Behind The Wheel: 1980 Oldsmobile Omega
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 29 апр 2019
- 1979: A New, Smaller Olds Omega
WTVJ's Bob Mayer test-drives the all-new 1980 Oldsmobile Omega, shorter but roomier than the '78 with a somewhat sketchy paint job, quick starts and good power, a noisy front end, and rear windows that actually open!
This story, digitized from a 1979 3/4" U-matic videotape, has some audio issues.
Subscribe to the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives’ RUclips channel and tune in to the fascination and fun of Miami and Florida’s past, captured on film and video and preserved by the Wolfson Archives at Miami Dade College.
This video and audio is copyrighted/owned by the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives at Miami Dade College.
This clip is derived from news video in the WTVJ Collection. Accession number 172-08; airdate April 1979. 
Развлечения
The pinging noise is to let you know it’s working.
He backed up that bad boy, like a champ!
Owned this one. In 4 years I replaced just about everything that could go wrong on a car, something most people would never accept these days... but I learned a lot about how to fix a car and it made me wiser and better than most. If you can get the engine to last over 80k it's a miracle. I had the Iron Duke 2.5 and got about 30 mpg average (no AC).
When one of the positives is the fact that the rear windows actually go down there is a problem.
The A/G-body 4-doors had fixed rear door windows by design, with small pop-out vent windows.
🤣😂🤣😂
Gotta love how a BRAND NEW engine started pinging
Sounds like a diesel
In another video somebody speculated that GM cheated with this press car by cranking up the engine timing beyond what production models had in an attempt to increase horsepower.
A few constants : Cars from this time period lacked quality but they all seemed to have a smooth ride.
I thought this was the best looking of the FWD X-body cars GM built
I always thought these were the best looking of the GM X body cars. I remember Hearing about problems from neighbors who had the new GM cars. That said it’s no wonder well-built reliable cars like the Honda Accord Became so popular.
Two "fond" memories I had with my 1981 Buick Skylark (sister X body car)
1. Front door edge had body filler.
2. The high pressure power steering tubing attached to the pump developed a leak at the fitting when the car had only.5,000 miles.
That's too bad. I still have my 81 Buick Skylark 42 years and 225, 000 miles later. It's been great.
I had one, bought it used in 1987. Had a strong V6, it was faster than some of the 3-series BMW’s of the day. I put on wider tires (70 series) and drove it 200 miles per week for almost 5 years. It never gave me a day’s trouble. Sold it in 1992 for $400. Maybe the best car I’ve ever had.
these cars were a joke - dad had a new one and sold it after 2 years due to constant problems. GM had no craps to give about quality and the line workers were probably drunk half of the itme.
I love this, thanks for uploadimg this as I have a 1980 Oldsmobile Omega Brougham still, four doors in that reddish/Orange-ish color... they call cinnebon or something silly like this.... Mine only has 39 thousand or so on the dash, original and was bought new and loved/garaged until his death them I drove a few states to get it over a decade ago abouts hive or take a gew now, I'll have to pull out paperwork tk gey specific... but unfortunately she is just sitting ever since with just needing a jump to start and now... maybe some fresh gas but the condition shes in is almost amazing especially inside of the car where it counts the pkush tan seats totally clean with. O tears anywhere, evem dashboard had sun shade im window as it was such grrat shape which is incredibly rare for this car of all years ... there is ... NOT a single rip, stain or tear or even one faded spot I seen when picked her up anywhere she stood test of time, open the trunk she's like a new car, not exaggerating... the windows are all original its the one with the front windsheild having the antenna for the radio built into the middle of the glass of the windshield ... works great and a beautiful idea many new osrts put on prior to being parked she was fully street worthy and driven partly homw from Connecticut to P.A. , heck, one of the Only downsides I am missing the OEM radio unfortunately... I never found one! The kid who had this car for a few months before sekling it to me as his grandfayher passed and gave to him as he bkught it new and was the original owner and lobed the car prob more then me.. I regret one thing as in not buying a custom cover to cover her hp while she sat outside as her paintjob is mot