Muscle Hauler: 1970 Ford Torino Wagon
It’s not every day that you see a station wagon that looks like it could really move. But when they’re orange and are dressed up as a Torino GT, they’ll definitely catch your eye. This one submitted by reader Pat L. and found here on Craigslist in Indiana might be the car to have some fun in while hauling the whole family.
The pictures and details leave a little to be desired, but there seems to be enough there to at least generate some interest. The seller states that the wagon is a Texas car with no rust and has only logged 33,000 miles. If true, that is exceptionally low miles for a type of car that would have frequented the roads a lot more often.
From the few pictures in the listing, the interior looks to be in okay shape. There are clearly a few modern upgrades in there, but would that be desirable if truly a 33,000-mile car? Those seats do look pretty inviting and the Torino might just pack enough punch to set you back in them. The seller states that a warmed up 351 “runs and drives like new”. With a four-barrel carb, a set of headers, and a mild cam, that should help provide a little performance.
I’m not really familiar with Torino wagons but this one pulled my attention to learn more about them. While the seller claims that this a “rare 1970 Torino GT Wagon”, I’m not finding that any GT’s in this model. Did they exist or is this just a dressed up version? That Torino front end and wheel/tire combo do give it a nice muscle car look. Is the $8,500 asking price fair enough to entice a potential buyer?
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Comments
Looks like a dressup job, but a credible one. I don’t buy the 30K claim, but 130K of relatively easy mileage is possible. Makes for a unique mix of uscle and utility, no doubt.
No door handles on rear doors, and bucket seats? I would like to see engine and underside. It is a looker.
It’s home built, there was never a Torino GT wagon. I don’t buy the claim that it has 33,000 original miles. The console and seats are from something else, GT hoods aren’t hard to find.
I’d be surprised if the car stood up to a thorough inspection, it has many of the earmarks of a quickie spray and flip.
Steve R
I will never understand why people remove the rear door handles on a four door… I know a guy with a 55 bel air 2 dr. he did the same thing. YOu can tell a mile away that it was a four door, and still is, except now you made it impossible to enter the rear doors from the outside… Now, if you wanted to go the full mile and graft a pair of 2 dr doors onto this car, and use the rear door skins to extand the 1/4s in order to create a 2 door wagon, my hat would be off to you. I have a 79 Malibu 2 door and an 81 malibu wagon. I would love to do this with it, but I am realistic enough to know that I would end up with two butchered up cars!
Steve, I understand removing the door handles from the inside, but that is another story.
Thanks for the post; brought back memories. I learned to drive in the Fairlane 500 trim version of this wagon in the exact same color (Grabber Orange). My dad had been driving Volkswagens for years and was tired of getting passed all the time, so he special ordered it from Ford with with a Cleveland 351. I thought all cars had that kind of power until I raced a friend in his dad’s LTD with a 390; I thought his e-brake was on! Needless to say, Dad didn’t get passed too often.
I know that the Cleveland is a good engine, but something must have been terribly wrong with that 390 you are talking about, because I have a 67 335 hp 390 in a Mercury Caliente, and even with the posi, I can burn off all the tires I want. The right rear end ratio can make a tremendous difference in the performance.
Bob
The badge on the rear quarter reads “Torino Squire,” meaning that this one left the factory with woodgrain trim. Personally, I’d prefer it that way over this fake “GT.”
Kevin
Kevin Marti — need I say more??
This wagon could really be cool. Personally I would install Magnum 500’s,the Cobra Jet style air cleaner/ shaker. Then I would do the hide-away front headlamp grille. And remove the blue window tint. That would just be the start.
Orange with a green interior? Blechhhh! I had a similar ’70 Torino wagon with a green interior and a light green exterior, a pretty sharp wagon. I couldn’t live with the color combo on this one and as I’m not a fan of orange, I’d change the exterior color. The price seems fair for what it is but I’d want to be sure that the body is sound and all that orange isn’t hiding poor bodywork and gobs of Bondo.
It looks like a tan interior to me…???
I wonder how this car started life and what color it really was.
Like CCFisher pointed out, the Squire badges show that this car has had the wood grain vinyl and associated trim yanked off along with the rear door handles. If you’re going to try and pass it off as a unicorn, at least try a little harder to cover your tracks.
I just can’t get over the number of cars from the 60s and 70s with extreme low miles…. I am a doubter.
I actually forgot about these, I really would rather see a stock interior tho! Different strokes for different folks!
Anyone notice the nav system forward of the shifter ?
I once saw a Road Runner “wagon.” A beautiful and very convincing build. 383, 4 speed, etc. You would have sworn that it came from the factory the way it was equipped.
That and a GTX wagon well done would be neat to see.
this is a do over and a poor one at that… the fitment of the rear door, fender to door space and fuzzy looking dimpled tailgate shows that this is a roughie, in my estimation it is 3500 buck piece at best!