Starsky Style: 1974 Ford Gran Torino
Who doesn’t remember the wild-looking Ford Gran Torino driven by Starsky & Hutch in the 1970s TV show of the same name? Actor Paul Glaser played Starsky, and he was usually the one behind the wheel of the car that he nicknamed the “Striped Tomato” because of its looks (he wasn’t a fan of the Ford, BTW). Clones and tribute versions of the automobile pop up from time to time and Ford built 1,300 of them in 1976 when the series got popular. This Torino, which we believe is a copy as the cars used in the show were from 1975 and 1976, is in Eagleville, Missouri, and available here on craigslist for $28,000. Hats off to Gunter Kramer for the bright red tip!
During the time the TV show was on the air (1975-79), four Gran Torinos were used as primary cars, two each from ‘75 and ‘76. As the cars changed minimally from year to year, it didn’t matter much to the audience. The older Fords used 400 cubic-inch V8s while the newer ones had 460 V8s. That would have made them powerful enough for any workout that Starsky may have given them. We covered one of these tributes here on Barn Finds a few months ago and while the geography isn’t far apart, we doubt it’s the same car because of a 45,000-mile difference on the odometer.
What’s cool about this car, besides the detail to emulate the TV hot rod, is the collection of props that come with it. A CB radio, car phone, police light, police megaphone, and some other odds and ends. The seller’s car is powered by a 351 cubic inch “Cleveland” motor with an automatic transmission. While it won’t be able to keep up in the same kind of hot pursuits the TV duo was in, the car should get to and from Cars & Coffee with no problem.
We’re told the Torino has nothing wrong with it, so it’s turnkey. But the photos tend to show more of the surroundings than the auto itself (Tip: take cell phone photos in landscape, not portrait; they will help you sell your wares a lot easier). If you’re a fan of the “Striped Tomato” look, this Gran Torino should fit the bill, but for a premium over what regular Torinos from this era go for.
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Comments
My Grandmother messed up and traded her beautiful 67 Cougar for a new Torino in 72. That thing was a pile of junk! It was the 302. The motor was fine, but it was always broken down and in the shop for stupid stuff. Total lemon.
Ugh. There were soooooo many of these back in the 70s. Lipstick on a pig, as they say.
You can say that again! 🤮
I remember reading that they put a super low geared rear end in Starsky’s car so it could do good burnouts, but it wasn’t recommended to go over 50 mph.
Husky & Starch
Starter and Clutch!
Cracked Magazine did a story called “Barfsky and Clutch”, the names burned into my brain forever.
For good reason! 🤮
Hell, I always called them Fartskey & Clutch LOL
Are there any red ones out there WITHOUT
the stripes on them?
I remember a blue Torino with the white stripe in my hometown of Grand Rapids, MI. Great memories of that 75-76 time period as my last name is Hutchison and my best friend in 5th and 6th grade last name was Staskowitz. Hence, Stasky and Hutch.
The car was cool on tv. But, like the Scooby Doo vans. You’ve seen one? You’ve seen them all.
I like it just because I liked the TV show as a kid to young to drive but I don’t like it enough to drop $28k on it
This is a fake version of a TV car. The show itself ended more than four decades ago so only late baby boomers and those on Medicare would even recognize what the seller is trying to copy. As pointed out in the write-up, the Torino doesn’t even have the right engine for the television version or the authorized dealer edition. It passes muster as a nice used 1972 Ford but the fake props add nothing to the value of the car.
I don’t believe all the copies Ford made for the public had the big engines. They were selling the OUTSIDE look of the car, not the performance of what was used on TV. Kinda like the 67 & 69 Camaro Pace Car replicas–not all of them had a 396.
Sorry 1974 model. Stripes do not make a muscle car anyway.
Love this car! Also the Torino sports in general!
Two actors pretending to be cops and a painted up ’75 Torino pretending to be a hot pursuit car. I would actually think the 351 Cleveland,, if it was a four barrel unit, would smoke the 400 And the 460 smog motor. I won’t ever underestimate the Cleveland. If it was all white or all red, or any decent solid color I would be okay driving it around.
The best thing that comes to mind……was the Great Theme song Gotcha…by Tom Scott for this tv show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKX-lg0mgqs
I restored this car approximately 10 years ago, and sold it to the current owner 7 years ago. It was a rust free California car to start with. It is an exact replica of the car used in the first year of the show. The first year used 1974 Torinos. All the props were at one time used in one episode throughout the 4 year run of the show. That is car is 100% true to the series. The Starsky and Hutch cars sold by Ford were all 1976, and they all had consoles. None of the cars used in any episode had a console.
Huggy Bear called them Strappy&Huck.
When it pretends to be a pursuit car with this slippery bench
seat without ANY lateral support, every pursuit would already
be over in the first 45° corner.
Had the creators of this tv-series never driven a Porsche 911
an Alfa or a Jaguar E-Type?
Well, I simply must, I know what I said about commenting, so don’t point that out, but S&H was HUGE! You must remember, TV cop shows were in their infancy, and the idea of 2 plain clothes cops driving what they thought, was a car that would blend in with the crooks seemed plausible to viewers, even though, I don’t remember any cop cars like that in Beer City, or anywhere, for that matter.. IDK, Hollywoods rendition of life, I suppose. The biggest flaw here, is Glaser insisted the cars had bucket seats, because he was uncomfortable with Soul sliding across the bench seat in hard corners. Glaser said he hated the car from the beginning, and tried everything he could to kill it, so the story goes. Fun stuff, but like the General Lee, there’s enough. I think, taking that stupid stripe off, that instantly connects it to that hoaky show, you’d have a nice Torino, no?
Vicious crowd this week. The car looks great. Man put a few hours in bringing it to life. What you all don’t realize is, you ALL recognize the car. Good or bad, it’s a beautiful ride. So was Dukes of Hazard, Magnum PI, Knight Rider. They all had a following. His asking price is either too high or too low. Just appreciate the car and move on.
The car looked good and the show was a top of the line hit. There wasn’t many two-bit crooks driving porsche 911 or alfa’s or jags at that time. Paul drove the car because he owned it, just like john owned the 01.