bluecab

I bought this '66 off of ebay in March. It was in New Jersey, about 200 miles from my home in Massachusetts, so I tuned up the '96 Suburban (with 225k on the original 350) and set out early on a Sunday with my buddy JQ. We were there before noon and picked up a rental trailer a few miles away. Although the ebay listing showed a nearly complete engine, when we got there the heads were in the trunk, so we used a forklift to load the car onto the trailer.
It was a longer trip back to MA as I kept the speed down and ran without overdrive most of the time to be nice to the tranny in the truck.
Were were back at my house before dark and unloaded the Toro into the garage. When I went out to turn the lights out in the garage later that evening, I could hear a bunch of mice munching and crunching. The next day I got a load of mouse baits and traps as I was sure those Jersey mice would breed with the Massachusetts mice and create some sort of uber rodent.

bluecab

Next day I started unloading the parts from the trunk and interior, hoping there was a complete car in there somewhere along with the rodents and the stinking wet carpet

66ninetyeightls

Good luck keep us posted.

bluecab

Sorted, boxed, tagged, sorted Etc. Looks like it's all there. Even though it came from NJ, it was reputed to have been a southern car most of it's life. Also included were random parts for at least two other cars and a load of No Slip for Positraction units. ( Don't think this would be of much use in the final drive of the Toro?)
I unbolted the front seat and tore the carpets out as they were stinking up the garage something fierce. They pulled out a few chunks of floorpan with them, and I traced them on sheets of construction paper for future pattern making before dumping the whole soggy mess in the trash.
JQ reappeared with an engine crane stuffed in his wife's Saab a week later and we put it together and got down to some real wrenching. Without any manuals or parts books we had no way to know how to separate the transaxle from the engine block, but with the heads off and the radiator out there was room to pull the assembly whole. Once the block/trans was on the ground, it was obvious that the converter needed to be rotated to be unbolted.
The block got loaded into the ever abused Suburban for it ride to the machine shop to join it's heads.

bluecab

Had a buddy show up for coffee today and I got him to help me haul the seats out and stash them up in the mezzanine shelf at the back of the garage where the mice can chew on them until I send them out for upholstery. The strato bench weighs at least 100 pounds, maybe more and thats even after the mice stole half the padding.
Finally I was able to vacuum out most of the remaining mouse nests and dispose of the last dead mice.
Got the rear seatbelts out as well as the side panels with the ashtrays and lighters in them. Those side panels are stamped out of serious steel and weigh a ton!
All of this reminds me that the Toros were built before cad-cam and when gas was Cheap.
Found a bunch of small holes that will have to be welded up, but I'm grateful that the shock towers are good and that most of the patch panels will be fairly simple to make.

Lady72nRob71

Nice looking project you picked up. Hope you get those mice out of there fast before they multiply.
I like the Toros - very distinctive.

bluecab

Just heard from the machine shop that the 425 block passed the pressure test and has been line bored and is ready to go back together. I think a visit is in order! I'll post up some pics when I can.

bluecab

No Pics , but the crank came out of machining at 10 /10 grind. will try to get some pics up soon.
have been in the middle of tearing one of the SBC's out of my boat before it gets too cold.

bluecab

Still working on the dismantle.
Turns out the trunk pan is welded between the bumper and rear tail panel and turns up so that it catches any water that gets back there.
This is the first swollen spot weld seam I have found.
Any advice appreciated on how to prep or repair this vulnerable area.

bluecab

Also decided to try out the POR-15 on the freshly sandblasted bumper brackets:
NOW I remember the post about not getting it on your hands... This stuff makes marine epoxy look like hand cream!

Lady72nRob71

Wirebrush out as much rust as you can. Those drill attachments are great for this. See if the weld is still secure. If so, then use a little POR15 metal-ready on it and POR15 it! When mostly dry, use a seam sealer in the gap (if any) and when that dries, apply a topcoat of choice.
Nitrile gloves are a MUST when using POR15.

Glad the progress is progressing.

bluecab

Exploding Instrument Panel!
Questions;
Are any if the instruments common to other models?
Is there an actual oil pressure gauge from another model that can be adapted to fit in place of the idiot light?
The green plastic inserts for the turn signal indicators are shot; Where do I get this material?
How do I make the photos appear full size?

