Toronado.org

One of the really cool things about my Toro is that I still have the original vehicle purchase order, plates, and owner's manual. The original owner wrote on the purchase order and in the manual: He kept a bit of journal of the original gas mileage for the first 2 months and work performed until he sold the car to my father-in-law in 1976. Kinda like looking at a time capsule.

Listed Options:

Color: 68 (Cinnamon Bronze Metallic), Trim: 59 (Saddle), Top: A (White Vinyl)
Cornering Lamps
AC
Tinted Glass
Power Trunk Latch
Light Group (?)
Shift lever controlled washer and wiper combination
AM-FM stereophonic radio with rear speaker
De Luxe [SIC] seat belts
Remote Control Mirror
Front Mats
Custom Interior
Power Side Windows
6-way adjustable seat
Smog control
Power door locks
Plus all standard equipment (Power disc brakes-Power steering-automatic transmission)


A few of things of note:
- Purchased in Palo Alto, CA on Dec 4, 1969.
- Price out the door: 6,455.07 (1900 trade-in, 1,378.07 paid when ordered, 3,077 paid upon delivery)
- Gas mileage for the first 2 months was between 9 and 11 mpg.
- Owner was apparently concerned about the rear defroster. Made a note of it on both the purchase order and in the owners manual. Also, he underlined references to it in the manual: Car doesn't have one (nor did it back then).
- He also made note of rattles and clicks that occurred over the years. Some fixed via servicing, some not.
- He underlined and questioned the existence of "Night Watch Light Control"...Yeah, I have the same question.
- The car had 63,405 miles on 10/7/1976.
- The car was transferred to my father-in-law on 12/3/1976.

... between 9 and 11 mpg...

And here I thought the fuel economy of my '66 might benefit slightly from a little carburetor TLC. Apparently not.

I crack 11mpg once in a blue moon and hit 13mpg once. Most of the time it's around 10.5. (10.4 on my fillup 3 days ago)

I guess that's a good indication that my engine is at peak performance. Hahaha!

...and hit 13mpg once...

You must have been driving the speed limit between Chattanooga and Atlanta.

I haven't had a chance to get my Toro on the road. I've promised the wife that I would guarantee no oil drips on the driveway. I thought I had it conquered until this last weekend.

Gator wrote:

...and hit 13mpg once...

You must have been driving the speed limit between Chattanooga and Atlanta.

Close. It was on secondary roads up to a car show in North Georgia. It was 50-60 the whole way with few stops. My '56 Coupe DeVille gets better mileage than this beast. I get 15-18mpg at 75mph. 11-13mpg is normal around town.

Gator wrote: I've promised the wife that I would guarantee no oil drips on the driveway. I thought I had it conquered until this last weekend.

I'd never make a promise like that. I should have named the Cadillac Exxon Valdez instead of Bismarck. The Toro leaks p/s fluid. I just put cardboard under everybody.

I did get about 17 mpg with my Toro years ago on the hwy. We'll see how everything is after it's put back together and on the road.

17? Were you going downhill at the time? Or are you using imperial gallons?

No, driving the interstate in NW Oregon mainly. Had just put a new exhaust system on the car which improved the breathing significantly. I wasn't gunning the car around, but just normal driving. As more vacuum problems occurred, the performance went down of course. My 68 Mercury 428 big block would run a pretty consistent 12-13 mpg max. But haven't gone through the system on that one, and the Holley carb always seems problematic.