Hey guys - I currently own a 69 Delta convertible. I am going to look at a 68 Toronado this weekend. The price seems good and the condition, from what I hear, seems pretty decent. Not being terribly familiar with the Toro ( I love the lines), what should I be on the lookout for in this car? Any concerns on the front wheel drive system to be aware of? How hard is it to find parts for this Toro? Thanks for any tips

 

The front wheel drive stuff is the least of your worries. It's pretty much bulletproof. You might want to check the RH axle torsional damper. If it doesn't have one the RH axle has been replaced. Hub bearings are hard to find and expensive.

Areas of concern on a 1st gen Toro:

A-pillar and rear leaf spring mount rust.

Comfortron if car has it.

Power window wiring in door conduits.

Rear vent grill drain tubes in trunk. If they're missing or rotten there will be trunk rust.

Glass interchanges with 66-70 Riviera.

A Toronado is no worse than any other car to own and service once you understand how they work. The FWD stuff is overengineered. The brakes are pitifully underengineered esp if it has drum brakes. Electrical system is amazingly reliable except for aforementioned wiring breaks in the power window conduits.

 

I have also heard that the hide-away-headlights rarely work properly because they are vacuum operated. I guess the vacuum lines rot out and the headlights get stuck in the "open" position.

 

I should say the car has sat in a barn since 1976. It has about 103K miles. The front bumper is dented and may be impacting the lights from opening. otherwise it is complete and supposedly in good shape.

 

That's more a 66-67 problem because the assemblies are heavy and the assist springs get weak or break. 68-9 have a single vacuum motor that raises/lowers the lightweight plastic grilles. The headlights are fixed mounting.

Even though I have a pile of NOS headlight vacuum parts for my 69, I have yet to replace any of them due to failure. I installed a new vacuum check relay valve when I detailed underhood many years ago, just for appearance. The original was working fine.

A 68 with a busted nose is common. You probably noticed two holes in the bumper grille divider where the nose Rocket took the hit too.

 

thats funny, my friends 69 was like that, broken nose and all. And bcg88, i live in ellensburg washington, im going to pick up a 68 toronado strictly for the motor and trans hopefully on saturday. the rest of the car is useless to me, has no paperwork, would have a ton! of spare parts for you, if you get interested, let me know.

 

Are the tail lights any good? Golvebox?Does it have a notchted rear bumper? OM code transmission?

 

pm sent, ill try to not take over your thread LOL

 

thanks for weighing in guys. my wife over ruled another horse in the stable.