Allan R

Replacement senders for oil and coolant temp? Yes sir. CHeck Fusicks new catalogue page 42. Probably available from others as well. Have you checked your local O'Reilly's or Autozone? O'Reilly shows them as stocking items from 7 - 13 bucks.

green plastic? Look at this link: https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...een-lenes.html

How to make photos appear full size in post? Easy. Go advanced and upload the pics. In 'manage image' clik them to full size, CTRL C (copies the image) Paste it in the thread you are posting to. repeat as needed.

Question: How are you going to restore the speedo and gage white parts? I've had no success with this at all. That paint comes off too darned easy....

bluecab

Hi Allan,
I meant the dash instruments themselves, not the senders. The '66 had a warning light instead of a gauge for oil pressure, I would like to replace it with an actual gauge in the same location. Seems like the fuel/water temp module on the other side of the dash could provide a basis to make one up.
Thanks for the lead on the plastic bits. Looks like a good solution.
As far as the gauge face repair, I think I would leave that to a pro, or somebody with real steady hands and a tiny brush..

miked

The green plastic inserts for the turn signal indicators are shot; Where do I get this material?
I had this same problem with my 67..purchased round ones for 65 from OPG and cut to fit. Works great...

therobski

Great start on your buggy. I bought and used the hell out of a "needle scalier" for rust removal and removing the sprayed 47 year old under coat in the wheel houses and undercarriage. Best cheap tool I have ever used.

bluecab

In looking at the pc boards on the back of the dash, clearly the original design provided for an oil pressure gauge that was not incorporated into the production series. The lands for the external windings are there as are the holes for the studs.
wonder if this is similar to other gauge upgrades in the 442 world?

hookem horns

Not sure how perfect of a resto you are planning, but an easy option would be to keep the stock gauges/idiot lights and discreetly add a small aftermarket 3 gauge cluster under the dash.

Always loved the late 60's Toros and Rivieras. The rollaway speedos were uber-cool.

Allan R

The 68-72 Cutlass/442 line is uber easy to convert to gages. 70-72 is the easiest since everything can be taken out from the front. Conversion to gages also means reconfiguring the wires to the back of the gage cluster so the idiot light wires don't cause them to pin when starting or when in use. I'm not that familiar with Toro gauges. If the setup is on the back of the board, chances are you can convert.
You do know that Fusick has a Toro catalogue right? http://www.fusick.com/catfile/Catalo...yout%201_3.pdf It has some stuff you may be looking for, but sadly is lacking when it comes to dash parts.

nonhog

One of the most beautiful cars ever made!
Going stock?

bluecab

Hookem & Alan,
Would like to try to mod the existing panel with number calibrated instruments like olds' engineers would have if the bean counters had let them.
Nonhog,
The theme is to modify it to make it closer to the prototype concept and also incorporate some of the newer technologies available along the way.
I'm still dismantling and patching sheet metal at the moment, so most of that is just planning for now.

Allan R

Would they need to be Olds gauges or could they be aftermarket/other brand to make this work for you. Other option is to send these out to be redone and have them finished with calibration numbers on them?

bluecab

here are a few shots of the pc boards on the back of the Toronado dash.
First one shows the fuel/temp side that has the resistor coils on the back.
Second is the oil pressure/ammeter side where the provision for a real gauge was built into the pc board and then not used.
I will need a donor board from the fuel/temp side (AC # 6456449U) to make up a working gauge for the oil pressure.
I would probably send these out for calibration after the assembly process.
Are these instruments used on other GM cars of the era?
Is there an online parts crossover resource for this like the old Hollander books?
Thanks. Your interest in my project is inspiring.

bluecab

Lead!
When welding in patch panels all the lead has to be ground or melted out,right?
Could have called this Unbuild Begins.....

