STOCK

IMPULSE BUY

ONCE A USED CAR, THIS 1968 FORD TORINO GT FASTBACK QUICKLY BECAME A CHERISHED FAMILY MEMBER

ON GAINEY

admits he really didn’t need a new car in June of 1969, as he found himself travelling through Tucson, Arizona. The native South Carolinian, then serving in the United States Air Force, had earlier been stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson. Rather than rely on fellow service personnel or mass transit

Dfor his off-duty transportation, Don had the forethought to arrive with his own set of wheels. “At the time, I had a perfectly good 1959 Ford Fairlane that didn’t really need anything. It was reliable transportation that still looked as good as it ran,” Don says. “One day, I was driving past the Ford dealership, and I spotted this gold Torino sitting out front. It had a black “C” stripe on the side and a sleek, fastback roo ine that just called to me. I liked it as soon as I saw it, and I decided on the spot that I wanted to buy it. It was that simple.”

Upon entering the dealership, Don asked a salesman about the racy object of his affection and learned that it was a 1968 model that had been traded in with 24,000 miles on the odometer, all amassed by the year-old car’s original owner. There was more.

“The salesman pointed out that the Ford was a little hotter than a standard GT. It had a 325-hp 390 under the domed hood, and completing the drivetrain was a four-speed manual; both were optional that year. It also had optional bucket seats and power front disc brakes, but no power steering or air conditioning. Almost as an afterthought, he told me the car had been purchased new from Brush Motors, Inc., way out on the other side of the country—in Middlebury, Vermont. I never did gure out how the car got from there to here, and as I look back it probably didn’t matter anyway because I did exactly what I said I was going to do: I bought it on the spot.”

Don’s impulse purchase of the sleek Torino probably wasn’t the only occasion Ford dealers witnessed such a rapid buy during the 1968 model year. To understand, turn the clock back to 1962, the new intermediate Fairlane’s freshman year on the market.

Despite some 300,000 units sold initially, Ford’s intermediate sales slipped over the next few years, hindered by what some would consider staid styling and GM’s four-division assault (with new, aggressively styled A-body models) on the same market segment for 1964. Fairlane’s sales relief would arrive with a much-needed redesign unveiled for ’66, but the uptick at the dealership level was brief, even with the newly minted, sporty 500/XL, GT, and GTA joining the team. To make matters more worrisome, industry news suggested Ford’s rivals had new designs approved; Plymouth, in particular—already a powerhouse on the stock car circuit—was close

Perhaps as a selling tool, this Torino GT was equipped with the optional 325-hp 390-cu.in. engine when it was originally ordered for a Vermont dealership’s inventory.

to unwrapping a hot new street steed based on its existing intermediate.

Speaking of racing, Ford’s circletrack prowess seemed to follow the trajectory of its showroom performance. Except for the famed Hemi ban during 1965 [editor’s note: NASCAR reinstated the use of the Hemi engine mid-season, but only in full-size Mopars], Chrysler’s Dodge and Plymouth divisions had been on a tear since ’63. Although a power struggle between brands and the racing series over the use of particular big-block engines lingered for years thereafter, Dearborn’s engineers began to understand that while brute power was good to a point, aerodynamics were an equal, if not more important, factor in claiming wins in the seasons ahead. The desire to improve aerodynamics for racing coincided with the need to update the intermediate’s styling, and the result was a dramatically redesigned intermediate lineup that included a brand-new fastback body style.

Note that the Fairlane series was not completely redesigned. Rather than start from scratch, Ford began with a foundation that already existed: the 1967 Fairlane’s 116-inch-wheelbase chassis. From there, the familiar independent front and rear leaf-sprung suspension systems were tweaked to provide a fractionally wider track width.

