WHICH ‘68 Torino? Fastback? Vinyl “Hardtop”?
Power by — 428CJ, perhaps??
LOTS and lots of 302s and 351W plants in those Torinos.
We had an avocado green ‘69 GT with 351W power plant.
Pop sold it a year before I got my Permit ‘cuz he thought the transmission was getting a little slippy. Hell, it was a C6! A trip cross town to Art Carr (back when that name was reputable) and for the same money AAMCO would’ve charged to just rebuild it to OEM specs, we could’ve had it built to cope with 500HP!
Buuuut... Dad was from a line of folks that got rid of their cars every 4-6 years whether they needed to or not. ‘Cuz bogeymen, for all I could ever tell.
Thus it is that the family owned — and got rid of — multiple true classics. The Torino GT was just one, and they’re now kinda rare, and very collectible.
Mom had a ‘56 T-bird in black with Corinthian white interior and a conti kit. GONE.
Right outta the Army Dad owned a late ‘50s Skyliner. GONE.
My grandparents had a ‘63 Galaxie 500GT convertible with the 406, tri-power carburetion, and manual transmission. GONE.
Then they had a ‘67 Skylark sedan. GONE.
My other grandparents had a ‘60 Cadillac Sedan DeVille in white on white. GONE.
The only sane family were my Mom’s sister and husband: they had a ‘64 Mustang they held onto, and my cousin eventually bought it from them and kept it up.
I’ve managed to get my hands on a ‘63 Impala 4dr “Hardtop” Sport Sedan that I’m keeping roadworthy until I drop into a hole.
Ain’t no school like the Old School.
“‘63 Galaxie 500GT convertible with the 406, tri-power carburetion, and manual transmission”
I drove the Ford factory NASCAR stock version (not a convertible). IIRC, the car had belonged to a fellow who supported and/or was with Wood Bro.’s or Cale Yarborough racing, who managed a few cars in midwest oval tracks; one car for A.J. Foyt (on up thru the 1960’s).
Last car for that team, stored and maintained at a certain place that I frequented, was the ‘69 Ford Torino fastback, red and white paint.
Idle was 1,300 RPM. For the engine to run, your foot had to always be a bit on the gas; thus, clutch pedal work, if not in motion. The ‘63 simply would not run, “purring” at idle by itself. Lively cam.
Plenty of open country roads, for the drive on a summer day, long ago. At 100 mph, you had barely used the throttle.
“Mom had a ‘56 T-bird in black with Corinthian white interior and a conti kit. GONE.”
I think I’m gonna be sick!