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New from Indiana and thinking of joining the club, wanted to ask a question...
Hello all!
As the title implies I'm new to the community and am thinking of aquiring a classic Oldsmobile of my own, specifically a '75 Regency 98 Sedan (I'm particularly a fan if the front-end design), hopefully in Sunfire Orange, thoigh I might be getting too specific there. I wanted to ask a question or two though...
One thing I'd like to know is what things I should look out for that might make a particular 98 more or less desirable over another, things like options or trim packages. I also wanted to get general input from anyone who has owned this generation of 98. What were your impressions of it? What about it were you not a fan of?
Any other input you have is welcome as well, of course. I'm just trying to gather some info so I make a more educated decision if one does cone up for sale.
I have a 76 Regency sedan which is the same car except the grille and a few trim details. It has every available 1976 option except moonroof and lighted door locks- even the lamp monitor and the ridiculous vacuum gage. I've added SSIV wheels and an 80s Delco ETR AM-FM-cassette.
Look out for rust on a vinyl roof car. These cars also have the VIR airconditioning system which can be aggravating and just never seemed to cool as well as a POA system or the later cycling clutch systems.
One thing I don't like on the 76 is they changed from the BOP design rear axle to the C-clip type. 75 should still have BOP axle.
Sunfire Orange was a Starfire-only color and doubtful any Ninety Eights were painted that color. You may be thinking of Persimmon which is a metallic orange and looks great on the big cars.
That's a good point about the vinyl roof. They are certainly pretty, but I've seen that they can become a problem if not maintained, and after a quick search it looks like you're right about the color. Strange, I've seen a listing where the seller identifies it as Sunfire instead of Persimmon.
Also, would anyone happen to know if automatic climate control was an offered option? I know Cadillac's of the same era offered it but I can't seem to find anything alluding to Oldsmobiles having it this early on.
It's a semi-automatic temperature control called Tempmatic. Less complex than 66-73 Comfortron and way more reliable. Tempmatic allows driver control of both a/c compressor and outlets where Comfortron did not, while still maintaining a set temperature. My Regency has it, as did my 78 Custom Cruiser wagon.
I'll put it this way. I have passed on a number of otherwise nice Comfortron cars because of it. But I'm comfortable with a Tempmatic car.
I would encourage you to find a 75 Regency 98 and buy it. This generation of Oldsmobiles were the largest cars ever made by Olds. Of course, a coupe is going to be more desirable than a 4 door hardtop. Those were the only 2 98 body styles from 71-76.
FWIW, my father; Oldsguy, owned a 76 Regency 98 when I was younger. It was the most comfortable car I've ever driven on the highway. My 71 is close, but it's still pretty worn out.
Be aware that in 75 you might find an Oldsmobile with an Air Cushion Restraint airbag. If you buy one I would suggest disabling the system. If it ever deploys the chances of finding replacement parts is 0.
Hi, I just wanted to chime in as I haven't been on in a while. I have 2 '76 98 Regency coupes and absolutely love them. If your heart is set on a '75, then go for it. They are excellent, very reliable cars and they are gaining in popularity and value. One thing to keep in mind is that most of the 75/76 need or will need the rear filler panels replaced as they almost all deteriorate over time. There are not many options out there to replace them. You either get super lucky and find good originals or you get the fiberglass ones made by Replica Plastics. They're not great but they'll do the job.
As far as options, the Regency already comes with a split front seat. Most but not all have A/C (I actually owned a '76 Regency without A/C!). Cruise Control is a common option, as is the Tempmatic mentioned above. Cornering lights are fairly common and something I love having on both of mine. They look nice and they're very functional and helpful when driving at night. The list of options on these cars is a mile long so no 2 are ever really opted the same. You can pretty easily add options over time as well.
You're off to a good start by asking for advice on here because this forum has lots of very helpful people that all love Oldsmobiles!
Well after eight months I've finally found myself a '75 Regency and joined the club!
It's a moderately optioned '75 in Canyon Copper, with Tempmatic Climate Control, Cruise Control and an "Anti-Slip" rear end to list a few of the big items. It's completely rust free (thanks to the thorough Zeibart application it has) and has all of the original paperwork from the window sticker and dealer order sheet to the manual and maintenance schedule.
