So far I’ve covered full-size Fords, Lincolns, Edsels and most of the Mercs at Carlisle, so that brings me to the midsized and compact Fords. There was pretty good coverage of both at the show. In particular, the Torinos were very well represented, partially because the show was celebrating 50 years of Torino. I’ll start off looking at the mid-size Fords, then look at the compacts and finish up with the special display for 50 years of Torino.
There was a decent showing of early Fairlanes, but the one that caught my eye was this 1962 Fairlane. 1962 was the inaugural year for the Fairlane and this was very nice survivor. This Fairlane was owned by the proverbial little old lady that barely drove it. Originally ordered in November 1961 and it was delivered just before Christmas 1961. The original owner walked to work and to get groceries, so the car only accumulated 39,000 miles. She was also too scared to drive it during winter, so it wasn’t exposed to the harsh elements.
The car has its original paint and interior. It was acquired by the original owner’s great-nephew in 1988. He had to sell it in 1990 due to financial reasons, but was able to buy it back in 2014. This Fairlane had the smallest Ford small block V8, the short-lived 221 V8, which produced 145 hp @ 4,400 rpm and 216 lb-ft @ 2,200 rpm (gross). The car was an amazing the time capsule.
There was a decent amount of mid-1960s Fairlanes, but as I constructed this article I realized I had few photos. It seems I was spending too much time looking at the Torinos near by. The quality of the Fairlanes I saw were excellent though.
Ford heavily restyled its 1968 intermediate line for 1968 and although it sported new sheet metal, the chassis was relatively unchanged. There was a healthy showing of Torinos and Fairlanes from the late 1960s. Torinos and Fairlanes of this era are relatively rare back in Ontario, and so seeing this many in one place was a great experience for me. I always thought it was strange that many Ford enthusiast generally ignore these cars, and just focused on the Mustangs from this era, while the GM and Mopar crowd have a good following for their intermediate cars.
In 1968, Ford introduced the Torino as the top intermediate model. This 1968 Torino 4-door sedan was the nicest Torino 4-door. This car was one of many old cars that suffered under the wrath of Hurricane Sandy. The car was partially submerged, and was put up for auction with other classics that had been damaged or destroyed. Fortunately, the car had very little flood exposure and so it was still in very good overall condition. The current owner won the auction and originally planed to use it as a parts car. However, it was so clean he saved it instead. The car went under some minor restoration and mechanical repairs, including rebuilding the transmission, installing a 4-barrel carburetor and dual exhaust. The majority of the car, including some of the paint, remains original. The owner swapped in 2.79 gears and claims the 302 powered Torino sees up to 19 mpg on the highway.
This 1969 Torino was one of my favourite late 1960s Torino I saw at the show. Unlike Chevrolet’s Chevelle SS396, Ford’s Torino GT actually had few performance features. The GT model really just included mostly appearance and trim upgrades. Standard features were a non-functional hood scoop, GT emblems and stripes, styled wheels and a 302-2V V8 engine. Late to the game, Ford introduced a real performance model with the introduction of the Cobra for 1969. The Cobra was all about performance and included a 428 CJ, a 4-speed transmission and competition suspension, but it was based on the plainer Fairlane series.
While a 1968 Torino GT had bucket seats as standard equipment, this changed early in the 1968 model year. As a result GTs came standard with bench seat interiors, like this example. The white upholstery on this car was very brilliant, but I suspect it may not have been original.
This was one of the more rare 1969 Torinos, being a 1969 GT convertible. There were only 2,552 produced. It originally listed at $3073, making it one of the most expensive Torinos for 1969. This particular example was equipped with a 428 CJ and ram air induction. I am not sure if the it originally came with a 428 CJ engine, but if so, it is very rare car.
