Forgotten fastback: Oldsmobile’s striking Delmont 88 Holiday Coupe

Posted on Oct 23, 2021 in Featured | 2 comments

If you like the aggressive lines of the fastback body style as well as the spacious luxury of a full-size automobile, think Delmont.

If you’ve never heard of a Delmont, you’re not alone. It’s one of those forgotten models from the Sixties, thanks, in part, because Oldsmobile only built it for two short years – 1967 and ’68.

Its full name was the Delmont 88, and it was the entry-level model for those buyers aspiring to own a full-size Oldsmobile but were saddled with a tight budget. It was offered in four different body styles: four-door Town Sedan; four-door Holiday Sedan (hardtop styling); two-door Holiday Coupe and Convertible. Essentially, the Delmont was the same as the Delta 88 and Delta 88 Custom, but without all the decorative trim and fancy interior, and the 330-cu.in. V-8 as standard for the 1967 model year; the more powerful 425 and Rocket 455 were optional.

For the 1968 model year, the base engine in the Delmont was Oldsmobile’s new 350-cu.in. V-8. It was offered in two versions: two-barrel/250 hp and four-barrel/310 hp. A two-barrel 310 hp 455 was also available, as was the police package option that equipped it with a powerful 390 hp 455.

Aesthetically, the shape of this distinctive looking automobile is hard to beat. Sitting on a 123-inch wheelbase, while it may be big and long at 217.8 inches overall, its stunning form, especially in the two-door Holiday Coupe design seen here, is captivating. The way the rear quarter panel rises up to meet the sloping roofline is Sixties-era automotive design at its very best.

The owner of this outstanding Delmont 88 is Matthew Palka of Port St. Lucie, Florida. He told us:

You had other fastback-type cars in 1968, such as the Ford Torino, but this is a big-bodied car. The only drawback is that the fastback makes a blind spot on the right rear of the car, and since it doesn’t come with a right-side mirror, it sometimes presents a problem. But it’s the little things I like about this Oldsmobile, the ones that enhance the styling. My favorite line is where the rear window makes a teardrop shape when the rear window is open. You don’t notice it at first, but when you roll the windows down, it becomes a huge teardrop. I think this car is beautiful.