I am a 70s child so these videos bring back a lot of fond memories for me. I am sure that many of your GenX viewers/subscribers feel the same way. Thank you Adam for putting in all the time and effort to share your passion with us!
My first car was a used '69, dark green with white interior. I recall during Nebraska winters I would casually drive up icy, snow-packed hills, with stuck cars and trucks all over the place. People would look with amazement at how it could go through snow with that 455 sitting over the drive wheels.
"snow packed hills"? Leavenworth around 50th-60th(???) in Omaha? I took that plunge ONCE when it was ice covered in my 63 Corvette Roadster (my everyday driver in the late 70s).
Yes I was going to write this but first looked through comments to see if anybody beat me to it. I would gladly buy an Opel Gt but every one I see for sale is in horrible condition. Many have wonderful new paint but the interiors are ratty, the frame metalwork is corroded, etc.
Several comments. I actually prefer the styling of the '68-69 Toronado's to the original 1966. The '69 Headlamps grille covers would always dependably open during the snowy great lakes winters typical of that era. Finally, with the disc brakes and the 455 the '69 Toronado was a superb highway cruiser. In '72, I had the opportunity to do a wintertime drive of my father's '69 Toronado from Traverse City, to Detroit/Windsor, then across a snowy Canada, to Montreal, for a skiing trip with our destination in Stowe, Vermont. The '69 also handled the snowy roads of Vermont's route 100 amazingly well. That '69 made wintertime travel speedy, safe, and effortless....and that drive and that subsequent ski trip were both amazing lifetime memories for me. Definitely the '69 Toronado was one of my truly great car experiences. BTW the manually operated rotating covered headlights of my later purchased, and much loved, 1970 1.9 liter OPEL GT always opened no matter the weather, encrusting ice storms never prevented the Opel GT headlights from opening. Adam, you have a great channel. Cheers.
I had a 1967 Thunderbird. This is the best arrangement, solidly mounted headlights that stay properly aimed, protected by metal covers when not in use.
My wifes 89 Accord had pop up headlights. While that is not as cool looking as the 60s and 70s cars with hidden headlights it still gave the car a more aerodynamic look. Wish I still had that car as it was super reliable. The tin worm ate it up.
My dad had a 66 Riviera he bought new and I was lucky to drive later in the mid 70's. I can still hear the distinctive sound of those headlights in my head. They never had a single issue in the 20 years we had that car. I kind of think the 70 Toronado with the non-hidden headlights was pretty nice too.
The Opel GT was another unusual, but effective design for hidden headlights. Manually operation via “pistol grip” lever made these a somewhat unique process, with both headlights flipping L to R in unison. Not dependent on electricity or hydraulic action, these were fairly dependable until the gears attached to the headlight bezel wore out.
Those are cable and lever operated. No gears, but a multi-layered set of metal discs which allowed some deflection in the assembly. You do have to keep the three 8mm bolts tight and keep an eye on the condition of the flexible wires in the middle of the pivot. Over the years, the wire insulation hardens and cracks. I owned three and am familiar with them.
The 1930's Cords were also beautiful and had hidden headlamps. Albeit they were manually hand cranked and there was one crank for each headlight. The crank for the right headlight was on the right lower side of the dashboard. In other words, it was very convenient to have a passenger sitting on the right side of the vehicle asking them politely to crank up the right headlamp. 😂 Also, they were front-wheel drive, long before the Toronado.
I know Adam likes the original Toronado front end best, and I realize these models were probably trimmed down by cost cutters. But, I really like this design. The headlights are cool, and that overheat feature is cool also! I wonder how many technicians were tricked into thinking there was a headlight issue when the high temps were actually to blame. But, on the other hand, most owner probably didn't realize the light covers were up in super hot situations...
@@MarinCipollina You have more faith in people than I do. There are many "well-trained" professionals who don't know their you-know-what from their elbow about their field. I truly hope you and your loved ones always have doctors and nurses who DO know their you-know-whats from their elbows.
I think the '68 Toronado was the best looking Toronado ever. I never cared for the sharp front end on the earlier models and on the '69 the slopes of the rear window and trunk lid differed more than they did on the '68 making for a more creased look. The honeycomb grille also looked better. The concept of rotating the grille out of the way rather than popping up or rotating the headlights themselves is a much better engineering solution. Moving power cables is never a good idea and with a moving headlight, there is a good chance of misaligned beams over time.
These cars are just so Beautiful. I remember them well while growing up in the 1960's. At the time these cars came out I was 11-14 years old. Riding in the Toronado is something I can never forget.
Hidden headlights went away long before headlight design made the very expensive modern advancements with HID and LED and whatever else. Modern headlight assemblies are much more expensive than hidden ones ever were. There is a lot more design flexibility now, and some look really cool. Most are just themeless blobs though.
although this vid is about hidden headlights, I have to say that ordering a Toro with buckets and console, while cool in every other period car, was a mistake as it covered up the best feature, that flat floor. Best option was the Strato-bench and column shift, so that the flat floor really made itself known and your SO could snuggle up
My cousin had a 68. She had it for 15 yrs. The hidden headlights never failed. It was a black on black on black and it was one pretty car. It was also a sleeper. Her husband would pull up to redlights next to a mustang or charger and smoke check in em!
