Last of the Super-sized Rockets: The 1978 Oldsmobile Toronado!

[@opietwoep1247]

Love all the detail you put into describing the cars of my youth. Thanks for sharing

[@misterhipster9509]

From the time that GM REALLY started to soil the bed, as it were. Shrill consumer response to surprise package under hood due to the 'sharing' program from the bean counters.

[@92vemaxse]

Love watching your videos, Adam. Your historical knowledge is is unmatched! It'd be great to see your entire collection of cars in 1 video!

[@thomastoler2397]

Another winning production Adam, you truly reign supreme when it comes to giving unprecedented background information on the cars so many of us grew up with. I’m sorry those days are gone; sorry for us older generations, but even more sorry for the younger crowd that never knew the true joy & excitement we had every fall when the carmaker’s revealed their newest creations. Most every model had significant styling changes every year. It was such an innocent pastime.

[@tyler2610]

My grandpa has told me stories of the trucks bringing in the new models, they would keep canvas over them so you couldn’t see them until they were delivered and unveiled by the dealer

[@thomastoler2397]

@ That would have been so cool! I wish I’d have had that opportunity. When I was 9-10 years old (late 1960s), my grandfather allowed me to cut out the car advertisements in hi beloved Life magazines that came weekly. I had them on my bulletin board in my bedroom. It was never sports cars (though I loved Trans Ams but that was before they came out), it was instead, the large luxury cars with my favorite being Buick Electras and the new Continental Mark III. Thanks for helping me remember those fond memories. What were some of the cars (year & make) that you remember seeing ?

[@tyler2610]

@@thomastoler2397 That’s funny, I grew up cutting pictures of cars out of magazines and brochures too and even played with them LOL. I also always preferred the big luxury cars and station wagons. When I was a kid one set of grandparents had a ‘91 Firebird, the others had an ‘89 Town Car. I was much more impressed and have a lot more memories of the Town Car!

[@joehumenansky8225]

Having some experience with the Toronado and Eldorado of this era the weakest part of the design mechanically speaking was the CV joints or specificly the boots that sealed in the grease that lubed them. They would break and throw the grease out. If the owner didn't notice this then they developed the loud clicking during cornering. When disassembled on inspection one would find either cracked bearing cages, broken ball bearings or both. I was a young parts counter clerk at a Cadillac dealership at the time. The manager was shocked that I knew the part numbers by memory. That's how many I sold in such a short time! You heard them coming into the shop and knew what the tech was going to call for.

[@jeffrobodine8579]

Same CV system used on the 1970's GMC motorhomes.

[@johnbenton9035]

I had one of these in gold, with cloth pillowed interior. I had it in 1982. I was a happy 22 yr old.

[@johnweingardt]

Nice job Adam. My father owned four Toronados. A 1975, a 1978, a 1980, and a 1983. He loved them all but the 75 was his favorite. Silver, silver landau top, and silver leather with a 455. Great car!!

[@bighardtop]

I credit the Toronado for turning me into a "car guy." I remember the first time I saw one in the mid-70's. I was with my Dad and we were driving through a parking lot. I made him turn back around so I could get out and look at it. I remember how different it looked than anything else on the road.

[@wildcolonialman]

Fabulous line and length, reminds this man of late 60s and early 70s Cadillac. Lovely.

[@vibingwithvinyl]

I wonder if you could 3D print new bumper fillers. Sure, they would require some finishing and painting etc. but at least you could get new ones fairly easily.

[@AlexanderCrump]

Great idea!

[@thewiseguy3529]

If you're a pretty good sculptor it's easy to do with fiberglass. I love doing it. But it's expensive. The materials alone cost a fortune lol

[@vibingwithvinyl]

@@thewiseguy3529 True, but 3D printing is easier for those of us who are not used to working with fiberglass. Also the files are easy to distribute.

[@thewiseguy3529]

@@vibingwithvinyl I don't think it's going to hold up very well to temperature fluctuations but I've been wrong before. At least the fiberglass ones will last a lifetime.

[@thewiseguy3529]

@@vibingwithvinyl "cheap and easy" isn't always a good idea with classic cars. I honestly wouldn't waste my time with the 3D printed ones. You know they're not going to last very long.

[@jeffrobodine8579]

I miss my 1973 Toronado but I acquired a 1970 Eldorado a few years ago to quench my FWD GM land barge fix.

