1970 Oldsmobile Toronado from North America - Comments

A gasket on the transmission decided to leak small amounts of fluid.

The three layers of paint became zero layers on the passenger side door and rear fender. It just chipped off because it was too thick and was out in the sun for a few weeks.

The heater flap is stuck on cold. This is a petty problem I will fix soon.

Leaky valve cover gaskets and vacuum pump gasket.

There is some rust showing through, and also some bondo and fiberglass.

I am amazed at how well this vehicle has held up in 34 years of service. Every factory-installed system on the car works flawlessly, mainly due to the fact that this model was built on a slow-moving assembly line.

The vinyl bench seating for six is comfortable, but a bit cold in the winter.

The dashboard has a simple layout and looks great after time. The speedometer is the star of the dashboard; it is a barrel-style one.

The 455 puts out 370+ horsepower and 510lb/ft torque, and it can move the 4500lb behemoth with quite some speed.

The 3 speed automatic shifts very smoothly and always knows which gear to choose. If I accelerate slowly it can shift to top gear at 19mph, if floored at 75-80mph.

Front wheel drive gives it great handling and traction. It also makes for spectacular peel-outs!

The car can supposedly achieve 135+mph, but I am not that insane.

It does 0-60 in about 8 seconds, which is not bad considering the age and weight. Unlike today's cars, the acceleration does not stop at 60...

The big engine guzzles plenty of premium gas, averaging 13-15mpg.

That top speed that you mentioned is no lie. I remember

seeing a road test of that car back in either 1969 or

1970, and 135 mph was the quoted top speed.

I agree with you! I am the proud "new" owner of my 1970 "Toro" and this car was built to last! The 455 will move this beast like nothing else and the looks I get are unbelievable! Some might say that the earlier years ('66-'69) are better, but I love my 1970!!

Thanks,

Mike Burns

San Diego

Cager97@aol.com.

I have a 1970 Olds Toronado and I use it as a daily driver. I agree that this is a well built vehicle. I recently drove it from Atlanta to Arizona and back and was impressed with its comfort on such a long trip. There is nothing like looking down the long, long hood and off into the horizon while listening to that incredible rumble. Kick it on a freeway entrance ramp and you're doing 85 mph before you even merge with traffic.

Living in the South, I don't have a chance to drive it much in the snow. While in Flagstaff, AZ I had the chance to see what it would do. I now know why so many people in the snow belt bought these cars before the days of all-wheel SUV's. It has incredible traction with most of the 4500#'s sitting on top of the drive wheels.

I am the writer of this review, and I thought I might as well update a little. I have driven it another 6,000 miles or so, and it is still running just fine.

I replaced the valve cover gaskets and also the tranny pan gasket, along with the fluid and filter. All this really means is a slower accumulation of fluids on the pieces of cardboard on the garage floor, and slower wear on the tranny. The water (or is it vacuum?) pump gasket is leaking also, and that will be a small challenge for an inexperienced mechanic like me.

The radiator is finally starting to show age after 35 years. The bottom few pipes have turned green, but still the only leak is at the very top.

The heater problem was not the flap stuck on cold, but rather a malfunctioning vacuum valve that allows coolant into the heater core. I replaced the valve with a pipe fitting so it is always open, and I'll shell out to get a new valve. When I was at the auto parts store I learned just how many parts this car shares with other Oldsmobiles from that time, which is a very reassuring thing for the owner of such a rare car.

The car was rattling like crazy even when cruising down a smooth road, so I replaced the tires. I had checked the tread on the tires and they were all fine, but I did not know that two of the tires were probably at least 15 years old. There were three different kinds of tires on the car, but luckily all the same size. I got a new set of some decent tires, and still have the original spare in the trunk. I no longer create large clouds of smelly white smoke from the front tires because I do not want to wear them down.

I did a few 0-60 timings with a stopwatch and they came out around 9 seconds. The 8-second figure from before was timed in my head, and it is not accurate. I also found out the car's weight is closer to 4,700 pounds. I looked up the 0-60 for a Toronado and Riviera to see what a difference FWD makes, and they are nearly identical. For those of you that don't know, the Riviera was essentially a cheaper, RWD Toronado. I found out my car cost about $5316 when new, which is more than the $4900 for a Dodge Daytona Charger (capable of over 180MPH stock).