Now it's not perfect (what almost-fifty year-old car is?) The clock doesn't run anymore, the horn button in the steering wheel doesn't work and dome, hood and trunk lights all don't illuminate, but that is all fixable (except maybe the clock) and there's nothing major wrong with it and it's been very well cared for.
I paid a little more than I would have liked for it ($8,000), but I honestly couldn't be happier with my purchase.
WOW that is a clean 98! Very nice find and congrats! Those are all minor things to repair. Start with the obvious like fuses for the horn and lights and clock too. The horn relay COULD be bad but I don't think I've ever had to replace one on my own cars. You could just have some dirty contacts. The clock can 100% definitely be repaired and it's easier and less expensive than you may expect. These guys are awesome so give them a shout. http://www.clockwks.com/Servicex.html. They did mine years ago and it's still keeping perfect time. How many miles on your new 75 98 Regency?
Originally Posted by SirVelociraptor
Well after eight months I've finally found myself a '75 Regency and joined the club!
It's a moderately optioned '75 in Canyon Copper, with Tempmatic Climate Control, Cruise Control and an "Anti-Slip" rear end to list a few of the big items. It's completely rust free (thanks to the thorough Zeibart application it has) and has all of the original paperwork from the window sticker and dealer order sheet to the manual and maintenance schedule.
Now it's not perfect (what almost-fifty year-old car is?) The clock doesn't run anymore, the horn button in the steering wheel doesn't work and dome, hood and trunk lights all don't illuminate, but that is all fixable (except maybe the clock) and there's nothing major wrong with it and it's been very well cared for.
I paid a little more than I would have liked for it ($8,000), but I honestly couldn't be happier with my purchase.
That is a great looking ride! Post more pics if you wish.
How many miles?
Drive it A LOT !!!
More pics will be coming! Currently sitting at 95228 on the odometer.
Originally Posted by 76 Regency
WOW that is a clean 98! Very nice find and congrats! Those are all minor things to repair. Start with the obvious like fuses for the horn and lights and clock too. The horn relay COULD be bad but I don't think I've ever had to replace one on my own cars. You could just have some dirty contacts. The clock can 100% definitely be repaired and it's easier and less expensive than you may expect. These guys are awesome so give them a shout. http://www.clockwks.com/Servicex.html. They did mine years ago and it's still keeping perfect time. How many miles on your new 75 98 Regency?
The fuses are all good. The clock I'm sure is a stripped plastic gear (thanks for the heads up on that company!) The horn seems to be the buttons in the steering wheel as I managed to get it to blow for half-a-second by pressing hard on it. As for the lights, it has to be a break in the circuit somewhere as pulling the fuse disabled the working door lights as well and none of the bulbs in the effected sockets are blown.
Mileage is currently sitting at 95228, though you certianly would think it's less with the consition it's in!
Wow, now THAT is a clean '75 98! Same color as mine, except I have a dark brown vinyl top. It looks like someone has some aftermarket audio in the trunk.
I'd say 8k isn't a bad price at all, especially in this market. It appears to be rust/rot free. My car was much less, but it was also severely neglected and and needed some work to make it a good driver. Now, it's being hacked apart to make it faster, more reliable, and ridiculously fun. Check out my build thread in my signature.
Congrats on the purchase! If my car was in that kind of shape, I'd just enjoy it as-is.
Also, I recently pulled my steering wheel. If you determine the horn issue is in the button/wiring in the wheel, let me know and I'll sell you mine for cheap to swap it out. 2 screws in the back of the wheel hold it on and there are two wires. Mine was working as expected when pulled. The radio in my car also stopped working so that's pretty common.
One thing I have found when troubleshooting the circuits in the car, is that the glass fuses are a major PITA. If you take a multimeter and get 12V on one side, but do not get 12V on the other, replace the fuse. Going by simply looking at the fuse may not be enough. I have contemplated swapping out the fuse block simply for blade fuses lol. Showing my age... Again, congrats.
More pics will be coming! Currently sitting at 95228 on the odometer.