[@coreyjones1518]

My parents had a 75 Toronado, my brother wrecked it and they bought a 76 Toronado. Both were beautiful, comfortable, heavy solid cars.

[@dave1956]

I really loved these when new, they did appear to be out of date even when new. I had two vehicles with the loose cushion seats and I never found them to be particularly comfortable.

[@pcno2832]

The loose cushion seats in my 98 sagged back toward the middle of the car because they were only supported on the sides. The rear seats of that car were a lot more comfortable that the front ones.

[@josephgaviota]

Looking at those seat, I would assume they were the EPITOME of comfort ... surprised to hear they're not!

[@RustyRobinson-g5n]

My favorite sized vehicle 👍🇺🇸

[@4WHEELBIKER]

Those safety bumpers ruined the look of so many Detroit cars from the seventies

[@althunder4269]

My uncle had a new 1975 Toro as a company car. That thing was huge. The biggest car I've ever been in. But not super large inside...

[@danscott3880]

I had those exact front seats in my 1984 Eldorado Biaritz

[@josephgaviota]

As a kid, I was really impressed by the flat floor.

[@Godlovethepilot]

The interior and the gorgeous raked cadillac inspired petite vertical tails cary this car.

[@bartscanland9415]

A little surprised that you didn't mention XS version.

[@colintechnics]

Me too

[@jeffrobodine8579]

He has already done a video on that with the wraparound rear window.

[@corgiowner436]

Those were cool. I even got to see one with the power t-tops.

[@greendryerlint]

My dad had one of these when I was a kid and kept it until the wheel literally fell off the front. I drove it when I was a teen. I remember it riding very well, not handling great, and the 403 being a buttery smooth engine when it came to power delivery. They sure liked to rust.

[@MarinCipollina]

You must live in the rust belt.

[@samholdsworth420]

Everything rusts in the rust belt lol

[@votingcitizen]

The 403 Rocket in my '77 98 Regency was a corker. Easily pressed people back into those plush button tufted lounges.

[@Kiheisun-xd7ec]

Very plush cars - much like a Cadillac. Drove one several times in high school owned by a friend and it was a grand feeling to be behind the wheel. The hood was enormous.

[@yubamarkstedman7336]

Your example car there is the exact car my aunt had. She was going to sell it to me for $1000 in 2000. I drove it around Apache Junction Arizona. I didn't really want it. It used more gas than my 2500 Ram. Later that year, my 90 year old grandpa caught his hands and arms on fire working on it. It reminded me of a car that Stephen King wrote about once. It was a beast!

[@recoilrob324]

The '78 Toronado came with a new electronic ignition system called 'MISAR' and the local dealers didn't understand how it worked and weren't able to fix them. I got one in the shop with the owner telling the whole story and I did fix it for him....which quickly got me the 'MISAR Wizard' reputation and in short order half a dozen more showed up all with the same story about the dealerships being unable to fix them. Funny part is the 'MISAR" system had nothing to do with the problems they were having and once I straightened out the vehicles they gave good service to their owners. Seemed that when GM introduced anything new...like the Fuel Injection on Cadillac 500 Eldo's the dealership mechanics instantly blamed the new system on any problems they had when in fact there was nothing wrong with it and....like the 8-6-4 system got all the blame when the problems lay elsewhere.

[@jeffrobodine8579]

It raised the horsepower from 185 in 1977 to 200 in 1978.

[@cdstoc]

As I recall, those HMSL were not just stop lights, but turn signals, too.

[@douglasrizzo9210]

1977 also saw the elimination of the Toronado trademark dual exhaust, which, remarkably, had remained even after the 1975 catalytic converter requirements. Notice the single pipes in the rear view.

[@Humandriver5280]

I miss my 73 Toro. It would blast through snow and ice as well as 4 and awd vehicles I have owned. I still think the 60s models were better.