shiny anymore like when picked her ul and thos is ashamd althkugh somebody told me that can easily be shined back up kike mirror but I dunno these things or how to do so... Remember these were used as cop cars in the 80s they were the richer districts whom had these old's? They are all in the junk yard now, I see NONE anymore as just a few good years ago I suppose they were still just barely "too young" still at the time ... to be sought after and revisited in peoples minds also with the bit of negative stigma they had as many of the most Americans Ckassics today all were demonized at some point, thats why us A.erkxans love them , hah.... As with them and the electrical ... (mines one of first built in '79 says on thee innards of thee passenger side-door-Sticker '1979 ... however definitely a 1980 Oldsmobile Brougham 4 door ... (I have ths original bill of sale from Oldsmobile, people woukd always leave notes, well, four times notes with numbers were keft in my door to call if inever "wanted to sell your OLDs parkwd in the rear" however I wasn't ready at that time and still I am in no rush, I just wamt to vwy the buyer and givd him a deal cause of the vetting as I do cate about what will vecome of her and lixture her fkying dkwn i-95 again "one day" with someone who will enjoy and cherish the era she came from and all its glory from the good to the bad and always realize at the least how Rare what they are driving ........ (she's an automatic with her automatic gearshifter on the steering column / wheel like a truck/van and also unusual for these as far as I seen as well so unsure what is the deal with some of her is a mystery as she was never modded, she is OEM to ths hubcaps and whitewall tires and every last window) ....... is and just may be that they are driving one of the last of a species per se - especially thee exact year and build and specs of this particular one ... that is so clean its amazing , I dare u to find another one for sale let alone just seeing one on the street or even in a collection they are All gone now, I saw a few being crushed as they were abused and or wrecked in am accidemt but I akways spottwd them, not anymore especially the "80" itself as in thee first of them that are more like a late 70s car it is then the later ones of the just 4 year run of the beautiful OMEGA from 1980/1984 - I saw it coming so saved mine but its nostalgia mostly as I drove in one of these with my single mother as a child for years and years as she had OnE given-too her by a neighbor where we lived in port richmond ... (old Betsy mom called her) ... so my main & first reasoning of starting to track just even "1" down for myself , for sale in good to great shape that had the rare 4 doors amd was early as possible within the four year run these were MADE.... A Brougham is also the second most unusual or least common ... (not many produced during those years when President-Reagan was first settling into office, I was a teenie baby. Geez) ... and thd 80 was also the OnE .... without the electrical issues (if a person actually opted to buy the brougham a.k.a. luxery car slash street car.... (dual purpose, it was advertised as, lol) ... yet they also optwd out for power windows and such it woukd of been unusual barring he took alk kther options minusoon roof judgung by the original bill o sake I was given upon purchase ... this as ... all of the car was Manuel windows & such this exempted tgis partixukar Omega jhst bynchamxe from its infamously bad rap it had for being the cause if maby ekectrical fires im cars, killing folks as well, its a 1980 amd yes a brkugham but the guy must of bwem very old school as he ordered his "without power windows amd such nor moonroof yet opted im for alk other fwatures, prob just luck as nobody knew how'd it tuem out, we don't now with this car but I beleive I do and I do know its hard to find one if at all as in a 1980 original oem Oldsmobile OMEGA with 4 doors or even without but especially the four doors was unusual to see for this, have no idea, maybe the cops cars were four doors I would think and reserved is what just hit me as typing this .... Anywho, MY search started around 2005... to find an " OMEGA" classic car - Thank GOD I eventually did even thoigh it took years amd yearsuch konger then I ever evem jmagined it would have it became routine to seatxh craigslist and any other website for sake or cars every morning for nearing a decade before finding "one" so I bkught her.... Anyone who is a hater of this car as people seem to either not know of it or only remember it until u tell them it was an/one-of-thee 80s police vehicle(s) in rich Districts or, so it seemed!!!.... however, they sorta remember then and either hate it or