This 1969 Fairlane 4-door was one my dad and I really liked. It was just a nice old survivor car that would be an nice economical weekend cruiser. A car like this is a great way to enter into the old car hobby without spending a lot of money. This particular example has a 351W engine, which was newly introduced for 1969 and filled the rather large gap in Ford’s engine line-up. This 351-2V engine produced 250 hp @ 4600 RPM (gross), having more than adequate power to keep up with modern traffic.
Like the late 60s cars, there was a good showing of 1970-71 Torinos and Fairlanes. The Torino was restyled in 1970 and grew considerably. These Torinos were the largest cars to use the original 1960 Ford Falcon platform. Overall length grew to 206.2″, wheelbase went up to 117″, and big block powered cars weighed over 4000 lbs. The engine bay was widened to accommodate Ford’s new large 385 series big block V8’s.
Like in 1968 and 1969 the Torino GT series contained mostly cosmetic upgrades. New for 1970, the 351C-4V and the 429-CJ/SCJ engines came with a shaker style hood scoop when equipped with the optional ram air. The twist style hood pins were also a new option. The 1970-71 429-CJ/SCJ Torinos were the most powerful and best performing Torinos. Today, these cars are some of the best performing Fords in the Pure Stock Drags.
Although this Torino is all done up with lots of performance goodies under the hood, it is kind of contradictory to its original mission. This is actually a 1970 Ford Torino Brougham, which was the new luxury model introduced for 1970. The Torino Brougham featured “Hideaway” head lights, a fad that seemed to be at its highest in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
An integrated non functional hood scoop was standard on a Torino GT. This ’70 GT has an optional laser stripe. Although it might be quite garish to some, they actually reflect light quite well at night. Rear window louvers were another popular add-on.
1971 Torinos only saw very minor revisions, with the easiest identifier being the divided grille. This 1971 GT also has a laser stripe which was revised in 1971 to be longer, nearly reaching the rear wheel opening.
In this picture I was trying to capture one of my favourite design features on the 1970-71 Torino. Bill Shenk, the designer who penned the basic shape of the 1970-71 Torino included a rakish front fender line disappeared just past the front door, while the body line on the door’s top edge becomes the wide hood character line.
This 1971 Torino GT Convertible was the last intermediate Ford convertible. Other than the Squire wagon, this was the most expensive 1971 Torino with a base price of $3408. Only 1,613 1971 Torino GT Convertibles were produced, which was a 60% reduction from 1970. It was hardly surprising that Ford dropped the convertible from the Torino line-up in 1972.
While the majority of the 1970-71 Torinos were performance oriented, this 1971 Torino Brougham was relatively original and stock. I didn’t note the engine, but it was likely a 351-2V which would make this car a great weekend cruiser.
The Ford Torino underwent a complete redesigned and reengineering in 1972. The car switched from using the old unitized Falcon platform, to a new body of frame design. For many years this generation of Torino was looked down upon by enthusiasts, but has developed a strong following in recent years. There were quite a few of the 1972-76 Torinos at the show, more than I have ever seen in one place. The vast majority of these cars were the 1972-73 cars, and most those were Gran Torino Sports, which are the most collectible models.
This 1972 Gran Torino Sport was a tribute to Clint Eastwood’s car in the 2009 Gran Torino movie. The Torino wasn’t originally this colour, but the restoration/tribute was very well done. This particular car was originally powered a 351C-2V, but has since been upgraded to the most performance oriented engine for 1972, the 351-CJ. Commonly called the Q-code by Ford fans, the 351C-CJ produced 248 hp @ 5400 RPM and 299 ft-lbs @ 3600 RPM (SAE net). The 4-barrel engine was significantly upgraded from the 2-barrel engines, with large port 4V cylinder heads, 4-bolt main bearing caps, a high performance camshaft, and a dual point distributor (for 4-speed cars).
Black was not a regularly available colour on the 1972 or 1973 Torinos. Despite that, you could special order black paint. This particular car was not originally painted black, and the tell tale sign is the sport mirrors. Gran Torino Sports had dual sport mirrors a standard feature, however, special order paint replaced them with a single chrome mirror.
