MY MACHINES
1970 Torino GT 429 CJ
Here it is, the car that started it all: a 1970 Ford Torino GT. A GT it is, but it may as well be a Torino Cobra. It packs the 429 Cobra-Jet powerplant, the 4-speed Toploader transmission, and the nodular 9-inch differential with a Detroit Locker. This thing hauls ass--but only in straight lines. God help you if you try to turn it at anything above 20 m.p.h.
It's a 1970 Torino GT, green and beat all to hell. It looks like shit, but the exterior belies its true state--I've ever been one to concentrate on function before form, and as a result it's quite mechanically sound despite its disreputable appearance. The powertrain is based around a 429 Cobra Jet (stroked to 460 and fitted with 1970 police-interceptor heads, Edelbrock Torker intake, 750 Holley, Mallory Unilite ignition, Crower .515/.515 cam, Hooker Super Competition headers, 3" exhaust with 2-chamber Flowmaster mufflers (it's damned loud)) backed up by a Hurst-shifted Toploader 4-speed and a nodular 9" rear axle with a Detroit Locker differential mounting 3.25 gears (The gears are the one problem with the car. I've kept them because I like the top-end capability and economy that they provide, but they dampen the acceleration substantially. I'm hoping to remedy this with transmission gearing when I have the Toploader rebuilt.) The suspension is the original Export Suspension, which is remarkably capable for its time, albeit stiff and brutal as hell.
And that's it. No air conditioning. No stereo. No power steering. Not a damned thing else.
The old Torino is a hell of a trip to drive. Even at part throttle, the sledgehammer torque jolts the entire car hard to the right whenever I shift (which makes it virtually impossible to drive in wet weather), and when racing, I start in second gear because technique notwithstanding, first yields screaming, burning tires and no traction whatsoever.
I've been driving it quite a bit lately, in fact, for the first time in about five years. It was my old drag car in high school--most of the drivetrain work was done in 1987--but I've managed to keep it throughout the intervening years. Its condition gradually deteriorated throughout that time, but by God I would have been damned before letting it go. Now, at last, I have a bit of money to spare for it.
Please note that the photograph below does not depict my car. It's a photograph that I scammed from somewhere or other off the 'net, and it shows more or less how my car should look. My reality, at least at present, is far less attractive.
Of course, astute students of Ford high performance will recognize that this photograph shows a '70 Cobra. My car, being a GT, differs mainly in that it lacks the shaker hood and scoop, and has a different grille, a full-width tail-light bar, and sundry interesting trim items.
I do have all the parts to make my machine a Cobra, though. Back in '87, you see, I bought the shaker hood, shaker scoop, and the rear window slats from an old boy in Elm Mott, Texas--all for $150.00.
It's amazing, really, what kind of deals are lying around in small towns and back yards and back roads, just waiting for collectors to stumble across them.
I'm not satisfied yet, though--for I have still grander plans. My GT came relatively bland from the factory, so restoration doesn't appeal much to me. I've decided to modify my GT, but I'd like to use parts that Ford Motor Company was producing at the time. Basically, I'm trying to make my Torino GT into the ultimate Ford mid-size machine that a dedicated and well-funded owner with a cooperative dealership could have assembled back in 1970. Currently, I'm searching the world over for the following parts:
- An original Ford hood tachometer, or a quality reproduction.
- A 1970-71 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler dash gauge pod, or--again--a quality reproduction.
- 1970-71 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler front and rear spoilers.
- 1970 Torino hideaway headlights
- Twist-type hood locks.
- Deluxe three-spoke steering wheel.
Of these, the spoilers and hood locks are relatively readily available. The hood tachometer, the gauge pod, the hideaway headlights, and the steering wheel--these are proving difficult indeed to locate. If anyone out there knows of sources for any of these parts--and for Torino Cobra and GT and Cyclone Spoiler parts in general--I would be deeply indebted were they to advise me.
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Copyright © 2002, Troy Hunt. All rights reserved.