love it but those who hate it still appreciate its still America's first X body car where we drastically tried to "enter the future and make progress in ways" for the start of the beautiful 1980's and when they are all, allll gone especially beings thee entire .... Oldsmobile lineup .... Itself is now gone years in now... then people will be sorry and looking for "her" and she may end up being the only one left (lossibly NoW wish I had access just to see in America how many are known still left or least "about" of 1980 OmegAs like her kind and I would-not be-surprised if she is now already "it" , not one bit would I be... so I want her to go to someone who truly wants her for her and sees what I SEE & "know" so not ever to be sold for her parts or to scrap her and all her American steel that is in running shape easily with just a new generator "belt" and a jump or new batt, long as doesn't need a squirt of new gas, she will start just as she did in 2018 ... even after sitting for all THAT (honestly was amazing to see her start a d that carb do what its supposed to, love her distinct American car soujd from the era she is not missimg the sound although hers is the last of the americans cars tk truky have it by chamce yet hers is also a tad, tad different amd j can't place what it is... Anyway, it's time now cause of the life situation I find mySelf in and from her sitting outside its cracming my pavement, I think but who knows I woukd even take less if going to somebody who actually wamts her amd will keep her road worthy and cherish her or even for someone who will to the little bit that she needs done and sell her at a much higher price to someone that wants her, rhat tok woukd make ME happy & I'd only ask I get pics of her paimt job after buffed back to a sheen, if possible as again, dunno how this stuff works but she is a dirty girl as in I tbinknfrom sittinf the dust is keeping the brifht sheem she had whem pucked her up from showing like the mirror it once did ... for sure!!! ...if anyone sees this & interested please give me a reply here of you are interested for proper reasons if I don't see it keep responding under some of my other videos I produced nyself and maybe you will get my attention... again, thanks for posting this awesome lost for awhile.there, advertisement and story on the Oldsmobile OmegA even if its part right, oart wrong for the time, its great to see..
.........
This was the era (beginning in the early 1970's) when the quality of the American automobile was at an all time low.
LOL Many still bought them
Neighbor had this exact car when I was growing up in the neighborhood . Plates expired in '87 and it sunk into the ground and went to shit. Got dragged out by a flat bed in 17
The pontiac 301 had a combustion chamber design flaw that could cause pinging and as the iron duke was made using 301 architecture I guess the chamber design carried over..
In August of 1987, I needed a car for grad school. The drive was about 40 miles round trip five days per week. A friend of my parents told me that his friend’s daughter had an ‘80 Omega that she had bought new in 1979 but that she no longer needed because she was getting married to some wealthy guy. The car was a cream puff, only 21,000 miles and looked well taken care of. Best of all, it had the 2.8 liter V6 engine. That engine was rated at 112 hp but it felt like it had much more. I bought it for $1500.
I picked off many a BMW 325e from red lights. To improve the handling, I ditched the skinny 80-series tires and replaced them with a set of Goodyear 185-70R13 tires with raised white lettering. The car’s handling improved markedly.
I had the Omega for 5 years, until finally the rust was too much to cope with. I did not have a single mechanical issue with the car in all that time and had a lot of fun with it. Remember the Olds fondly.
One if few, like mySelf I wish my mint shaoe 1980 Oldsmobile brougham edition with only 39000 original miles on jt was a six and not with irom duke... did the six sound diff then the suoer duper distinct sound of an OmegA 4 cylinder running the iron duke? Only issue I had was new trans put in, in 2003 or so amd tey did not even have it then so had to figure it out and use a ummm, buick xxxx version and make it work, been gokd ever since but darn again wish was that six and I'll always wonder what it feels like tk drive an oblmega six over the 4 did u drive both? So you remember if the vrake was easy to loxk uo and slide the car? Lol... only complaint on my end minus I wanted a 6 do u know the name kd the exact engine u had as surely it would fit imagine puttimg a sma or big ock in there 8 cylinder as omegas have so much room in under that hood prib ecen with thw sixes?....
