Hi there, well I just signed up. I'm 24, and I've got a '66 Oldsmobile Toronado Deluxe I'm working on. I used to have an '89 Toronado Trofeo, but I sold it so I could pay for my '66. I also have 2 El Camino's, an '82, and '83 Conquista, an '86 Pontiac Fiero, and a '61 *****'s CJ-5. The only other cars I'd like to get, are a '70 El Camino SS, and a De Lorean

And here they are, first, and last gen Toronado's side by side...

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There is no comparison.

- Eric

 

Looks cool. Good luck with the project!

 

Oh, I don't know... the '89 was special in its own ways... The first car ever to have a navigation system built in... And first car to have a touch-screen. (Mine was fully optioned minus the sunroof)

But, yeah, '66 much nicer car And a heck of alot easier and cheaper to maintain! :P

 

Not to mention 66 was the first time a North American production car (the Toronado) was offered as front wheel drive! Also tore a strip off everyone at the Pike's peak challenge that year.

Looks like you have a very solid car for starters. Hope you don't have any rust issues with the frame or floor panels because the only way you're going to get parts is from a donor car. The early Toronado does not have a widely reproduced aftermarket supply.

Having said all that, I really love your car. Wish I had one too. The only Toro that I liked better was the 77 XSR. Darn near bought one back in 82 for a darn decent price. Kicking myself now....

 

I'd take the airplane over the car :P But Toronado, with T-tops... awesome.

Actually, the Toronado was the 2nd domestic production FWD car. The first since the Chord, in 1930-something, before WWII. But, yeah, really shredded Pikes Peak at the time. Not too hard on the eyes either!

My cars frame, and floorpan are spotless. It has factory undercoating, and has been sitting in a garage since 1990. From what documentation I have, I'm the only person outside of the orriginal family to own it. It bounced around between Original, to wife, to son, who sold it to me. Found the title transfer copies in the glove box.

The only significant problem at the moment, is the metal that the windshield glues to on the bottom is rusted out. But I've figured out how to deal with that, and I'm hoping to have it on the road this summer. After a few years, when I've got more money, and a better garage, I plan on stripping it to the frame and rebuilding everything.

 

So, you've got a real winner! Considering how very little rust protection those cars had from the factory, you really lucked out getting one that the original owners cared about. All original docs included??!! Awesome. You have a diamond in the rough just waiting for jewellers rouge.

I'd love to have that P38 too, but darn, I have enough problems storing 2 cars right now.

Yessir! The 77 Toro XSR did have sliding T tops. Unfortunately that's one of the things that caused the most problems. Also the reason it was discontinued. I still love the look of that cool wrap around rear window glass. I'd buy one now all day long. I think that car looks so cool, long, lean and elegant. The styling is IMO as nice or nicer than some of the stuff being made today.

 

I'd take the airplane over the car :P But Toronado, with T-tops... awesome.

P-38 Lightning. The first job I had, as a teenager, my boss was a reserve Lt.Col. who flew P-38s in WWII.
Higgins

 

The rockers look like there's some rust under a pretty good bondo-job, and the edges around the wheel-wells probably have a shark-tooth look to it as well. But as best I can tell it was well done, so I'll leave it untill I strip it. All the trim that's missing in that picture is in the trunk and back seat.

Sliding T-tops? Did they recess into the rest of the roof somehow? I've never heard of that one... The styling looks alot like a Cadilac, which just isn't my taste.

On one of my other forums, one of the members in Norway had a '78 XS shipped out to him that was in good shape.

 

The 1977 XSR was the only Toro produced in 77/78 with a 455

" The XSR was a 1977 Toronado sent to American Sunroof Corporation (ASC) for a T-top conversion. This was no typical conversion, but a power T-top with glass panels that slid under a wide center bar. Ultimately, though, the top mechanism was judged to be too troublesome, so the only XSR ever built was the prototype.

Instead, Olds produced the Toronado XS, an XSR with a conventional tinted-glass sunroof in place of the T-top. Both shared an unusual wraparound rear window often compared with Studebaker Starlight coupes. Using hot-bent-wire technology to form sharp corners, the glass wrapped from B-pillar to B-pillar"

Personally, I really like the look of this big car. I took one for a test drive and loved the ride, but was a little dissapointed with the power. This was the year that Olds changed from 455 to 403 in this big cruiser. In 77 with all the downsizing of GM lines, this car became the biggest Olds in production that year.

Only 2713 XS models were produced in 1977. In 1978 (last year of the large Toro) only 2453 were made.