That’s actually beautiful. The only other car I can think of with well finished hidden headlights when activated was the 81 Imperial with the chrome bezel and rectangular lights while the Mark VI still had ROUND headlights. Someone else mentioned the 65 Riviera clamshell headlights those are beautiful also. Awesome video!
When GM was at the top of their game in innovation, and building these 3 different absolutely gorgeous cars!! My 6th grade teacher had a new 1969 Toronado, sky blue, and he knew that I liked cars, and would loan me his keys, to retrieve stuff out of it for our class. I really appreciated that he encouraged my appreciation for his beautiful car!
When I was a kid in the late 60s sometime I don't recall the exact year my family rode from Oklahoma City to Chicago in a late 60's Toronado around Christmas time. I remember going through some pretty bad snow storms in Missouri and Illinois and the the front wheel drive Toronado had no trouble just plowing through the snow. It wasn't our car but a friend of my father's car who was making the trip and he decided to hitch a ride with him since we had family in Chicago. I don't recall those 68-69 Toronados but I remember the 66-67s well. I think it was one of those we made the trip in.
Major thing overlooked about the hidden headlights was that the round (later square) sealed beams were federally mandated. So to get a really unique look, you had to cover them. Today, yeah all about $.
Actually this is one hidden design that makes sense. With the lights behind the grill, at least if the grill failed to open enough light gets through to be able to drive it til it's repaired.
If they failed, they failed open. Vacuum was required to keep them closed. I was continually chasing vacuum leaks that wouldn’t let the grills stay down.
Actually no, you couldn't drive it that way. Adam failed to mention that the backs of those honeycomb grilles had circles of solid black plastic so the shine of the glass and reflectors would not show through the grill in daylight...
my dad had a 1969 ford country squire..had the hidden head lights the grill over the headlights retracted ..i was four when he got it..and i thought that was just the coolest thing!
Perhaps I am wrong, but I think I read that automotive certification requirements basically banned hidden headlights. I always thought they were great looking. I had a Porsche 928 where the two lights were on one metal rod, and if the motor failed you could remove a rubber cover and a knob was located on top of the motor that allowed you to put them up manually. Great video!
That's a myth, I found out recently. There are some kinds of restrictions but they are not eliminated. As long as whatever the requirements may be and are met. A manufacturer has to spend time and money to design cars with those in mind. With composites being available now and easily varied that just became cheaper and easier
@@plap. Deregulating pop up headlights has more to do with LOW SPEED pedestrian impacts and possible injury. Deregulating hidden and pop up headlights also has to do with malfunction which could leave you without headlights, an obvious safety issue.
@@MyHumanWreckage All true, but they can be done if requirements are met. I have no idea what exactly those are but they are not banned from existence. It's just to easy to have squinty little LEDs be hardly noticable the way closed popups would look.
The 1968 and 1969 Oldsmobile Toronado's were nice-looking cars (NO vinyl tops please!!!) even though the heavy-looking loop bumpers took away from the design. Loved that beautiful, veneered center console and ball shifter. That console should have been standard equipment in keeping with the Toronado's sporting personality over a Riviera or Eldorado which were more personal luxury than sporting. Those flip-up grilles had the potential to be detrimental to your air conditioning condenser, transmission cooler, and possibly the radiator, when they were flipped up in the night driving mode by leaving those components vulnerable to flying road rocks and debris. Bad design in my eyes. I even thought so at 7 years old. I was a child of both the 1960's and 1970's (born 1961), so I remembered these 1966 through 1970 Toronado's well. My two uncles sold Oldsmobiles up though 1972, when they switched the dealership to Lincoln-Mercury's in1973. (W.O. Bankston Oldsmobile - Dallas)
They are cool. I never realized the configuration of these. They almost take on the look of the Firebird when the grills open. Truthfully I do not know that I ever remember seeing a ’68 in person.
Probably the slickest looking Toronados for the entire run of the nameplate. I think the weirdest and ugliest hidden headlights belong to the 80-83 Lincoln Mark VI. Especially when they had those optional touring lights on the headlight covers. Yuk 😝
Strangest design in my opinion was the 89 Pontiac Sunbird.....that thing had 1/2 covered headlight doors, I remember paying a fortune to get the retractor motors from a junkyard for my fathers car when his failed to open.....thinking back it would have been easier and cheaper to just take the dang headlight door covers off😂🤣😅
Wow! The length of that upper radiator hose looks like at least 3' long! My parents drove a 1972 Fury III wagon with every option available. 100mph easily which my mother did a couple of times when my brother was in trouble with women! The Fury had hidden head lamps with doors that opened. When closed the front of their wagon had a black grill with horizontal pattern if I remember correctly. It was the 1st car I drove with my learners permit! At 4'10" & 110# I did not fit well behind the wheel despite the cars tilting wheel. I preferred my bicycle! Later my father found an old Ford Falcon for me to drive but still had to have a boat cushion to see over the steering wheel. These cars you show have absolutely gorgeous exterior paint finishes!! I prefer my 1980`s S10`s as they fit my small stature perfectly with no cushions!
