New here, new to a 66 Toronado

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bstone63
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2017 10:10 am
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Years Owned: 66 Toronado

New here, new to a 66 Toronado

Postby bstone63 » Sun Oct 15, 2017 10:24 am

Always loved the look of the 66. Not sure of all the history of my car. But it's very clean, inside and out. Not the original motor, someone dropped a 455 in it. Runs and drives pretty good. And of course, the headlights don't open. Here's a pic.
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Otto Skorzeny
Posts: 1721
Joined: Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:41 pm
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Years Owned: 1966 Toronado

Re: New here, new to a 66 Toronado

Postby Otto Skorzeny » Sun Oct 15, 2017 5:55 pm

Trace every single vacuum line in the headlight circuit. (do the lights turn on when the switch is pulled?)

There is a "T" underneath the vacuum reservoir that, on mine, was disconnected. Hooking it back up got the lights to go up and down properly.

Test the reservoir by blowing in it and plugging the other end. It's easily removed with a screw from underneath and maybe one on the side - I forget. Your vac hoses may be cracked or brittle on the ends. If they are still soft and seem ok, cut them back an inch or so and reconnect them.

Follow them all the way back to the engine and to the light switch.

Buy a shop manual on ebay for $20 or so. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R ... l&_sacat=0

Toronadotrofeo
Posts: 83
Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2016 1:17 pm
TOA Membership Number: 24
Years Owned: 1966 toronado
1981 toronado
1990 toronado
1991 toronado
1992 toronado

Re: New here, new to a 66 Toronado

Postby Toronadotrofeo » Sun Oct 15, 2017 10:47 pm

beautiful car light are easy

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Doc Hubler
Posts: 363
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2012 9:37 pm
TOA Membership Number: 992
Years Owned: 1967

Re: New here, new to a 66 Toronado

Postby Doc Hubler » Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:40 am

Great looking car! If you can, please post where you're located. Then others in the club/forum that live nearby will know how to contact you, and possibly help you get those headlights working again.

bstone63
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2017 10:10 am
TOA Membership Number: 0
Years Owned: 66 Toronado

Re: New here, new to a 66 Toronado

Postby bstone63 » Sat Oct 21, 2017 12:42 pm

Haven't started tracing out vac lines yet. At a quick glance, the hoses are all pretty soft, but there are probably leaks. The lights do come on.

Got a chassis manual with the car.
I live in Indiana.

After reading some posts on this forum and others, this may be sacrilege. I AM going to put disc brakes on this car all the way around.

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Otto Skorzeny
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Joined: Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:41 pm
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Years Owned: 1966 Toronado

Re: New here, new to a 66 Toronado

Postby Otto Skorzeny » Sat Oct 21, 2017 2:33 pm

I've said this here plenty of times but there is really no point in doing so in my opinion. For normal driving, the drums are fine. I've been driving my '66 for almost 4 years as a daily driver. (It shares the duty with a '56 Coupe de Ville.) I have never experienced brake fade or felt that the brakes aren't up to the job. I don't baby my car or drive like an old geezer but I don't drive it beyond it's limits, either.

Disc brakes will not shorten your stopping distance. In some cases the stopping distance increases when discs are substituted for drums. The only advantage discs have over drums is that they don't fade during repeated high speed braking. Since I seriously doubt you're going to be auto-crossing your Toronado or driving slaloms down mountain roads, I think the time, money and effort will be wasted on a disc brake conversion.

Consider that nearly all dump trucks and semi tractors are equipped with drum brakes and not discs.

If you feel like upgrading the brake system, I'd suggest switching to a dual reservoir.

hambone
Posts: 21
Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2017 4:22 pm
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Years Owned: 1966 Toronado

Re: New here, new to a 66 Toronado

Postby hambone » Sat Oct 21, 2017 3:43 pm

Good looking car, I'm haven't tackled my lights yet, the lights work but they are both stuck half opened?

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Otto Skorzeny
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Joined: Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:41 pm
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Years Owned: 1966 Toronado

Re: New here, new to a 66 Toronado

Postby Otto Skorzeny » Sat Oct 21, 2017 3:51 pm

It is a good looking car. I'd drive it for a while to see how you like it before making major modifications to the brakes. i just got back from running errands in mine and it's a great driving car. No worries that the drum brakes won't stop me when I need them.

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Doc Hubler
Posts: 363
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2012 9:37 pm
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Years Owned: 1967

Re: New here, new to a 66 Toronado

Postby Doc Hubler » Mon Oct 23, 2017 10:22 pm

Otto and I agree completely on the brakes. Drums are fine. If you're going to play Mannix all day, go ahead and change them to disc. Frankly, these cars are expensive enough to repair without adding unnecessary costs and alterations in my opinion. Just fix up the drum brakes properly and you'll be in good shape. Otto knows, because he lives in Florida, you can have the best disc brakes in the world, and some little old blue-haired lady in a older Lincoln is still going to hit you, no matter how good your brakes are.

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Otto Skorzeny
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Joined: Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:41 pm
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Years Owned: 1966 Toronado

Re: New here, new to a 66 Toronado

Postby Otto Skorzeny » Tue Oct 24, 2017 5:11 am

Correction: I live in Atlanta, but I drive my cars to Florida frequently on vacation. Atlanta is bad enough, though.

I was T-boned in my '79 F-100 by a 92 year old lady driving a Buick Park Avenue a few years ago. She could barely see over the wheel and ignored a red light. Then, she started reading me the riot act and wagging her finger at me like it was my fault. Fortunately the intersection had cameras and the cop watched the whole thing on instant replay and gave her the ticket.


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