Oldsmobile 88

The Oldsmobile Delta 88 was a beast!  A two door coupe with a massive 350 cubic inch V8 engine.  The enormous doors opened enough to allow entry into the back seat without moving the split fold front bench seat.  It was left hand drive.  The reason I note that is that this was my Dad's car when we lived in Jamaica...where cars drove on the left side of the road.  It was totally inappropriate but we loved it!

I was around 10 or 11 years old when this beast came into the family.  By then I was working with my Dad at his Texaco Service station on Spanish Town Road on the edge of Trench Town in Kingston.  He was an early riser so by 5:30 am we were in the Olds on our way to work.  

The Service Station provided a number of services.  Gas of course and diesel...truck and bus owners were regular customers.  Then there were the oil and lube done on a hoist for the cars and over an open pit for the trucks and buses.  In those days suspension bits and ball joints needed to be lubed up.  I can still remember the sound of the compressor hissing as it pulled thick lubricant from the 55 gallon drum.  And the smell...ahhh....!

We repaired tires as well.  In those days all bias ply tires had an inner tube.  It had to be removed in order to repair it.  That was my first job:  Patching and repairing inner tubes.  The surface around the hole had to be roughed up first then the adhesive was applied and allowed to get tacky.  Only then could the 'patch' be applied.  Then it was on to the vulcanizer:  a press that applied pressure and heat to permanently fix the patch to the tube.  Once done, I inflated the tube, ran it under some water to see if there were any bubbles and if none, gave it back to the installer to put back onto the rim.

Then it was time for lunch.  And another ride in the Olds. Most days we headed to my Grandmother's place for a home cooked meal.  Usually something with rice...heavy, and delicious.  We always made time for a quick nap before heading back to the service station for the afternoon.

The day we had the collision was like any other.  We had stopped at a local plaza on the way to lunch. Dad pulled out of the parking lot directly into the side of a small Japanese car.  To this day I don't remember feeling any impact!  The front end of the Olds was miles away and protected by a solid steel, chrome plated bumper. 

We both jumped out of the Olds to inspect the damage. The chrome bumper had made a remarkable accurate indentation in the side door of the impacted car.  Thankfully we had been going slowly and the impact was on the empty passenger side of the car.  The Olds bumper had a...scratch! 

This being Jamaica, Dad and the other car owner quickly settled things with Dad offering to pay for the repairs.  Then we jumped back in the Olds and headed to lunch.  Within minutes it seemed a distant memory.

They don't make cars like that anymore.  Which is probably a good thing.  Today at high speed, a car like that vintage of Oldsmobile would cause serious damage.  But darn...I do miss that Oldsmobile 88!

Until next time...