The Gran Torino Sport was also available with the formal roofline shared with the Torino and Gran Torino 2-doors. The fastback outsold the formal roof Sports nearly 2:1, with 60,794 fastback compared to 31,239 formals. Like the Torino GT, the Gran Torino Sport model primarily consisted of trim and appearance features. Standard features were a 302-2v, an integrated hood scoop (functional with Ram-Air), exterior trim and nameplates and a unique interior.
This 1973 Gran Torino Sport was an amazing find. It was an all original car, owned by the original owners. This car was factory ordered with the black paint (note the chrome mirror). Unlike a lot of survivor cars, this one was used a lot. It has something like 250,000 miles on the odometer, although the owner noted the engine had been rebuilt. It has a 351-CJ engine, C6 automatic, air conditioning, and Magnum 500 wheels among many other options . It originally had a base price of $3094 but with options the MSRP grew to $4835.37.
This particular 1973 Gran Torino Sport was originally owned by a Ford employee. It had literally almost every option in the book. Despite its Cragar wheels, and some minor engine upgrades, it was a relatively original car. This was another Torino that accumulated high mileage over the years. The current owner had purchased this car when it was about a year old and has owned it since.
I spoke with the young 20 something guy standing by this car and started to ask about his dad’s Torino. He corrected me and told me that it was his car, and his dad came along with him. He found the car for an affordable price and he, his dad and other family members did all the work themselves. A relative even painted the car in a barn, but it looked pretty darn good. It was nice to see some younger people owning and restoring old cars.
This ’73 Gran Torino had one has the Luxury Décor Package, which I detailed in this post. It was a nicely preserved original car.
Here was one of the few 1972-76 Torino four doors I saw. It was in the swap meet side listed for sale. This 22,000 original mile car was a very clean an untouched car, and probably the cleanest 4-door I have seen. It was powered by a 351-2V engine and would be a decent weekend cruiser that’d be easy and cheap to maintain.
The Starsky and Hutch Torinos were also at the show. The above three were side by side and were all very nicely done cars. They were, however, far from stock. All of them had high performance big block engines making serious horsepower, unlike the de-smogged Ford engines of the era. One of the three cars reported running the 1/4 mile in the 12 second range.
This Ford Elite was a 460 powered car. It was one of the few Fords from the mid 1970s at the show, and it was in great shape.
There were some late ’70s midsized Fords too, and this LTD II was the nicest I saw. It had the Sports Appearance Stripe package, but was repainted at some point. The Sports Appearance package was an option that included special striping, grille badge and magnum 500 wheels. The stripes are not reproduced, but the painter did a decent job keeping the car in the same theme.
There was a good showing of early Falcons at the show, and surprisingly many still had six cylinder engines. Of course, there were also numerous Falcons re-powered with Ford small block V8s like the examples above and below. Ford’s Falcon did not get a V8 option until the 1963 model year, when the 260 V8 was introduced in February of 1963.
Although this Falcon wasn’t modified in my taste, I was happy to see that it still had the six under the hood. Note this car has the rear door handles shaved, kind of giving it a look like a 1949-50 Ford Tudor. The sole engine for 1960 was the 144 six that produced 85 hp @ 4000 RPM (gross).
By 1961 Falcon added a more powerful 170 six to the engine line-up, but the kept dreadfully weak 144 as the base engine. And this brightly coloured ’63 Falcon is still powered that 144 six. After looking at those big 1970-71 Torinos its hard to believe they evolved from these tiny little cars.
There were quite a few mid 60’s Falcons, which are my favorites. In 1964 the Falcon was heavily restyled with a design that better reflected Ford’s “Total Performance Image.” My dad has fond memories of these cars. In the mid 1960s he used to commute with a co-worker that owned a new ’64 Falcon with a 260 V8 engine. Unfortunately, the owner drove the car very hard and killed it at a young age.
