Aside from being a good band name, “Hot Bent Wire” was an innovative PPG technique for creating angles in glass, such as the rear window on this 1977 Oldsmobile Toronado XS. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen one on the road, probably twenty years easily. The seller has this one posted here on craigslist in Columbia Heights, Minnesota with an asking price of $4,500 or offer.
Hello, Mr. Sardonicus, it’s great to see you again! The second-generation Toronado was such a departure from the original design that it almost looked like a totally different car. What am I saying, it did look like a totally different car. It was humongous and square, the interiors were puffy and posh, and power was way down as with most other cars of the era. They were loved by executives who wanted a car that made a statement but was still somewhat reasonably-priced, at least compared to an Eldorado, Mercedes-Benz, or similar luxury car of the era.
But, that rear window! As the rest of the GM lineup shrunk in size for 1977, the Toronado stayed with their big-boned designs in two different roof styles. Oldsmobile had two models available to the public, the Brougham with a regular rear window and the XS. Olds planned on offering a third model with an overly-complicated sliding T-Top called the XSR, in an era when… let’s just say that a lot of cars weren’t exactly handmade by old-world craftsmen and craftswomen. The XSR was pulled at the last minute due to, you guessed it, leakage issues. It still showed up in some brochures of the era but was never offered to the public.
The seller doesn’t show us the entire other side of the car, the back seat or any other interior photos, the interior of the trunk, or, sigh… the engine. This one should have Oldsmobile’s 403 cubic-inch V8 with 200 hp. The 455 V8 went away the previous year for the Toronado. The interior needs a little help as you can see and they say that it was a Kansas car and is clean as a whistle underneath, but there are a couple of rust spots elsewhere. They have done some mechanical work such as refurbishing the heads and adding a new fuel pump and some suspension work. But, it has a transmission leak which they say should be fixed before it’s driven. Have any of you seen a Toronado XS?
Wasn’t there a red one of these with the same interior featured maybe last spring? I recall that car was pretty cheap, I was tempted.
I would love to have gotten this one.
That other Toro was featured on Dec. 7, 2018.
That was a Brougham, Mr. K. There was a ’77 XS by Bill Owens here:
https://barnfinds.com/massive-car-massive-back-glass-1977-oldsmobile-toronado/
That HIDEOUS steering wheel cover, and fuzzy dice?! Can you imagine the replacement cost of that rear window glass?! Personally, I found this version of
theToronado to be a sad departure from its’ origins; but it IS certain the be a hit at Coffee and Chrome! :-)
The Bordello interior looks kind of tattered…
Like my bordello working ex-wife lol
Wow. That XSR is so awful its beautiful. Pure 1970’s.. How cool
Road couch! I think I could fallback asleep in that interior.
Are you sure the XSR was never produced? I could have sworn I saw them back in the day.
There were 2 prototypes, one still exists I think. There were some aftermarket companies that did t-top conversions for these and Eldorados too.
I had the same thought, but Wikipedia and multiple other sources say otherwise. So the old memory cells must be faulty.
I know part of my assumption they did exist comes from a lovely toy car I used to own, a pearl white Tomy model of the XSR complete with clear T-tops. I just assumed it was a production vehicle; I didn’t realize until now there was only a single prototype.
Bet that rear window is harder to find than a Barracuda back window
I’d rather have the P-38, but it’s gonna cost a bit more…
Tonight only: “Hot Bent Wire!” Tomorrow don’t miss “MacPherson Struts,” and special guest stars “Planetary Gears.” If I ever saw one of these I was probably too young to appreciate it. Thanks for giving us the grand tour, Scotty!
Don’t forget Hotchkiss suspension, Ackermann steering, Panhard rods, and Pitman arms. LOL!
But does it have the electric trunk button?
You’re gonna want the Tru-Coat with this…..
Bonus: Interior featured in Porno Red.
At least that offers a lot more excitement than today’s Dusty Tan or Everyday Gray…
My parents loved the Toronados. They had a 68, 73, 76 and 83. The 68 was the best and the 76 was the worst. The 455 in the 68 and 73 would smoke those front tires like no tomorrow. Incredible like seeing nothing but the front nose of the car peaking out from a cloud of burning rubber. The 76 lost all the power from the 455 and had all types of heat issues to the point of the head warping.
The cool part for me as a kid in those days, were the integrated brake lights below the rear window. Could easily spot one at night as it was about the only thing around at the time with higher mounted ones.