The fuses are all good. The clock I'm sure is a stripped plastic gear (thanks for the heads up on that company!) The horn seems to be the buttons in the steering wheel as I managed to get it to blow for half-a-second by pressing hard on it. As for the lights, it has to be a break in the circuit somewhere as pulling the fuse disabled the working door lights as well and none of the bulbs in the effected sockets are blown.
Mileage is currently sitting at 95228, though you certianly would think it's less with the consition it's in!
No problem on the clock repair lead. Pull the horn pad off as described in another post (2 screws in the back of the steering wheel and then the horn wiring pigtail once the horn pad is free. It's possible the contacts are bad or the pigtail or maybe even the cancelling cam that it twists into. All of which are inexpensive and pretty simple to replace. I have numerous horn pads if that's problem.
As for the pics, the car looks awesome and like it was well care for so you scored nicely! I noticed a few things so I'll offer some help. Is your washer jar broken or is it just the picture making it look that way to me? Your front speaker grille was either cut to fit a bigger speaker or it's broken. The stock radio section of the dash cluster was cut to fit the after-market radio. I have all of those parts if you want to repair/replace anything to get it back to original. I have had my 2 76 98's for a very, very long time so I know these cars very well.
Armed with the wiring diagrams in it you should be able to troubleshoot the lights. It also shows how to R&R the clock which is thankfully a simple job.
In all honesty that "Chronometer" is not a very reliable timepiece. Trying to remember who made the wretched things but they made them for GM and Chrysler. When I pulled the AM-FM-8 track to install the Delco ETR cassette, I pulled the Rocket emblem clock blank off plate from a Delta 88 and used that.
Beautiful car and as Jesse (Olds64) said I loved my '76 98 Regency and agree that it was the smoothest riding Oldsmobile I have ever driven or owned. Yours is really nice, congrats.
Wow, now THAT is a clean '75 98! Same color as mine, except I have a dark brown vinyl top. It looks like someone has some aftermarket audio in the trunk.
I'd say 8k isn't a bad price at all, especially in this market. It appears to be rust/rot free. My car was much less, but it was also severely neglected and and needed some work to make it a good driver. Now, it's being hacked apart to make it faster, more reliable, and ridiculously fun. Check out my build thread in my signature.
Congrats on the purchase! If my car was in that kind of shape, I'd just enjoy it as-is.
Also, I recently pulled my steering wheel. If you determine the horn issue is in the button/wiring in the wheel, let me know and I'll sell you mine for cheap to swap it out. 2 screws in the back of the wheel hold it on and there are two wires. Mine was working as expected when pulled. The radio in my car also stopped working so that's pretty common.
One thing I have found when troubleshooting the circuits in the car, is that the glass fuses are a major PITA. If you take a multimeter and get 12V on one side, but do not get 12V on the other, replace the fuse. Going by simply looking at the fuse may not be enough. I have contemplated swapping out the fuse block simply for blade fuses lol. Showing my age... Again, congrats.
Despite oroginally being an Iowa car, It is completely rust free! (thanks to all the Zeibart) The lack of rust holes in the rear quarters is one of the first things I noticed.
There may be a little something in the trunk, though it certainly wasn't my doing. The previous owner replaced the radio with an aftermarket unit and put a 2400w amp, crossover and two pairs of 6x9s in the rear, as well as a pair of aftermarket speakers in the dash. I'm honestly not a fan of the black with blue-LED "growth" sticking out of the dash, but I'm also not entirely sure if I want to tear everything out and track down the parts to put the original system back in. It was originally equipped with the "sterephonic" system.
I did continuity test all the fuses with a multimeter, so they're all good thankfully. They do not look fun to change!
I do plan on leaving it mostly as-is. The only things I'm thinking about doing are installing a few options that it did not come with from the factory such as Pulse Wipers, Driver-Side Mirror with Thermometer, Illuminated Entry / Door Locks and the External Lamp Monitor (if that's possible to install after the fact) and possibly Twighlight Sentinel from a later car.