[@johnhenrymcmahon6878]

JV Johnny is actually sweet on this gen Olds Toro, man. I love the overall conservative All American hugeness of it (especially as I get older), the side sculpting that can be accentuated with pin stripes, and this black leather interior is hot, man. A perfect car for ol' Count Orlok-Mr. Nosferatu-himself. Awesome!! 😵😵⚾⚾JV

[@DSP1968]

These cars are fascinating to me for many reasons, and one of them is their sheer size. They carry it well, I think. And I'm always reminded of a friend of my grandmother's. She has a baby blue '78 and I'd often see her driving it around. It always made me smile because (a) she was such a small person, driving around all alone in that mastodon, and (b) when it was brand new, her husband (a former GM dealer) hated the shoulder belts so much he cut them off, causing them to promptly disappear into the roof! After a good few years of service, it was replaced by one of the next downsized versions.

[@LanceOsborne-dn3px]

These were beautiful cars. My mom bought one new when I was kid. The car drew compliments everywhere we went, but there were many issues, CV joints, power seats, power windows. The constant gremlins was the reason it got traded in 84

[@portsboy1]

If your going to lust after cars of this era you have to learn to embrace the whole 5mph bumper thing

[@thor-cj9dh]

This was my first car. Loved it.

[@AlexanderCrump]

The '78 Toronado is magnitudes more handsome and unique than the bland bland bland '78 Riviera. Not sure what was happening over at Buick at this time.

[@TomSnyder-gx5ru]

The '78 Riviera was a LaSabre "Brougham" IMO - but Buick sure made up for it with the '79 Riviera though.

[@douglashoff95]

My parents had the downsized/redesigned 1977 Delta 88. Unfortunately it was plagued with transmission problems such as shuddering when shifting from first to second gear, rough shifts and failure of the reverse gear. Aside from the transmission issues it was a nice riding car. Their 1968 Delta 88 was great and trouble free. When they bought the 1977 I took over the 1968 and drove it for the next 6 years to over 200,000 miles.

[@scottymoondogjakubin4766]

Gotta love the 6' long front ends on these yank tanks !

[@alexquick5491]

I love mine, I'm not sure if you've seen it floating around the internet Adam but I have one somebody in Wisconsin professionally converted into a Ute. I call it El Toro and it too is black with red interior. Surprisingly the shop that did the work was very good and even incorporated the high mount brake lights into the roof of the cab.

[@richard169]

Yes, that bumper is huge. But it's all just strangely magnificent.

[@richard169]

You call it "sloppy." I call it "Tarrantino."

[@kroge007]

Love this black one you showed in this video.

[@s.w.chandler6082]

What about the wrap around rear window?

[@madmike2624]

Dark times for such a dynamic automobile when it debuted!!~

[@michaelmullard4292]

Beautiful Toro, but I had a visceral reaction when you showed the engine and wheels from what was clearly a wrecked vehicle or one that otherwise had met its demise in a tragic way 😢😢. But great video and would love to have that Toro.

[@georgewilson1184]

I love that Mack truck sized foot feed

[@AlexanderCrump]

Love that word "foot feed"! My dad and my aunt always said that. He was a Depression Era baby from Dust Bowl Oklahoma. Where are you from?

[@georgewilson1184]

@ I am a 59 year old retired Semi Truck driver on disability due to illness in suburban Chicagoland

[@AlexanderCrump]

@@georgewilson1184 It must be a midwestern thing. Never heard it from anyone ever except them and you. Is it a trucker term?

[@georgewilson1184]

It’s kind of southern redneck truckers farmers grease monkeys NASCAR racing enviroment

[@wishmire33]

So this car was so long it would not fit into most garages. No joke...my dads 98 took up every inch of the garage...this toronado would have to sit outside all year .

[@danv8717]

A guy in my neighborhood has a '78 and it is his daily driver. He has no other cars. I see him driving around in winter all the time. I have never seen him get stuck in the snow. FWD definitely makes a difference when it comes to inclement weather.

[@Sedan57Chevy]

The 71-78, in my opinion, is an underrated classic- especially if someone is out looking for a rare and unique car you aren't going to have two of show up at the same car show. I love the side profile treatment, especially with pinstriping. The interiors look amazing- especially in black leather. The rear end styling is also pretty distinct. That being said, I do agree that these cars don't look nearly as graceful or complete/congruent in terms of front and rear styling, compared to an Eldorado of equivalent year. I do think this general styling looked better on this larger generation, than on the subsequent downsized 79-85 Toronados. I think it's honestly unfair how the Toro- at least after the first generation- always felt like an afterthought compared to the Riviera and Eldorado which always seemed to be much more distinctive and stylish designs.