I first saw a Toro XS glide by when I was a student at Penn State around 1981. It was a light blue example and I was transfixed. What exactly was THAT? It wasn’t until years later that I learned what I had seen and just how rare they were. I didn’t see another example for 5 years and when I did it was parked in a dentist’s office parking lot. Naturally I went into the waiting room and asked who owns the black Toronado? LOL
The owner was a stockbroker from Philadelphia and he loved the car as much as I did so it wasn’t for sale. We exchanged names and numbers and I went on my way.
A couple of years later my wife and I had just purchased our first home and, naturally, the guy called me to say that the car was now for sale. It had accumulated some mechanical issues and he didn’t want to fix them. While I could not afford to buy the car at that time I told him that I could make the repairs for him and he could continue to drive it. He agreed. The first thing to get fixed was the leaking fuel tank that streamed gas onto the exhaust system while you were under way. Yeah, that was a priority.
I did quite a bit of work on that car over the next couple of years and it was a real beast. It had the same “cathouse” red interior as this BF car and in person it was truly something to behold.
The owner really wanted me to get rust repairs done and have the car painted but I resisted. I told him that a better plan would be to get a pair of rust free doors and a hood, have them painted to match his car instead of patching.
He got impatient and hired some fly-by-night body shop to fix and paint the car and they absolutely ruined it. Every bit of trim got hit by the sander, rust holes were Bondo’d, and the paint quality was terrible. I lost interest and told him he was on his own and never saw the car again. I do still have a bunch of pics I took after I detailed the car and it was really something.
Ran into another XS example on Long Island while on a business trip a year or two later. That was a beige car with beige leather. Not nearly as striking in appearance.
Man those 71-78 Toros were great cruisers and the XS wraparound rear window was the icing on the cake!
Right out of high school in 1979 I worked at a frame shop , the boss only did frame repair . He had bad lungs from repairing wrecked Corvettes . A salvage yard owner brought a hit in the rear Toronado XS in to get pulled . The rear window was broken and he needed another , he bought another car that was hit hard in the front for that piece of glass(it was expensive) . As I was assisting removal it broke and I lost my job . Never liked those cars .
Way better than another Grand National
You forgot to mention the two brake lights mounted on top of the trunk just below the rear window. I believe the Riviera is the only other GM car to share the same light concept
I bought a couple windows at auction. Then built the 12x10x11 shed around them. Would like to take that back glass & use as a windshield & build a car around it!
The only time I ever saw one was in a dealership in Blue Island.
I worked at an Olds dealer right out of high school in South Florida (Clark Olds) from 1979-1981. There was a white ’78 XS left over and the couldn’t get rid of it. They put it behind the used car lot, even though it was new, and kept dropping the price till some one bought it. The retail price was high for back then. While working there a dark red one came in for service by the original owner and I talked my dad in to buying it. I just sold it two years ago after my parents passing to a guy out west. While negotiating with him I realized for the first time that the VIN # was “00005…”. It was the 5th one made in 1978. Although it was always stored inside, the original paint was rough and it hadn’t run in 13 years. Sold it for 2k. I included an extra hood that we had for years, even the same color. I still have an extra rear window and all the red trim that goes inside around the window. If anyone’s interested, let me know: kch126@hotmail.com
i bought a 77 toronado a few years back, red and gold interior that was clean, those seats were very comfortable, that 403 moved the toro with no effort at all.. only problem was front end sat low and i had torsion bars adjusted but it still sat low. a guy from next town saw the car and bought it.
“Bet that rear window is harder to find than a Barracuda back window” – it was as far back as about 1983 – maybe even 82 or 81.
I was the parts guy at an Olds dealer. A local body shop had one with a broken back window. Couldn’t get it – discontinued. I called all over trying to find one. Never did. Insurance company totaled the car.
While the “Hot Bent wire” may have been a PPG thing, I’m pretty sure this glass was made by LOF – Libby Owens Ford. I called them in my search. They weren’t interested in making just one.
Mark Houseman – I’d have given you top dollar for that glass back in the day!
Let’s go “back to the future” and I’ll give you a deal!!!!!!
Maybe one can be fashioned with 3 pieces of glass?
Perhaps you would also need to fabricate/weld in a steel post between the 2.
Parts for the chevy strait 6 of the 60s such as an aluminized long front steel exhaust pipe, 1 barrel carb linkage, & the part that attaches to the exhaust manifold that the hot air metal tube from the air cleaner joins with, are all no longer being made. Bear in mind they made millions of these motors!
just wanted to say there is a junk yard in blaine tn that has a barracuda with a good back glass, at least the last time i was there about 2 months ago. call sonny’s calll 865-933-9137 ask for gary
In 1979 while waiting at the school bus stop, a very large dump truck smashed into the back of one of these. In spite of the heavy damage, that Toronado was able to drive away, and even those high brake lights still worked. The glass was fine, but everything behind it was crushed.