I have an opportunity to get a 68 Toronado.from an Impound yard. It was a City Haul Off and never claimed. Appears to be in rough shape. The hood had been stolen so it got water in the engine and it's seized. I plan on taking the engine and trans. May need a full rebuild if I can get it apart, but I'm sure not letting 68 Olds Toroado Big Valve C heads go to scrap even I can't get it apart, and I know I can get it apart to save the block and crank by cutting rods if I had to.

Question is, what else would be worth getting off of it before I sent it over the scale? I think the bumpers are in good shape, of oourse the chrome is not longer shiney. The interior is just horrible. The instrument cluster is still there and appears OK. I'd have to go look at it again, but just curious what I should be looking at to see if it's good and worthy. I'm paying a little over scrap value for I think so if anyone is near the Oklahoma City area or passing through in the next few weeks or so, maybe some cheap parts. It does appear to have all the engine brackets and AC components too. I'll probably keep all those brackets and compressor for a core since I doubt it's any good now. The OE carb is torn apart and in the back seat, and it has a what appeard to be a remanned carb on it, but it's not the exact ID # so likely one of those that's not the right one, but one that works, maybe off another Olds or Cad model Q Jet. You know it is, it ran when parked as they all did.

 

Long shot...look for UHV ignition. It should have a red coil, red dist cap and a box with cooling fins, it is worth a few $$$. I think they also had a 6qt. oil pan

 

Like SugarBear says, the engine oil pan is worth keeping.
Additionally, keep the two oil deflector pieces that are attached to the #1 and #4 bearing cap bolts. Don't forget the grab the bearing cap bolts too, they have the stud for fastening the oil deflectors.
Here's a diagram:

 

Does the front seat have headrests? Is it the Strato Bench (bucket looking seat backs)? Condition?
Thanks!

 

Not sure on the headrests. I think the seat was rough, I hope to go see this thing tomorrow or the next day. They want it gone so I hope to get it picked up by end of this weekend.

 

I should get all of that. My intent is just to pull the engine and trans as a unit. It's all original engine and trans that's never been opened up or gotten into. I see the carb has been changed, and part of an AC bracket is off but there laying on top of the engine. Not sure what that's about, but I'd really like to hope I can get this thing freed up. It may need to soak with diesel fuel or oil in the cylinders for awhile. I was crushed to see it with no hood on it and as I suspected, it wouldn't move. The guy who owned had come to the impound yard to try and get it out at 1 time months ago and it wasn't worth it to him with the tow bill and storage. He did say someone stole the hood and radiator but it ran when parked years ago. So it's seized from water in the cylinders and I suspect the heads should not be affected by that or at least I hope not. I'd hate to see Big Valve C heads not be any good.

 

Hate to be "debby downer" but that is a "niche" vehicle. The parts have a very small audience. While is certainly admirable to secure it, for the engine, the rest of it probably should go across the scale. Any parties that might express a small interest in the larger body parts, will balk at today's shipping costs.
Have personally gone down that road, many times in the past in terms of buying "off beat" parts and parts cars. AMC. Buick. Colonnade parts. Post '74 parts. Large cars of every persuasion. Extremely hard to sell. And these were all extremely clean southwestern metal, meaning the cars and the parts.
Have been teetering on doing a massive scrap out myself. Meaning everything big, that is "off beat" meaning large car, and for most part, non GM.
One thing, in your favor, is that OKC is a kind of "crossroads" of America. Meaning I-35, I-40, and I-44. So it may be easier to find a transporter or Ushipper running through your area, versus an isolated southwestern location (El Paso and environs).
Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

Been down that road too. Shipping kills many deals. But exactly why I asked and offered to hold if they might be passing through anytime soon because many people do just pass through OKC. I just hate scrapping good hard to find parts because there are only so many left and once they're gone, they're gone. And also right about a very small following, but it there was someone who needed something, I figured they'd be here. If noone needs anything, only going to save me time pulling it so if it goes over the scale, then so be it. I hate to see this car in this bad of shape but I also know many have saved much worse but it's further than I care to tackle. I'll just hopefully get the engine apart and able to go through it and it be good enough to rebuild and it'll go into a Squarebody pick up. It's got to be close to a 400hp engine in stock form, or easy to get with the few adders if I can figure out a ratio of fuel mixes to get the octane up for the compression, otherwise have to retard the timing so bad to compensate it'll be a turd.

 

Been watching a few of the CTC crush out videos. Sad to see, but some of those large cars had been in there for over 40 years. If someone had really wanted some of those trinkets, they would have been GONE by now. Despite the pricing, and the alleged difficulty of the brothers.

 

I'm sick about it. I ran out of time. Didn't even get the engine pulled from it but it had to go over the scale. The guy working the scale at the scrap yard and myself had a good cry together. Missing the hood, radiator and few other light misc parts, it went over pretty much complete and weighed 4480 lbs. I got $421.80 out of it. Sickening !!! I wished I had more time, I could have at least saved the heads and bracketry off the front of the engine. Just didn't work out with all the things that went wrong. Weather and mud played a huge part. My tow yard pulled the plug on me working on it in the yard for liability reasons.

 

Thank you for trying to help preserve such exceptional vehicles. Your hearts were in the right place. But don't feel too bad. The reality is these cars were expected to last 10 years and be replaced back then. She managed to stay on this earth almost 50 years past her expiration date... Hopefully had a couple of hundred thousand miles on her and was truly ready for the big sleep.

What a powerful tank of a vehicle. Car & Drivers road test for a 68 had the curb weight at 4655 lbs. So yours was on the money.

And what a beauty.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...d-test-review/

26,454 total production for 1968 model year. Many our gone, but surely many are still sitting in garages in all their glory. As this was a car once driven you knew was not a throw away vehicle unless it was absolutely shot.

 

Yep, I'd say that curb weight was accurate. 4480lbs missing the hood, radiator and AC Condenser and it did have some misc trash in it, a couple other car parts in the trunk from other vehicles like exhaust manifold and a carb so I too would consider that curb weight quite accurate. IIRC, the engine with all accessories was 600lbs of the weight and I sure would ahve loved to have had it. I hate it so bad. I've lost sleep over it. I just keep telling myself, I probably would ahve never gotten to the point of using it anway, but even then, I could have sold it to someone who would have. I wanted to rebuild it and put it in a 84 C20 Squarebody that currently has a 454 in it. A great running 454 I might add. I've always preferred Olds BB over Chevy BB, especially when you can get one that's not smog riddled and denutted.

 

The Toro oil pan isn't all it's cracked up to be. That hump across the middle of the pan to clear the axle shaft also traps oil in the front of the pan. There are much better choices available today.