Toronado.org

Hi Gang. I'm pretty new to the Toronado family only ever having owned a 1983 quite some time ago.

I ran across a 78 XS barn find (actually is sitting in a barn) with 38000 miles on it and reportedly, no rust. Pictures of it show it covered in dust. It is silver with red velour interior. Asking price is $2000 obo. I'm going to look at it today.

Any thoughts on this? I've done some research and found that there were only 2453 of these made in that year. What is the market on these? I can find very few for sale.

Any things I should look for in particular when I check it out? I'm concerned for engine and transmission seals from sitting for so long along with condition of all rubber.

Thanks in advance.

Whatever you do, don't try to start it.

First, look for rust underneath. Barns might keep the rain off of it but the earth floor holds moisture which can rust the underside of the car as bad as if it were outside (unless you're in Arizona or someplace).

You should be able to tell pretty quickly whether the rubber and vinyl are cracked and brittle or still soft and pliable. Maybe all that just needs cleaning.

See if the engine can be turned over manually or at least see if the crank can be moved at all by turning the pulley with a ratchet or something. Probably best to remove the spark plugs to make it easier.

If the engine doesn't appear to be frozen and you want to attempt a start, change the oil and filter. Disconnect the fuel line and blow it out if possible. Change the fuel filter. Drain the fuel tank and fill it with fresh gas.

Put a squirt of oil in each spark plug hole and turn the engine over by hand with a ratchet or with a tool on the flywheel. All this will help to prevent braking piston rings.

When you're confident that the engine moves freely, put in new plugs or clean and regap the old ones. Make sure the cap and rotor are new or clean up the contacts.

Hook everything back up and give it a go.

As far as value goes, a rough, "barn find" car is probably worth only $500 -2K at most. In mint condition you may expect to pay $6-$8k

Well, I guess it's not a true barn find. It's a younger kid that owns it. He bought it 4 or 5 years ago to use it as a demolition derby car. Thankfully he never did. It has 38500 miles on it and judging by the brake pedal, I believe that to be true.

He did start it up. He's had it running in the past. It started right up after having it on a charger. It has a major exhaust leak at the left front manifold. Couldn't tell if the manifold is cracked or if it's just a bad gasket. It still has the original catalytic converter on it although some exhaust work would be necessary. The underside appears to be solid with no signs of any serious rust. Surface rust at most.

The transmission pan is wet so something is leaking there although I didn't notice anything on the floor.

The interior is in very nice condition. The dash has no cracks. It has an 8 track tape player mounted under the dash along with a CB radio. And believe it or not, the clock is still working.

The only rust on the body is on the peaks of the rear fenders. Just surface rust. The filler pieces between the rear fenders and the chrome sections are toast. The fillers between the bumpers and body are hard and would need replaced.

I found this on Craigslist. I've kind of determined that I'm not going to take it on. My garage just isn't quite big enough. The next owner will actually be the second owner of the car. The title was never transferred from the original owner. The original owner most likely is no longer with us so I don't know how the title would have to be transferred.

It's a very restorable and solid car. I left him know how many were produced and the info that I was able to find on it. It would be interesting to know just how many of these are left.

Here's the link to his listing.
http://altoona.craigslist.org/cto/5531300011.html

Doesn't look too bad. It's probably worth $2K if all the systems are working and it's not rusted apart.

Newby

Just lurking! isn't the XS the one with retractable t tops?


ADT
Mesa AZ
72 Toro

Dans garage in kenewick washington has a xs for sale.
I bought numerous cars from him,the west coast cars suffer from weathered paint and intetiors,but the bodies and mechanicals are excellent.
Buying a spare parts car really saves time and money.
Shipping to ohio ran me $900 for a non running car.