With the chassis dimensions adjusted, stylists carved a slippery new body that was 4 inches longer and marginally broader, which helped create more headroom, legroom, and a larger cargo area, all at the expense of a modest 200-pound weight gain. The metal canvas, however, was a far more contemporary design that maintained the then-in-vogue long hood/short deck profile, featuring horizontal quad headlamps set into a more aggressive recessed grille. A two-door “fastback” hardtop body style was finally added to the series, but it was only offered in top-of-the-series Torino GT trim, an exotic, sporty new name that replaced the less-competitive sounding

Ididn’t set out to find a muscle car; I guess you could say it found me. But rather than abuse it, I needed it to be as reliable as my ’59 Fairlane had been. Over time, it became a very big part of our family, so when I parked it in 1991, I knew almost right away that I was going to restore it. I’ve done that, and with the exception of the wheels and the air conditioning, it’s essentially as stock as the day I bought it. Even better, we’re still building memories with it. I particularly like attending shows, because you meet a lot of nice people, have fun, and learn a few things along the way. —Don Gainey

Fairlane GT/GTA (similarly, the Fairlane 500XL was renamed Torino; the remaining Fairlane nomenclature was unchanged).

The Torino GT would be Ford’s primary intermediate weapon of choice in the street-legal supercar war, and it was also offered in convertible and “formal roof” two-door hardtop guise. All were built with a power bulge hood and side stripes as standard features, the latter differed between the fastbacks (full-body “C” style) and convertibles and formal hardtops (a single thick stripe along the rocker panel/lower quarter panel). Suspensions received stiffer springs and shocks, a thicker front anti-roll bar, and a variety of gear ratios installed in Ford’s 8- or 9-inch differential with or without TractionLok. Meaty E70-14 tires mounted to 14-inch styled steel wheels were also part of the package.

It was all well and good, but what helped set the new performance car apart from its equally new brethren was what lay beneath the hood. Torino GTs were supposed to welcome a 210-hp 302, but a six-week strike at Ford forced a temporary change to a 195-hp 289. That wasn’t going to cut it for many hot shoes, so the option chart included 265- and 325-hp versions of the 390, and on April 1, the 335-hp 428 became available (without Ram Air; that would have to wait a year).

How did all this translate out in public?

On the NASCAR circuit, the new Torino GT body won an impressive 19 times (in addition, a 1967 Ford driven by Bobby Allison won the season opener), while the similarly restyled Mercury Cyclone GT won another seven races, edging out Plymouth’s 16 wins, Dodge’s five victories, and Chevy’s lone win, while also capturing the coveted manufacture’s title. The virtual-twin GTs famously sparked NASCAR’s “Aero War.” At the dealership, Ford sold more than 371,000 intermediates (obliterating the prior year’s output by more than 100,000 units), of which 103,384 wore Torino GT emblems, 74,135 of them the slippery Fastback, such as Don’s.

One can only speculate what the prior owner did behind the wheel of the 390-powered Torino GT—paperwork acquired years later confirmed the Ford was a dealer stock order, rather than a customer order—but it’s likely it had been treated with kindness.

“There was nothing odd or wrong with it,” Don says. “The Torino GT became my daily driver, and I took it across the country and back, twice. The first time, while I was still in the service, I received orders for a fourmonth temporary deployment near Orlando, Florida, and rather then fly, I drove. Later, when I was leaving the service, I went back home to South Carolina to pick up some of my belongings, because I had decided to stay in Tucson. My mom, Mamie, had never been to Arizona, so she rode back with me. Except that my budget wouldn’t allow me to stay in a hotel every night, so Mom slept on the back seat while I kept driving,” Don remembers.

In the ensuing years, the sporty fastback continued to serve as a daily driver to both Don and his wife Anna, after they married in 1973. Then, in the summer of 1991, Don parked the car in his garage. To this day, he’s not sure why that decision was made. It stayed under cover, even through a move north to Glendale. In the interim, Don had located a same-year Fairlane 500

Bucket seats were also optional in the Torino GT. These were recovered with reproduction vinyl during restoration.

that he felt would be a perfect parts car for when the GT’s restoration kicked off after his retirement. He also found and purchased a perfect set of Cragar 14 x 7-inch Street Pro wheels that were placed in storage.

“In July 2013, I nally pulled the car from storage and began its restoration,” Don says. “Most people looking at a picture of it then would probably think all it needed was a little polish, but the paint had faded badly, and the seat upholstery was showing its age. I completely stripped the car and then sent things out to places I felt would do superior work.”

“I delivered the 390 to Jim Muller at Iron Horse Services in Glendale for a rebuild. Except for a .030-inch overbore and the dished, oversized pistons— which lowered the compression to 9.5:1, allowing me to use 91 octane gas—the engine was rebuilt using OEM parts,” Don explains.

