I decided to get together with my friends Christian and Sean at Bob's Big Boy after cruise night. We are all members of the Yahoo Ford Torino Club.
The red convertible is Sean's GT. It has a 351 Cleveland with a 4V Holley.
The burgundy convertible belongs to my buddy Christian. He inherited it from his uncle. His ride also has a 351 Cleveland!
Did I mention that my blue Torino is a '72, the red Torino is a '71, and the burgundy is a '70? I wish there was somebody parked next to me with a '72 Gran Torino Sport, because everyone, even other Torino owners, get confused when they see my car. That's because it doesn't have the typical 1972 fish mouth grille like almost all the '72 Torino you see nowadays have.
That's because it's a 1972 Torino, not a 1972 Gran Torino. It's basically just a trim level difference - the Gran Torino was more expensive, and was more nicely equipted with stuff like vinyl roofs, power door locks, etc. However, the regular Torino weighs less and is a bit shorter than the Gran Torino, and that's an advantage if you are racing!
It's not everyday you see 3 Ford Torinos! How do you like my car with the stock hood without the Cobra Jet hood scoop?
Here you can see three different types of wheel. I have American Racing dish mags on mine, Christian has Magnum 500's.
I recently decided to upgrade my sound system. Unfortunately, no manufacturer makes a quality 2 shaft style head unit anymore. All the good units are DIN or double DIN. I didn't really want to cut my dash, but I couldn't stand listening to crappy audio anymore. Anyway, my new Aiwa unit looks pretty good, sounds much better, and has an audio input on the front that allows me to listen to my MP3 player while I'm cruising! Much better than the Philco AM radio and single speaker on top of the dash the car came with in 1972!
Here is my original 1972 Ford Torino owners manual. It's in pretty good shape for a 30+ year old document. It seems almost ridiculously short and simple by today's standards - the manual for my cell phone is much longer and harder to understand than this!
Here is the 1972 Ford Car Buying Made Easier Guide. It's actually pretty cool. It lists all the cars and options you could order from a Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury dealer back in 1972. For instance, there were only 2 options you could order for a Pantera that year, and one of them was real magnesium wheels! It's also pretty funny to read about the new smog and safety equipment they came out with that year. Air bags, GPS, shock absorbing bumpers, and catalytic converters were NOT listed. Ram air hood scoops, Hurst 4-speed, 351 Cobra Jets, and 4.11 Traction-Lok Differentials ARE listed.
