Obscure Muscle Car: 1970 Oldsmobile Toronado GT
As soon as I have a nice, steady career with a nice, steady paycheck, one of the first collector cars I am going to buy is a 1966-1970 Oldsmobile Toronado. I’ve always admired the technological prowess it had during its time, and there is something about its styling that is just stunning. This 1970 Toronado is not only a final-year first-generation model, it also features the rare and desirable W34 GT package. Find it here on Hemmings in Royal Oak, Michigan, with an asking price of $12,500 OBO.
Introduced in 1966, the Toronado was the first American automobile since the Cord 810/812 to feature front-wheel drive. The 1966-1969 models featured hidden headlamps, but for 1970, the Toronado switched to exposed headlamps (GM mandated that all cars except for the Corvette had to use exposed headlamps). After nearly 41,000 were sold for 1966, sales of the Toronado fell off the wayside, mainly due to corporate competition a la the Buick Riviera and the Cadillac Eldorado. This Toronado is a 1970 model, and features the performance-oriented GT option package. According to the seller, the exterior is mostly original, and aside from some minor blemishes on the trunklid, the rear left quarter panel on the ridges, and by the trunklid weatherstripping. This Toronado GT features a lot of desirable options for the exterior, including tinted windshield and windows, Chrome door-edge guards, and Classic White paint with red fender well stripes and vinyl top delete.
The chrome rims are off of a 1968 Toronado, and enhance the stealthy yet muscular look. I love the dual exhaust that notches the rear bumper like the 442, and the vinyl top delete is a nice plus. I would touch up the paint, ditch the generic blackwall tires and either source a set of bias-look blackwall radials or have a set of triple thin white line tires made, and buff the rest of the exterior. Otherwise, I would leave the exterior as-is, and try my hardest not to disturb the rest of the exterior cosmetics.
I think this an appropriate time to cue “Rocket Man” by Elton John. When ordered with the GT/W34 package, the Toronado’s 455 was upgraded from 375 horsepower to 400 horsepower (surprisingly, torque fell from 510 to 500 lb-ft). Although the outside air induction system was gone by 1970 (it had been abandoned after 1968), the increase was achieved simply by utilizing larger 2.072-inch intake valves (versus standard 2.00-inch valves) in conjunction with a performance camshaft featuring a higher .0472-inch lift on both the intake and exhaust. The W34 455 was backed by a TH-425 three-speed automatic (only the Toronado and RVs such as the GMC Motor Coach used this transmission). At first glance, the engine has a little patina, but since it is original, the condition is still nice. I would source a more era-correct looking battery and detail the engine and engine bay, make sure everything is in mechanical working order, and rip some front-wheel drive burnouts.
For some reason, I was expecting a red gut in this Toronado, probably because of the stripes. Instead, this Toronado GT features a Saddle Brown interior. The front bench seat features six-way power adjusting, and looks very comfy to sit in during a long trip. The interior also features air conditioning, cruise control, tilt and telescoping steering wheel, deluxe seat belts, remote control side view mirror, power windows, power door locks, rear window defogger, and convenience group. All in all, the interior looks to be in excellent shape, and the options round out a very nice interior. I’m not a total fan of the Saddle Brown, but I’m sure it grows on you over time. Overall, this Toronado is a very nice car that only needs a few things, and would be an interesting and welcome sight at any car show, cruise, and Cars and Coffee event; what are your thoughts on this rare and desirable Toronado GT?
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Comments
Looks tough – what’s the original wheels look like? – very restrained ( I guess it’s an Olds….)
400hp and 1960s fwd sounds like a fun mix.
personally, i like the rear and rear 3/4 views – the front with the visible headlights not so much. i wonder if it would be possible to graft on a 66-69 front end? that might be heresy with a vehicle as original as this but to my eyes it would look a ton better.
appreciate the vinyl roof delete, that was a smart move, and darker colors may be a better way to visualize this car. understated grand tourer from the turn of the decade.
