Bill Lowe's Oldsmobile's

My 1968 Delta 88 455 cu in 375 hp and 510 ft/lbs of torque

This two door 68 Delta 88 cost $888.cdn I got it on the 8th day of the 8 month of 1988 and put $8.88 gas in it.

A few weeks later I was at a red traffic light on four lane street in town, with my family, summer time windows down music playing. When a new 1988 Z28 Camaro pulls beside us with two young boys in it, they laugh at car. I give it a bit gas and the car rocks forward motioning to them to race. The Z28 driver gives thumb up, the light turns green they boot it, I just push the gas peddle about 1/4 way down and keep up with them. When I hit about 30 mph I put peddle to metal and blow the doors off the Z28.At the next traffic light waiting for green light again, they pull up and the driver of the Z28 Asked "What do you have in there?" I said "455 my friend. What did you paid for that Camero?" He said "$8600 cdn" I said "mine cost $888 cdn!". This car driving range was over 450 miles highway on a full tank of gas (super) long as you didn't take it over 60 mph or boot it and that was hard to do! Oh it had 88 thousand miles when I bought it, I changed the timing chain 4 times sold it with over 200,000 miles on it.  Out of all my cars I miss my old 88 power sled. I was told that the biggest Rochester Quadrajet carburetor you order form GM is only used on the 68 Delta 88

1967 Cutlass Supreme 330 cu in 320 hp two speed Jetaway transmission bucket seats console shift (Birch Bay Washington1986 AD) I only paid $1500 cdn. for this all original 67, only the engine had be done rebuilt. When I test drove this car with the owner, I ask him if I could really see how fast the car was and told him I would just leave it drive and just floor it!. He said "Go a head its lots of power". So I  took it to 70 mph, look for cops and then floor it. The automatic transmission shifted back in to low gear, that thru our heads back and I kept my foot down . I looked at the owner he was hanging on to the dash now, and at 95 mph it shifted back to drive. I let of on the gas and said "Ok its this running really good I going to buy it!" He said in shock" I had no idea this car had that much power and could go so fast! This car also feels like it has some kind of overdrive that happens just before 120 mph.

I could go over 120 mph up 10% grade on the Coquihalla Hwy, I have no idea what top end was but it must have been over 135 mph.

 My other 1967 Cutlass Supreme (Camping at Cherry Point Washington)1989 AD











 

My first car was a 1969 Cutlass 350 cu in V8 four barrel 310 hp 360 ft/lbs of  torque positraction rear-end, I got it tested on dynometer 356 hp 443 ft/lbs of torque,

I got a lot of speeding tickets with this car starting with the first day driving to town on two lane country road. There was a lot of cars in front of me going way too slow, so I must pass them all on a the straight part of the road. So waited and then I saw my chance, I punch the peddle and starting passing everything. I was at about 100 mph when I passed the police car leading all the slower cars. Well I pull over right away and I saw that my dad who had just cosigned my loan for the car was the third car behind the cop car. A couple days later while I washing the car my dad took these pictures and said" If you miss a payment I will keep this car and you won't drive it again!"

A cop pull over one night for speeding, he want to known why I was going so fast for? I told him "Look there is no one on the Hwy at 3:00 am, I wanted to known how fast my car could go" He looked at the speedometer with his flashlight and said" It only goes up to 120 mph!" I said "How fast was I going? He said"136 mph!" I said "Now I known". He gave only three points when he could of taken me off the road.( nice cop) (I also had a 69 Two door post)

photos by my dad Eric Lowe in Rosedale 1976 AD

I have to talk about my dad and this Cutlass. A couple friends and I decided  to  go for a over night hike up Mount Cheam to a cabin. I got my dad to drop us at the trail head , he drove his two door 1969 Toyota Corolla, drop us off and took my keys for the cutlass. His Toyota was the most powerful car he had ever driven. He had never drove car with automatic transmission, power steering, power bakes, a four barrel carburetor or anything with power. He decided to pick us up in Cutlass, since he had cosigned that loan for the car.

Back then the highway speed limit was 70 mph, he had to do a left hand turn on to the hwy.  He saw his chance and step on the gas the same way he did with his Toyota. The cutlass launch like a rocket, he lost control spinning around right away, hit the brakes locked up wheels slid across the highway, and finally stop pointing in the wrong direction. All the traffic stop on both sides of the highway, people help him turn around. He finally he got himself together and picked us up, still shaking he said "You drive back", all the back home he complained that no car needs to be that powerful. I told him that was only a small block, and not the 455 big block in a 442. That night at dinner he talked about his little drive, and he never tried to drive any of my cars again. (Stories of my dad)

My  1997 Aurora with the L47 Aurora engine was a special V8 designed for the Indy in the mid 1990's and was only in the Oldsmobile Aurora, based on the Northstar engine. It has a 10.3:1 compression ratio and uses premium fuel.

It was fitting that some of the last Oldsmobile's had a V8 , though they are front wheel drive; they remind me of the old Tornados and my old 88.