<![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT - Jalopnik Comments]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT - Jalopnik Comments]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @Murilee Martin: "C) [Torino + 5 Other Hell Projects + 3 Daily Drivers Using Up All Street Parking For Blocks + Lynch Mob of Angry Neighbors]."

They don't call it Project Car Hell for nothing, do they?

Just Do It!

FЯeeMan

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Carry on the family hoonage.

smokeydog001

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> The mighty 428 bellows its own basso siren thunder. For the engine alone, this car is Worth It. For the straight body and excellent preserving qualities of the high dry mountain air of Wyoming, this car is Worth It. And for your Uncle Dirty Duck, a colorful character you had the uncanny good fortune to be related to, this car is Worth It.

Saddle up, homie.

Elhigh

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @Murilee Martin: See above. Damned senility.

beercheck

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @beercheck: Yeah, mine's historically zoned, too. P in the A. And nothing, as in NOTHING, is straight or square on it, either. Seems we may be sharing the same nightmare. Do old bricks and discarded bits of plumbing emerge in the back yard every time you mow? Copper traps are hell on mower blades.

beercheck

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @lascauxcaveman: Dude, I don't know if that was a "yea" or a "nay" but you are seriously harshing our buzz!

NovaloadMissesPolar

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> My heart goes out to Murrilee. I've got my '66 Malibu ragtop waiting for bodywork and engine swap, my Kawasaki Police bike waiting for battery and some bits to get going, and since I come from boat people (not car people) my family's '66 Century Resorter needing a few planks on the hull, motor gone through, brass rechromed and varnish and upholstery for good measure. (I have no idea how I'm going to replace that curavaceous plexiglass windshield). And half the time I'm dreaming about how cool it would be to make a homebuilt EV.

And it's the ongoing house project that gets all my free time not spent on my family and 9-hrs/day 6 days a week job. My own fault for not being a penniless bachelor musician anymore. Back then, I managed to simultaneously keep at least three interesting cars running in fine form, plus a disposable daily driver on hand.

How much time do you have left on this Earth, Murrilee?

lascauxcaveman

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Murilee. This isn't just any numbers-matching 428 CobraJet Torino. This is f^&&ing DIRTY DUCK'S numbers-matching 428 CobraJet Torino.

'nuff said.

(personally, i wouldn't sweat the originality enough to exclude myself from the pleasure of the toploader swap. it can always be converted back to C6 later. Screw Barret-Jackson. Enjoy it.)

rusty68

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> This is one of those "freebies" in terms of life.

You have a moral imperative to rescue this car and make it a benchmark for numbers matching restorations. You will be able to take this pride-and-joy to Barret Jackson and then make a mint, which you can then use on your choice of vice; other projects, hookers and blow, etc.

KatzManDu

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Run with it. You can always restore it, or throw aside all sanity and turn a numbers-matching car into a Restomod From Hell with a Flaming River rack, 4-wheel discs, MSD ignition, and something obscene like a supercharged Lincoln Mark VIII motor....

Zan-Dude

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @Murilee Martin: On the second Hmmmmm...: [www.cherrybomb.com] --> highly recommended. It sounds great downstream of a tweaked AMC 360, gotta think it'd be that much better bi-piping a 428...

SeanKHotay

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @TinaChow: Oh, you are SO onto my frequency, dude...! I also happen to be a big fan of "Toothy Tile" in Ted Casablanca's blog "The Awful Truth" on E! Online...

charles_barrett

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Go for it... just make sure you document your progress for our entertainment.

petersterncan

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> that would be so damn cool, I think..even if it would be a pain in the ass to go grab it.

elfy

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Gotta do it, man. Family connection, 428, bad-ass looks, FREE CAR....I'd give my right nut for that kind of deal. Plus, when it's done you'll have something a bit more unique than the typical legions of Chevelles, Challengers, etc.

Moosetang

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @akier: A Wyoming love story. Between a man and a machine, and the forces that tried to keep them apart.

"Brokeback Torino"

TinaChow

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> I've got to endorse embracing PCH Torino. Sure its got issues, but what good PCH doesn't? But just look what it has going for it: Non-fastback so it should actually be drivable, 428 so it'll kick arse, family connection for good storytelling, and its not something you see every day so you'll stand out. I can't think of a better PCH, personally.

Go for it!

Moosetang

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Maybe there should be a sub-blog or bloggette on Project House Hell. I would say more except I don't like to when I'm in this s.o.b.
But console yourselves with Tthis "Love Song" by Alan Dugan...edited here, but you can find it easily enough.