[@AlexanderCrump]

The '79-'85 Toronado has grown on me. I now adore them. At the time I didn't really think about them but I'd buy one now in a heartbeat. I think the Toro is the best-looking of the Olds-Buick-Cadillac trio.

[@GbodyMedia]

i enjoy watching videos like these I’m a millennial I grew up seeing the malaise era olds it’s ashamed Oldsmobile doesn’t exist anymore I think if they would of kept making performance models they would of lasted from research I’ve done Oldsmobile engineers had it going on back in the day

[@judethaddaeus9742]

I think you could get the Olds 403 in the 1977 BOP A-bodies and B-bodies, as well.

[@TomSnyder-gx5ru]

I think the '71-'72 before the big bumpers were the best of this model run, like the two grills in the bumper, but I'd kill for a '77-'78 XSC with the wrap around back glass - those are going to be worth some $ some day because of their rarity. I also like those little Oldsmobile emblems on the front fender peaks that actually lit up with the headlights on the '77-'78 Toronado, thought that was a nice touch.

[@markdc1145]

I remember a '75 or '76 Toronado which lived in our neighborhood. It had a huge airbag wheel which I thought was really advanced for the time. Never cared much for this body style but little did I know how much worse things would get a few years later.

[@ambientstereorecordings3528]

When I was a little kid I thought the car was the "Tornado".. lol

[@tombrown1898]

Like the Eldorado, the 1971 restyle of the Toronado was a come down. But the designers hands were tied by the corporate edict to use the B-Body platform. At least they finally got a proper frame and rear suspension.

[@OnkelPHMagee]

What about the Tornado XSR? That was also worth mentioning.

[@klavers]

Beautiful cars these 1970-1978 toronado's large on the outside long wheelbase , but no leg or knee room in the backseat.

[@johnstiffler8370]

My favorite will always be 1967 with the aerodynamic styling,and the original 455 engine.

[@mikee2923]

The Olds 455 came out for 1968. In 1967 it would’ve been a 425.

[@ThomasHill-q3c]

Of the second generation Toronado, the 1971 and 1972 are clearly the best looking, as well as the most powerful. In contrast, the 1973 and 1974 models are clunky, mostly because of those huge bumpers. The 1975 and 1976 are much more attractive by comparison, probably by virtual of the rectangular headlights, which are more harmonious with the horizontal front end theme. The 1977 and 1978 Toro seems to have lost more of its individuality, especially with the front styling that resembles something akin to what Ford had in the early 1980s.

[@cheftomsd]

Huge bumper from a front view looks like a tugboat.

[@BrianLarson1326]

You are correct, "Get the older one." lol.

[@Chris-v4z]

My Mother's friend had an Ex Husband who was rich. He drove an Eldorado and she had a new Tornado every other year or so. I loved riding in those as a little kid. She had a 78 and lent it to my Mother for a while when our 77 Delta 88 was in the shop. It was a huge car. Miss Grimsly's 78 Toranado was maroon. Why does is the steering wheel not the 3 spoke design though? Mom's friend's 78 Toronado did. The dash design is from the earlier 76 88 and 98.

[@tyler2610]

I always wondered why Buick downsized the Riviera for 1977 while Olds and Cadillac soldiered on in the full-size rather unchanged form for two more model years. The new more bland styling definitely didn’t do anything to boost sales.

[@johnandrus3901]

Cool! I've always liked the big, personal luxury coupes. I think that they look so much better than most of the cars today. Unfortunately, they were all downsized, over all makes, in the next few years. Too bad, really. These days, they have basically been replaced by the big, sport utility vehicles. An excellent video, as always.

[@davidbroughall3782]

Whenever I saw one of these on the road, I thought it was a Cadillac Eldorado.

[@japanjack62]

My Mom always wanted one, but Dad said "we have 4 Children" it's either the Custom Cruiser wagon or the 98 sedan. Needless to say we had the 98s, By the time the last kid left home, Olds downsized the Toronado and Mom hated it , so her last Olds was another 98, this time a Brougham insted of a Regency...

[@TomSnyder-gx5ru]

Hey - the Custom Cruiser was quite a ride, the "Cadillac" of wagons! The choice of a 98 or a Custom Cruiser would be a "win-win" in my book.

