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Hey all!
Ive always been a car junkie, mostly F-bodies and Vettes. But when I found this Toronado for a good deal, I was mesmerized by its lines, its uniqueness, and its potential. Im a late 40s guy, so speed is becoming less critical to me, and style and cruising more important. We named the car Dorothy, I'm planning to build it over the next few years as a father son projecdt with my 14 year old. Still has the original 455 and trans, interior is an absolute wreck, though the body and uni are SOLID. It has a dealer tag on the rear facia from Houston, it came with a classic plate from Minnesota, was purchased in New York, and towed back to Michigan where I live. So shes gotten around!
I'm not sure yet if I want to de a resto mod, drop like an LS4 or a Northstar in and upgrade everything to modern day standards, or try to restore her to her complete original glory. Either way will be fun! Im only into her for $1500, so I have PLENTY of spending room. Now to start sourcing interior parts...
Thanks for that. I realized I was posting in the wrong spot, which is why I moved it over here. Yeah, an 01 Aurora motor was what I was thinking, going to do some research and see what it would take, since a large portion of the suspension would need to be switched as well. Fun times! Do you know if anyone has done this before?
drop like an LS4 or a Northstar in and upgrade everything to modern day standards
If you do this, the car will no longer be a '68 Toronado. It will be a modern-day car with a '68 Toronado shell on it.
The 455 is a wonderful engine, and '68 was the first year for it. Put it back to proper working condition along with the transmission, and you will have a beautiful '68 Toronado. Put in a modern engine and drivetrain, Oldsmobile-made or not, and you'll have a frankenmobile that will have everyone who sees it at a car show scratching their heads and wondering "why did he do that?"
A car is only original once. If the OP's car was already missing the engine, the situation would be different. But it has it, and it's not like we're talking about a 1925 Model T. An original '68 Toro can hold its own on the highway against any modern-day car and is no more difficult to maintain. In many ways, it's easier.
If you do a conversion well, only a small number of people may question why you did it. I would seriously consider torque and horsepower numbers of any transplant though before you get started. These are HEAVY cars and have a factory rating of 375hp and 510 ft-lbs of torque or 400 hp with the W34 option. Granted a good deal of the weight is over the front wheels in the drivetrain, but the bodies and interior are still pretty heavy. You should easily be able to get the LS4 over those numbers as long as you have the money for the trans upgrades to handle the power. I am not sure the northstar or supercharged aurora motors will get you there. It would be a shame to go through all that work only to have a finished car that cannot get out of its own way. That said, I would love to see the finished results of a conversion like this. Good Luck!
I certainly am not a purest, even though both of my cars pretty much original except for the motor rebuilds. Naturally with a bit of H.P. pop. I didn't even put headers on my Nova so as to keep it as close to "born with", as possible. With that said, I really appreciate rest-o-mods and bringing the classic look into the new age...so to speak. When done right they are awesome cars. I looked at the late 60s Toranado and El Dorado. If I had gone that route I am pretty sure there would have been some drastic changes made...unless they were in pretty good shape to start with.
IMPO, a close to original car probably should stay that way. But, one that needs a resurrection...well...all bets are off. Gonna cost mass quantities of cash either way.
I hope GIRLS don't get in the way of this Father / Son Project..
None of you have seen the Jay Leno Toronado? Twin turbo LS6, and unfortunately converted to RWD because his German builder couldn't get his head past European FWD as compared to the exponentially more robust Toronado/Eldorado units. Guess he never saw Hairy doing its thing and it had TWO 1000hp engines driving thru TH425s.
Granted Leno has resources unavailable to most of us.
Putting a modern drive train in an old car is not a challenge. With enough money and enough acetylene, you can make anything out of anything.
Putting a car back to original condition? Now THAT'S a challenge, and the parts hunt is half the fun. There are plenty of Toronado fans in both the Olds Club of America and the Toronado Owners Association who can help you find needed parts and who would be glad to help. In fact, joining one or both of those organizations should be one of your first priorities.
Welcome, Mike. That looks like a great father-son project. Of course, it helps that you are independently wealthy.
