Today's Ford is green on the outside and gold within. The classic mid-sized wagon looks to be in great shape, but will its demand for your green and gold leave you feeling blue?
Yesterday's came away with a solid 77% Nice Price win. That affirmation of value was so strong in fact that the seller actually raised the car's price by $700! Hopefully today's candidate won't be the object of such rampant price fluctuations.
At what point does price supersede common sense? Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe factory turbo…
Speaking of today's candidate, please welcome this , resplendent in metallic green and rocking a set of awesome period-correct Magnums. It may not have woodgrain on the sides, but man, Ford's late sixties coke bottle cars were sure enough pretty. The nose on these particular models also show a lot of influence.
In case you're not familiar, the Torino was Ford's mid-sizer in the late sixties through the early seventies. The Torino name was introduced in 1968 as an upscale model of the intermediate Fairlane line. Intended as an 'everyman's car' the Fairlane/Torino offered a plethora of body styles and drivetrain choices, from straight-laced six cylinder sedans to fire-breathing 428-4V Cobra-Jet equipped fastback coupes.
By the time of this '71's model year, the number of models and nameplates had diminished, the Fairlane and Falcon (remember ?) names being dropped that year. Top engine for '71 was a 351-4V Cobra Jet, and that's precisely what this car doesn't have. Nope, not even close.
Instead, this wagon is powered by Ford's nearly indestructible 250-CID inline six which was rated that year at 145 hp. Now, keep in mind that up until 1971 car makers would use gross numbers for their hp ratings. The following year everyone agreed to use SAE net numbers and the 1-BBL six that year came in at 98-ponies. That makes this an economy model from the era, and you should still be able to eke out mileage in the teens without too much trouble.
Transmission duties are handled by a venerable C4 3-speed, a slusher that's about as solid a match to the six as you could want. There's not much else to this 40,000-miler to go wrong. There's no A/C, and the vinyl-clad flooring inside means you can go all Dexter on it if you wanted to.
The seller says that most everything that is there does work, with only the notable exception of the rear-glass key switch. That's pretty typical of these old wagons, at least in my experience. Other than that it looks to be straight and according to the ad theres on rust on the beast. That all-vinyl interior too looks to be in decent shape, although the seller says there's a tear in the headliner, and there's something going on with the instrument cowl in the one pic.
On the outside the wagon is said to have a few small dents and paint touchups, but from 40 feet (or in the pics) it seems to clean up nice. The ad notes that the seller also has the set of factory wheels and will sell the car without the Magnums. Whether that means they don't come with the car, or if he'd lower the price without them, I don't know. Actually it does say, I just missed that bit when I read the ad. Overall it's a very basic edition of what was once a pretty ubiquitous car, but one that today you just don't see all that often.
Low miles and that rarity have perhaps combined in the seller's eye to allow him to arrive at the car's $5,900 price tag. That's a lot of scratch for so simple a car, but then again, it's probably not too much for so cool a longroof.
What's your take on this family-friendly Ford from the Wonder Years? Is $5,900 a fair price for such a survivor? Or, is this one Torino that's got a terrible price?
You decide!
Detroit , or go if the ad disappears.
H/T to Mark McIntosh for the hookup!
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