This ’65 Falcon Futura wagon was my favourite Falcon at the show. While I like to see the sixes in the Falcon, I confess, if I ever bought one, I’d only buy a V8. And the 289 Challanger V8, producing 200 hp (gross) is quite appropriate in a wagon. This car was very nicely restored and the nicest Falcon wagon I have seen in a long time.
There was a decent showing of ’65 Falcon convertibles, especially considering there were only 6,615 produced for 1965. Of the total 171,442 Falcons produced, the convertibles only accounted for 3.8% of the total production.
There was a little section of Ford Maverick’s at the show too. This photo above pretty much shows the selection. Most of the cars had modified V8 engines.
This ’71 Maverick Grabber was the only one I saw restored to original specs. The Grabber became a separate model for 1971 but was really a trim package. It included simulated hood scoops, Grabber stripes and decals, blackout grille and tail panel, grill mounted road lamps, hub caps with trim rings, sport mirrors, a decklid spoiler, bright moldings and the deluxe steering wheel. This car is also noted to have the console, but it still had the little 200 six under the hood that produced 115 hp @ 4000 RPM (gross).
The Carlisle show is not discriminating and even the Pintos and Bobcats had their own section. I can’t say I spent too much time there though, but it was nice to see some cherished.
And we’ll finish of with the compacts with the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr. Every Fairmont was heavily modified, as many seem to end up today, but the Zephyr actually appeared to be a fairly original car. Dad and I liked seeing these old Fox bodies, as neither of us has seen one in many years. We had three of these early Ford foxes in our family.
2018 marked the 50 years since the Ford Torino was introduced, and so Carlisle had a special display of 50 years of Torino. These cars in the building were the finest examples of the Torinos at the show. Above is a 1968 Torino GT Convertible Pace Car. There were only 159 Torino Pace Cars produced and 709 cars with the promotional package. This car was powered by a Ford 302-2V engine.
This was a very custom 1969 Torino Telladega built by Rad Rods by Troy. It has a Boss 429 engine, a Tremec TKO 6-speed, and an Art Morrision Chassis.
This 1968 Torino GT is a one family car, originally purchased by the owner’s grandfather. It is 390 powered with only 35,000 miles that has original paint and interior.
And this was the other 1968 Torino GT, the less seen 2-door hardtop coupe. There were 74,135 fastback built compared to only 23,939 coupes.
Only 19 Torino GT convertibles were produced with the 429 SCJ engine, and this is one of them. This car also has special order grabber blue paint and is reported to be a 72,000 mile survivor.
The owner of this ’70 Torino bought it in 1979 for $1500 when he was 15 year sold. It has since undergone a full restoration. It is powered by a 351-4V engine.
A 1971 Torino GT.
This 1972 Gran Torino Sport is powered by the 351-CJ engine. It has the Rallye Equipment option package which included a 4-seed transmission, gauge package and competition suspension. Only 2,091 1972 Gran Torino Sport fastbacks had 4-speed transmissions.
Another 351-CJ powered 1972 Gran Torino Sport. About 20% of the Gran Torino Sport fastbacks were powered by the 351-CJ engine. This one also is unique in that it had the trailer tow package.
A 1973 Gran Torino Sport fastback.
This 1973 Gran Torino Sport Fastback was the less common formal roof model, but it was equipped with the 351-CJ and a 4-speed transmission. With its plant white paint and bench seat interior, the original owner was definitely going for a sleeper look.
And I will finish off with this last Torino, a 1974 Starsky and Hutch replica. No expense or detailed was spared and it’s powered by a Jon Kaase Boss engine. I hope you enjoyed my coverage of the intermediate and compact Fords. Stay tuned for the next instalment.
