Big, beautiful, and blue, just like Lake Michigan in the background, this 1977 Oldsmobile Toronado appears to be in stunning condition. It’s hard to believe that it’s 45 years old already, or that 1977 was 45 years ago, isn’t it? The seller has it posted here on craigslist in one of the great cities of the globe: Chicago, Illinois. The seller is asking $15,600, here is the original listing, and thanks to big, beautiful, and blue Pat L. for sending in this tip!
I can’t imagine driving a car this big in downtown Chicago traffic, but they did in 1977, and it’s not really any bigger than a gigantic SUV that everyone thinks they need now. The second-generation Toronados were made in late 1970 for the 1971 model year, up until 1978 and they would be the last of the really big Toronados.
This generation of Toronado was really big, coming in at a fraction of a hair under 19 feet in length, compared to just under 18 feet for a 1969 Toronado, and a hair over 17 feet for a 1979 Toronado. I don’t see a single flaw in this car inside or out, and the seller says that it has 43,000 miles, it was never driven in the winter, and it has absolutely no rust! I may have to run and buy a Powerball ticket today.
There isn’t much bolstering in those beautiful seats, you just sink in and drive in comfort to the gas station. Then, you take off and drive to the next gas station, and the next one, etc. These giant cars came at a bad time for the US auto industry, just before the gas crunch, and this car came after, but gas was sometimes hard to find and was rising in price, so that 10 mpg was less pleasing than it would have been in, say, 1972. As expected, the interior also looks flawless.
The clean engine compartment is home to an Olds 403-cu.in. OHV V8, which would have had 200 horsepower and 330 lb-ft of torque when new. The seller says that it runs and drives beautifully and I don’t have any reason to not believe that. Hagerty is at $13,000 for a #2 excellent car, so I’m not sure about the seller’s asking price, as the #1 Concours value is $15,900 – just $300 more than what they’re asking, and this car can’t be in #1 condition, can it be?
Wow!!! I cant get over how great the filler panels look by the bumpers. I had a 77 Delta 88 in 1988 to 1990. It was the same color as this Toronado. It was faded by then, this shade of blue faded very quick, also GM silver cars in that era as well. I cant get over the depth in the paint. I remember trying to carefully wet sand and compound mine and it helped, but made the paint too thin. I think youd be hard pressed to find another one in this kind of condition, especailly if the underside looks as good as the top.
This is going to be a nice buy for someone
All you need now is the cliche pimp with the gold chains, fur coat, and white cowboy hat………
That is what my wife said about my Silver with Red leather 76 Coupe de Ville back in the day.
Wonder how much this was back then?
I found some info that said low $8K’s as a “base” sticker price, and I don’t recall a lot of options, these things came pretty well loaded. My old man bought a new ’78 Sedan DeVille for $13.5K sticker, so I would figure these in ’77 were in the $8500-9500 range.
My buddy’s dad was a sales rep, spent 5-6 days a week on the road, week in, week out.
100K miles/yr wasn’t unusual for him. He rep’d boats and trailers, so he was almost always telling something. He always went for the big GM sedans and wore them out in 1 to 1-1/2 yrs.
One year he decided on a Toronado. He constantly joked that the gas mileage was gonna bankrupt him. Especially when towing, it was absolutely horrendous.
Unlike this one, it could have been one of the 455 eng models, too.
He did say, it was an outstanding vehicle. FWD, and those big V-8’s were torque monsters.
Those seats are so “out there” to be cool.
Was looking for the 👑 455 mill, but a heck of an Oldsmobile anyways right here. What an interior.
Scott’s worried about the gas.
How about the wash and detail?
I’m not sure what that means, Dan, did I mention the “wash and detail”? I’m confused, and not for the first time today.
At 19 ft long ,there’s a lot of real-estate to polish.
Just the detail material’s alone costs more than your 30gal tank to fill. You gotta be looking good while pimping this ride. It’s all about the shine
I love that interior..seriously, it reminds me of the wallpaper my mom had in her bathroom growing up..super cool
Ten Miles to the gallon. Also Known As Gas Pimping at Full Strength. I hope the owner of this car has Either a Good Paying Job And / Or A Very Large Bank Account especially Now a days when gas has hit $5.00 and More than $6.00 a gallon!
She certainly is a long vehicle. 10 mpg likely speaks to the low miles lol. Interior is pimp.
Who cares about gas mileage when you are taking it to dinner on the weekend?