I don't know if hidden headlights are legal now. I know they aren't allowed to move. Not sure about covering them. But with modern vehicle design being so hideous. I don't think hidden headlights would help regardless 😂
the old round glass sealed beam lights were cheaper for everyone and reliable too. they went away because they couldn't be styled in the body. the hidden headlamps are a great way of dealing with that, but they take a lot of room and the actuators tend to give trouble.
Dad had a 1969 maroon Toranodo , I recognize that rear radio speaker I use to hit my head on. Three kids in the back seat and as the middle child I seemed to always had to set in the middle, I was also with in arms reach of dad as he drove!
I actually think that the 1967-1969 Camaro Rally Sport had about the strangest hidden headlights that I remember. You talk about ice on cars here in the northern states and specifically the hidden headlights. Today we have a new problem. The LED lights don’t build up heat therefore they won’t melt ice and road slush off of them. I was watching a CZcams review of a vehicle and it mentioned headlight heaters. Another option dealing with headlights was the useless headlight washers on the 1969 Chevrolet’s. My friend had a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Rally Sport equipped with the washers. I remember Chrysler products in the early 70’s had headlight washers with a brush that would go across the light to scrub it.
Of the various vehicles I’ve owned over the past 4+decades, I never did acquire a Tornado, of any year… really did want one (and yes, always liked the front end styling of 65’s & 6’s as well) but after seeing this ‘69, I’d be very content with this or the ‘68’s!! Of the years riding & driving &, eventually owning, my grandparents’ ‘75 GMC Palm Beach Motorhome w/Tornado front wheel drive w/Olds 455, @ an average weight of about 12.5K Lbs, i can definitely attest to how well those road/handled.. ample supply of HP & Torque!! Drove & loved that Motorhome all over the U.S. of A.’s western half! Fond memories, many. Can only imagine how that powertrain would feel in a car! Owned a ‘69 OPEL GT 1900; now THOSE headlights were ‘interesting’! Fun to flip out/in
Thank you Adam. Thank you for another Oldsmobile Toronado video. I have a few things to say. The egg crate grille was offered in 1977 and 1979. It went back to a 1966 look in 1980. My 1992 Toronado has hidden headlamps and they are noisy when opening and closing but work fine. It also has the 1966 grille theme that runs to the taillamps like the 1966. Mine also has bucket seats. I owned three bench seat Toronados before the current 1992 model. The bucket seats became standard in the mid to late 1980's. Thank you again.
Hi Adam, I am and have always been an art deco nut which is really strange for someone who grew up in the 70s. Favorite marque being any Packard before 1941, when most kids had a Ferrari poster on their wall. That being said, been a really big fan of your channel for a long time. Nobody gives big sedans any love, so glad you do. 1935 Cord Beverly and Westchester sedans had hidden lamps (maybe the first?) and they were cranked out by hand cranks on each side of the car. I think also that headlights were not turned off by closing the doors. I look at Olds Toro and Eldo and see a Cord trying to get out, the wheel design, front wheel drive, fast, sporty,. This is not surprising to me given that execs back then probably lusted over thirties cars in their youth. A friend had a 68 Eldo and I found it really (boomy?) inside, lots of road noise, not very Cadillac at all in my book. It had a mono leaf rear suspension like the Chevy II, so lots of noise transmission. I also thought there was something from the thirties trying to escape from my 1971 Grand Prix. (My first car.)
A hidden headlights story. The Channel Uncle Tony's Garage had a project where they swapped a Slant Six into a Miata (1). They called the Miata Blinky because if they turned the lights on one headlight would pop up normaly. The other one would pop up. Go back down and then pop up again. 1) Why? He's a Mopar fanatic.
I owned three Ford XLs, two '68s & a '70. Both hardtops had hidden vacuum powered headlamps that worked flawlessly. The only other car I owned with flip top headlights was my '68 L-88 Vette & never had any issues with those. From a design standpoint, it made all four cars look so much better with the headlights hidden. Great memories of cars that had character & stood out.
What a neat car. In so many ways GM in this period was on top of its game and a true world leader. Thanks, Adam for the video and your insights. All the best.
The 68-72 Dodge Chargers had grill sections that would flip up to reveal headlights. When closed, it looks like the grill. The 68's had grill style around the lamps.