The 66-71 Fairlane/Torino is a fascinating car in that each 2 year sub-generation has a flavor unlike each of the others. The 66-67 was like the girl next door, easy to look at and easy to live with, even if it did nothing singularly well. The 68-69 was like a forgotten middle child. Look at how 67 and 69 Camaro Indy pace car replicas were and are everywhere while the 69 Torino was minimally promoted then and virtually forgotten now. Finally the 70-71 tried to become Ginger (to the 66-67’s Mary Ann) but was undone by its most amazing tendency to turn into reddish powder.
When I was in 6th grade there was a kid at school whose Mom got a red 71 Torino GT convertible with the red/yellow laser stripe. Everyone thought it was the coolest car we had ever seen.
The 70-71 had another distinction, a 2 year only 4 door hardtop body offered in a mid sized car.
That red ’69 GT is the stereotype of what I think of when someone says Torino GT. Red with white stripes. What I find interesting is the ’68-’69 notchback coupe is equally as good looking as the fastback. The proportions are perfect.
Good observations JPC. I’d go a step further and say the 1962-65 could be included in there, as being characterized as being the conservative generatation. Despite the Thunderbolts and K-codes, these early Fairlanes were as conservative as the early Falcons. The rust problems were horrendous on the 70’s Torinos. Up here, the 66-67 Fairlanes are seen every now and then, and maybe the odd 68-69, but anything beyond 1970 is pretty well non-existent.
As for the ’72 to ’76s, there didn’t seem to be a common flavour through that generation. I’d argue the generation started as stylish and fashionable for the times, with the correct move towards an emphasis on personal luxury. While by 1976, they were completely out of style, not particularly attractive, and were just out of phase for times. GM did a much better job at keeping the Colonnades relevant during these years.
I wonder if the batch paint process Ford started using during the late 60s was to blame for the worse rust problems those cars had over previous years, it’s uncanny how bad 70-71s get compared to the mostly structurally identical 66-67s are.
I’m having a hard time picking a favorite Torino here… I’ve always liked the ’70-’71 best, but there are so many fine examples here. As tired as I am of silver/gray whatever cars, I’m kinda surprised at how great a ’72 Torino looks in that color. Part of it has to do with it being unadorned with stripes and other features. You can see how the light plays on all the contours. Lots of fantastic cars you’ve captured here.
I agree, the ’72 Torino is looking better to me now than when it first came out. I think body color bumpers would have helped the appearance a lot. Alas, the factory did not offer this. (That I’m aware of)
I agree that the ’72 Torinos look best with the least amount of trim and gingerbread. The vinyl roof spoils the looks of the fastback in particular in my opinion. Unfortunately, all ’72s and ’73s came with that tacky lower trim unless you ordered a laser stripe. Which is why I prefer the laser stripe cars, they are the cleanest looking of the bunch.
That silver car was freshly painted and is a laser stripe car. The owner has since added it back on the car, as seen in the attached photo.
And there were no body coloured bumper options, even though executed correctly, it probably would have worked well.
Nice pic. I saved this one for a future screensaver. What a good looking car. This is about as far as I’d want to carry it with accessories. Cars with a multitude of curves and shapes look best this way. For reference, think of Stingray Corvettes and Dodge Chargers. The simple concept of shade and light works great on these designs.
Just seeing this! That’s my car at Carlisle plus this photo I took in the fall.
interior
Wow, I have never, ever seen that color combo on an early 70s Ford. The pewter paint was not all that popular to begin with, there couldn’t have been many coupled with brown interiors. Does a Marti Report cover that kind of thing?
rainy day on the way home from car show
Vin, you got a pic of RCR’s Vagabond Falcon without even noticing!
https://youtu.be/Kz_UDUdifgQ
I had never heard of that Vagabond Falcon before, so I had not idea it was a well known build. Thanks for sharing the video with the details.
I know! I watch those guys sometimes. Interesting take on another generation’s impressions on cars of any vintage.
Pretty cool.
This was a great follow-up to earlier Carlisle/Ford coverage–thanks for putting this so carefully together for us. I think I knew every model and powertrain combination for the 1960s-70s Fords, so this is right up my alley.