A relative found me an original sales brochure on eBay, and if you can find one of these, they are a great collector's item.

I'll also add how few of these I've seen. I have been aware of this car's existence for about three years (I'm 17) and I have seen one '66, two '67s, one '68, and one '69 in person. I have never seen another 1970 Oldsmobile Toronado with my own eyes and was aware of it. When I saw the '66 Toro I was opposite him at a 4-way stop, and both of us roasted the front tires in unison. It was a beautiful sight.

I happen to own currently five of the 1970 Toronado GT models in various states of repair/disrepair and they're all beautiful to me. The GT option W34 got you a 400hp setup (375hp standard) featuring a performance camshaft, performance torque converter, notched bumper for the dual (two in two out) exhaust, wheel well paint stripes and a GT emblem on the hood. I did take one of them out for the Pure Stock Musclecar Drags held yearly at the Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton and held my own nicely. She ran consistent mid 15's at 88mph on a tired motor. One of these years (when I have the dough) I want to bring out one with a balanced/blueprinted mill and see if low 14's are possible. As for the looks, people always have a exclamation type comment followed by "what is it?" They made 5341 GT's in 1970 and I don't think that many survived as the engines were many times pulled to put in lighter vehicles for drag racing. They're great cars that have given me tons of fun for the last ten years.

Does any one know where to find parts for the 1970? I need a front left fender?

There's a "fast and dirty" little calculation that you can use to help you estimate, roughly, the actual horsepower of an automobile engine given the weight and the 0-60 times. This is especially revealing when you're looking at engines from the pre-1972 period, which were usually given in so-called "gross" measurements. (Actually, from an engineering standpoint there is no such thing as "gross" horsepower, but it's just an unrealistic means of measuring power and torque on a very specialized type of dynamometer without any fan belts, carburetion, exhaust, etc. In short, it was more for advertising appeal.)

Now, the calculation: Take half of the vehicle weight and divide by the 0-60 time in seconds. The result is a very rough estimate of maximum horsepower for that engine.

In this case, we have a 4700 lb Olds Toronado doing 0-60 in 9 seconds. I'm going to "pad" the 4700 pound weight with an extra 200 lbs to include driver and a tank of gas, so we'll bump the weight to 4900 lbs. Divide 4900 by 2 and then by 9, and we get the answer of--about 272 horsepower.

That might appear disappointing, but recall that a normal 455 developed its horsepower only in the mid-4000 range or less, so its potential low-end torque would be nothing to sneeze at!

But I agree that the Toronado was a fantastic, but somewhat underrated and unnoticed automobile in its day.

I just bought my 1970 Toronado GT a couple weeks ago, hoping that it still had the original 455 in it, but was not too surprised to see when it only had a 307 in it (it still made a beautiful rumble to it when it rolled over). The looks alone made me buy the beast.

This is only the second car I've bought in my lifetime. Seeing how I'm only 17, that's not too bad. I've driven a truck before, and that massive hood seems like a big ol' 3/4 tonne. Compared to anything I've ever driven, this was a cloud, you can't even feel the bumps. And living in Nova Scotia, we sure do have plenty of them.

Within the next couple years, I'm going to try and get it back to what it was when it came out of the factory, maybe even that new car smell. All I know is that I'm going to have this a while, hopefully add a little more excitement with a 455 later on. And don't worry this car, will never see the sight of snow or salt as long as I have it.

"new-car smell" in a 38 year old car?

Do they sell that spray that's supposed to smell like a new car, in five-gallon buckets?

I have been the fortunate owner of three Toronados. My first was a burgundy 1967 with a black vinyl top. I was in my mid-twenties and I fell in love with this high-end Oldsmobile produced in Lansing, Michigan on a dedicated 12-hour assembly line on which no other Oldsmobiles were manufactured. The quality control of this vehicle has always been exemplary.

I subsequently bought my first 1970 Toronado and then another 1970 Toronado in 1978. The second car was to ultimately be a parts car for the first 1970 car, but I recently sold it after owning it for 30 years because I never needed the parts. I will probably be buried in my Azure Blue beauty which has just 97,000 original miles.

