*taps mike* “Is this thing on?”
OK, I know that most of the party has moved on to new environs, but dagnabit, I can’t help myself. Especially when I see Broughamage of the early ’70s GM pre-Federal bumper variety.
Most of you have heard of my pal Jayson Coombes in Texas. Most recently he accompanied me to the fantastic national CLC and BCA meets in Lombard and Lisle, IL. But he has been doing more traveling since then, and when he found out the Oldsmobile club was having their national meet in the Nashville area-relatively close to his folks-he could see some great Lansing-built rolling stock and visit his mom and dad, all at the same time. Perfect.
As is our routine, we text each other pictures from car shows we attend. So over the course of the weekend before last, he sent approximately 130 pictures from the event. And there were some extremely excellent cars in attendance.
I love the original Toronado. Call me predictable, but my most favorite is the original ’66 version. And there was, as you’d expect, several nice examples from that model year. But the one that I really zeroed in on was this ’70 Toronado GT. Yes, a GT.
Most folks argue that the Toronado got less attractive every model year after ’66. I can’t argue the point-the ’66 is the prettiest. But I still love the later ones, despite their, shall we say, less aesthetically pleasing lines?
The ’70 got fender blades, presumably borrowed from its higher-toned Eldorado sibling. Some may say it’s a ’66 trying to morph into a ’71. I can see that. But I was still smitten by this unabashedly gold personal luxury coupe.
In 1970 there were two Toronado models: the regular Toro, and the Toronado Custom. The plainer one saw few takers with 2,351 sold. Meanwhile, 23,082 Customs were bought. But there was a special GT option package available, little seen and few outside PLC or Olds circles are aware of it. But this is one of them.
While not mentioned by name, the ’70 brochure (of course I have a copy) mentions that “Toronado now has available a W-34 performance package which increases output to 400 horsepower. This is accomplised with a high-performance camshaft, special transmission calibration for quicker acceleration, and a dual exhaust system.”
“A worthwhile combination for those who like their luxury as fine-honed as possible.” And keep in mind the basic Toro still had a 455 V8 with 375 hp. The cost? A mere $212.
Anyway, Jason was smitten with this one, and now he’s kinda-sorta looking for a ’70 Toronado. Unlike some other ’60s/early ’70s personal luxury coupes, these haven’t gone through the ceiling price wise-yet.
Although he’s not a big fan of gold. Blue is more his style. But no matter the color, seeing cars like these only reinforces how much I miss Oldsmobile.