Hark442

Love the Toro's! Keep the pics coming........ I can relate to the whole rusty floor thing (Michigan) Looks like you are enjoying your work! Have fun

bluecab

I bought a set of disk brake spindles and upper A arms from a '70 Toro.
Before I re-assemble this I would like to put new bushings in the upper and lower A arms, ball joints, wheel bearings,etc.
In looking on Rock Auto, I see a lot of brand options; I only want to do this once.
Any of you have brand recommendations? Does it matter?

bluecab

As in Moog, Raybestos, Delco?
Isn't most of this just made in one factory and rebranded / repackaged?
Are there real quality differences?
Every time I go to the Rockauto site they list 10 versions of the same thing, often with a large spread in prices.
Opinions? Experiences?

Tia,
David

bluecab

Intake and exhaust manifolds blasted and cleaned up. I put self etching primer on the intake and hi temp silver on the exhaust.
The intake will get Toro engine paint when the whole thing goes back together.
Further back in the photo are SBC boat manifolds.
I had a SBC intake manifold next to the BBO toro manifold today, the SBC manifold looks like a lawnmower part by comparison!

bluecab

Well, I spent last winter down south so all I could do is buy some parts for the Toro build and read lots.

Got the spindles and a-arms to convert to disk brakes from a later Toro.

Picked up a set of electric Strato-Buckets from a Buick GS.

Got the beginnings of the engine sorted out (Hyd roller lifters and a custom ground Lunati cam, covered in my .921 lifters thread)

Bought a '67 front bumper core with the larger air inlet that is straight enough and the chrome peels off real easy! ( it's getting body color anyway)

Have been working on learning to MIG weld of and on, found that old sheet metal is not the easiest thing to learn on.

With the little time I have had in the garage sometimes I go out there and look and wonder if it will ever get done. I'm pondering wether I should take the front clip off to straighten the sheet metal or figure out a way to pull it

Pics to come

Bluecab (David)

bluecab

Well the motor is coming together. Finally! Guess I better get going on the sheetmetal work..

RetroRanger

Looks like some progress is being made!

I would recommend moog brand first from rock auto, then raybestos or delco. I always try to buy the best parts like moog or moog premium or raybestos professional over the no name or unknown name cheaper parts, especially on items like the suspension bushings and ball joints etc.

Where did you have the engine work done ? I'm in mass as well

nonhog

Looking forward to sheet metal progress pictures!

bluecab

I like instrumentation. Lots of gauges, especially on kind of expensive motors.
I told the guys at the motor shop I wanted to weld a bung in the oil pan for an oil temp sender and they suggested I put it in the oil filter adaptor.

Anybody out there that has done this? It seems like a good spot, but I don't know what the inside of the casting looks like to know where or even if it is possible without wrecking the adaptor or impeding the oil flow.

Thanks!

bluecab

Got some paint on today. Had to brush the paint as the motor is still at the machine shop. Too cold to roll it outside to spray..
IMG_2762.jpg

Thats Eastwood's olds color..

bluecab

A coat of primer on the floor.

Eddie Hansen

Floor looks good...

I don't see a whole lot of room on the oilfilter adapter for your temp sender how big is it? I liked the oil pan idea better

Rocketguy

Nice going with keeping the project on the blog! It looks like your going to have a great car. I think just about everyone loves the Toronado: It was way ahead of its time. Thanks for rescuing another one from the dead!

I have drilled and tapped the oil filter adapter for a pressure gauge on two cars with long term success, but I have never installed an adapter for an oil temp gauge. It seems like if there is room you could put one on the oil pan behind the crank scraper. At least there you'd know it was not going to get in the way.

Re: Photos
Did you know that to put pics in a post you have to have them on a photo hosting site?


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bluecab

Eddie, I agree.
I would have to have a hard look at the oil filter adaptor to see where the sender would have to go. As far as putting the sender in the pan goes, I may have to put the motor in the car to see where that would need to go. With the position of the trans and final drive so close to the pan I don't want to end up with the sender inaccessible or worse, in the way of something.

bluecab

Rocketguy, Does that mean that the thumbnails don't show up at all?

Rocketguy

Yes the thumbnails show up. However, they take time to view because of several extra clicks and even then they are kinda small. The full size pics right in the thread are MUCH nicer, and we all want to see your progress in your thread

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