Hey, was your steering column on the wheel itself or in between the seats? This is how to tell a good OmegA from a bad one, I thought as in the earlier good ones seemed they had the steering gear shifter like a van or truck built into steering wheel to switch gears as mine is yet more uncommon for omegas beleive it or not as the run was 1980/1984 and you don't want an OmegA that has the power windows amd door locks they were the issues that really plagued them mine is the luxery sedan "brougham" but OEM guy chose no power but everything else loaded on original bill of sale ... so odd yet happy he did as it aged so well as the power OmegAs had massive fires and such which is mostly what theybdished out so u need a 1980 and without power amd with a six I am thonking woukd be mixer then the iron duke but still unsure on that, its a debated topic split that I feel unqualified to comment to much on however I do listen...
LOL sounds like GM had the base timing turned way up to give better power at the expense of really bad pinging.
The 2.8 V6 engine has decent power but the power steering on the other hand isn't great.
This is exactly what to say, its all there is too say .... Hah, and very much blunt, imformative, to the point from u kind sir, love it as its what I woukd say with alk the kraning about tjos things because it aas the chioldhood car I drovw around in and I still am alive - somehow... lol, the good amd the bad if have a six-C it may be worth it as a classic for sure if good shape , if not , probably not?! Why iis thw "iron duke" so loved for majority (I know some give it hate also, majority they love iron duke as an engine but the haters = probably cause of some OmegA's, lolol) ... I have one, its awesome "looking" to me and these arw so scarce I think evsm ire then anyone realizes try to fimd a orignal 1980 brougham four door like mine nowhere to be founnd even ten years ago all in the junk yards, especially if had the ekectrical issues but my my was smart amd opted for all Manuel windows amd doors/locks so it was spared so much of the issues that plagued these cars Unfortunately - however whom else would grab the luxury brougham & get it without the optional power WINDOWS/DOORS, etc ... back then - as it would be like getting a new car today loaded but without bluetooth or something, LOL, however the orignal owner of my 1980 OmegA was a stubborm awesome older fella and did just that and it aged well for him and ME!!! The OmegA I have a very rare to "find now in 2022 for sure" ... early 1980 :built: in "79" Oldsmobile OMEGA being the Brougham edition & the four door variant in that orangey, red color, lolol... cinnebon or something like that, remember these were COP cars in the richer districts it seemed had them? .... I akways wanted to find a SX I think it was calked amd it was the rarest of the rate for omegas a sports car, a true sports car you will prob find it if lookup Oldsmobile OmegA SX sports car .... Was so cool but I don't thinj any exist anymore as heck I am convinced my particular year and model are gone and I may be thee only one with one now at least in my state of P.A. if not, dare I say the u.s.a. ..... So I know thw SX sports Omega is def gone, if anyone ever need boufht one at all, LoL... hey, from what you wrote I know you know this car and well so may I ask, why, why why again is the iron duke so loved "overall" and says its a great engine that mever dies yet with the OmegA people didn't like it, did they tweak or do something I just always wanted to knoa thos question, hopeful you may have an answer thanks allot in advance either ways...
BtW: these are the kast ti have a distinxt car souhnd that ibsuppose we say amerjxan sounds car but thats prob iron duke hiwever the OmegAs def had. Distinct sound like those cars it is also with some sort odlf change in it also, I grewup with the sound of a running omega so its soothing to me, people do not realize thos is when we first were working on efficiency so I suspect all the people wanted to grab the 4 cylinder supposed if not just for fuel cost but it was just something new in the other direction and new? ... heck my car still runs flawless and always maintained only 39 thousand original miles... however shes with the iron duke which is also painted Oldsmobile blue very professionally dome had to beem factory done as the older gwntleman didn't do this nor did I its Oldsmobile baby bkue color, engine and trunk and all inside is flawless too bad jrom duke or is there any hope besides it rarity? HahHh... what woukd thw six be called, slant or some other tyoe of name for it and is iron duke good or bad is one other thing the internet can not answer?...
