ydennekkram

I thought the same on the dog dish center cap for the 66. Let me know what you find out.

z11375ss

Took the stinkin hitch off tonight and fixed the heater. For some reason they disconnected the heater core. I thought it might leak once hooked up but, dry as a bone with no leaks inside the car and heat like a good 60s car puts out. Ran new hoses and topped off the antfreeze. This thing is so dang clean. I like just looking at it. Now, on to the tires so I don't end up in a ditch. Any thoughts on how big a whitewall to go with? I have the original spare in the trunk along with the original jack setup. All mint. I doubt the spare has ever touched the ground. I can take a measurement on that whitewall and see what it is. It looks mighty thin. A bit thinner than I want. 3"ers ,I think would be too much. The car runs so smooth without a hint of valvetrain noise. Just a joy to own. My hat is off to Pat from Mich. She took great care of this car. I'm sure it was hard for her to let it go, but she sold it to the right guy. It has been in her family since 81. And to think it was 15 years old then! Come back on the whitewalls, I am interested in all of your thoughts. Jim

1969w3155

I prefer the look of a 3/8" or so whitewall on the '66's.

z11375ss

I think that is what is on the spare.

J-(Chicago)

Personally, I'd go with a 1" . 3" might be a little much since it isn't a 50's malt shop cruiser. The American classic 75 series with the narrower whitewall would look sharp on there.

Too bad you can't get body colored 1" striping. Maroonish-plum walls that matched the paint would be super slick.

hullinger

When it comes to wheels and tires I'm a stickler on originality. I really prefer the look of the correct type of tire and whitewall size. When I got my Toro it already had a disc brake conversion so it had the prerequisite 15" wheels, which came from an El Dorado. The tires were American Classics with the one-inch whitewall. I disliked the look of the tires so much that I contemplated reversing the tires and just having a black walls. Never did make the change though. I attached some pics for reference. As for the 15" wheels, you may want to do a disc brake conversion at some point so remember that the larger wheel is needed to clear the caliper. Just something to consider before spending the dough on new sneakers for your ride.

Chris

z11375ss

Here is the spare. It has a 1/4" whitewall. I like these. What does anyone think.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

J-(Chicago)

I love em' on your car, hullinger. The larger tire stripe isn't any less gaudy than the similar larger sized body line above it on the fender in my opinion. They compliment each other well. Different strokes for different folks I guess. Thanks for sharing your pics and... Nice ride!

z11375ss

Yep. I forgot to tell you that as well. Nice car. That thing is beautiful.

1969w3155

I looked at pics that I have from Homecoming (diff. years) and most are in the 3/4" to 1" width, and they all look good. I believe that Michelin has the Symmetry 15" radial with narrow whitewalls, I see them frequently on rear drive Mercury Marquoise' and Crown Vics.

1969w3155

1969w3155

Went to the Michelin site and it appears that they only have 16" in this style, they were still available last year, as a buddy was talking with a local tire store about ordering them.

ydennekkram

I think that super thin white wall is great, I've been looking for a set like that but can't find them anywhere, I ended up putting on some Hankooks with a 1" white wall. They look ok but that thin white wall was pretty unique to the Toronado.

z11375ss

Had the car at the shop last night. Plans now are to pull the motor and trans, fix all the leaks, paint everything, make the engine compartment look right. Undercoat the bottom, new shocks, exhaust, bushings, etc. I'm having the rear chrome redone along with fixing the dings in the rear bumper. The next pics I will be posting should be quite a bit different. Anyone got a spare check? That's good?

MDchanic

That's a very nice-looking car as it is. Make sure that the guy doing it is very careful and doesn't screw it up.

If it were me, I'd drive it up to Allan and have him do it. That car deserves that kind of pathologically detailed care.

- Eric

z11375ss

The guy who did the cosmetics on my Cutlass is doing the Toro. I have complete confidence in him. He won't break my budget either. It was on a rack last night and we went over everything that needed to be done and then what I wanted to be done. The car needs some help in areas I didn't know about. Like seals and such that are leaking. The whole dang thing has to come out to get to these to fix them properly. When it is done mid December it will be leak free and run better, sound better, look better, and be road worthy.

hullinger

Since the engine is going to be pulled than be sure to do some preventative like replace the timing chain too. Just a few bucks more in the total scope of the project. Remember that being front wheel drive, the engine has to be pulled or lifted to get to the timing chain cover.

MDchanic

Agreed - if the engine is coming out, change the timing set. Be sure to use a good-quality one.

- Eric

z11375ss

Uh oh. MAW