In 1967 George Hurst and Hurst Performance Research took an entire Toronado’s W34 powertrain including half of the frame and swapped it into a 1968 Oldsmobile 442. The W34 option came with a upgraded 455 ci V8, Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic transmission and heavy duty torque converter. A writer at that time called it a Fouranado and the name stuck.
Eventually the Fouranado found its way to noted Oldsmobile collector Fred Mandrick, who completed a full restoration. Fred set a short timeline of one year so he could debut it at Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals 2013. He was able to met the deadline thanks to Hood’s Etc working on the body and 1320 Auto working on the chassis and driveline.
If you are wondering how it handles, Hemmings took it out for a spin. They tested it against a factory 442 and upgraded Hurst/Olds 442. Since the powertrain was made for a car 700+ lbs heavier, it performed pretty well in the lighter 442.
I love reading about “classic” swaps and between the three articles there is too much great information to adequately cover here. If you found this car interesting you should continue reading the source links below.
Source: Hemmings (test drive), Hemmings (detailed article and stats) and Hemmings (restoration story)
Nice where did you find the wheels
I would love tires like that
Those are stock disc brake Toronado chrome wheels. And I don’t believe the Toro drivetrain made the car 1000lbs heavier.
Thanks for catching that. I corrected the article.