Originally Posted by 76 Regency
No problem on the clock repair lead. Pull the horn pad off as described in another post (2 screws in the back of the steering wheel and then the horn wiring pigtail once the horn pad is free. It's possible the contacts are bad or the pigtail or maybe even the cancelling cam that it twists into. All of which are inexpensive and pretty simple to replace. I have numerous horn pads if that's problem.
As for the pics, the car looks awesome and like it was well care for so you scored nicely! I noticed a few things so I'll offer some help. Is your washer jar broken or is it just the picture making it look that way to me? Your front speaker grille was either cut to fit a bigger speaker or it's broken. The stock radio section of the dash cluster was cut to fit the after-market radio. I have all of those parts if you want to repair/replace anything to get it back to original. I have had my 2 76 98's for a very, very long time so I know these cars very well.
Thanks for the offers! The washer jar is fine (though oddly enough the top is stained blue). The dash and the dash speaker grills have been cut out for an aftermarket system. I would ideally like to get it back to original, but at the same time I'm not sure if I'd want to go through tearing everything out and tracking down a good condition OEM radio and speakers. Either way there are few other things I need to care of before I think about the audio system.
Originally Posted by Olds64
I like the pillow top seats the 98 went to (I think in 73). The white walls are bad@$$ too? Are they Ironman's or Cokers?
The seats are absolutely fantastic. I think they're better than my couch lol. The tires are Surtack Power Tourings.
Pulse Wipers, Driver-Side Mirror with Thermometer, Illuminated Entry / Door Locks and the External Lamp Monitor (if that's possible to install after the fact) and possibly Twighlight Sentinel
The thermometer remote mirror will be the easiest thing to change provided you can find one.
Changing from Mist to Delay wipers can be done but will require some thought. Same with Twilight Sentinel. Both were available in 1975 and the TS could be dealer installed. There are wiring differences and you'll need a LH trim panel that has both those options plus Tempmatic and Cruise.
The fiber-optics and the ELM would both be 100x more trouble to source and install than they would ever be worth. There were reasons some things were installed at the Fisher Body plant.
The thermometer remote mirror will be the easiest thing to change provided you can find one.
Changing from Mist to Delay wipers can be done but will require some thought. Same with Twilight Sentinel. Both were available in 1975 and the TS could be dealer installed. There are wiring differences and you'll need a LH trim panel that has both those options plus Tempmatic and Cruise.
The fiber-optics and the ELM would both be 100x more trouble to source and install than they would ever be worth. There were reasons some things were installed at the Fisher Body plant.
The way I understand it, you need to replace both the switch and the wiper motor for delay wipers, correct? I would assume there would be some wiring / vacuum line differences between the two.
As for the Illuminated Entry and ELM, do those systems use fiber-optics? I know the later systems had pieces on the fender within driver view where the fiber-optics terminated, but I thought the Regency's was electronic seeing as it has the lamp on the instrument cluster for it. I also know the later IE system was just a fiber-optic cable run from the door light to the lock cylinder, however I was under the impression the older system had an actual lignt in the door handle that illuminated the lock.
Alright, it's been a hot minute but man, has there been a lot of "little repairs" carried out this past month. In no particular order I've...
- Replaced the passenger-side wiper arm (who thought encasing the pin in plastic was a good idea?) and both wiper blades with NoS Chrome Tricos
- Replaced the blower-hi relay
- Replaced the "accordion" air intake with a NoS Dorman hose
- Fixed the horn button contact
- Replaced the broken headlamp adjusters and re-adjusted them
- Replaced the three u-joints on the driveshaft (no more squeaking!)
- Changed the oil, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, PCV valve and greased all the joints in what was probably the first time in a decade for this car
- Fully flushed and cleaned the cooling system and changed the coolant
- Ran three new wires (orange, white and light-green) to bypass breaks that were somewhere along in the wire loom that runs from the front-body connector to the rear-body connector, which in turn fixed my dome / map lights AND my non-functioning reverse lights (that was embarrassing to be stopped over for)
- Found the hose for the passenger-side lap-vent under the seat (as well as three Bic lighters, a bottle-opener, bottle caps and a pair of crushed Aviators) and put it back on
- Removed the stupid, over-sized speakers from the dash and re-connected the hose for the Tempmatic's aspirator so it will actually control the air temperature again
- Pulled the aftermarket radio and its harness (which was wire-nutted on...) and marked the wires from the factory harness
- Pulled the aftermarket speaker / remote wire runs that were made
I've done quite a bit, but as is the case, there's still quite a bit more to do, such as...