"Nothing is plumb, level, or square:
the studs are bowed, the joists
are shaky by nature, no piece fits
and other piece without a gap
or pinch, and bent nails
dance all over the surfacing
like maggots. By Christ
I am no carpenter. I built
the roof for myself, the walls
for myself, the floors
for myself, and got
hung up in it myself...
It settled plumb,
level, solid, square and true
for that great moment. Then
it screamed and went on through,
skewing as wrong the other way.
God damned it. This is hell,
but I planed it, I sawed it,
I nailed it and I
will live in it until it kills me...






















NovaloadMissesPolar

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Do it! Take it, restore it to its former glory, but don't hesitate to make it a real screaming beast. And according to what Dirty Duck said, you just HAVE to use at least 2x4bbl, or even better four DCOE Webers. This way it'd have enough carbs to NOT be considered crusher worthy by Dirty Duck :)

bobash

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Dude, FREE CAR!

Turboner

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @beercheck: My house is historically zoned! Can't change the exterior appearance without permits- never mind that it was built as a totally unornamented cheap rental cottage (back in 1850 or 1870) or whatever and you can't tell from looking at it that it wasn't built for returning GIs in 1946. Not a single right angle or straight line in the place; I learned early on to never use a level anywhere, or I'd just get anxious about the gravity thing. On the plus side, it's made of massive old-growth redwood beams that laugh at termites and make your typical new redwood lumber seem like styrofoam- when I put a plywood anti-quake shear wall in I discovered that the nailgun couldn't penetrate the iron-like wood- had to crouch in the crawl space and swing a big hammer like John Henry to get those bastids in. Sort of the '68 Valiant of houses, so of course I love it for that.

Murilee Martin

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @Murilee Martin: Ah, Project House Hell. Mine only dates back to '27, but the freakin' building codes around here.. I have to be very, VERY selective about what I touch, and when, because nothing that's been done to the place in the intervening years has EVER been up to code.

I also don't remember what it's like to have a functional kitchen, but it does make a handy place to store my compressor tank. From there, the line can reach anywhere in my driveway.

beercheck

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @JayP71: Yes, Project Car Hell pales before Project House Hell... buying an old house (in my case so old that it predates county records- could have been built any time after the start of the Gold Rush, though most likely it dates from the 1870s) allows you to burn money and time much faster than a car ever could. In fact, the house is the main reason I've been neglecting fun project cars for so long.

Murilee Martin

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @Brian B: Oh, I've rebuilt engines, etc- none of the mechanical stuff scares me. I'd need to pay someone else to do the interior stuff and the bodywork, but building up a screamin' 428 would be no sweat.

In fact, the fact that I've worked on plenty of Fords of that era before makes the project less interesting. The family connection, of course, tilts the balance the other way, not to mention the coolness of a non-fastback big-block Torino. This is a tough one... serious personal dilemma, all right.

Murilee Martin

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Do it!!!

crewcutkid

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> The family attachment is the only thing that makes this worthwhile. For the cost of shipment you could buy a car closer. If the family attachment is a major deal then go for it, otherwise let your cousin deal with it.

Project HOUSE Hell is something I can sooooo relate to right now. Hell is an old fixer upper house.

Project Car Hell: That Aero Vic you're driving is more than capable of driving you absolutely insane when you start upgrading. Trust me I know....

JayP71

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Wyoming is no where near ontario.. add another oh.. 1000 miles.. bad idea.

Drag it home.. I won't repeat what others have said, but put it this way.. your an editor of a very well read and respected car blog.. i'm sure if you ran into trouble with some aspect of it (like line boring the block) there has got to noe of us around that can give you a hand.

Find a buddy with a truck and a trailer.. and it don't matter if it or he smells... you got enough air fresheners to make the trip quasi pleasant.. load it up and bring it home..

It doesn't matter if Dirty Duck was a pro wrench.. you don't get to be a pro wrench by sitting on the sidelines.. i've got to rebuild the motor in my '27.. it scares the hell outta me.. not like I can walk into autozone and get a set of oversize bearings for an 80 year old engine.. but I know my grandpa is lookin down just waitin to give me hell if i screw it up.. meaning doin the homework to make sure I do it right, and then takin the time to do it right..

Go for it man.. it's still early on the left coast.. go get your truck tonight.. and you can post up sunday about how your neighbours are already experincing lowered property values..

WheatKing

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @Murilee Martin:
Gads! A 300H??? Didn't they make less than 500 of those? Well, considering that the decision was made 20 years back, it's understandable.

There's no "20/20 hindsight" in play here, my friend. This is a moral imperative.

Brian B

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> You should resurrect it. I think you owe it to Dirty Duck and all of us here rooting for you. If you are concerned with the long miles of towing it back, lack of space in which to work on, and lack of time, whatever, then maybe you can take the car to the Guild of Automotive Restorers [www.guildclassiccars.com] in Ontario Canada or something? Northern Wyoming is damn near Canada, aint it? Just a thought.

akirachan

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @Brian B: Hell, I'm still living with the regret of having passed up a clean '70 Chrysler 300H for $1200, 20 years ago. But hey, I'm looking at Torino options as we speak!