Always fun to see the “survivor” cars, which have a lot less to go wrong on them (i.e., electronics) than today’s vehicles. The lead-off 1962 Fairlane story charms me; I’m sorry great-nephew had to let it go for needed cash, but tickled he was able to re-purchase. I know nothing of all this, but I’ll hope the intervening owner wasn’t a jerk about it, and was gracious in allowing it to return to its “family.” (I’ll keep that in mind if I’m ever in that position.)
Hooray for the Pintos and Mavericks and Fairmont/Zephyrs that soldiered on of a lot of folks. By chance a survivor Maverick has popped up nearby—who knows if the price is “fair” or not, but if a bit less I’d be tempted: https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/cto/d/1973-ford-maverick-v8-302/6736892094.html
What a cool find, George. It is charming to see one looking just like they did in the mid 70s. It is also a stark reminder about how much more car a Duster was. 🙂
Thanks for the feedback George. I know a lot of people can’t make these big shows, so I am trying to give an accurate account of who to expect. I had no idea what to expect at Carlisle, but I was happy with the very wide coverage of Fords, even traditionally non-collectible cars, from the 1950’s to modern times.
That ’62 Fairlane was one of my favourite finds along with the several other survivor cars. That is probably the first time I have actually seen a 221 V8. That Maverick you found of CL is a very nice find too!
Great bunch of pictures. it’s interesting to see the progression of the Fairlane/Torino from being fairly nondescript to handsome, shapely cars to fat malaise blobs. The car I drove most in high school was Mom’s 1969 Fairlane 500 wagon basically identical to the pictured car. It had a tan vinyl interior, a 4-barrel 351, auto, AM radio, and A/C. The rear floor was painted metal which caused some problems because if we put the family Airedale back there, he would slide around every time the driver braked or turned a corner. The floor was also getting scratched up from the dog’s claws. Dad permanently installed some indoor/outdoor carpet (in forest green, no less) so the dog could have some traction.
Great read and pictures! I really like the 70’s Torinos. The white Torino Brougham is my favorite here. I tend to like fussy styled cars painted simply and cleanly, and simple boxy shapes done with more pizzazz. Not sure why that is.
Great article and photos. I always liked the late ‘60’s Fairlanes and Torinos. They were a common sight when I was a kid, and a ‘66 or ‘67 Fairlane coupe is something I wouldn’t mind having in my dream garage, along with one of the fastbacks – preferably with a 4-speed. I’ve always liked the Gran Torino Sport as well, and it was good to see some of them still around.
The July 2017 Hemmings Classic Car has a very good article on the Hurricane Sandy 68 Torino and its resurrection.
I have a question for our fearless leader tho. Did you ever think you would see the day Paul where a plain jane 62 Fairlane would be front and centre at Carlisle?🤔
Sure! I had unshakable faith in my father’s ability to pick future classics. 🙂
And that’s not exactly a plain Jane Fairlane; it’s a 500! I know the difference from a true plain Jane Fairlane all-too well
No 1960 thru 1979 Ranchero models there?
🙁
Yes, there were some Rancheros, but I didn’t take a ton of photos of them. I have two more posts planned on this series of articles, one that will cover Mustang/Cougar/T-bird, and the last one will cover Trucks & European/Foreign Fords. I will put the Rancheros’ in the truck post.
Thanks!
Thanks Fun article. You sure did a bunch of research.
RE 1965 Falcon. Any idea how the pricing compared to the 65 Mustang? I am surprised that they sold any of the nicer trim models at all since the Mustang was uber desirable.
Falcon’s ranged from a low of $1977 for the base 4-door sedan to a high of $2660 for the Sprint Convertible. Mustang went from a $2372 for the 2-door hardtop to $2614 for the convertible. So it’s easy to see why Mustang sales were through the roof, while it had a significant affect on Falcon sales.