In 1978, I had a padded dark carmine vinyl top made for the Azure Blue Toro, and the workmanship was incredible. It was done by a very young man just starting in the upholstery business. Today, after 31 years, the vinyl top is in absolutely perfect condition-no cracks, wear or discoloration. Of course it has been garaged and babied over the years.

The 1970 Toronado is really the only Toro that has real collector's value. As you all probably know, it was the last year of the 5-year evolution of the original coupe and is a perfect Toronado in every respect, from styling to mechanical function.

The acrylic lacquer paint on my car is almost perfect after 39 years and I would never repaint it. The chrome is perfect everywhere and I have polished it over the years with Noxon multi-metal polish only. This unique product can be found on the internet and works well also on aluminum, pewter, brass, copper and stainless steel.

The fabric seats on my Toro are in virtually perfect condition and the power seat, windows and A/C all work flawlessly. So does the original factory AM/FM radio and the Sony reversing cassette player that I installed more than 30 years ago. I have installed Lucas fog lamps under the front bumper well over 35 years ago and have made a modification in the dashboard to accommodate a three-unit analog gauge assembly that I probably purchased from JC Whitney in the late 70s.

I have done virtually all mechanical work myself over the years and would be glad to assist anyone who has recently acquired a 1970 Toronado or who is looking for repair guidance on essential systems and components. I am not a mechanic by trade, but I have 40 years of experience on Toronados. As you will discover, many parts are still available from internet suppliers, both original parts from Delco and NOS (NEW OLD STOCK) parts from specialty, restoration companies. I will gladly supply names of sources for parts and service.

The 1970 Toronado is one of the most exceptional special-interest muscle cars ever produced. The weights quoted on this site are inaccurate, but the 455 engine moves the vehicle very well, although the distributor points will probably float before it reaches 130mph.

The extra pair of small shocks in the back are for stability and are virtually impossible to find. Protect your lenses, bezels and rubber trim components. Some are not available anywhere. Window leading edge moulding for the rear quarter panel windows may still be available and I believe the company is Steele Rubber, available online. SOFFSEAL is also a great source for weatherstripping and rubber detail items.

I'm ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE WITH OWNERS OF 1970 TORONADOS. Call Steve at 619-259-8488 before 8pm P.S.T. please.

Congrats for your 1970 Toro! As I too have 4 of them, one 66 and three 68, and one of 'em is a real W34, not named GT at the time like the 69 and 70, which means that the 68 W34 is among the rarest first generation Toronados (only 111 made).. You probably knew that.. I've read and "felt" a lot of enthusiasms from your part concerning your 70 Toro and it's great to see that we're not alone sharing your feelings! Quoting that 1970 is the ONLY real collector's value, is a little "message" that other Toro owners will politely rectify, as they all like you work as hard to keep them in good looking and rolling shape, and we all know that all of them are rare (like us!) and collectibles.

From my part, any year of the first gen. Toronados 66-70 ARE real collector's value and ALL of them ARE real beauty.. And all of their lucky owners know that body parts are hard to find and very expensive, and most of us have in stock many (in case of!) parts preciously hidden..

Again, congratulation Steve for your 1st gen. Toro, and I totally share with you that 1970 was a great and final year for... a 1st generation Toronado... By the way, are you a TOA member?

I just bought a 1970 Toro, when I got it, the thing was actually filled with mold and spider webs. After a lot of cleaning and conditioning, and complete redo on the carpet.

It is looking OK, I have jumped into the engine to make sure it is safe to drive with 154k on it and 40 years of deterioration. Everything on this car is OEM, so I have been replacing all the old engine parts like the water pump, hoses, belts, wires, plugs, valve covers, rebuild carb, rewire fuse panel, it goes on and on.

I have had it for two months and still have not turned the key. I had it towed to my house even though the car did run when I bought it. This car is going to be cool any way you cut it, a luxury muscle car, and it's rare, and it has a high performance Oldmobile drivetrain. This thing is built like a tank, and handles like a small car.

I will let people know what I think of this thing on the road. I hope it's as fun as my 78 El Camino, 72 Caprice, 81 Corvette, or my 65 Impala were!

I agree with all you Toro lovers, what a great machine! Does anyone out there know what the original 1970 GT carb number should be? I'm wondering if mine is original. Thanks!

Rochester carb for 1970 Toronado--7040252.