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Opportunity to buy a 73 Toronado - Tell me what ya think!
Hello all,
So I came across a 73 Toronado, (455 four barrel) for sale at what seems a reasonable price. Owner (not the original owner) claims 34K miles, the car's general condition would seem to support that, except the body looks to have been primed at some point and there is a homemade scoop on the hood. Owner is driving it. Everything seems to work (power windows, heat, A/C, etc). Asking is $3800. It looks like it might be a good candidate to slap a coat of paint on it and drive like its 1974!
But....I don't know much about the front wheel drive system on these cars so I'm looking for any sage advice and experience with them. Frankly I forgot these 2nd-gen Toronados were FWD until I looked at this thing and saw the motor was sitting way forward in the engine compartment. After staring at it like a moron for a few moments, it dawned on me..."ohhhh, front wheel drive.."
This looks like something the kids and I can drive and enjoy while we do a resto on our other Olds, a 76 442, which will take awhile. Thanks in advance for the help, and I attached a photo.
I owned a 1971 Eldorado, one of the most impressive cars I have ever been in. Same transmission and setup, proper maintenance and you will have no worries... If your looking for a Toro any year from 1966-1976 is an automatic buy IMHO...
I have '77 and '78 Toronados, the last two years of this second generation and the only two years with the 403 V8. A 455 with a 4-bbl was the only engine option available on the '73 Toronado. It does have an aftermarket air cleaner as the original air cleaner was black with a big blue "Toronado - Front Wheel Drive" decal on it.
I agree that $3800 is a very good price for a running, driving, pretty-much-all-systems-work one of these. Not that it matters, but I would question the 38,000 mile claim without closer investigation. (How does the seller know the mileage is correct?) One of these well maintained can look just as good at 138,000 miles as at 38,000 miles. It obviously does need paint, but, as you say, it seems that that's all it needs.
I wouldn't be concerned about the transmission. They're solid. I had the one in my '78 rebuilt by the local AAMCO shop, not because it wouldn't shift property but just because it leaked from pretty much every seal, and, if they're going to tear it down enough to get at all the seals, might as well rebuild it, so I had them do it. No problems since.
One bit of trivia about the '73 Toronado is that it was the peak in Toronado sales over the entire Toronado run (1966 to 1992). Olds sold about 55,000 1973 Toronados. That was more than any other year, including the more popular and well known first generation (1966 to 1970) years. Olds sold about 40,000 1966 Toros, but then sales fell rather dramatically to about half that for 1967, and they never recovered much beyond that. The legend is that Olds was considering dropping the Toronado model before deciding instead to remake it from the personal luxury coupe the first generation was to the living-room-on-wheels second generation. It worked as sales of the second-gen Toro took off.
One bit of trivia about the '73 Toronado is that it was the peak in Toronado sales over the entire Toronado run (1966 to 1992). Olds sold about 55,000 1973 Toronados. That was more than any other year, including the more popular and well known first generation (1966 to 1970) years. Olds sold about 40,000 1966 Toros, but then sales fell rather dramatically to about half that for 1967, and they never recovered much beyond that. The legend is that Olds was considering dropping the Toronado model before deciding instead to remake it from the personal luxury coupe the first generation was to the living-room-on-wheels second generation. It worked as sales of the second-gen Toro took off.
There is an interview of one of the Toronado designers in Jay Leno's youtube channel. He said that when the '66 came out, the press said that the brakes were horrible and that really hurt sales (brakes ARE sketchy - I have a '66). He said that Olds rushed to race a '66 up Pikes Peak to demonstrate that there was nothing wrong with the brakes, but it was too late by then.
By the way, I heard that the '66 Toro broke the record at Pikes Peak. What category was that in?
Oh yeah, if the floors are solid, no rust in the door bottoms, thats a good deal. As long as your not dragracing it, the 425 trans axle is very reliable. Remember, they'd been using it since 1966, behind 425s and 455s. Any bugs or issues had been worked out by '73
I appreciate the advice and knowledge on the Toronado. I just got the word back from my mechanic buddy that my Cutlass might be dead from rust issues, so this might be Plan B!
Anyone can do a rear wheel burnout. A full-throttle Toronado burnout will drop jaws and stun people. Also good for shutting Honda punks up. Ask me how I know.😉
If the Toronado is better body-wise you'll be ahead of the game. While it and the 442 are both interesting cars, neither car can justify the expense of a full restoration. Make your task easier.
The day I got my license I started delivering pizzas. My older brother had them buy two Toronado's. 66 and I think a 68. I loved them.
I bought a one owner 69 Toronado in 89. Man I LOVED that car. Factory eight track. Front drive burnouts. Killer in any depth of snow. Sold it to my cousin and her then boyfriend. I need to ask her if she has any pictures because I do not. I love Toronado's. There was a super nice 75 factory black one out here in Denver on Craigslist recently. It sold.
You mentioned there is a hood scoop on the Toronado. Is that the look you're going for? If not, repairing the existing hood could be quite a task, especially if your not a body man. Otherwise, you'll have to spend big bucks buying a hood from a salvage yard.
I agree the hood scoop is a little janky, but I could live with it. This really strikes me as a car to throw a coat of paint on it, some decent wheels and tires, have fun for a few years and then move on to the next car on my list ( I have a short list of cars to own before I die).
Keep in mind that the wheels on the '66 to '78 Toronados are unique to those cars (and similar year Eldorados). There is nothing in the aftermarket for these cars.
1966 and drum brake 67s use the above wheels. 67 disc brake cars and 68-78 use a different wheel for disc brake clearance. I think the wheels changed cosmetically around 72 to have fewer openings in the wheel spider.
May 1st, 2021, 09:17 PM