16.8 mpg in the city? With a four-cylinder. OMG
Omega was a better car than Citation, and there’s a difference between an Oldsmobile and a Chevrolet.
No hatchback sedan or coupe for the Oldsmobile!
Clark, why is it still running??
All new cars do that!
@@TheAstrueblue You may think you hate it now but wait til you drive it
I bought a used '80 Omega in 1990. Worst piece of General Morons garbage I owned. The front end accident actually improved it. But I know now why it was so light: Fiberglas body paneling.
My mother had one of these, it replaced her Toyota Corona (not Corolla, Corona) and it was an utter piece of shit, bought new, she *hated* that thing.
Corona with the 20R?
@@toyoscio not sure, I was a kid back then and knew nothing about engines at the time
Lemme guess, she went back to Toyota and never looked back?
@@nlpnt olds>Toyota>jeep Cherokee >Dodge Durango>Subaru forester>Saturn Astra>Honda CR-V (her current daily) she’s all over the board, car wise ;)
Had the 2.8 engine '80 Omega. Hated that car; was an all-round POS. Not the kind of stuff that'd happen in the driveway at home - was more like while driving in traffic.
A 2500 lbs car with a four cylinder engine getting mileage in the teens is criminal.
2.8 L V6. 😩☹️
This was the dark ages for General Motors.
Most that purchased one of these pieces of sh*t back then purchased a new Toyota or Honda after thus sealing the fate for GM and its future....
The 1970's and 1980's cars from GM, Ford, Dodge, and AMC were all junk. Did not matter the make, Almost like clock work, you bought any of these cars, a week or 2 later it was back at the dealership getting things fixed, over and over and OVER again.
01:41 Is the hood open there? Nope, that’s just crummy fit and finish. GM’s worst era, in my opinion, was from about 1972-1982, and that includes every X-car during its first couple of years.
I agree w you the quality wasn’t great on these, but what you see at that mark is the top of the waterfall grille. It was a unique design that went up over top of the header panel on the early Omegas.
@@RareClassicCars yes, you're right. If you go to 1:25:26, you will see the hood on this car is o.k. Just pay no attention to the fact that the reporter is backing it out quickly so that the clunking noise can be clearly heard by the viewers. I remember some guy had one just like this when it was a few years old, he made a right turn at a stop sign, was going about 15-20 mph and the engine must have stalled. I see the reverse lights light, and the rapid clicking (parking pawl) of him trying to put it in park to restart it. I wish it did go into park so he could learn how not to operate a car.
I mean this car was brand new when this video was made! It sounded like a piece of shit coming out of his driveway. And 16.8 miles per gallon with that small car and a four-cylinder? What the hell I believe something was wrong with that test car
LOL
This is why most upper middle class people bought European imports during this time.
Creaking while new? No wonder Generic Motors is what it is today.
If I were the owner of an Oldsmobile dealership at the time, I would have burst into tears or thrown up at the first site of that! That thing was horrible looking! The Citation and Phoenix were at least better looking if not any better as cars!
I'd have gone for the Citation just to get the hatchback (and Mayer's test car's glorious green velour interior - who specced the Olds? Black vinyl in south Florida has to have been a dealbreaker for a lot of people, back when there were other choices that is).
1986 Okds was America's number 1 selling vehicle.Was all downhill from there until the turned out the lights for the last time in 2004.
@@nlpnt I probably would have bought the Phoenix with the stick shift and V6. Not sure if the Iron Duke Four could be trusted. It sounded like a "farm implement".
I owned this car new .... kept it for 3 weeks and then traded it back for a Toronado .... which also was a POS.
Lol
But an upgrade still
Why did you replace your lemon of a GM car with another GM car?
@@jasonhsu4711 - Couldn’t just get my money back - they made me take another shitty product
The car was junk!
What junks they were...
Horrible cars.