If the 455 is rebuildable, rebuild it. Then, the engine decision is one less big one you have to make. Looking at your photos, you have enough on your plate. However, I an an old geezer and you have a different time perspective than I. Being my opinion, it may be worth exactly what you paid for it.
What would be the advantages of installing a more modern engine? Maybe better gas mileage, but that's about it IMHO. With any more modern engine, other than a high performance 6.2L, you will really miss the torque to get that beautiful big car moving. If you want to modernize it change the 455 over to fuel injection.
You might go with something more of the furture like electric. That’s gonna be the new wave! I believe there is someone in California converting to that.
Welcome to the site Mike! I love the idea of a Father/Son project. Before you decide which way to go on the drivetrain check the code on the transmission. If by chance... its OM then you have a W34 car. If its OJ then its a standard Toronado. The W34 is pretty rare so likely not, but worth checking. I picked up a 1969 a few years ago that did turn out to be a W34. That might influence your decision on drivetrain. I've got some Toronado parts cars, feel free to get in touch if you need anything.
What would be the advantages of installing a more modern engine? Maybe better gas mileage, but that's about it IMHO. With any more modern engine, other than a high performance 6.2L, you will really miss the torque to get that beautiful big car moving. If you want to modernize it change the 455 over to fuel injection.
Now thats an idea I hadnt considered. I might look into that! Thanks for the idea.
Welcome to the site Mike! I love the idea of a Father/Son project. Before you decide which way to go on the drivetrain check the code on the transmission. If by chance... its OM then you have a W34 car. If its OJ then its a standard Toronado. The W34 is pretty rare so likely not, but worth checking. I picked up a 1969 a few years ago that did turn out to be a W34. That might influence your decision on drivetrain. I've got some Toronado parts cars, feel free to get in touch if you need anything.
Hey, thanks for that. I'll get under there and see what I can find. So far, the only two parts I can see I either dont have, or are seriously damaged, are the front seat and the grills. I have an idea for the grills I want to try out, but the front seat os going to be a challenge. It has one in it, but it doesnt seem to be original, and I have no idea what it might have come out of. So I will be looking for one of those at the least.
Thanks for all of the replies, guys! I had a chance to get a little deeper into her, I must say, im very pleasantly surprised Rust is almost NIL. Only area I can see that will need some attention is the drivers side floor panel, particularly around the mounts for the gas pedal. Repairing that may be a bit of a challenge. Other than that, there is no real cancer that needs addressed. The previous owner stripped the chrome off to prepare for painting, but was nice enough to label all of the pieces, so that helps! Right now im just cataloging and seeing what I'm missing.
Join Toronado Owners' Association www.toronado.org as ppl are always parting 1st gen cars.
Post a pic of your seat and we can tell you if it's Toro. Standards had a square-backed seat and Deluxe/Custom had Strato-Bench which backrests look like buckets. Also check VIN. Standards are 9487, D/C 9687 but there are 68-69 9487 cars with Deluxe interiors. Every one of those I've seen had manual windup windows.
Join Toronado Owners' Association www.toronado.org as ppl are always parting 1st gen cars.
Post a pic of your seat and we can tell you if it's Toro. Standards had a square-backed seat and Deluxe/Custom had Strato-Bench which backrests look like buckets. Also check VIN. Standards are 9487, D/C 9687 but there are 68-69 9487 cars with Deluxe interiors. Every one of those I've seen had manual windup windows.
Heres what I have. Its pretty ragged, it doesnt match the back seats, but it IS the same color as the dash. Well, sort of.
Welcome! Cool project. When I had my '69, I thought that it would look bad-a$$ with a chopped top and lowered a bit. But its hard to argue w/ a restored original, they don't get to be worth more than those. I'd be cautious about an engine swap, the 455s had a low-profile intake manifold for a reason. There's alot of power left to be unleashed in 7.5L of BBO.
Last edited by JohnnyBs68S; Nov 17, 2020 at 03:32 AM.
That's good news about the lack of rust. One area to pay attention to is the base of the A pillars. Those old Toros seemed to be very susceptible in the A pillar.
Gonna cost mass quantities of cash either way.