I owned a 1969 Toronado for a couple of years, starting back in 2003. Mine had the vacuum system no longer working when I bought the car (it was kind of a driving project car). So the headlight grill covers defaulted in the up position. That was good so I could still drive the car at night easily. But finding parts for it was difficult. Eventually I found someone on eBay selling the Shop Manuals for the car. WOW. That 2-volume set was worth its weight in gold. Now I had GM part numbers that I could use to call junk yards to try and locate parts I needed. Most places had no Toronados of any year, but ask for Part XYZ and they would have a ton of them because they were on other GM products. But I sold the car to a guy who wanted to do a restoration on it. I got out of it what I had into it so we were both happy. 😊😊
‘69 Ford XL had “fail open” doors. Vacuum held them closed, heavy torsion spring opened them. I once crushed a tool carrier when I disturbed the vacuum tank…
Great video, one of the few old-car channels currently worth watching on here. I didn't realise those 68/69 Toronado grilles were also thermostatically-controlled for cooling purposes. Interestingly, this was pioneered on the 1932 Rolls-Royce 20/25 where the vertical slats opened wider when a certain temperature was reached.
Very cool . I had a 1966 Dodge Charger the headlights were in rotating buckets with an electric motor for each headlight . It also had 4 bucket seats & an electro luminescent dash 😮 amongst other funky things . Basically mini neon tubes that illuminated the dash very similar looking illumination to modern cars 😃
My dad bought a 1968 model new. Olive hardtop without the center console. Dad planned a cross-country “break-in” trip LA to Pittsburgh. Guess what issue came up in Arizona? 😂 The lights were on but not very bright it seemed. Those moving grills weren’t moving! 😅 Dad flagged a local Oldtimer and he had some wood in his truck. They propped open the grills with chocks of wood!! The rest of the trip was fine - but always a little embarrassing pulling in somewhere! 😅😲
This was a mesmerizing video! It took me back to the days when we had cars and didn't have to scoot around in Asian econoboxes like they do in the 3rd world.
The C5 Corvette was the last car to have pop-up headlights. I'm glad I've got my 2002 Corvette C5. Pop up headlights are really cool and I'm sure they'll come back someday.
In my opinion hidden headlights would make a lot of sense now when headlights are made of plastic that degrade and become opaque from UV exposure
Hadn't thought of that and since they are all made of UV vunerable plastic now it would be a nice feature.
Good idea but it also doesn't help that HIDs off put uv. Not sure about the LEDs
yes i agrere
Who keeps a car that long? Most cars won’t last long enough for the plastic to deteriorate.
Not gonna happen… No way to do federally mandated “Daytime Running Lights”…
I am a 70s child so these videos bring back a lot of fond memories for me. I am sure that many of your GenX viewers/subscribers feel the same way. Thank you Adam for putting in all the time and effort to share your passion with us!
Me too
He has all my dream cars. I just turned 60
I'm right there with you brother
Sup Boomers lol
Indeed.
The 65 Riviera's clam shell hidden headlights were fun to watch open and close at a car show a few weeks ago
Agreed, those were fascinating, a friend of mine's dad had a '65 Riv.
Owned a 65 GS Riviera, the linkage had a bolt that when loosen allowed the lite 'doors' to open if motor failed.
I remember a friend of mine years ago had a cougar with headlight hiders that slid sideways to open. I find that more odd than the flip type.
@@BLenz-114- 1st gen Camaro had similar slide option, maybe year or two.
I felt like Roadhouse brought attention to this as he bought them so no one could break the headlights.
My first car was a used '69, dark green with white interior. I recall during Nebraska winters I would casually drive up icy, snow-packed hills, with stuck cars and trucks all over the place. People would look with amazement at how it could go through snow with that 455 sitting over the drive wheels.
"snow packed hills"? Leavenworth around 50th-60th(???) in Omaha? I took that plunge ONCE when it was ice covered in my 63 Corvette Roadster (my everyday driver in the late 70s).
YES! I plowed snow with my '75 Toronado in '78 with the 455, and L size tires!
The '66 Tornado was a nice, cool, sleek looking car if a bit big & heavy...
Manually operated flip-over retractable headlights on Opel GT (loved that car!)
@@sdstreiker Handle operated! No vacuum leaks to worry about
@@chuckymurlo5654 Saab Sonnet had a handle below the dash that you pulled to raise the headlamps. No motors either.
@@judih.8754 You beat me to it. Very clever (and reliable) system.
Yes I was going to write this but first looked through comments to see if anybody beat me to it. I would gladly buy an Opel Gt but every one I see for sale is in horrible condition. Many have wonderful new paint but the interiors are ratty, the frame metalwork is corroded, etc.
'68 and '69 are still lookers, but the '66 was the best, IMO.
Several comments. I actually prefer the styling of the '68-69 Toronado's to the original 1966. The '69 Headlamps grille covers would always dependably open during the snowy great lakes winters typical of that era. Finally, with the disc brakes and the 455 the '69 Toronado was a superb highway cruiser. In '72, I had the opportunity to do a wintertime drive of my father's '69 Toronado from Traverse City, to Detroit/Windsor, then across a snowy Canada, to Montreal, for a skiing trip with our destination in Stowe, Vermont. The '69 also handled the snowy roads of Vermont's route 100 amazingly well. That '69 made wintertime travel speedy, safe, and effortless....and that drive and that subsequent ski trip were both amazing lifetime memories for me. Definitely the '69 Toronado was one of my truly great car experiences. BTW the manually operated rotating covered headlights of my later purchased, and much loved, 1970 1.9 liter OPEL GT always opened no matter the weather, encrusting ice storms never prevented the Opel GT headlights from opening. Adam, you have a great channel. Cheers.
