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John L.'s Ford 1974 Ford Gran Torino® |
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| John L. says, "I have always been a huge fan of 'Starsky & Hutch,' and as long as I can remember I've always dreamt of having Starsky's car. I bought this 1974 Gran Torino from the original owners and had it shipped from Ohio to sunny Florida. When it arrived, I found the original Ford bill of sale with the owner's information, original Gran Torino owner's manual, and Ford brochures (all from 1974) in the trunk." | |||
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| "The interior is tan with a bench seat that was in great condition so I left it as is for now" John says. Personally, I (John Q.) think that was a great idea. Could he replace the entire interior? Sure. Could he dye this interior black? Sure (but that stuff can rub off). But having a pristine original interior, no matter what the color, probably adds value to the car, could certainly help win trophies in car shows, and in this case doesn't clash with the "Starsky" exterior at all! | |||
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| "The car has a 302 engine," John continues,
"which I was going to take out - but it was in pristine shape, so with the help of my dad I had the heads
cleaned, changed the intake, and added a 4 barrel carb then dressed up the engine and converted it from a single
exhaust to a dual exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers." Another great decision - having the original engine certainly
adds to the car's value. As you can see in the picture (below) the car was originally brown and had side moldings with a vinyl top, which were removed. The car also only had the driver's side mirror. John won the racing side mirrors online (perhaps on eBay) for both sides of the car for only $50, then made the mounting holes on the passenger side and mounted the mirrors himself. John has recently had the bumpers rechromed and replaced the original AM radio with a AM/FM unit from another 1975 Torino. |
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| John says, "I just want to thank my family for
being so supportive. At no time did anyone think it was crazy that I wanted a "Starsky" Torino. On the
contrary, they love the car as much as I do - it's like part of the family." Aw, isn't that sweet! This is a great example of how fun and rewarding it can be to find a really, really nice original Gran Torino and give the "Starsky" treatment while maintaining a lot of the car's original condition and value, and how satisfying it can be to do it "yourself" with help from your family and friends. Great Job, John! |
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