57EG

Hi everybody,
my name is Eric and I live in France, I have just started to restore a 66 Toronado which was imported to France in 66 by a car dealer (speedometer in KM per hour...).
Car color is Silver Mist and interior is plum. The car was imported to France at the very beginning of the production
I have re-started the engine without any major problems.
The engine seemed to run great but I was not really able to try it
extensively on road as the windshield and rear window are missing.
I have already changed the exhausts lines and the brake, the carburetor will be rebuilt as well as the headlights actuators.
So far the only major problems I encountered (apart from rusted dashboard and rear window bottom that will have to be rebuilt) are concerning the brakes (rear brakes are braking heavier and before than the front ones). I will treat that when the car will be on the road, for the moment it is bodywork and painting.
I have already read a lot of threads on this forum which have already been very useful.
I have now started my quest for rubber parts, so if you have any hints they will be welcome.
Eric
By the way I have another Oldsmobile it is 71 Custom Cruiser

jaunty75

Cool! Can we see photos of this one, too? I have a '73 CC.

By the way, if you're in "Old" Europe, where is "New" Europe?


Your Toronado is cool, too! You know what's one of the coolest things about it? The VIN. What's interesting about it is the last 6 digits, 500716. It's likely that the starting number for Toronados at this car's assembly plant, Lansing, Michigan (the "M" tells you that), was 500001. That means that your car is the 716th Toronado off the line in the very first year of Toronado production. That means it's one of the earliest Toronados ever made. That's cool. (Have I used the word "cool" enough times?)

57EG

I live in France, in Paris more exactly.
Not the right place to park those "boats" but I love them.
You're right for the VIN when I decoded it I was really surprised, the car was registered in Paris on mid January 66 which means that before that date it had to be imported and modified to cope with French regulations.
Here is my CC which is in very good conditions



The only problem to fix is the heating which doesn't work.
If you have any idea where I could find weatherstrips for the tail gate let me know.
About Old Europe, you're right New Europe has yet to come

jaunty75

About the heat, do you know that coolant is flowing to the heater core? These are the two hoses that run from the front of the engine to the firewall. When the engine is warmed up, feel these hoses to make sure they're warm. If one is warm and the other isn't, it would suggest the heater core is clogged and coolant is not getting through it. You would have to remove and replace the heater core.

If the hoses ARE hot, then it's possible the various vent doors aren't opening and closing as they should. I don't know if these are vacuum operated or are opened and closed by a cable, but you would have to get under the dash and check.


As far as the rear window weatherstrip, welcome to the club! I don't think there is a single clamshell tailgate wagon owner, and this includes all full-size GM wagons from '71 through '76, who hasn't asked this question. To the best anyone has ever been able to determine, no one makes these. You can buy new weatherstripping for the front and rear doors, but not the rear window. Nothing station wagon-specific is reproduced.

One solution discovered by another clamshell owner is to use the weatherstripping off of an '86 to '97 Ford Aerostar minivan.

Check out this thread over in the station wagon forum, which you might want to join as you own the price of admission!

http://www.stationwagonforums.com/fo...erostar&page=2

OLD SKL 69

Welcome to CO! Great find and nice Vista too.

jaunty75

It's not a Vista Cruiser, it's a CUSTOM Cruiser!

57EG

Thanks for the info on heating and weatherstrip, I'll look at the thread on the station wagon forum.
For heating I know that it is a question of control, as I can have heating in the car when I want, for that I just have to open the hood and turn the two taps installed by the previous owner on the heating hoses. That's true taht it is not always practical especially when it rains or to tune the heating to the right temperature but it works.
I must admit that I am a little bit affraid of starting changing the heating control panel

jaunty75

So if I'm understanding this correctly, to get heat, you open those two taps and allow coolant to flow through the heater core.

Is the heat all or nothing? In other words, do you have any control in the car at all, or does the heat come into the car full hot? Does sliding the TEMP lever from the "hot" side to the "cold" side do anything? Can you control the fan speed at all. Does the TEMP lever even move, or is it stuck?

I had a '75 Delta 88 back in the '90s, and the TEMP lever hadn't been moved in such a long time that it was frozen in place. The car was a convertible driven mostly with the top down, so there wasn't much use for the heating system, anyway, and it froze up from non-use. Anyway, I freed it by very gently tapping on it with a small hammer until the rust or whatever broke loose.

If moving this lever doesn't do anything, then your first task is to find out if it is even attached to anything anymore. The other end of the lever behind the dash is attached to a stiff cable that slides through a sleeve and is attached at the other end to a vent door. You need to make sure that this cable is still present, attached, and working properly.

57EG

In fact it is all or nothing. The only heat control that I have is the temperature of the A/C but it does not work.
When the A/C is on and the taps are open I get warm and cool air in the car which in a certain maner is a way of having medium temperature.

jaunty75

OK, I'm confused. With the A/C on, how do you get warm AND cool air in the car? Warm air coming from some vents and cool air from others? Presumably the valves under the hood controlling coolant flow to the heater core are closed? When you say "warm," do you mean the air is warmer than ambient, or just not cooled by the A/C?

Also, with the system on HEAT and the valves under the hood open, does moving the TEMP lever do anything? Or is the air coming out of the vents always fully hot? Also, does the hot air come out of ALL the vents or just some of them?

As you can see, providing as much detail about exactly what works when, and where the air is coming from, will really help in narrowing things down.

57EG

Many thanks for all that, I must admit that I let all this down few years ago as it does not prevent the car for runing . I will check again all that and will come back to you with better and more detailed information. I should do it over the week end as the car is in another part of Paris not nearby my home.
Thanks again
Eric

oldsguybry

Wow , nice wagon .... Hey Jaunty , don't you have one of these wagons ? or at least one that's very close to this model ?

jaunty75

Yes, I do! It's a '73. Thanks for asking! I never miss the opportunity to show a photo of it.

57EG

Nice one !

QMaster

Welcome aboard! I used to have a 1968 Toro in high school & college. It was way cool!

citcapp

great to have you with us. Nice rides

harascho

Hi Eric,

nice to see another '66 Toronado in the old world. I bought mine in late summer from a guy in Ojai California.
I am currently restoring it, see thread in "Major builts and Projects". If I can be of any help just drop a line.

Harald

Paul dodd

Hi Eric great cars you have there. I am from Surrey, England just south of London and have a 10 sec 72 Old's Cutlass, bon voyage, PaulDPP07DA0501140E36[2].jpg

harascho

what about your '66 Toronado? Any progress, any pics of the ongoing work?
I ran into two trouble areas with my 66 Toronado, windshield frame and dashboard...still searching for parts...

best regards from Germany

harald

pogo69

LoL...a custom cruiser tooling around the back roads of France, I think thats great!!

nicolae788

Hi 57EG,

Regarding your tailgate weatherstrip issue, you might want to search for a universal or a close fit part. Look at this link. They produce high quality rubber and surely you will find something to fit in place of the old one http://www.metrommp.com/?f=part_type_list

I have a 1970 Toronado and beside the basic kit for sealing the doors and roof rail, etc i bought a lot of other universal rubber to cover the belt line for the door glass, some interior windlace, cowl seal, quarter glass seal fixed to the interior of the quarter sheet metal, a lot of parts universal ones can make a problem solved, just look there and maybe you will find the right stuff.

I am in need of a Toronado windshield, that's a hard to get item for my location. Can you please tell me were did you found the windshield for your Toronado?