This is so iconic, 60s tech, James Bond-ish, with the kind of style long-gone from today's charisma-free wheels.
I had a 1967 Thunderbird. This is the best arrangement, solidly mounted headlights that stay properly aimed, protected by metal covers when not in use.
Plastic...
@@marko7843 My 1967 Thunderbird had metal headlight covers,, but anything that protects the lights from damage is good.
I like the way the grill rotates out of the way and that (as you mentioned) they did make the headlight area look presentable.
That orange Ferd at 5:15 is me when I woke up this morning. Too much partying.
Thinkin that you want a Lincoln? After seeing that one, think again, that is one more thing to be concerned about when it fails.
Lmao i agree dude
That’s kool! I never saw the entire grill retract like that. 😎👍
65 Buick Riviera hidden light were the sweetest
My wifes 89 Accord had pop up headlights. While that is not as cool looking as the 60s and 70s cars with hidden headlights it still gave the car a more aerodynamic look. Wish I still had that car as it was super reliable. The tin worm ate it up.
I actually prefer this design. Thanks for sharing
The '68 is a stunner in my opinion.
Those 3 cars are gorgeous
My dad had a 66 Riviera he bought new and I was lucky to drive later in the mid 70's. I can still hear the distinctive sound of those headlights in my head. They never had a single issue in the 20 years we had that car. I kind of think the 70 Toronado with the non-hidden headlights was pretty nice too.
Love hidden headlights, so cool
Love it when you feature cars from this era. Thanks!
The Opel GT was another unusual, but effective design for hidden headlights. Manually operation via “pistol grip” lever made these a somewhat unique process, with both headlights flipping L to R in unison. Not dependent on electricity or hydraulic action, these were fairly dependable until the gears attached to the headlight bezel wore out.
Those are cable and lever operated. No gears, but a multi-layered set of metal discs which allowed some deflection in the assembly. You do have to keep the three 8mm bolts tight and keep an eye on the condition of the flexible wires in the middle of the pivot. Over the years, the wire insulation hardens and cracks. I owned three and am familiar with them.
The 1930's Cords were also beautiful and had hidden headlamps. Albeit they were manually hand cranked and there was one crank for each headlight. The crank for the right headlight was on the right lower side of the dashboard. In other words, it was very convenient to have a passenger sitting on the right side of the vehicle asking them politely to crank up the right headlamp. 😂 Also, they were front-wheel drive, long before the Toronado.
I know Adam likes the original Toronado front end best, and I realize these models were probably trimmed down by cost cutters. But, I really like this design. The headlights are cool, and that overheat feature is cool also! I wonder how many technicians were tricked into thinking there was a headlight issue when the high temps were actually to blame. But, on the other hand, most owner probably didn't realize the light covers were up in super hot situations...
No technicians were confused unless they were idiots. Dealer techs are trained on relevant aspects of the cars.
@@MarinCipollina You have more faith in people than I do. There are many "well-trained" professionals who don't know their you-know-what from their elbow about their field. I truly hope you and your loved ones always have doctors and nurses who DO know their you-know-whats from their elbows.
I think the '68 Toronado was the best looking Toronado ever. I never cared for the sharp front end on the earlier models and on the '69 the slopes of the rear window and trunk lid differed more than they did on the '68 making for a more creased look. The honeycomb grille also looked better.
The concept of rotating the grille out of the way rather than popping up or rotating the headlights themselves is a much better engineering solution. Moving power cables is never a good idea and with a moving headlight, there is a good chance of misaligned beams over time.
These cars are just so Beautiful.
I remember them well while growing up in the 1960's.
At the time these cars came out I was 11-14 years old.
Riding in the Toronado is something I can never forget.
Loved the look of the 1968 and 1969 Toronado. They are my favorite. I can't imagine the cost associated with model year changes back then.
My family owned 3 Toronados over 5 years - a Lt. Blue 1969, Bamboo 1971, and a Brown w/ White 1972. Great cars!
Hidden headlights went away long before headlight design made the very expensive modern advancements with HID and LED and whatever else. Modern headlight assemblies are much more expensive than hidden ones ever were. There is a lot more design flexibility now, and some look really cool. Most are just themeless blobs though.
although this vid is about hidden headlights, I have to say that ordering a Toro with buckets and console, while cool in every other period car, was a mistake as it covered up the best feature, that flat floor. Best option was the Strato-bench and column shift, so that the flat floor really made itself known and your SO could snuggle up
My cousin had a 68. She had it for 15 yrs. The hidden headlights never failed. It was a black on black on black and it was one pretty car. It was also a sleeper. Her husband would pull up to redlights next to a mustang or charger and smoke check in em!
Mopar had moving grilles to reveal headlights. 68-69 Charger, I think
These are my favourite.
Love a '68 Toronado!