Falcon sales were only affected in the premium two-door models, which traded tens of thousands of Falcon Futuras and Sprints for hundreds of thousands of Mustangs. Other Falcon models sold about as well as before, perhaps because Mustang drew small car shoppers to Ford dealers regardless of how likely they were to actually pay a little more for a slightly less utilitarian car.
Mustangs were about $100 more than comparable Falcon Futura hardtop or convertible with bucket seats. I imagine that Mustangs had much less discount from sticker, too.
From 63 to 65, two-door Futuras went from about 100K sales to about 50K. Bucket seats and convertibles went from a substantial share of Futura volume to a tiny share. Also, many of the remaining Futuras probably were pushed onto Mustang prospects by selling price or utility.
There was a comparison between Futura and Mustang convertibles by a non-mainstream magazine at the time (it might have been reprinted here on CC). As one might surmise, in terms of practicality, the Falcon won, hands down. IIRC, it was mostly due to the larger back seat and trunk, not to mention a higher seating position that provided better outward visibility (especially with a bench seat)..
But in terms of styling, well…you know the rest of the story. And I have to admit that, at the time, a Futura convertible would be a very tough sell over a similarly-priced Mustang. A convertible, simply by its very nature, is an impractical choice for a car.
A lot of nice cars there. Although I gotta say I still dislike tribute cars of any stripe as we have our Starsky & Hutch version that I mentioned in another thread. Also not a fan of taking cars that far away from their roots such as turning a Brougham into a muscle car version. I have always suspected that was done with an eye on selling the car in the future as it would command a higher price in theory.
Consequently, the stock Torinos were nice as were original GTs such as that Seafoam Green 68. Interesting color choice for a GT just as I recall Seafoam Green California Special Mustangs on the showroom floor. Ironically I have two Seafoam Green cars yet neither was a GT not that a Park Lane could be.
I have to give my vote to the gold 62 Fairlane. Definitely the Belle of the ball.
Hmmmmmm…………Paul may disagree?
🙂
I agree! Love it! 🙂
It’s the perfect car for a single woman; just not for a family of six with a seventh in the oven. 🙁
I can’t find fault with your logic here.
It’s no more of a six passenger car than my Mother’s Chrysler Cordoba was (as we found out on a 700 mile road trip).
While Ford might not have dropped the ball in a market segment they created in 1962, they certainly didn’t run with it. Maybe even punted it to the other side as Chrysler and GM seemed to put much more effort into the intermediate class. I mean, wallowing suspensions and the weakest engines did not endear the Fairlane and Torino to anyone wanting performance in the sixties. But they looked and sold well enough, and that’s what counted.
It was only in the brougham-tastic seventies that the soft, floaty handling and ride of the Fords came into their own.
Also, for 1972, Ford had decided to built the Torino on body-on-frame instead of unibody might had helped Ford to redirect the Torino/Montego/Elite/Cougar XR-7 into the brougham field.
Althought, I wonder if some fans could had created some “Phantoms cars” of Ford mid-sizes like a 1972-76 Torino convertible of a 1974-76 Torino Sportroof paint in red Starsky & Hutch? 😉
With that Kim Kardashian-sized ass, I don’t know if a ’72-’76 Torino convertible would have looked that great.
Amusingly, the Torino’s successor, the LTD II did, in fact, offer a follow-up, ersatz Starsky & Hutch-style stripe. I wonder if they thought if the series had kept going, they would be prepared with a new, similar-looking car for the show to use.
A fantasy Ford I’d like to build would be an LTD II with a Cougar doghouse. The LTD II was a good-looking car except for those damn stacked, quad rectangular headlights. The horizontal quad rectangulars just look so much better. But I also dislike the Cougar’s busy quarter window and prefer the LTD II’s roof in that respect.
It existed *in theory*. The base non-XR7 submodel, which was a LTD II clone. Most real life examples have large opera windows(also used on the LTD II) but it was part of the Brougham trim, not standard.
