New Wagon Owner Here!

Thanks Guys! The Unloved name came from having the only Torino that I have found in this area. No one here likes them (or so I thought), so the name just stuck. Big Chevy country here.

As you can see, I have a lot of projects going on. Restoring a '68 F100 Ranger shortbed, '68 Cougar XR7 GT S code, '73 Gran Torino Sport, '76 Torino (high school car owned since 1980), 2 - 1968 Camaros (would LOVE to see these 2 GONE!), my Little Mule ('89 Bronco II), and YJ Wrangler and XJ Cherokee projects.

This, plus our daily drivers and remodeling our home keeps me busy in my spare time. The wagon will probably be painted Black with either the woodgrain, or a replica of the factory Sport lazer stripes. I am installing the Sport hood with the scoop this weekend as well.

Lots of fun! Here are a couple of pictures of the day I got it with the original wheelcovers and a shot of when I tried the Mustang Bullits on it. These wagons like the 17 inch rims - makes them more stable.

 

Thanks for the memories. We had a new 1972 Red Gran Torino wagon with black interior to pull our RV back then. Loved the photos.

 

Wagon looks great! Personally I would leave it brown.

 

Looks good!

 

Whoa! That is a BEAUTY! I would NOT touch a THING on that car cosmetically!

 

Holy mackerel, what a beautiful Torino. I grew up in a Ford Torino Squire - she certainly will be loved here!

 

Being a big Ford fan I of course love it! Welcome to the forum.

 

Thats a nice clean and sweet wagon you got there!!!

 

Wow, thanks for all the kind words!

I am ordering a carpet set for the interior, and installing a Sport instrument cluster with the tach in the dash. Everything else inside is in great condition.


The car came with the woodgrain originally, but the previous (original) owner had it replaced by Ford 2 times and finally gave up after fighting it for 40 years. It has a paint job from MAACO and, sadly, they drilled out every mounting stud and filled them with bondo by his request. I will have to either go with the Sport lazer stripe or weld each and every stud back on in order to attach the factory mouldings (which he discarded). Thus, a paint job is going to be in the near future and the Sport hood will need to be painted as well.


Thankfully, other than bringing all normal maintainance up to date and freshening certain key parts, the drivetrain is like new (about 8 - 10K miles on it after rebuild). This was not purchased with the intention of making a trailer queen, but rather it will be a source of enjoyment for us for years to come.


I have attached a few pictures of my Mom's wagon that we grew up with - thus the inspiration to hunt this particular version down.

 

Hey, Joe.

 

Hey GTW! Great seeing you here. This seems to be a great site to get info on our wagons. Lots of friendly folks, too.

 

Small update:

Wagon had a rough summer. Accelerator pedal stuck to the floor, carb caught fire, starter hung in start position during a lightening storm (that was REALLY crappy), rear pinion seal started leaking, possibly axle bearing failure (common to the '72 rear ends). I removed the front clip, cleaned, painted, detailed everything, replaced all hoses, belts, waterpump, front suspension, installed a Saginaw box out of a Grand Cherokee, new steering hoses, installed the complete front clip off a Ranchero GT with the Sport hood. Didn't get it finished before the show and have really not done a whole lot since (mad at it, bought a 4 speed CJ Torino to have fun with, etc...), but I plan on getting it back on the road over winter.

 

What a beauty. I wouldn't change a thing.

mike

 

Welcome! Great wagon. Always did love the 72. My favorite year of them. Good choice on the gauge cluster. Much better than the idiot lights it has. What car donated them? I know they were available right through 79 in certain ones, like the Thunderbird. If you are going to drive her much, add the mechanical AOD out of a late 80s F-150. The jump in gas mileage will knock your socks off!

Have fun with the old girl. Remember, if you get too frustrated with her, someone here would love to give her a good home.