That’s actually beautiful. The only other car I can think of with well finished hidden headlights when activated was the 81 Imperial with the chrome bezel and rectangular lights while the Mark VI still had ROUND headlights. Someone else mentioned the 65 Riviera clamshell headlights those are beautiful also. Awesome video!
When GM was at the top of their game in innovation, and building these 3 different absolutely gorgeous cars!! My 6th grade teacher had a new 1969 Toronado, sky blue, and he knew that I liked cars, and would loan me his keys, to retrieve stuff out of it for our class. I really appreciated that he encouraged my appreciation for his beautiful car!
When I was a kid in the late 60s sometime I don't recall the exact year my family rode from Oklahoma City to Chicago in a late 60's Toronado around Christmas time. I remember going through some pretty bad snow storms in Missouri and Illinois and the the front wheel drive Toronado had no trouble just plowing through the snow. It wasn't our car but a friend of my father's car who was making the trip and he decided to hitch a ride with him since we had family in Chicago. I don't recall those 68-69 Toronados but I remember the 66-67s well. I think it was one of those we made the trip in.
Major thing overlooked about the hidden headlights was that the round (later square) sealed beams were federally mandated. So to get a really unique look, you had to cover them. Today, yeah all about $.
Consoles seem to waste the flat floors.
Actually this is one hidden design that makes sense. With the lights behind the grill, at least if the grill failed to open enough light gets through to be able to drive it til it's repaired.
If they failed, they failed open. Vacuum was required to keep them closed. I was continually chasing vacuum leaks that wouldn’t let the grills stay down.
Actually no, you couldn't drive it that way. Adam failed to mention that the backs of those honeycomb grilles had circles of solid black plastic so the shine of the glass and reflectors would not show through the grill in daylight...
@@marko7843Really? Darn! Leave it to the engineers to mess up one of my good ideas! 😂
My favorite is the '67. Gorgeous cars.
Agree with your take on this. The moving grill I’d never seen!
my dad had a 1969 ford country squire..had the hidden head lights the grill over the headlights retracted ..i was four when he got it..and i thought that was just the coolest thing!
Perhaps I am wrong, but I think I read that automotive certification requirements basically banned hidden headlights.
I always thought they were great looking. I had a Porsche 928 where the two lights were on one metal rod, and if the motor failed you could remove a rubber cover and a knob was located on top of the motor that allowed you to put them up manually.
Great video!
Yes, pop up and hidden headlights have been mandated out of existence
@@MyHumanWreckageyes that’s correct/ can’t do them anymore
That's a myth, I found out recently. There are some kinds of restrictions but they are not eliminated. As long as whatever the requirements may be and are met. A manufacturer has to spend time and money to design cars with those in mind. With composites being available now and easily varied that just became cheaper and easier
@@plap. Deregulating pop up headlights has more to do with LOW SPEED pedestrian impacts and possible injury. Deregulating hidden and pop up headlights also has to do with malfunction which could leave you without headlights, an obvious safety issue.
@@MyHumanWreckage All true, but they can be done if requirements are met. I have no idea what exactly those are but they are not banned from existence. It's just to easy to have squinty little LEDs be hardly noticable the way closed popups would look.
On that 68 when the grills move out of the way it looks like a 67 -69 Firebird.
The 1968 and 1969 Oldsmobile Toronado's were nice-looking cars (NO vinyl tops please!!!) even though the heavy-looking loop bumpers took away from the design. Loved that beautiful, veneered center console and ball shifter. That console should have been standard equipment in keeping with the Toronado's sporting personality over a Riviera or Eldorado which were more personal luxury than sporting.
Those flip-up grilles had the potential to be detrimental to your air conditioning condenser, transmission cooler, and possibly the radiator, when they were flipped up in the night driving mode by leaving those components vulnerable to flying road rocks and debris. Bad design in my eyes. I even thought so at 7 years old.
I was a child of both the 1960's and 1970's (born 1961), so I remembered these 1966 through 1970 Toronado's well.
My two uncles sold Oldsmobiles up though 1972, when they switched the dealership to Lincoln-Mercury's in1973. (W.O. Bankston Oldsmobile - Dallas)
This car is beautiful whether the headlights are on or not. I can't say the same of most of the 1980s cars with hidden headlights
Had a 1969 Tornado and really liked that car.
They are cool. I never realized the configuration of these. They almost take on the look of the Firebird when the grills open. Truthfully I do not know that I ever remember seeing a ’68 in person.
just my exact thought - it's Firebird!
Stranger hidden-headlights: How about an early 70's Opel GT? The headlights rotated on a spindle parallel to the centerline of the car.
Probably the slickest looking Toronados for the entire run of the nameplate.
I think the weirdest and ugliest hidden headlights belong to the 80-83 Lincoln Mark VI. Especially when they had those optional touring lights on the headlight covers. Yuk 😝
I didn't know about them opening when the engine got hot. That's cooler 😎 than the lights themselves,!