- Fix the blower low-speed position (as of now it just shuts it off)
- Fix the washer fluid pump (honestly I may just hold off on this until I upgrade to pulse wipers)
- Fix the broken-mounts on the lower dash piece (it was never fully re-installed with all of the mounting hardware, presumably when the radio was put in and as such, they've broken off in driving)
- Fix the seat-belt warning buzzer (it looks like someone removed the plug from the shifter switch and pulled the buzzer out)
- Change out the brake pads / shoes, drum hardware and flush system out with fresh fluid
- Get the dang clock fixed! It can't stay 1:20pm forever....
- Sort out the radio situation
Thankfully, outside of the wiring mess that was made putting the aftermarket radio in, there hasn't really been anything else majorly bunged up, just some issues here and there that are expected with age.
They did a great job. It was $175 plus $21 shipping (plus the cost of my shipping it to them initially).
The only downside is that it took them about four months to do it as they were still clearing out backlog due to the pandemic. But like I said, it was worth the wait (and I did have my wristwatch to get me through in the interim!).
Alright, well I figured out why Lo Speed for the blower doesn't work...
...the Thermal Relay is gone! There is voltage being supplied from one end of the connector that would have plugged into whatever relay that screwed onto the end of the assembly pictured, but without the relay Lo speed just isn't going to work. Well, unless I bridge the wires together on the connector.
I don't suppose anyone would know what the part number for that particular component was? Just searching "thermal relay" brings up results for the Blower Hi-Speed Relay.
As for the seatbelt warning buzzer, it seems like the Regency was never equipped with a buzzer and instead had the light / tone generator combo that would go off if you were sat in one of the front seats, without a seatbelt fastened and in-gear, however that doesn't appear to be functioning. There is a two-prong connector on the neutral-safety / column switch that isn't connected (and that I cannot locate the pigtail connector for anywhere) that's supposed to have a plug with a yellow and pink wire connected to it as a part of the seatbelt / safety interlock circuit.
Since I cannot locate the other end of the connector, I'm honestly not sure where to go from here. Sure, everything functions fine as is, but I'm an absolute stickler in wanting to have everything working as intended.
They did a great job. It was $175 plus $21 shipping (plus the cost of my shipping it to them initially).
The only downside is that it took them about four months to do it as they were still clearing out backlog due to the pandemic. But like I said, it was worth the wait (and I did have my wristwatch to get me through in the interim!).
Thanks for the tip! I've had a few reccomendations on getting the clock fixed, but other items have been taking precedence over a luxury like knowing the time.
Originally Posted by Georges75
Beautiful car!
Where in Indiana are you? Maybe I'll see you around in the spring. I also have a '75, I'm from Chicago
Dang, that is a nice 98! Out of curiosity, what options was yours equipped with?
I'm up in the Northeastern corner of Indiana, here.
Alright, turns out the part number for the "relay" I'm missing is 1-6490448, though it really isn't a really as much as it is a thermally operated switch.
Sadly I haven't been able to find a replacement as of yet, though.
Thanks for the tip! I've had a few reccomendations on getting the clock fixed, but other items have been taking precedence over a luxury like knowing the time.
Dang, that is a nice 98! Out of curiosity, what options was yours equipped with?
I'm up in the Northeastern corner of Indiana, here.
Thanks! I don't have a seat belt buzzer either. Wonder if that stopped with the interlock going away after '74? Mine makes no noise or light if the belt is unbuckled.
Off the top of my head,
Cruise, tempmatic, fuel economy gauge, AM/FM/8 Track, rear defog, windshield antenna, power driver and passenger seat. Probably forgetting something.
My Regency only sounds the buzzer when the headlights are left on. My car is slowly moving away from stock parts, but if you would like any pics for reference to help put your back to 100%, let me know. I'll be glad to snap some under dash pics or whatever. My washer motor and wipers do not seem to work as well as a few other things (clock, power antenna).
