1978 Oldsmobile Toronado XS

Tiny update. Car was picked up yesterday (Monday), rather than Sunday. The driver has been in contact with me. Car should be here Thursday or Friday.

 

As of this writing, I have not yet seen the car in person. But I've been thinking a lot about this issue. My main concern is getting the car to run again so I can move it around my driveway, garage, etc. We're talking moving it 20 or 30 feet. So it doesn't have to have perfect brakes. It doesn't have to have perfect tires. It has to hold coolant. It has to hold oil. It doesn't have to have brand new oil right away although changing it is one of my first priorities.

I've dealt with long-sitting cars before, and my experience is that they're generally not as difficult to get going again as you might think. Back in the '90s, I helped a neighbor whose parents had passed away and who had in their garage a '69 Olds Cutlass that had not moved in 10 years. All we did was add a little gas (we didn't worry about whatever gasoline was still in there), made sure there was oil (we didn't change it on this just-get-it-started mission), made sure that was coolant in the radiator, and put in a new battery. We just touched the starter to see if the engine would turn over and was not seized, and it was not. In fact, after a few cranks, the car started right up. We didn't need starting fluid. The tires were soft but not flat, and I backed it out of the garage and drove it around the block.

My other experience was with my recently-owned (sold two years ago) '73 Olds Custom Cruiser. I bought the car in 2010 after it had been sitting untouched in the seller's garage for 5 years. Again, all we did was put in a new battery and turn the key. We didn't add any new gas. Started up pretty easily. Ran rough, and a later tune-up smoothed things out, but we got it started so it could be moved onto the trailer that was bringing it to my home and then off the trailer and into my garage once it got home.

Which brings us to this car, the '78 Toronado that has been sitting for 10 years or so. The seller is very conservative. He told me that there were no issues with the car's running when it was parked, and he had put in all new fluids, radiator hoses, belts, etc. just before parking it. He sent me a photo of the radiator filler opening with the cap removed, and the coolant is still right up to the top and looks green and clean. There is no battery, and he was not willing to be the one to try starting it after sitting so long. He wanted this to be something the new owner did. So I'm expecting and hoping that, after a quick inspection to make sure that there is oil, etc., I'll put in a new battery, bump the starter to make sure the engine is not seized, which I don't expect it to be, and it will start. Fingers crossed!

 

I wouldn't bump the starter, I would manually bar it over. I would also pull the plugs and fog a little PB in each cylinder before even moving the engine; doing so will make turning the crankshaft easier.

 

You are absolutely right. My original thought was based on the assumption that the car would be dropped off on a street near my house (we live on a tight cul-de-sac), and I would want to get it off the street and into my garage as quickly as possible. Moving under its own power would be the easiest way to do this. But, I just now talked to the tow company that will bring the car from where the truck drops it off (at a truck stop just off the interstate) the rest of the way to my house, and he didn't think there would much difficulty in their guy getting it into my garage. I would much prefer that, so I have all the time in the world to go through the car thoroughly before the first attempt at starting it.

 

Excellent. As soon as you put up that thread, I'll be subscribed.

 

Thanks. I have thought of doing that, but is this the right place for it? After all, it's not a station wagon. I was thinking of creating a thread over at classicoldsmobile.com.

 

Oh no! You better do that thread right here buddy! C'mon we all chomping at the bit to see the car!

 

OK, but if I get into any trouble with the powers that be here, you guys are responsible for paying any fines or serving any jail time!

I do plan to take lots of photos, starting with while it's still on the truck before being unloaded. I hope this site has enough server space.

 

At least resize before upload.

 

I suspect the site automatically does this. And I'm really not concerned about taking up too much server space with photos. I doubt I could if I wanted to.

 

Wow jaunty, congrats!
Looks like a real solid car from the photos.
Good luck getting her going.

 

OK, boys and girls, the fun has begun!

The car arrived in town about 6:30 (Mountain time) this evening. I met the truck at a truckstop near the interestate where it was transferred to a wrecker who took it the rest of the way to my house where it was deposited in my garage. It was nighttime, so I couldn't get the greatest of photos, but what I did take are below. One photo is of the car being transferred to the wrecker, several are of it being slowly lowered into the garage, and one is of it in place. That's my '67 Delta 88 convertible in the background behind it. I also took a photo of the VIN plate just because it's pretty darn cool with that 700005 at the end.

I did a very cursory look through this evening, and here's what I found.

1. It is definitely a tilt-only steering column. No telescoping.

2. I was very pleased to see that both brake fluid reservoirs are still full to the brim. Not the cleanest of fluids, but at least that suggests no leaks.

3. The engine compartment is dirty but otherwise things look ok. The seller told me that he had replaced the belts and hoses, among other things, before the car was parked, and I would say that that's an accurate description of them. They look unused, but a little aged, mostly with dust. Probably a little crispy, too, and they will get replaced.

4. The radiator is full right to the top, and the fluid looks clean and green.

5. The seller told me he changed the oil, too, before parking it, and the level is full and the oil looks brand new.

6. I didn't look through every receipt in the glovebox, but the latest I came across is dated 2011. Not too bad, as I was hoping it had been less than 10 years since it had run, and that appears to be the case.

7. The very very very FIRST thing I'm going to do is remove the trailer hitch. It looks ugly, I'm never going to tow a trailer with this car, and by removing it, I'll gain six inches of space behind the car so I can push it back a little bit and thus have more room to work around the front of the car. I don't have the biggest garage, but it does hold this rather large car.

8. The door plaque says that the tire size is JR78-15. What does that translate to, metrically? The tires on the car now are P215/75R15, which I'm guessing is correct. They're old and worn, so they'll be going as soon as I can get the car moving and take it to a tire shop. But they hold air, so they'll do for now.

9. The dashboard clock is stopped at 2:38. I assume that's PM. I wonder what date that was.

10. There is a canister with an "oil" fill hole on the top at the left front of the car under the hood, and it is connected to, of all things, the horns. What kind of horns need oil? I've never seen that. I'm sure the manuals will tell (I now have in hand the '78 Olds chassis manual, the '78 Fisher Body manual, the '78 Olds New Product Service Information Manual, and the '78 Olds dealer brochure). What else do I need?

 

Is that correct? #5 in the 1978 production run? What's the actual production month? It certainly looks straight from the pictures.

 

When you register it, will you get a vanity plate that says 78TORO?

 

We talked about the VIN serial number thing earlier in the thread. I've heard over the years that cars did not necessarily come off the line in precise VIN order. VIN's were assigned early in the production process, and, if a car were special ordered by a customer, the VIN would be assigned when the order was received at the factory even though the car itself might not be built until a few days later. So the safest thing we can say is that it is among the very first Toronados to come off the line that year, but not necessarily exactly the fifth one.

Here's the cowl tag. Build date is 8C, which is third week of August 1977, which is very early in the model year production run and is consistent with the early VIN serial number.