ArdWrknTrk Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 One of the reasons I have been a fan of Crutchfield for years, I have actually been in their main location on the North side of Charlottesville VA. I bought a very nice tuner and CD changer combination from their clearance section that I had a pair of mounts for, one set was in the truck the other in the Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Diesel. If we were taking the 5th wheel it went in Darth, if not it went in the Olds. Well, I don't have the "luxury" of an '88 (if you can call a GM diesel luxury! ) I do have a very high opinion of Crutchfield. They have great customer service, offer -what I feel is- good advice, and don't look down their nose at someone who just wants budget tunes. They'll even try to downsell, if that makes better sense for whatever system they are consulting about. They seem to just want all their customers to be happy. And that's uncommon in this day and age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85lebaront2 Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Well, I don't have the "luxury" of an '88 (if you can call a GM diesel luxury! ) I do have a very high opinion of Crutchfield. They have great customer service, offer -what I feel is- good advice, and don't look down their nose at someone who just wants budget tunes. They'll even try to downsell, if that makes better sense for whatever system they are consulting about. They seem to just want all their customers to be happy. And that's uncommon in this day and age. It wasn't the luxury Olds, that would have been a 98 Regency which is a C rather than B body (longer). Funny story, only new car I ever bought it was while we owned Preston and the Diesels had just come out. We went down and drove one, the demo was a 98 Regency, We speced out a 98 and an 88 and definitely did not want a vinyl top. The dealership is a family business and Mike Suttle III personally handled the sale. He gave us a story that an 88 like we had speced out had come in without a vinyl roof and the customer turned it down. It was kind of strange because it had exactly what we were looking at, optional tires etc. MS III offered it at $1100 off sticker when no one was discounting the Diesels, they were selling as fast as they came in at sticker price. They wanted me, owning a well known in the area Carburetor and ignition shop to buy a Diesel car. When it was less than a year old, Karen (my late wife) had our youngest (Matt) in the car and was hit in the right rear by a clown who ran a stop sign. Since the car was almost new it went back to Suttle Motor Company for repair. I was told they put a new quarter panel on, many years later I found it was straightened and bondoed. Fast forward roughly 16 years, first after it only got 16 mpg highway, I figured out the Roosamaster internal timing marks and reset the pump to where it should have and when GM sent a TSB on pump timing errors the service manager called me and asked if I could bring the car down. When they performed the TSB, they found my mark was dead on. Matt was driving the car to and from Norfolk for the Vietnam Veterans Haunted Forest, he was on his way home when a drunk sailor made a left turn in front of him. Car was totaled as the left frame horn was buckled at the steering gear mount. Since I had put a newer engine in it after the original broke the crank at #4 main, I saved that for a Bonneville Diesel I had acquired with a bad engine. Between the optional tires, Police package front and rear sway bars and 4 Konis, it would take an exit ramp at double the "safe" speed and scared the devil out of people because it had a police car stance to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 It wasn't the luxury Olds, that would have been a 98 Regency which is a C rather than B body (longer). Funny story, only new car I ever bought it was while we owned Preston and the Diesels had just come out. We went down and drove one, the demo was a 98 Regency, We speced out a 98 and an 88 and definitely did not want a vinyl top. The dealership is a family business and Mike Suttle III personally handled the sale. He gave us a story that an 88 like we had speced out had come in without a vinyl roof and the customer turned it down. It was kind of strange because it had exactly what we were looking at, optional tires etc. MS III offered it at $1100 off sticker when no one was discounting the Diesels, they were selling as fast as they came in at sticker price. They wanted me, owning a well known in the area Carburetor and ignition shop to buy a Diesel car. When it was less than a year old, Karen (my late wife) had our youngest (Matt) in the car and was hit in the right rear by a clown who ran a stop sign. Since the car was almost new it went back to Suttle Motor Company for repair. I was told they put a new quarter panel on, many years later I found it was straightened and bondoed. Fast forward roughly 16 years, first after it only got 16 mpg highway, I figured out the Roosamaster internal timing marks and reset the pump to where it should have and when GM sent a TSB on pump timing errors the service manager called me and asked if I could bring the car down. When they performed the TSB, they found my mark was dead on. Matt was driving the car to and from Norfolk for the Vietnam Veterans Haunted Forest, he was on his way home when a drunk sailor made a left turn in front of him. Car was totaled as the left frame horn was buckled at the steering gear mount. Since I had put a newer engine in it after the original broke the crank at #4 main, I saved that for a Bonneville Diesel I had acquired with a bad engine. Between the optional tires, Police package front and rear sway bars and 4 Konis, it would take an exit ramp at double the "safe" speed and scared the devil out of people because it had a police car stance to it. Kool story bro! ANY 