I doubt it would be difficult to install the covered headlight from 1969, if you can find the pieces. I would recommend an electric motor to move those heavy doors as it takes about 15 minutes for them to open.
I don’t think you can lump the ’66-’67 in with the ’68-’70. The ’66-’67 had all the styling and the later versions had very little.
They all still drive great as I did have a couple ’67 Eldorados, which, along with their ’68 brothers, are the only Cadillacs to ever have covered headlights.
I never got my ’66 Toronado running, but it looked exactly like the one that Jay Leno started with. Same model and color.
I have to say, there were a few, very few vinyl tops that looked great when new. That said, when they looked bad, they looked very bad.
’70 was the high water mark.
These are bad ass cool! I like the 66 and 70 best of the first generation. A neighbor drove us to school occasionally in their 70 Toro…burgandy with black interior. The “drum” speedometer was cool.
Jay Leno’s garage profiles his 66 rwd 1000 hp Toro with an interview of David North/Toro designer.
David North, as a true “designer”, was not offended by Leno’s rwd….he commented it’s all about the design. Although the engineers may beg to differ.
Up to this point, I was unfamiliar with the 1970 Toronado -am used to seeing ’66-’69 models. I am really digging it! Unfortunately, not enough to pursue it though.
I have to say that, for me, 1970 was the year that had the most appealing body styles at one time…Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, Cyclone/Montego, El Camino, Chevelle, Thunderbird and now Toronado. Too bad I was only three at the time, otherwise, I would’ve enjoyed my attraction at a higher level.
Wow! This seems like a cheap way to get a nice, servicable V8 American coupe from the “golden days” of the muscle car era (1963-1970 in my 37 year old mind).
This brings up a question… is this Toronado considered a muscle car? It is a GT and has a 455. If not, does the “personal luxury coupe” part of it prevent this or simply the front wheel drive?
Other than touching up the paint, I would daily drive the fool out of this thing (20 minute drive through the country to get to work so the 10mpg wouldn’t be a bother). I’ve always thought these cars were minding-numbingly beautiful, but I do prefer the hidden lights.
I think it’s a muscle car…at the very least it’s a gentleman’s hot rod
Not a muscle car, no such thing as a fwd muscle car. Its a personal lux coupe. I mean muscle car inplies spirited driving, racing, motorsport, modifications etc. This car has nothing going for it…. i guess you can put mickey thompsons on the front and skinnies on the back?
WRONG!!! This beast is the total embodiment of a muscle car. It would outrun any mustang, nova, or skylark of the same model year.MUSTLE BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Auh 400hp and 500 pounds of torque and the car has “nothing going for it”? Interesting comment.
Get real guys this thing sits on skinny bias ply tires it aint going to run circles around anything, i dont care how much torque it has cause it wont transfer much to the pavement….
Ever heard of changing tires?
Hate to break it to you but on the front your kinda limited….os this monstrosity even Limited slipped?
Hmmm good point on the FWD tires….not sure about how those would swap out. I had a 70 Riv, rear wheel drive but same engine specs as the Toro, so I just swapped in different wheels/tires. Mine had a posi rear, too. Trust me, it was quick!
I had a 70 Tori in 73 and it ran 15.07 in the quarter at 96 mph. No traction problem with 65% of 4400 lbs on the front tires. Mine was not a GT either and would get 17 mpg on the interstate.
It will “transfer to the pavement” better than a comparable rear wheel drive car because the weight bias is above the drive wheels…physics.
Rode along side a trike that used this powertrain many years ago, sounded insane with some hand made headers on it.
My Dad called his 66 “An old man’s sports car ”
I have had the twin of his car since 1980. My children and their friends loved to ride in it, and many were admonished, “Don’t tell your parents, that I took you for a 100 mph ride”
Mine needs a second restoration, but still runs and drives. It is a very ” Muscular Car” but is it a Muscle Car? I’ll let everyone else argue about that. I just know I will likely have it until I die. So many great stories, with this car and my Dad’s.