Someone did actually make a convertible out of a ’73 due to the severely rusted roof under the vinyl top.
As far as ’74-76 on a SportsRoof body, I have never seen it. I have seen a Starsky & Hutch stripe on a fastback and it looks terrible IMO. I have heard someone put a 1972 Torino front clip on a Gran Torino Sport SportsRoof, but never saw it. FWIW, the 1972 front frame section is unique and swapping requires modifying the front frame section. The 1972-73 also use a unique rear frame section compared to the 1974-76 cars.
I attached a photo of the Torino Convertible:
One more shot. I leave it up to the jury on the verdict on the end results.
That doesn’t look nearly as bad as I thought it would.
Of course, there aren’t any rear perspective shots, either…
With that Kim Kardashian-sized ass, I don’t know if a ’72-’76 Torino convertible would have looked that great.
Seen a modern convertible lately? They are huge moonroofs without side windows, that Torino is dainty in comparison to this
I never thought I’d see the day . . . TORINO porn! 😀 Nice article and pictures, VinceC. Looks like you spent a lot of focused time on the writing. There’s too many groovy FoMoCo photos to take in all at once. I keep having to scroll back up to absorb all the piccies. I noted a smattering of Falcons at the show; I don’t think I can be objective about Falcons . . . so I won’t pretend to try. Keep the ‘Stangs. I’ll take the ’65 station wagon.
It was fun to look at the picture of the one Elite that was there. And the utilitarian Fairmont is now 40. Where ~did~ the time go? My Dad bought two Zephyrs in a row way back when . . .
VinceC: Did you see any ’64 Falcons @Carlisle with a ‘170’ and a ‘Ford-O-Matic’? I noticed a red ’64 in the background of one of the ’65 convertible snaps and I was curious.
I don’t specifically remember a 64 with the 170. I didn’t shoot every Falcon as it was difficult to get shots without a ton of people for some cars. I did try and shoot most of the six cylinder cars, so there probably wasn’t one.
I agree with you though, I’d take that Falcon wagon over a Mustang too.
Could you get a 144-powered Falcon with a Ford-O-Matic? If so, that has to go down as one of the slowest, modern-era domestic production cars, ever, right down there with a Chevette diesel automatic. It would be really bad if it was in the heaviest Falcon station wagon.
rudiger: Try a 144 six/2 speed Ford-O-Matic tranny in a ’61 Falcon station wagon, additionally handicapped by a dealer add on Air Conditioner, using the huge Borg Warner compressor so popular in the early 1960’s.
This was my college room mates’s car, a low mileage hand-me-down from a doting Aunt.
Loaded down with both of our dorm room supplies & mattress/box springs, merging onto Interstate 10 was an action in futility.
The car was SO slow my roomie refused to drive it; giving me the onerous duty.
If you floored it too violently, it would “kick down” to low gear, make a LOT of noise, but would loose speed.
A gradual dipping into 98% the gas pedal linkage travel, turning off the massive A/C compressor, slapping the top of the metal dashboard, cussing the gutless pig out while simultaneously praying to the “Holy Mother Of Acceleration” was our merging method onto Interstate 10. That dangerously slow vehicle needed every inch of merging ramp space just to ooze up to 55 mph.
“Acceleration” was too strong of a term for this canine; “gathering momentum” was about right.
That powertrain made such an obnoxious “bleating” racket as it tried to accelerate! We cranked up the radio quite loudly to cover up that irritating noise.
I just did the math, that 144 was roughly 2.3 liters. So like the 4 cylinder engine from a Mustang II powering a loaded, air conditioned station wagon through a 2 speed automatic. Just wow.
Drivers wayyyyyy back when knew what a slow turd a Falcon station wagon was and would usually make allowances for it.
In the above merging situation, I’d put on the left turn signal, slowly nudge it out into the traffic flow and pray to the Holy Mother Of Acceleration and Absolution that nobody would run into it.