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Bargain Barn Find? 1984 Oldsmobile Toronado

We don’t often think of barn finds, as in vehicles that were actually stored and/or found in a barn after an extended period of time, as being luxury cars. The seller of this 1984 Oldsmobile Toronado says that it’s a true barn find and they have it listed here on craigslist in Interlochen, Michigan, just southwest of beautiful Traverse City. They’re asking $4,000 or best offer.

I think of barn finds as being old trucks, regular sedans, maybe a few muscle cars that weren’t worth that much two or three or more decades ago, but not something like an ’84 Toronado. They say that this luxurious, front-wheel-drive, leather-lined, upper-crust car was found in a pole barn in Interlachen, MI but they don’t say how long it was stored or when it was found. They don’t even give the miles which is a bit unusual, even for a craigslist ad.

This third-generation Toronado sure looks great, other than in the second photo where you can see the flexible bumper filler seems to be cracked. The next owner may be able to find those online for a few hundred dollars, and then add the cost of having them painted to match. The rest of this car looks absolutely spectacular, especially in this fitting gold color. The front end and grille are pretty unique in this generation of Toronado and unless I’m missing it, I really don’t see any flaws anywhere other than that right-front bumper-filler material. Well, the hood ornament appears to be missing, but I don’t see anything else, do you?

The wide leather seats look uber-comfortable but maybe wouldn’t be the best for autocrossing, not that anyone would use an ’84 Toronado for that purpose. The back seats look equally perfect and I’ve never sat in the back of a third-gen Toronado, but I would assume that there is enough headroom and legroom for most people.

As with a lot of craigslist ads, there are no engine photos in this one, unfortunately. Even more unfortunate, the seller doesn’t even list the number of cylinders that this car has. It could have either a Buick-sourced 4.1L V6, a 307 cubic-inch Olds V8, or an Olds 350 diesel. This one appears to have the optional blue digital dash which is cool. It just looks like a fantastic car overall to me and at $4,000 or best offer, I don’t even have to ask if it’s a good buy or good-bye.

Comments

  1. Avatar Rex Kahrs Member

    Wow, this looks like a screaming deal for 4K.

    Like 8
  2. Avatar Steve Clinton

    Did Pappy think this was a ’66?

    Like 4
  3. Avatar Randy Simon Member

    Nice seller, 156,000 miles, 307 motor, drives well, just surface rust underneath, he offered to drive it to me in California!

    Like 5
  4. Avatar Jim

    That looks like a great deal for 4 grand!! I still like these cars, even though the Toronado, Riviera and Eldorado from this era were almost identical.

    Like 3
  5. Avatar JoeNYWF64

    Here we have ’60s “hardtop” body styling that was available more than 10 years after GM spent millions $’s developing the collonaide roof styling. Is this a lost orphan or something?

    Like 0
  6. Avatar AF

    Pappy would cruise into town with his “see gar” and the windows down

    Like 3
  7. Avatar DETROIT LAND YACHT

    Best looking version of all the cars that shared that platform.

    Like 4
  8. Avatar Pete Kaczmarski

    The ’79 to ’81 to the best of my knowledge have the more durable Olds 350 gas motor and the three-speed non-overdrive transmission. Those are the years to look for.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Chris Gall

      Correction….Olds 350 only available in ’79, and you’re correct….a vastly superior motor to the 307CI that would follow it, although externally identical.

      Like 0
  9. Avatar Maestro1

    The digital stuff is a nightmare but other than that it’s a great buy.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar S

    Although I’m not completely sure, I am wondering if this is older than a 1984 model. I remember Oldsmobile using steering wheels like that in 1979-81, possibly 1982, but 83 and later should have a steering wheel that looks like an upside down T in the center. Then again I don’t know what the first year they came out with a digital dash like that. Maybe it’s an 84 with an older steering wheel.

    Like 1
  11. Avatar A.J.

    Too nice for me to use as a winter car.

    Like 0
  12. Avatar John Oliveri

    That 307 motor is a pice of you know what, I owned a brand new 83 Riviera, same motor, the only way to accelerate was to push it off the side of a building, underpowered GM slug, got rid of it for a 1988 Lincoln MK VII that was a car

    Like 1
  13. Avatar Gerard Frederick

    The owner offered to drive it to California for delivery —- what an endorsement! I wish I would live in the usa, THIS beuaty would be mine. Alas, here I am in Santiago with my hi-line Passat and trusty old Explorer as a back up.

    Like 0
  14. Avatar George Mattar

    We had a 87 Caprice with the 307 boat anchor. Reliable, but an oil burner. The cylinders became egg shaped. The best looking of the three GM cars in this era was the Buick Riviera, then the Eldo. I worked on these new at an Olds dealer. Pretty reliable, but those total junk dashes covered in horrible plastic wood.

    Like 0

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