This 70 looks like a bargain to me
Remember the basic definition of a muscle car: Engine from the full sized car line installed in the intermediate car.
The Toronado has a 119 inch wheelbase and was Never considered an intermediate. Even the Galaxie 427 and Impala 409 were not called muscle cars. They were addressed as High Performance cars, a full step Above a muscle car.
For instance the ’66 Ford Fairlane GTA came standard with the 390. The high performance Galaxie had the 427. A much better performing car than a mere muscle car. Gentlemen, your factual response:
Now I always think about Leno’s RWD converted twin turbo when I see these. The styling is great, though I prefer the hidden headlights. With 10 second Hondas out there I’m not sure why we couldn’t imagine a fast FWD Toronado. http://stiffspeed.co.uk/post/107021916049 Thanks Mitchell!
No you don’t Mitch, you only think you do.
These cars were hibitual problem factories from day one. Yeah, ’66 may
have been a great year for the Toronado,
but there was a reason for this that no one will talk about–the fact that these cars were lemons from new. If you weren’t changing front tired every 5K
miles or so, your engine was boiling.over
for no apparent reason. And if all that
wasn’t enough, if you wanted to pull a
small trailer, forget about it! You’ll lose
your driveshafts in less than 8 blocks!
That’s why fed up owners dumped them
on used car lots in the early ’70’s. I was
17 when I bought one of these pieces of
crap and it didn’t me long to get rid of it
either! Lucky for me that the Olds dealer
was kind enough to take it off my hands.
Since then, I’ve been leary of anything
front wheel drive. Would like to see it
banned but that’ll never happen. Still
worry about Mom driving her ’01 Buick
LaSabre.
Not true, I had a 70 Toro and never had an issue. They used the same drivetrain, axles and all, in many motorhomes in the 70’s without any issues. Bulletproof drivetrain. Mine turned 15 seconds flat in the quarter with only open exhaust at the crossover.
Sorry, Olds didn’t boil over or were problem cars, unless you didn’t take care of them. My Toronado’s didn’t wear tires at 5000 miles either and I drive them hard. Over 100k miles on many GM cars of the era and the were pretty much bulletproof.
Respectfully, the Olds 455 runs crazy hot — less so on the 70 where the grille is open and you have a bit more air flow, but still an issue with the factory fan. I bought a 70 Toro (custom trim, but not GT) in August ’23 and am just now getting it going. Only two changes I am making from factory are electric fans – for that reason and the reclaim the few horsies that single-clutch fan was stealing – and I am replacing the shredded green vinyl top with a white one to match the white vinyl interior (black carpet).
I had a 67 for 10 years and the car was a wonderful ride. It looked great in silver and black, and it went like stink. It also handled extremely well on the mountain highways.
I traded a Corvette for my Toronado, and had a 100 miles to drive home. I looked down at the speedometer and saw 110 mph, and my first response was, “Oh, Crap! I haven’t owned the car for an hour and the speedometer is broken.” Then I looked for other signs of how fast I was going, and saw the telephone poles going by like they were fenceposts! I slowed down and knew that for a luxury car this beast was a real performer.
I traded the car for a 4×4, because at the time I needed a utility vehicle, and didn’t have the room to keep the Toronado.
It was a lovely car.
Tried to post, but got a message “access denied – securi website firewall” ???
“vinyl top delete”
The vinyl top was an option, not part of the W34 standard equipment, making it pretty hard to delete it.
My 70 Riviera would blow the doors of this Olds and
it looks way cooler .
Never been beat by a Riv with mine, you got 400 hp?