Strangest design in my opinion was the 89 Pontiac Sunbird.....that thing had 1/2 covered headlight doors, I remember paying a fortune to get the retractor motors from a junkyard for my fathers car when his failed to open.....thinking back it would have been easier and cheaper to just take the dang headlight door covers off😂🤣😅
Wow! The length of that upper radiator hose looks like at least 3' long! My parents drove a 1972 Fury III wagon with every option available. 100mph easily which my mother did a couple of times when my brother was in trouble with women! The Fury had hidden head lamps with doors that opened. When closed the front of their wagon had a black grill with horizontal pattern if I remember correctly. It was the 1st car I drove with my learners permit! At 4'10" & 110# I did not fit well behind the wheel despite the cars tilting wheel. I preferred my bicycle! Later my father found an old Ford Falcon for me to drive but still had to have a boat cushion to see over the steering wheel. These cars you show have absolutely gorgeous exterior paint finishes!! I prefer my 1980`s S10`s as they fit my small stature perfectly with no cushions!
I remember falling in love with the first 66 Toronado I ever saw when I was a kid. I still love that car.
I don't know if hidden headlights are legal now. I know they aren't allowed to move. Not sure about covering them. But with modern vehicle design being so hideous. I don't think hidden headlights would help regardless 😂
the old round glass sealed beam lights were cheaper for everyone and reliable too. they went away because they couldn't be styled in the body. the hidden headlamps are a great way of dealing with that, but they take a lot of room and the actuators tend to give trouble.
Dad had a 1969 maroon Toranodo , I recognize that rear radio speaker I use to hit my head on. Three kids in the back seat and as the middle child I seemed to always had to set in the middle, I was also with in arms reach of dad as he drove!
I actually think that the 1967-1969 Camaro Rally Sport had about the strangest hidden headlights that I remember. You talk about ice on cars here in the northern states and specifically the hidden headlights. Today we have a new problem. The LED lights don’t build up heat therefore they won’t melt ice and road slush off of them. I was watching a CZcams review of a vehicle and it mentioned headlight heaters. Another option dealing with headlights was the useless headlight washers on the 1969 Chevrolet’s. My friend had a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Rally Sport equipped with the washers. I remember Chrysler products in the early 70’s had headlight washers with a brush that would go across the light to scrub it.
I absolutely loved the hidden headlights on my `68 Thunderbird. So classy!
Of the various vehicles I’ve owned over the past 4+decades, I never did acquire a Tornado, of any year… really did want one (and yes, always liked the front end styling of 65’s & 6’s as well) but after seeing this ‘69, I’d be very content with this or the ‘68’s!! Of the years riding & driving &, eventually owning, my grandparents’ ‘75 GMC Palm Beach Motorhome w/Tornado front wheel drive w/Olds 455, @ an average weight of about 12.5K Lbs, i can definitely attest to how well those road/handled.. ample supply of HP & Torque!! Drove & loved that Motorhome all over the U.S. of A.’s western half! Fond memories, many. Can only imagine how that powertrain would feel in a car!
Owned a ‘69 OPEL GT 1900; now THOSE headlights were ‘interesting’! Fun to flip out/in
Olds has always been the best car GM built. In my humble opinion. my first car was a 1952 olds holiday sport coupe with clock in steering wheal.
Great car and knowledge, thank you.
A continuing favorite; Adam, thank you for the in-depth video! I love the 1968 & ‘69 most.
Thank you Adam. Thank you for another Oldsmobile Toronado video. I have a few things to say. The egg crate grille was offered in 1977 and 1979. It went back to a 1966 look in 1980. My 1992 Toronado has hidden headlamps and they are noisy when opening and closing but work fine. It also has the 1966 grille theme that runs to the taillamps like the 1966. Mine also has bucket seats. I owned three bench seat Toronados before the current 1992 model. The bucket seats became standard in the mid to late 1980's. Thank you again.
I have an Opel GT with strange manual hidden headlights.
Those are so cool!
The '66 Tornado is really a stunning car.
Back in the 70's I had the opportunity to take a road trip in a 67 Toronado. Wonderful car. I used to own a 69 Delta88.
Thank you from Spain for this video!! so interesting 👍🏼👍🏼
Front-wheel drive with longitudinal V8 and chain-driven axel barreling through the sump - how many cars can claim that
It's interesting to know that things awesome are things strange. Great flick!😅
Love those side bolsters on those buckets! These cars all looked great. Especially like the Rivieras .
Hi Adam, I am and have always been an art deco nut which is really strange for someone who grew up in the 70s. Favorite marque being any Packard before 1941, when most kids had a Ferrari poster on their wall. That being said, been a really big fan of your channel for a long time. Nobody gives big sedans any love, so glad you do. 1935 Cord Beverly and Westchester sedans had hidden lamps (maybe the first?) and they were cranked out by hand cranks on each side of the car. I think also that headlights were not turned off by closing the doors. I look at Olds Toro and Eldo and see a Cord trying to get out, the wheel design, front wheel drive, fast, sporty,. This is not surprising to me given that execs back then probably lusted over thirties cars in their youth. A friend had a 68 Eldo and I found it really (boomy?) inside, lots of road noise, not very Cadillac at all in my book. It had a mono leaf rear suspension like the Chevy II, so lots of noise transmission. I also thought there was something from the thirties trying to escape from my 1971 Grand Prix. (My first car.)