88 is 'luxury' compared to Li'l Red! The cop package makes it even more desirable. So, owning a carb and ignition shop and driving a car that had neither didn't seem incongruous??? I get it. And I'm glad Matt was driving a boat when some drunk idiot turned in front of him. He's a good guy, your son. And I'm glad he made it through that event. If fact I kind of miss his input, from back in the FTE days. He helped me (and many others) with his knowledge and experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Kool story bro! ANY 88 is 'luxury' compared to Li'l Red! The cop package makes it even more desirable. So, owning a carb and ignition shop and driving a car that had neither didn't seem incongruous??? I get it. And I'm glad Matt was driving a boat when some drunk idiot turned in front of him. He's a good guy, your son. And I'm glad he made it through that event. If fact I kind of miss his input, from back in the FTE days. He helped me (and many others) with his knowledge and experience. Yuppers, Matt helped me many times. And I got to meet him. What's he doing these days, Bill? Can you get him on here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85lebaront2 Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Yuppers, Matt helped me many times. And I got to meet him. What's he doing these days, Bill? Can you get him on here? Gary, his Bullnose now resides very close to it's birthplace, The old Norfolk Assembly Plant. The only Ford he owns is a 2002 Excursion V10. He no longer has the Mustang as Olympus gave him a company car and his other vehicle is a 2009 Harley Davidson Street Glide. As a result I doubt he would be real interested in the forum. To finish the Oldsmobile/Matt connection, when he was a teenager he went to a local roller rink many times driving the Olds. He came out one night as they were closing, put the key in the ignition and when he turned it on noticed about half the fuel in it had vanished, did a quick check for leaks or a hole in the tank, nada, so he turned the key off and waited. After a bit another kid about his age came out and got into a Camaro parked nearby, started it and got about 1 car length before it smoked, rattled and shut off. Matt cranked up the Olds, gunned it once for effect so the kid realized he had syphoned Diesel fuel instead of gas and roared by him. He found out a few weeks later that by the time the kid had it fixed stealing that tank of Diesel cost him or his parents about $3000 in repairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 Gary, his Bullnose now resides very close to it's birthplace, The old Norfolk Assembly Plant. The only Ford he owns is a 2002 Excursion V10. He no longer has the Mustang as Olympus gave him a company car and his other vehicle is a 2009 Harley Davidson Street Glide. As a result I doubt he would be real interested in the forum. To finish the Oldsmobile/Matt connection, when he was a teenager he went to a local roller rink many times driving the Olds. He came out one night as they were closing, put the key in the ignition and when he turned it on noticed about half the fuel in it had vanished, did a quick check for leaks or a hole in the tank, nada, so he turned the key off and waited. After a bit another kid about his age came out and got into a Camaro parked nearby, started it and got about 1 car length before it smoked, rattled and shut off. Matt cranked up the Olds, gunned it once for effect so the kid realized he had syphoned Diesel fuel instead of gas and roared by him. He found out a few weeks later that by the time the kid had it fixed stealing that tank of Diesel cost him or his parents about $3000 in repairs. Please tell Matt hello for me. As for the story, I love it! Got what he deserved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted August 21, 2020 Author Share Posted August 21, 2020 Please tell Matt hello for me. As for the story, I love it! Got what he deserved. Let's see if the kiddie pool underneath helps... And since I've been slacking, on photos (reallllly slow without WiFi) let's see if I can fill in a little. I can barely tell the thumbnails on my phone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 Let's see if the kiddie pool underneath helps... And since I've been slacking, on photos (reallllly slow without WiFi) let's see if I can fill in a little. I can barely tell the thumbnails on my phone... Yes, the turquoise kiddie pool did the trick! I can easily see the drain hole. Man, you have done a LOT of work. Sure is looking good. And, it'll sound good as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted August 21, 2020 Author Share Posted August 21, 2020 Yes, the turquoise kiddie pool did the trick! I can easily see the drain hole. Man, you have done a LOT of work. Sure is looking good. And, it'll sound good as well. I've pulled the head unit, decyphered the wire colours, tagged them port & starboard with red and green tape and am working on soldering in the SAE connectors so I can put the drivers kick panel in, replace the sill and bolt down the seat. Sadly, the rear speaker box will have to wait. But I did get the front stained to match (gunstock) And I'm hoping the links will arrive today. So I can get that back in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted August 21, 2020 Author Share Posted August 21, 2020 I've pulled the head unit, decyphered the wire colours, tagged them port & starboard with red and green tape and am working on soldering in the SAE connectors so I can put the drivers kick panel in, replace the sill and bolt down the seat. Sadly, the rear speaker box will have to wait. But I did get the front stained to match (gunstock) And I'm hoping the links will arrive today. So I can get that back in. FYI LR+ = pk/gr LR-= bl/or RR+ = pk/bu RR- = gr/or Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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