I often wondered why in 1970 model year all GM vehicles suddenly had exposed headlights, except the Corvette; they had been available on several models through the late 1960s. Ford and Chrysler were just getting started good and carried hidden headlights into the 70s, 80s and even 90s on some Chrysler products. I guess GM felt they were too expensive to install on vehicles or caused too many repair problems, especially if it was a popular model. I had hidden headlights on my 1978 Thunderbird and the only problem I had was when they iced closed. I just applied a little warm water to get them open.
Bill, the reason was the the government mandated that the covers had to raise in a certain amount of seconds and the Toronado just couldn’t cut it.
The doors were huge and very heavy.
Their answer was to remove them completely from this 1970 model.
I never knew that. Thanks for the comment. I guess some of the lights on Toronados and Riveras for example were where the headlights themselves moved rather that a cover moving out of the way like on my Thunderbird. I envisioned some high up finance guy at GM say “get rid of hidden headlights, they’re too costly” except for the Vette.
I read that in a Motor Trend magazine from 1968.
Back then they had sections detailing all the new regulations the cars had to comply with year to year.
This was one of them.
I have to question the validity of that story…the headlights on my ’67 would flip up in a fraction of a second. A very different system from the Riviera.
Sweet Jesus this is one ugly car!
Just curious for the guys who say this isn’t a muscle car or whatever you want to label it because it’s a front wheel drive…..the 70 Riviera had the same specs (in GS form, in standard form 375hp) and the same torque, but is of course rear wheel drive. So would you then consider the Riviera to be a “muscle” car? I had a 70 Riv and didn’t really consider it to be a muscle car due to the luxury aspect of it, but that’s just my opinion. It surely had the numbers on paper to be considered a “muscle” car.
The 1970 Buick Riviera was rated at 370 hp, and of course was a Buick engine with a different bore and stroke with dual exhaust. The Toro was base rated at 375 hp with single exhaust and 400 hp in GT form, I believe still single exhaust to the traverse muffler then dual to bumper.
Steve – The 1970 Toronado GT package (W-34) included dual exhaust and a special bumper with dual cut outs. I don’t believe dual exhaust was available that year without the w-34 option.
All 70 Toros came standard with true dual exhaust from the engine back, though you are correct that the pipes intersected at a transverse muffler before exiting opposite sides and coming dual out the bumper. I have a non-GT 70 and I am planning to run pipes with individual mufflers straight back (nothing obnoxious… this car was meant to be luxury and thus quiet, but who wants to completely quiet that Olds 455 exhaust note?!)
The ’70 Toronado had a shipping weight of 4700 pounds. The ’70 442 with the same engine had a shipping weight of 3800 pounds. The Toro had a 3.08 gear and the 442 had a 3.55 gear. Which one do you honestly think won that race? It was NOT a muscle car, but officially classified as a luxury sport sedan. You’re online right now; Google it.
In that case, you should check out the Fournado…described as the best of both worlds.
http://www.speedville.com/oldsmobile-fournado/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-pamz-vMyo
Keith, muscle cars were also cheap and moderately light, here is a full definition:
A muscle car, by the strictest definition, is an intermediate sized, performance oriented model, powered by a large V8 engine, at an affordable price.
If you look at that definition from muscle car club america youll see that riviera or a vette are not muscle even though there are plenty fast. Some cars are borderline muscle like Nova for example, its a compact but when you pick the right options it morphs :)
Totally agree with you on the muscle car definition. That’s why I said I don’t consider the Riv or the Toronado to be muscle cars, though on paper they surely have the credentials to fall into that category (other than weight).
Interestingly, the Toronado retailed for about $5,000, and the GT option was only about $46. In comparison, if you wanted a 70 Mustang with 400hp, you couldn’t get it, but you could get 375hp by way of the Boss 429 package, which was a $1,200 option in 1970! (half the price of a base model Mustang).
One thing I did notice with my 70 Riv (and yes i get that most people, even Riv enthusiasts, don’t like the 70 Riv but I do), swapping out the stock rims and tires for larger ones made a huge difference! I think you are correct that on a front wheel drive Toro, wanting to do the same did not give one many options.