pictures being deceiving. It looks great in pictures and from across the parking lot, but the more time you spend looking at it up close the more pops out at you. The previous owner bought it sight unseen on eBay and was absolutely lied to, by a real sheister that did a lot of terrible quality work. They did a "frame off restoration" on it, but I think that consisted of nothing more than taking the body off, pressure washing everything lightly, and with no other surface prep or thorough cleaning of any kind painted it all poorly, before slapping it back together poorly.
A short list of the problems found with a quick inspection: Various fluid leaks, from almost everywhere except the engine itself. The brake line to the rear has a brass coupler that is leaking, which has ruined a big section of paint on the frame, exposing the awful lack of prep work underneath. Obvious cheap spray can paint is flaking off of the rear axle and control arms. The fuel hard line is run underneath the frame, where it will be susceptible to being scraped/pinched going up driveways or over speed bumps. Both rear axle seals and wheel cylinders are leaking, making a total mess of the brakes. The parking brake cable going to the pedal is destroyed. None of the windows are hooked up and working, and they are all terribly out of adjustment, as are the doors and front end sheetmetal, which has caused large paint chips and damage all around the doors and front fenders, especially between the driver's door and fender. There is a bolt haphazardly screwed into the frame to help hold one of the inner fender wells up. I could keep going..
I'm going to address some of the basic mechanical issues first, to get it safely drivable. The windows I'll just roll down, as well as put the top down as convertibles should never, ever be driven with the top up if you ask me. The cosmetics I'll address at some point down the road.
The trunk has a factory electric release. But having only that makes me nervous, so I will investigate some manner of failsafe option to open it for now. Down the road when it comes time for paint I will address the lack of lock cylinder and emblem, as I would prefer the car have all of its original badging, trim, etc. Thankfully I believe those are the only pieces missing. The quarter panel louvers are in the trunk.
The data plate indicates that this car was originally Sandalwood paint and top. I believe the current color is either Bittersweet or Kashmir Copper, or perhaps a mix between the two. The paint has thin spots where the painter obviously did not ensure even color coverage, and others where it was obviously polished through. It does shine nicely and looks good from a distance, so I will leave it for now, and revisit later when this car gets a proper restoration. It is a unique color that I think fits the car reasonably well, so I may paint it the same color when the time comes.. only this time it will be done right.
I haven't nailed down a precise spot in Texas yet, but it will be in the vicinity of Dallas, as I have a major customer there with a large muscle car collection. I will be working primarily on his cars going forward - mainly Fords, including a trio of Shelbys and a variety of other rare Mustangs and other pedigree blue oval products. But my own personal interests lean more towards GM, in particular the '71-76 full size cars. I'm hoping this move will give me more time to work on my own projects here and there, so they actually start getting done eventually. I don't know what if any political discussion is allowed here, but suffice to say there are other reasons for my move as well. Texas is superior to present day Nevada on that front.
January 15th, 2022, 12:02 PM
