Swan Song: 1976 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Four-Door Hardtop – Sold?

June 13, 2022, Update – We just confirmed the listing for this “Classifind” expired, so with no replacement found we’re assuming this ride “Sold?” While this one got away, please reach out either by email or call us directly if you’d like to be informed when we come across something similar.

May 4, 2022 Update – The private seller just replace their expiring original listing with a fresh Craigslist ad.  In it, the pictures, description, and price all remain the same.

1976 was a high-water mark for General Motors (“GM”) full-size car lines, as this was the final year of the longest and widest “B” and “C” body-based cars the company built. Not only did GM stylists downsize the cars for 1977, but they also did so without offering a four-door pillarless hardtop body style.  That combined with the fact America’s Bicentennial year was Olds’ final year of 455 cubic inch “Rocket” V8 production, and this 1976 Oldsmobile 98 Regency four-door hardtop was originally listed in May 2022 on Craigslist in Bayshore, New York (Long Island) truly is the brand’s Land Yacht swan song.

Currently offered for $9,800, comparing that price against the  Collector Car Market Review Online Tool reveals the seller’s ask falls between this guide’s #2 “Very Good” estimate of $8,775 and its #1 “Excellent” appraisal of $13,025.

Oldsmobile built its biggest full-size car in 1971 although the wheelbase was unchanged from 1970. The Ninety-Eights were the roomiest Oldsmobiles ever built thanks to the new GM full-size bodies which, at 64.3″ front shoulder room and 63.4″ rear shoulder room, set a record for interior width that would not be matched by any car until the full-size GM rear-wheel-drive models of the early to mid-1990s. The 1971 through 1976 Ninety-Eight was very similar to the Oldsmobile 88 (which by now was called the “Delta 88″) except the Ninety-Eight had a longer passenger compartment owing to its 3” longer wheelbase, and had rear Cadillac-Esque tailfins to better differentiate between the two full-size models.

In 1976 the Luxury and Regency editions of the full-size Ninety-Eights were offered, in 2-door coupes or 4-door hardtops. 4-doors had an extra window (like an opera window) in the C-pillar. A landau roof option for the coupe gave it a huge-looking opera window. Like the Custom Cruiser, Ninety-Eights had a dual section egg crate-design grille, with a new front end panel, front bumper, and wraparound horizontal parking lamps. Amber marker lenses aligned with the headlamps wrapped around the fender sides. Separate clear cornering lamps had horizontal ribs. Vertical taillamps were decorated with a small emblem in each lens. Tiny backup lamps stood alongside the license plate, on a panel that also contained small red lenses next to the tail lamps. Standard Ninety-Eight equipment included a 455 CID Rocket V8 with a 4-barrel carburetor, Turbo-Hydramatic, variable-ratio power steering, power brakes, power driver’s seat, driver’s door armrest control console, electronic message center, electric clock, fold-down center armrests, front ashtray, and JR78 x 15 Blackwall steel-belted radials. Rear fender skirts and bumper impact strips were also standard. A new 2.41:1 axle ratio became standard to improve fuel economy.

The Osborn Tramain YouTube Channel features this 1976 Oldsmobile 98 Regency commercial highlighting the brand’s “Can We Build One For You?” campaign of the period:

With only 78,000 original miles on this last of the Oldsmobile Land Yachts, the only thing you need to resolve is ensuring the car’s air conditioning system is leak-free before just moving forward with a recharge.

Here’s the seller’s description:

Show or go: what would you do with this 1976 Oldsmobile 98 Regency?  Please comment below and let us know!