‘New’ 45-mile 1975 Olds 88 Royale convertible still on MSO
Would you drive it? A handful of car types were cryogenically frozen in the disco era, but 1975 Oldsmobile 88 Royale convertibles generally weren’t among them. Yet here’s a 45-mile…
Would you drive it?
A handful of car types were cryogenically frozen in the disco era, but 1975 Oldsmobile 88 Royale convertibles generally weren’t among them. Yet here’s a 45-mile example that’s still on its MSO. Yes, it’s never even been titled. Even the dealer sticker is still attached to the window.
Whitaker Marketing Group is offering the 88 Royale as part of the Harry Reed Car Collection of Winterset, Iowa, in an online-only auction ending Oct. 28. The winning bidder of the time capsule Olds will, indeed, become the nearly 45-year-old car’s first owner of record. Click on the link below to learn more.
The 1975 88 Royale convertible was the last Oldsmobile convertible — at least for a while. The 88 Royale line was also the only Oldsmobile to include a convertible that year, of which 7181 were built in the soft top’s final season. The entire 1975 Oldsmobile line made its debut on Sept. 27, 1974, and the last Oldsmobile convertible of the 1970s — a red 1975 88 Royale — rolled off the line on July 7 of the following year. 1975 Oldsmobile 88 Royale convertible sales were nearly double the 3716 built in 1974, likely a result of Oldsmobile’s announcement that 1975 would be the last year for convertible production.
Standard 1975 88 Royale equipment included power brakes with front discs, cigarette lighter, electronic ignition system, 350-cid V-8 engine, carpeting, inside hood release, bumper impact strips, dome light, lamp package, molding package, power steering, Deluxe steering wheel and Turbo-HydraMatic transmission.
This baby blue 88 Royale’s window sticker shows a list of options, but window sticker cannot be clearly read from the photos.
We’ve seen similar 1975 Olds 88 Royale convertibles with 3000 to 40,000 miles sell for around $15,000 and up as well. However, a black 600-mile 1975 Olds 88 Royale convertible with the optional 455 has also publicly sold for $47,000, so where bidding ends on this example will probably be somewhere between.
Online bidding on this car and several others in the Reed collection will end Oct. 28 with a chance to inspect the cars in person at an Oct. 21 preview. Learn more and bid at https://iowa-auction.com/
Other interesting cars in the collection include:
- 1941 Cadillac convertible coupe
- 1941 Cadillac Club Coupe (fastback)
- 1964 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 convertible
- 1964 Oldsmobile 88 convertible
- 1964 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 two-door hardtop
- 1964 Oldsmobile Jetstar 88 four-door sedan
- 1963 Oldsmobile F85 Jetfire two-door hardtop
- 1963 Oldsmobile F85 Jetfire convertible
- 1951 Crosley station wagon
- 1963 Chrysler 300 convertible
- 1960 Oldsmobile 88 four-door sedan
- 1940 Studebaker Commander two-door sedan
- 1902 Schacht
- 1975 Chevrolet wrecker
- 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham (19,800 miles)
- 1971 Cadillac Series 75 (21,300 miles)
- 1957 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket 88 convertible project
Angelo Van Bogart is the editor of Old Cars magazine and wrote the column "Hot Wheels Hunting" for Toy Cars & Models magazine for several years. He has authored several books including "Hot Wheels 40 Years," "Hot Wheels Classics: The Redline Era" and "Cadillac: 100 Years of Innovation." His 2023 book "Inside the Duesenberg SSJ" is his latest. He can be reached at avanbogart@aimmedia.com