A hidden headlights story. The Channel Uncle Tony's Garage had a project where they swapped a Slant Six into a Miata (1). They called the Miata Blinky because if they turned the lights on one headlight would pop up normaly. The other one would pop up. Go back down and then pop up again.
1) Why? He's a Mopar fanatic.
The retractable Toronado grill was pretty cool! Beautiful cars 😍 Thanks for sharing these!
Those 3 cars have gotta b my absolutely fav trio!
I owned three Ford XLs, two '68s & a '70. Both hardtops had hidden vacuum powered headlamps that worked flawlessly. The only other car I owned with flip top headlights was my '68 L-88 Vette & never had any issues with those. From a design standpoint, it made all four cars look so much better with the headlights hidden. Great memories of cars that had character & stood out.
What a neat car. In so many ways GM in this period was on top of its game and a true world leader. Thanks, Adam for the video and your insights. All the best.
The 68-72 Dodge Chargers had grill sections that would flip up to reveal headlights. When closed, it looks like the grill. The 68's had grill style around the lamps.
I owned a 1969 Toronado for a couple of years, starting back in 2003. Mine had the vacuum system no longer working when I bought the car (it was kind of a driving project car). So the headlight grill covers defaulted in the up position. That was good so I could still drive the car at night easily. But finding parts for it was difficult. Eventually I found someone on eBay selling the Shop Manuals for the car. WOW. That 2-volume set was worth its weight in gold. Now I had GM part numbers that I could use to call junk yards to try and locate parts I needed. Most places had no Toronados of any year, but ask for Part XYZ and they would have a ton of them because they were on other GM products. But I sold the car to a guy who wanted to do a restoration on it. I got out of it what I had into it so we were both happy. 😊😊
The retracting Toranado grill was pretty cool! Beautiful cars 😍 Thanks for sharing these!
Fascinating. I love that look with the double lamps .. gt, touring,muscle type look.
My 67 TBird had a matching grill design around the headlights when opened.
Love the clam shell head lights on the 65 Riviera. Thanks for the great video.
‘69 Ford XL had “fail open” doors. Vacuum held them closed, heavy torsion spring opened them.
I once crushed a tool carrier when I disturbed the vacuum tank…
The Torrys design was ahead of its time. Back when GM had some awesome looking vehicles.
My first car was a1970 Olds Cutlass Supreme with a center console automatic, the same shifter in that Toranado.
Great video, one of the few old-car channels currently worth watching on here. I didn't realise those 68/69 Toronado grilles were also thermostatically-controlled for cooling purposes. Interestingly, this was pioneered on the 1932 Rolls-Royce 20/25 where the vertical slats opened wider when a certain temperature was reached.
Had a good chuckle at the duct tape securing the brake booster vacuum fitting. These are not hard to find, nor are they expensive.
Very cool . I had a 1966 Dodge Charger the headlights were in rotating buckets with an electric motor for each headlight . It also had 4 bucket seats & an electro luminescent dash 😮 amongst other funky things . Basically mini neon tubes that illuminated the dash very similar looking illumination to modern cars 😃
The first gen Mercury Cougar had the same flip up grill headlight covers as these Tornado's. One year earlier too starting in '67
My dad bought a 1968 model new. Olive hardtop without the center console. Dad planned a cross-country “break-in” trip LA to Pittsburgh.
Guess what issue came up in Arizona? 😂
The lights were on but not very bright it seemed.
Those moving grills weren’t moving! 😅
Dad flagged a local Oldtimer and he had some wood in his truck.
They propped open the grills with chocks of wood!!
The rest of the trip was fine - but always a little embarrassing pulling in somewhere! 😅😲
I'm not sure why, but I don't think I've ever seen those years and those headlights before. Thanks for sharing.
This was a mesmerizing video! It took me back to the days when we had cars and didn't have to scoot around in Asian econoboxes like they do in the 3rd world.
Porsche 928 had some cool hidden headlamps.
The 928 doesn't really have hidden headlights and man do they look goofy when deployed . Still it is my favorite of all the Porsche cars.
Your 1968 Ford LTD hideaway headlights are awesome too Adam 👌🏻
The moving covers were a good idea. Compared to actuating the lights, less moving mass and no risk of shifting headlight alignment.
Thanks for sharing your content 👍🇺🇸
The 1st gen Camaro hidden headlights were cool. They slid horizontal towards the grille.
Thank you for recording and posting this valuable educational video.
loved that car had one, man it would eat front tires, but l love the spinning speedometer that was so cool and a very comfortable 8 mpg car :)
That is cool! Love how the grill is the headlight covers.
The C5 Corvette was the last car to have pop-up headlights. I'm glad I've got my 2002 Corvette C5. Pop up headlights are really cool and I'm sure they'll come back someday.
I really like that 66/67 Toronado. You lucky fellow!
Authentic style, coolest of the coolest design items of that era