Ryan's 1968 Torino

[Skellington]

I purchases a 1968 ford torino a few weeks ago. I paid $1000 for it, worked on it for a few hours here and there, then drove it home. I have been looking for a good deal on an old muscle styled car, and I found it. This car is all stock with a 289, c4, AC, pwr. brakes. Seats may be lost to uphoulstry shop. It has a mis-matched driver door off a montego.







I am the 2nd owner. no major rust. the original air cleaner is in the trunk. and the original trunk liner is there and looks good. Some under car pics:

[NOT A TA]

Welcome! Good luck with your project.

[Skellington]

My make shift seat- DONT LAUGH!


Window rollers came in today. They were too small. My manual came in too. Since it wasn't over 100 degrees today, I decided to do some work. I tore out all the front carpet and insulation. While doing that I found some car heirlooms under there. I was also able to get some wheel and tires on it. They were cheaper than a set of tires for the 14" steel, so, why not? It doesn't roast the tire with ease anymore.

[lucky13firebird]

I like it.

[MichaelUser]

Very cool. My brother bought ordered a brand new '68 Grand Torino GT 390 4spd in '68. He said he had to wait 3 months for delivery. He raced that thing around Orange County, Ca for years. The stories he could tell.

That engine bay is ready for a Coyote motor. There is room.

Good luck and welcome.

[WallaceMFG]

Welcome! You better be prepared to spend LOTS of time searching for parts, there's not many made for 68-69 Torino coupes haha. Your dash pad is in good shape and that alone is worth what you paid for the car. Have fun with it, I'm glad to see somebody else give a Torino some love!

[KnightMare]

Not a bad pick up! Looks like a great starting point

[Skellington]

I like it.

Me too.

Very cool. My brother bought ordered a brand new '68 Grand Torino GT 390 4spd in '68. He said he had to wait 3 months for delivery. He raced that thing around Orange County, Ca for years. The stories he could tell.

That engine bay is ready for a Coyote motor. There is room.

Good luck and welcome.

The original 289 smokes a little and STINKS bad while running. I am not sure what I will do engine wise. I would like to keep the weight down on the front side. Thanks for the welcome.

Welcome! You better be prepared to spend LOTS of time searching for parts, there's not many made for 68-69 Torino coupes haha. Your dash pad is in good shape and that alone is worth what you paid for the car. Have fun with it, I'm glad to see somebody else give a Torino some love!

I don't mind doing research for my car. I knew it was a deal I couldnt pass. The black and yellow plates are also worth $200. As for the needed parts: I will probably take the trim off. It is a REALLY rare trim package that baffles many torino guys. I doubt I will be able to find the rest.

My plans for this car are to make it reliable as is. To do this I need to replace the windsheild, find the leak under the dash (heater core?), fix the rear end electrical, and make sure I have a better seat to sit in. Once this is done I can drive the car for a bit and see what direction I will go. So far I know I want:
1, Bucket seats -custom upholstered
2, T-5 or T56 manual conversion
3, custom center console
4, Better suspension (I may mod the original and make it perform)
5, Air conditioning
6, Exhaust - it's hard to tell when its running right now.
7, Body and paint

[WallaceMFG]

Sounds like a good plan! My car has what's known as the "formal trim" package which translates to "can't buy any replacement pieces" haha. I've had to send some of my trim pieces away to get them fixed because there aren't repops of them. But for sure put a manual in the car, it's so much fun to drive an old hot rod like this with a manual! Let me know if I can send any of the Torino wisdom I've learned your way!

[MichaelUser]

Yeah the weight can be a concern, but surprisingly the Coyote motor is lighter than a 351w or 302 and priced pretty competitivley. I see them now on CL going for as much as new. Truck motors are the same accept the computer and intake which reduces power output slightly. Rumors around the net is the weight of a Coyote motor around 430lbs. I think a LS is 418lbs. That being said you can't go wrong with a stroke 351w or 302. Good luck. I like the Coyote because you can keep the power brakes and have some vacuum.

[WallaceMFG]

I don't think the Coyote is going to fit in the engine bay without modifying the shock towers. Looking at some dimensions, the Coyote is 29" wide. I have a 351 Cleveland in my 69 Torino, and it measures 25.5" wide, and I only have about an inch of clearance on each side of the motor. FE motors are 27", and I know for FE motors they had to use solid motor motor mounts so the engine wouldn't hit the shock towers. You might be able to trim them like the Boss 429 Mustangs to make it fit, but its gonna be tight without cutting out those shock towers.

Here's where I got the dimensions:

http://www.hotrod.com/feature_storie.../photo_02.html

[chunger]

GREAT to see another Fairlane/Torino here!

There's no way a Coyote will fit without either serious surgery or removal of the shock towers.

Or, you could follow the example that Craig did on his Twin Torino and graft a Fox Mustang front suspension on. It was ALOT of work, but you do end up with much more room.

Does the Montego door line up? It appears to fit ok in the pics. There are plenty of parts available, both from Ecklers and a handful of other independent vendors out there, and when all else fails, there's always eBay and your own ingenuity. I see you have several other Fords, so you're just to this.

Anyway, NICE project, these cars have lots of potential, it just takes some skill to bring it out.

Welcome!