Originally Posted by GN1220

My Dad had a car lot in the 80's and 90's and I remember he bought one of these, I think a 77, that was supposedly owned by a guy that worked at the Leed's Plant in KC and followed the car down the assembly line. It was black with a black padded half top, black cloth interior, 403 and a posi. I always thought it was a pretty neat car, even as a kid. Glad to see you giving this one a new lease on life.

Originally Posted by mapearso

Sometimes we do things that don’t make dollars or sense. I think my 1978 Holiday 88 Project is one of those things.

But a Delta 88 was my first car. (It was given to me by an uncle — dark green on pea soup green, radio delete …. I dubbed it “The Think Tank.”) So I’ve always had a soft spot for these B-Body cars.

What I really wanted back then was a 1977-1979 2 door. Fast forward about 30 years and for some non-sensical nostalgic reason I started looking for one.

I went down the rabbit hole and discovered the Holiday 88 — a base model Delta 88 with the Y98 option package - buckets, console, T-handle shifter, sport mirrors, a sport steering wheel, color matched hubcaps and Holiday 88 badges.

Well, heck yeah. I just needed to find one. Apparently they are rare-ish. Not sure of actual production numbers. What I am sure of is that there Ain’t any of ‘em where I live — the Peoples Republic of California.

Hello Facebook. I found a few on marketplace (Indianapolis aka “Naptown” is apparently a hotbed - go figure?) but I missed out on a couple of good stock ones and didn’t want to pay extra for 28 inch wheels and who knows what kind of suspension and modifications to accommodate said 28 inch wheels.

One guy kindly reached out to me and turned me on to something similar but different — a 1977 Delta 88 Indy Pace Car with 70,000 miles… Having struck out on my Holiday 88 search and wanting to scratch my 77-79 2 door Delta 88 itch, I jumped on it. Of course that’s when I found (what I thought was) a great Holiday 88 deal. Luckily, one of the members of this community had been searching for a 77 Indy Pace Car so I sold it to him for what I bought it for (less shipping costs which I ate)

So the Holiday 88. White with a full white vinyl top, dark Carmine red vinyl interior, red pinstripe, optional SS wheels with the starfish center caps, 350ci engine, tilt, cruise, a few other goodies. Lots of original documentation. Lots of photos from the seller. Clean. Dead straight. Mostly original paint. Mint mint mint interior with uncracked dash and unfaded wood trim. All the exterior trim and chrome shined bright like a diamond (thanks Rihanna…) Seller said it ran good, but trans was slipping. Midwest car so I asked for pictures underneath. He sent me pics and video. I knew the rockers were bad. The only other bad spot (I thought) was one of the rear body mounts….

You know where this is going. It gets off the trailer and I immediately notice a couple spots hiding under the fender wheelwell trim. Drove it straight to the shop a couple blocks from me and put it up on the rack. The undercoating hid a few things for sure. Loud crunch as the rear body mounts come apart and the bumper drops about a foot. Frame ain’t bad. Floor pans are ok. I start poking around some more. A spot by the opera windows, a spot in the door jamb, another spot under the quarter wheelwell trim. I get home and do a compression test. Dead even across all cylinders. Check the transmission fluid — doesn’t smell burnt but down a couple quarts. Everything else works.

If this was a Cutlass, Chevelle or GTO I wouldn’t blink. But it’s a B-Body and no one makes patch panels and I don’t know how to weld.

So what do I do?? Donor car!!

I find a sun-baked southern 1978 Holiday 88. Complete car. Interior is cooked. Paint is chalky as can be. But straight as an arrow, rust-free underneath and runs and drives…and almost identical build sheet as the one I have. So of course it’s on its way to me.

Plan is frame up and paint on the southern car and then swap over all the minty fresh parts (and likely the drivetrain) from the Midwest car.

Wish me luck. Pics to follow…

Originally Posted by mapearso

Thanks. I have some work ahead of me.... These Holidays were 78-80... sounds ;like the 77 you mention was a Royale not a Holiday,,,wish I had a403 in this one....

Originally Posted by Bernhard

I know certain options were not available on the Holiday 88 like the large brakes / Heavy duty brakes. The large brakes used a different rim, I think that's why it was not an option. I don't know if the 403 was option?