[@mikewilson4852]

If memory serves me correctly, didn't people file lawsuits over getting a chevy engine in an olds or buick when GM did their engine swaps?

[@TomSnyder-gx5ru]

You are correct!

[@mikewilson4852]

@TomSnyder-gx5ru Thank you. I thought so.

[@bmac1205]

Handsome car!

[@gordonborsboom7460]

Those bumper jacks were quite unstable on side of the road tire changes. I have seen many of that style where the finger to fit the slot is bent over from the car shifting in the air or just from jacking too high. The power train picture still has one original tire. The passenger side is the same as factory equipped

[@Earlywinters09]

I totally agree on the issue of styling. It's as if the designers got about 90% of the way to what they wanted, but were thwarted by the bumper regulations & etc.

[@donk499]

I would agree that those GM bumper fillers were cheesy/cheap looking even when brand new. The effect was even worse on the premium cars with the vertical tail lights in the bumpers that required the fillers to go up and around the vertical part of the bumpers. Hmmm, wondering if that "tempmatic" control did anything at all....That just looks like a conventional HVAC control with that tempmatic sticker on it. Did it actually move the blend door in an effort to keep the temp at those settings described on the temp lever??? And yeah, the big ol Toronado really needs the 455... Those crazy wrap around back windows were butt ugly though..

[@TonyM132]

I realize that Toronados and Eldorados had them for about ten years, but still, a big block V8 in a front wheel drive car just seems inappropriate.

[@WhittyPics]

1st. The rear of that Toronado looks a lot like a Cadillac. My brother's 77 Trans Am had the 403 Olds engine.

[@MarinCipollina]

Right.. It needn't have been so derivative, they should have found their own unique styling direction.

[@62Madison]

Forgot how popular those tape pinstripes were (along with the vinyl tops) in the 1970s. Love the door handles on the 71-78 Toronados that were shared with the 69-72 Grand Prix and 71-73 Boat tail Rivieras. The interior is deluxe, too bad space utilization was so bad.

[@aaronwilliams6989]

I remember when those were still quite common.

[@michaelwhite2823]

Okay Adam let me make some coffee. I know I'll enjoy this but I hope you're not too unkind to the 1978 Olds 403. Speaking of unkind, will you do a 77 78 LeSabre Riviera video?

[@TomSnyder-gx5ru]

I call them LaSabre "Broughams!"

[@michaelwhite2823]

@TomSnyder-gx5ru good one!

[@1127brighton]

I believe the upper mounted lights in the rear were for extra turn signals only. I don't think they were stop lamps.

[@TomSnyder-gx5ru]

The upper mounted lights were both turn signal and brake light, but strangely not running lights also. I always thought they should've lit up with the taillights myself, would've given it a nice look at night.

[@urbo42]

One of the things I liked about the '79 Toronado's was the return of the beautiful "A" pillar which was about the only high point of the downsized FWD body.

[@greggc8088]

12:15-That exhaust was surely restrictive but I guess it didn't matter much in those days.

[@kc9scott]

From watching Adam’s other videos, what I gather is that they intentionally restricted the intake/exhaust to help meet emissions and fuel-economy regs. Probably some combination of badly-written regs, and that it was easier/cheaper/faster to retrofit existing engines that way, rather than develop newer/smaller ones.

[@kevinbarry71]

another enormous car on the outside which had very limited space inside. A car that size with two doors is insane.

[@arevee9429]

A far cry from the original '66 Toronado. The wrap-around rear window option - not in the example car - gave it a little character.

[@MarinCipollina]

It was actually bent glass via hot wire, and quite expensive to produce. But you are right, it was quite distinctive.

[@TomSnyder-gx5ru]

Love the XS version with the wrap-around window, that's the one I'd look for but I'm sure not many survive since not that many were made. I wonder if there's records on how many XS's were made?

[@jeffrobodine8579]

The XSC had a several thousand dollar premium which is why only 2,453 were produced in 1978 versus 22,362 Brougham coupes.

[@eth39232]

GM did prepare a design study of the 1977 Toronado on the new B body platform, just as with the Riviera.

[@jamesengland7461]

Given how fragile the bumper fillers are, and expensive to replace, it seems GM could make a handsome profit making these for a more reasonable price, or at least could have back in the day when the fragility became known and there were more cars around needing replacement parts.

