Paul P.'s 1976 Ford ELITE
Ford released the "Gran Torino Elite" model
in 1974. After 1974
they dropped the "Gran Torino" portion of the name and simply
called it the "Elite." As you can see, it has a body shape similar to
the Torino but without the distinctive hump along the rear quarter,
and with a much different front end. In 1974, at least,
the interior of the Elite was very similar to the Torino's.
Paul calls his Elite, "the police car
package Ford should have built."
It has a warmed over 1970 460 block with '73 heads, headers,
"real duels," a ram air intake setup, with the base from a carbed
1985 Mustang 5.0 H. O. and a 3.55:1 9" Traction-Lok rear end.
It has "power everything," added by Paul, a CD changer controller,
and tilt steering from a Mustang II. It has "Police Interceptor"
emblems on the trunk and the dash, and a red revolving light.
For maximum handling, the car has a large 1 1/8" sway bar in front,
and a 7/8" in the rear. With polyurethane bushings all around,
the car corners very well. Paul plans to add rear disc brakes from a
Lincoln, FloMaster mufflers, heads with large Cobra Jet valves,
and EFI from an 1988 or newer Ford truck!
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