“At the same time, I sent the body to Bob Alexander at R&B Collision, also in Glendale, to have everything stripped to bare metal and repainted. As I suspected, everything on the car was straight and no metalwork was needed. As that was happening, I removed the original air conditioning system and dash from my parts car, so that when everything was going back together, my Torino would have factory air, something it never had previously. R&B also managed the reassembly, which included a new headliner, seat upholstery, and oor carpet; we reused the original door panels, which only needed detailing,” Don reports.

Don, Anna, and his stepdaughter Lisa welcomed the Torino GT back “home” in November 2018, where it now enjoys the less stressful life of a pleasure cruiser and show goer, accumulating new memories with grandkids. “They couldn’t wait to go for a ride in it,” said Don, adding that, “They were initially confused by the lack of a shoulder strap linked to the seat belt, and by the hand-crank windows. Lisa keeps teasing that my grandson will end up with the GT one day; he enjoys going to the shows.”

1968 FORD TORINO GT

PRICE

Base price ..................................................................................................................... $2,747 Options on car profi led...............................390-cu.in. (325-hp) V-8; four-speed manual transmission; 3.00:1 limited-slip di erential; bucket seats; Visibility Group; power front disc brakes; AM radio; rear seat speakers; deluxe seat belts; F70-14 Firestone Wide Oval white-sidewall tires

ENGINE

Block type .......................... Ford FE-series OHV V-8; cast-iron block and cylinder heads

Displacement ..................................................................390-cu.in. (Currently 395-cu.in.)

Bore x stroke ................................................ 4.052 x 3.784 in (Currently 4.080 x 3.78 in)

Compression ratio ............................................................................. 10.5:1 (Currently 9.5:1)

Horsepower @ rpm ............................................................................................325 @ 4,800

Torque @ rpm ............................................................................................ 427 lb-ft @ 2,800

Valvetrain ..................................................................................................... Hydraulic lifters

Main bearings ................................................................................................................... Five

Fuel system ... Single Holley 4150C four-barrel carburetor, 600 cfm; mechanical pump

Lubrication system ..................................................................... Pressure, gear-type pump

Electrical system ..............................................................................................................12-V

Exhaust system..................................................................................Dual 2.50-in exhausts

TRANSMISSION

Type ................................................................................Ford Toploader four-speed manual

Ratios .......................... 1st/2.32:1 … 2nd/1.69:1 … 3rd/1.29:1 … 4th/1.00:1 … Reverse/2.32:1

DIFFERENTIAL

Type .......................................................................... Ford 9-inch; Traction-Lok limited-slip

Ratio ................................................................................................................................3.00:1

STEERING

Type ........................................................................................Recirculating ball, unassisted

Turning circle .................................................................................................................41.5 ft

BRAKES

Type .............................................................................................. Hydraulic, power assisted Front: 11.3-in ventilated rotor Rear: 10 x 2.25-in cast-iron drum

SUSPENSION

Front ..............................Independent; upper wishbones, lower control arms with struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar, telescopic shock absorbers

Rear ............................ Rigid axle; semi-elliptic leaf springs, telescopic shock absorbers

WHEELS & TIRES

Wheels ...............................................Pressed styled-steel (Currently Cragar Street Pro) Front/Rear: 14 x 6 in (Currently 14 x 7) Tires ...............................Goodyear Polyglas bias-ply (Currently BFGoodrich Radial T/A) Front/Rear: F70-14 (Currently P205/70R14)

PRODUCTION

According to Ford records, total 1968 intermediate (Fairlane/Torino) output was 371,787 units. Of those, 103,384 were Torino GTs, broken down as follows: 74,135 fastbacks, 23,939 “formal roof” hardtops, and 5,310 convertibles. Further records indicate that 5,838 fastbacks were built with a 390/four-speed manual power team.

PERFORMANCE*

0-60 mph...................................................................................................................... 7.2 sec 1/4-mile ET ...................................................................................................15.1 sec @ 91 mph * December 1967 Motor Trend road test of a 1968 Ford Torino GT optioned with a 325-hp, four-barrel 390-cu.in. V-8, four-speed manual, F70-14 tires, manual steering system, and manual drum brakes.