[@michaelcoffey7362]

Nice 😊

[@pcno2832]

7:04 Those squishy plastic bumper fillers did look sloppy on many cars of that era, but Olds did a much better job of integrating them into the vertical tail-light design of the Toronado than Cadillac had done with the '74-'76 Deville and Fleetwood models, or, for that matter, the '74-'78 Eldorado. At least Olds didn't highlight the sloppiness with tinsel. Too bad the front bumper looks like a bit of an afterthought. I guess you have to take the good with the bad on automotive oddities like this. No one will ever call it boring.

[@dustin_4501]

From the beautiful 1966-1970 Toronado to a rebadged land yacht Eldorado.

[@manher4335]

Rebaged? They were built on the same platform as the Eldorado. That's it.

[@MarkWG]

I agree. The 1971-1972 Toronado models were definitely the best of this second generation. These 1977-78 models had the dreaded, overheating, 403cid engine that was nothing more than a bored-to-the-max 350cid engine that had very tight water jackets due to the over-boring of the block. The 1968 through 1976, all had the excellent, proper Rocket 455 V8. But no Toronado built after 1967 could compete with the original styling of 1966-67 first generation.

[@redzmvt]

Had a '77 XS that I got from a guy I was working with.Faded silver paint,not much rust and interior smelled like a cigar shop.Paid 350.00 for it in 1988,drove it for 6 months and broke the rear window clearing ice off it.Went through the snow real good and sucked gas like it was free.Just try to find a replacement rear window for a reasonable price.

[@bryantint1339]

403 is okay. 455 is good too. Does not matter.

[@FastSports-ScaleCarGarage]

An accountant commenting on design is like an ant criticizing an eagle about how it flies.

[@gd2015]

Yew that was a wonderful car. I was a fool and didn't buy it off my father-in-law. He parked it in the brush and let it rot.

[@bertram46]

I love all of your videos.However you did not talk about the x s c In my opinion , that is the tornado to have especially if you found one of the two or three produced with t tops

[@49commander]

More separate pieces had to be a manufacturing nightmare! I think a lot of manufacturing complexity combined with demands to reduce manufacturing cost led to disgruntled union employees leading to the increasing strikes in the 1970's.

[@stephenshea8168]

I own a 78 Toronto XS ed.....In SAFFON YELLOW...For 2 years....U r correct about the REAR FILLERS...mind have been replaced and repainted ..But a sloppy job...terrible fit....K.Y.B. shocks all around GREATLY IMPROVEs HANDING ...The 403 timing set a few degrees ahead...ITS FLYS...UNDERRATED POWER ....Great car...sporty and luxurious...great gas mileage 4 a big car....at least 13 around town. Just as OLDSMOBILE ADVERSETED

[@danrussell9357]

Do you know why Oldsmobile designed the second gen Toronado to look like a 98 rather than keeping its unique styling?

[@Thevacomaticvacuumcorner]

i want one

[@rightlanehog3151]

Adam, Without a 455 BIG block under the hood, this Toronado just does not seem quite right. 🤔

[@sageskeleton]

I think the '71-76 are peak 2nd gen. Toronado.

[@Chris_Troxler]

Yes, I completely agree. The 77 and 78 were just a little bland.

[@misterhipster9509]

Must be very rare vehicle going by the exhibited specimen, few and far between I'll wager.

[@jayweiss4378]

Land Yacht 😎

[@marknease1631]

Clock doesn’t look digital- looks like the rotary scrolling style.

[@kc9scott]

It was a electromechanical “digital” clock, with numbers painted on wheels that turn. While a bit of a stretch, it’s a legitimate way to describe that kind of clock display. Much more common at the time were flip-card digital clocks for home use. Those were also entirely electromechanical, and people needed a word to describe them. That word was/is “digital”. All it means is that the device shows you numbers, i.e. digits.

[@damianbowyer2018]

Yep Adam, the front and back bumpers do detract from the design, but still the cars look OK....Interior is not too bad, but as always, it depends on the buyer's taste and types of seats and dash designs available back then. Lots of probs with the engine and probably a good idea when they sunset-ed these cars for a down-sized car. Cheers fm Damo.

[@LeonardBrazil]

Much better than a Cadillac ❤

[@gloomyvale3671]

We need new long cars we need cars so long it would make he titanic blush, I’d love to see a 34000 feet Cadillac