Toronado Resto-Mod?????

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en-gedi
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Toronado Resto-Mod?????

Postby en-gedi » Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:54 pm

Hello All,
I am new to TOA and glad to be a part of the community.
I have recently acquired several Toronados 1967-1970. They are in varying states of repair and I have some questions to ask about restoring them.
I know that with certain cars it is taboo to make too many modifications to the original.
What is the popular opinion when it comes to the 1st generation Toronado?
I am particularly interested in making some styling modification to make the car a little more “sporty.” After all a Toronado may be “luxury” but it is anything but “sporty.”
Now when I talk modifications I mean a tasteful resto-mod that makes some performance enhancements but also some external changes like a lift kit for the back, maybe a tasteful hood scoop or cowl, racing stripes, a period appropriate rear spoiler and such.
I know Leno did some serious modifications under the hood for his Toro but retained a more stock looking exterior.
Are some years off limits and other years anything goes?
Any opinions?
Thanks for any feedback.

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janeg
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Re: Toronado Resto-Mod?????

Postby janeg » Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:21 am

Hi and welcome.

They are your cars, so you can do what you like, of course.... Most people seem to prefer stock. It would depend to me on the condition of the various cars. The ones most in demand are the 66 and then the 67, so I guess I would suggest doing your mods on one of the other three.
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toro_mike
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Re: Toronado Resto-Mod?????

Postby toro_mike » Wed Apr 21, 2010 8:55 am

janeg wrote:Hi and welcome.

They are your cars, so you can do what you like, of course.... Most people seem to prefer stock. It would depend to me on the condition of the various cars. The ones most in demand are the 66 and then the 67, so I guess I would suggest doing your mods on one of the other three.


I agree, do what you want, just note that if you wish to sell, most folks look for good examples of 66-70 Toronados. Resto-modding diminishes the value greatly, from what I have seen.

Good luck! Let us know which path you take and keep up updated on the progress!
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en-gedi
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Re: Toronado Resto-Mod?????

Postby en-gedi » Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:01 pm

I appreciate the responces and I respect all opinions.

When I talk about resto-mod I emphasize the term "tasteful." I can see that the early Toronados are more classic in their design and one would need to be cautious to modify them too much.

However, am I the only one who thinks the car could use a little "sportiness."

Don't misunderstand. I love the overall design of the car. I especially like the bold line that runs over the wheel wells and covers the entire length of the car on the 66-69 models. But the rear end on the 66-68 models seems "unfinished" and the hood seems to beg for, I don't know, "someting" to break up the acres of space. I preffer the 69-70 for their small fin additions on the back end.

I am not suggesting a clownish restyling but rather a few tasteful tweaks.

For instance. I placed a jack under the rear end as a test and gave the car just a little positive rake (3" lift). For the first time I felt as though I was looking "down hill" rather than "up hill" over a hood that goes on for miles.

In fact the mods I am suggesting are such that they could easily be undone (for the most part).

To me the first Gen. Toronado is screeming for some tasteful modification, but maybe that is just me.

There are plenty of cars from this era with racing stripes, hood scoops/cowls, rear spoilers, and such that look pretty awesome.

Is that a too radical approach?

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toro_mike
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Re: Toronado Resto-Mod?????

Postby toro_mike » Fri Apr 23, 2010 12:57 pm

It is only too radical if it does not fit your tastes. Do what you wish with your cars, but watching the market for many years has shown the vast majority of folks like them original. The most common story is they saw one when they were young and never got it out of their heads...

I, for one, really like the look and feel of the 66-68 cars, with their fastback look and endless hood.