Well it's been one hell of a month, but not even a dead transmission could keep me from driving my Regency!
For those curious, early this past december when driving home, I merged onto the highway and immediately noticed something was amiss as my even though my RPMs were climbing, my speed was not. Well, pretty soon I made the startling realization that I was not shifting out of first! I put on my hazards and crawled my way home. Over the next few days I did everything from changing the modulator valve checking vacuum signals (a strong 17 PSI, all good there) to dropping the pan and changing the fluid and filter but no matter what I did, the transmission would not shift out of first. After exhuasting all of the "easy" fixes, I decided to siphon some of the trans fluid back out. Despite changing 6 qtz of it a day prior, it was almost pitch-black and smelled heavily burnt. My transmission was officially dead...
...but of course I didn't just leave it that way! Thankfully there are a few mechanics in my family, and while none of them knew how to rebuild an automatic transmission, one of them did know an elderly gentleman they worked with a few times who, despite being retired, still rebuilt transmissions out if their shed. The following weekend me and my old man put the Olds up on his left and got to work pulling the transmission and lugged over to be rebuilt.
It was about this time with the transmission out I noticed I was leaking oil from the pan seal and decided I should probably change it. I also decided that if I'm pulling the pan then I should probably change the rear-main while I'm at it. After all, how hard could that be? Extremely, As it would turn out. While there wasn't much remaing of the original pan seal (it was so far gone the bolts had loosened and weren't even hand tight) and what did remain was so thoroughly cooked onto the block it took me two days with a hammer and chisel to remove it, with lots of sanding needed after that. Nevertheless, it I finally managed to get it clean and smooth.
After the pan seal was death with, I turned my attention to the rear main. I pulled the cap off and removed the old rope seal and immediately set to struggling for the next four hours trying to get the new one fed in. About an hour after loosening the other caps and lowering the crank to give me more space to feed the seal through, I finally had a moment of clarity and thought that maybe, just maybe, I was given the wrong seal. (Spoilers: I was.) Turns out the seal I was sold was about 1.5x thicker than the original seal. Fed up with fighting the rope seal (and having broke the tool to feed it) I looked for alternatives and found that a Neoprene seal for certain Ford engines would in fact fit the Olds 455 without issue. One round-trip to NAPA and a light coating of grease later, the seals were easily slid into their new homes and all of the crank bolts torqued back to their completely reasonable 120 ft-lbs.
At this point, I still had a good week before my transmission was supposed to be finished and decided that since I'm aready under the car, I might as well clean off the fifty years of grease from the oil pan, suspension components and A frame and re-coat everything with rubberized underbody coating. Fun-fact: Did you know it takes ten spray cans to do the entire underbody of a 1975 98 Regency? Because I sure as heck didn't expect to need that much! I also wire-wheeled the crossmember, driveshaft and starter mounting plate and gave them a nice new cost of enamel while I was it, because why not?
After everything was clean, coated and painted, I re-installed the oil pan with its new seal (and some permatex where the different seals met for good measure) and got it all put back together. I will say having the pan off really re-assured me on the health of the engine. Despite being almost fifty years old and having 96k miles on it everything was extremely clean and there wasn't a single thing out of place, only a slight film of fine metal particulate that had collected in the bottom of the pan.
A couple days later I got the call that it was time to go and pickup my newly rebuilt transmission. While I was expecting to be clean and functional, what I did not expect was that he even painted it for me!
Needless to say I was very happy with the work done and even happier with the what I payed (a whopping $500). I got to work putting everything back together and after another five hours, 5 qtz of full synthetic 5W30, a pint of ZDDP oil additive and 11 qtz of full synthetic ATF, the Regency hit the road again for the first time in over a month and man, does it shift extremely smooth now! Overall, despite all of the frustation and time I sank into doing this myself, I'm very happy I did. I learned quite a bit more about my car and I kniw everything was done right. My only regret that I have from this whole ordeal is that I did not taking more photos! Especially before pictures as the difference underneath is complete night a day. Hopefully the few after pictures I have will suffice, though!
February 8th, 2022, 08:20 PM
