[..I know, following up to myself....]
.
In message <200210300353.g9U3rCK07159@fearless-vampire-killer.waterside.net>, 
I wrote:

-> Folks:
-> 	I'm trying to update my laptop to a much more recent -current and
-> 	keep hanging up on a toolchain build error.  Here's the tail of my
-> 	build log:
-> 
-> [...building in tools/toolchain, gcc/f subdirectory...]
-> cc -DCROSS_COMPILE -DIN_GCC    -O   -DHAVE_CONFIG_H  -o fini fini.o proj-h.o
-> ./fini `echo /usr/rafal/netbsd-src/tools/toolchain/../../gnu/dist/toolchain/
-> gcc/f/str-1t.fin | sed 's,^\./,,'` str-1t.j str-1t.h
-> ./fini `echo /usr/rafal/netbsd-src/tools/toolchain/../../gnu/dist/toolchain/
-> gcc/f/str-2t.fin | sed 's,^\./,,'` str-2t.j str-2t.h
-> ./fini `echo /usr/rafal/netbsd-src/tools/toolchain/../../gnu/dist/toolchain/
-> gcc/f/str-fo.fin | sed 's,^\./,,'` str-fo.j str-fo.h
-> /usr/rafal/netbsd-src/tools/toolchain/../../gnu/dist/toolchain/gcc/f/str-fo.
-> fin: extraneous "$"
-> *** Error code 1
-> 
-> 	I've seen this error with several more recent -currents (a 1.6I
-> 	kernel, I believe also a 1.6E kernel and with the latest as of
-> 	an hour or two ago 1.6J).  In previous runs, the error was about
-> 	an `extraneous "D"', but from the same invocation of `./fini'.
-> 
-> 	Interestingly, running the command by hand from the objdir makes
-> 	it run succesfully 100% of the time, as does invoking `make' in
-> 	the objdir, whether that `make' be the current system one or the
-> 	nbmake-i386 wrapper from the TOOLDIR.

OK, I tracked this down and have a fix for it... See PR toolchain/18858.

--rafal

----
Rafal Boni                                                     rafal@attbi.com
  We are all worms.  But I do believe I am a glowworm.  -- Winston Churchill