The curiously optioned cars of the 1970s. 455 V8 and PW, but no AC. 1971 Oldsmobile Delta 88 , sedan - cars & trucks - by dealer -... (craigslist.org)
Some peeps figured they could select the if engine and power windows to splurge a little bit, but not a lot
Its odd to me to see an Alternator mounted on the passenger side of a Olds powered car, ig it had A/C it would be on the drivers side.
They had to balance the stress on the crank and water pump pulley, an AC car has the giant compressor (and smog pump later) on the passenger side. This is why if you delete your AC compressor on an Olds motor you run the risk of belt tension problems - especially on the later-era 307 cars when they cut a ton of meat out of the pulley assemblies. The high end engine and power windows were probably cheaper than the AC alone as AC was almost 10-15% of a car's new price in this era.
It reminds me of my grandparent's '66, which was supposed to be my first car, till my mom got sideswiped one morning on the streets of Seattle, about a half year before I was to take Driver's Ed. Same shade of blue interior, but almost no frills, and white outside.