Hopefully somebody else will chime in soon.
Mike
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Graniteman
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Years Owned: Owned a '69 back in about '77, this cat was a legend in the Nebraska panhandle, it was very fast even for it's size. It would absoloutly fog the front tires from a standing start; I don't mean spin them, I mean just boil 'em from a standing start for at least 100' (measured)! I know what you're thinking, they weren't old rag tires they were modern Yokohoma radials. I'm sure this car would have ran 150mph too because many times I had the cruise set on 135 with 1/2 the gas pedal left. BTW this was in the middle of nowhere Wyoming.
I'm finally about to start work on my '66 that I've owned for 10 years. I plan to make sure my '66 425 runs just as strong as my '69 455 did. I hope to be doing some write-ups for the Driver as I go through the '66. I'll be updating it with disc brakes, electric fans (gasp), good stereo system, battery in the trunk etc., etc. as time and money allows.
I also may be building some new wheels with the correct offset, etc.
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Re: Toronado Resto-Mod?????

Postby Graniteman » Thu Jun 24, 2010 12:52 am

Well I'll be doing some resto-mod stuff on my '66 soon but it will all be in the interest of better all around perfromance. NOT any body mods; if you spend some time looking around on the net you'll find quite a few "customized" Toronados but at least in my opinion NOT A ONE looks better than original and almost all look worse.
One thing I'm going to consider is a cowl induction type hood :o
There's a place in Rapid City, SD called the speed center, they make two versions of a steel cowl type hood (31/2" & 5" IIRC). I doubt that I'll do it but I do plan to make either a cardboard or plywood mock-up of it to study how it would look. Also my car is black and will be repainted black witch I feel may be a factor, we'll see.................
This hood might just look good like it belongs there or of course it might look like crap :?
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Re: Toronado Resto-Mod?????

Postby Twilight Fenrir » Thu Aug 05, 2010 10:18 am

Well, I just bought my '66 and I love it to pieces, I feel that they are the best looking car I've ever seen from the factory. That being said, I am considering a few minor changes, that i"ll probably never do, but that would certainly be awesome...

1st, as far as a cowl induction goes, instead of doing that, I'd take what Oldsmobile already gave us aesthetically, and make it work functionally. Those slots right behind the headlights. I've got an '86 Camaro that has a cold-air intake very similar, and I'm toying with seeing if I can make the parts fit into there. I think it would only be nice though, if it had a butterfly valve on it, so that when the engine is off, it looks stock. But when you start it up and rev the engine, a rod running through the middle of the panel would tilt to let the air in proportionately. Dunno if it would offer much in the way of performance (Probably help a little) but it would be cool looking.

2nd, and this is something I toy with the idea of on all my cars, T-Tops. Because T-Tops are cool.

3rd, some sort of louver-system for over the rear window, like on Camaro's, or DeLoreans. Very unlikely to happen, but, I've always liked the look of those, and wonder what it would do for our Toro's... probably make them ugly as sin.

And, like you said, the rear has always stood out to me as odd somehow, not sure why... A spoiler might be nice, provided it's very tastefull, and in keeping with the lines of the car. But the number of cars that look good with spoilers is vastly dwarfed by the cars that look terrible with them.


The only one I'm seriously considering myself is the intake behind the headlights. It'd be subtle, mean-looking, and in keeping with the original design. I might look into the T-Tops though...
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sharkeymark
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Re: Toronado Resto-Mod?????

Postby sharkeymark » Sat Aug 21, 2010 12:31 pm

Image

Here is an example of a modification that looks stealthy. I think that a hood scoop for a Toro
should be a low profile that joins the 2 hood ridges is about 18-24" back of the front hood line and blends into the final hoodline at the glass. It would be a total custom. I doubt very seriously if you could find a prefab hood scoop to look good.

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Re: Toronado Resto-Mod?????

Postby sharkeymark » Sat Aug 21, 2010 12:33 pm


Twilight Fenrir
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Re: Toronado Resto-Mod?????

Postby Twilight Fenrir » Sun Aug 22, 2010 11:14 pm

sharkeymark wrote:Image

Here is an example of a modification that looks stealthy. I think that a hood scoop for a Toro
should be a low profile that joins the 2 hood ridges is about 18-24" back of the front hood line and blends into the final hoodline at the glass. It would be a total custom. I doubt very seriously if you could find a prefab hood scoop to look good.


My god... they blew it up.... They really...

No, wait... wrong movie...

They painted the bumper! You don't paint chrome... never, ever, ever!
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