Murilee Martin

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Get it, get it now. Don't think about it. There's nothing to think about (besides where to find the inevitable missing parts). This is as close to a Holy Quest you are ever likely to encounter. You will be doing God's Work, here. F*ck the neighbors; move if you have to.

Think about what a great running feature this will be for us Jalops to watch as you slowly breath life back into this beastie. The end result will be worth all the bloody knuckles you'll receive.

Still have doubts? Think about how you'll feel when you're old a gray if you take a pass. I know I would not be able to live with that kind of regret.

Brian B

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @Murilee Martin: Asthma attack. How very sad... My sympathies on such an unexpected family loss.
@Murilee Martin: There is something to be said for the irony of preserving the legacy of a Torino that Uncle Dirty Duck would have unflinchingly sent off to the crusher, yet preserving it in his loving memory. Still worth pursuing, IMHO (especially given your wrenching skills, Mr. Martin!)

charles_barrett

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @thunder: Thing is, Uncle Dirty Duck- being a pro wrench for his entire adult life- was extremely unsentimental about cars, unless they were A) British and B) had at least a 1:2 carburetor-to-cylinder ratio. In fact, "To The Crusher with it!" was one of his favorite epithets, usually directed at some Detroit machine (such as my nearly-identical-to-the-Torino) '68 Cyclone. So, really, if I wanted to be all about honoring his legacy, I'd go and get a basket-case A-H 3000 and start living British Project Car Hell.

Still, I know he really dug that Torino.

Murilee Martin

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> 140 yes and only 8 noes. And all these great reasons given for "yes."
This is a legacy from your ancestor. At the very least, you must rescue it from Wyoming and get it back to civilization--there, at least, if you decide it's too much, it has an excellent chance of someone else giving it life again. Not so if it gets consumed by the Wyoming--prairie or whatever that is.
Look, I'm like you--only diff is my 97 is a Mercury Marq and the beater is a 98 Camry with an huge chunk of missing bumper and mismatched mirrors. I also have a house project hell --but am constantly prowling--I got a list of what I'd go for once I win the lottery. But this Torino is marked for you! It's free! It's your birthright! and Dirty Duck will be with you--maybe laughing, but with you nonetheless--every step of the way! Do it!



NovaloadMissesPolar

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @thunder: Yes, he died in the car. High-altitude asthma attack at a rest stop. Don't worry, someone in my family is going to get it and get it running.

Murilee Martin

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> my only question is....
how MUCH IS IT WORTH restored?
are you workin for $2 an hour in the end?
or $90 an hour?
wooo hooo

WHEN ARE YOU GUYS GONNA GET A TV SHOW GOIN??





wheels OF satan!

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> I'll even come over and help at weekends.

Rust-MyEnemy is stll out there!

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> I know it's easy for me to say yes from my cosy old button-backed leather armchair, while stuffing my pipe with rough shag and placing a log on the fire (England is cold tonight)

But please do. Do it for yourself and the family. Do it for Torino lovers everywhere. But mostly, do it for people like me who would love such a project but know there is no way in hell we could do it. For all kinds of practical reasons.

Keep it looking factory stock, but maybe with a period aftermarket supercharger conversion. Also:- It's a 428 Cobra Jet!! And it's yours!!!

Rust-MyEnemy is stll out there!

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @akier: We could turn that Jalopnik segment into a thinking-person's "Monster Garage" and make Murilee a literate, well-spoken version of Jesse James (who also takes damn fine photos to illustrate).

Gawker Media, where art thou...!

charles_barrett

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Doesn't matter who's project this is nor the overall condition of the heap being purchased, the answer is YES.

Black out everything but the front and rear bumper, jet black a set of 15x8 steelies, use chrome lugs, black limo tint, and black full interior.

Drop a 5.0 Cammer in there, with a Cobra IRS.

Wait for everyone to bow at your feet.

And then weep with joy as all the tiresmoke enters your soul through every orifice on your body.

KingRoyale

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> One big Ford in your life isn't enough, get this one also.

Maymar - now with 37% less anonymity

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> I just listened to Dirty Duck's story; on that post you mentioned that he "died on the road nearly 20 years ago- in a Super Cobra Jet 428 Torino"; is this that Torino? If so, why are you even asking the question? Get your butt out to Wyoming and bring it home, and damn the neighbors with their petty complaints. Or better yet, move yourself to Wyoming and your neighbors there won't care.

Besides, if this is the vehicle Duck bought it in, chances are all you'll have to do is push it around backwards for a while and his ghost will put it back together for you.

thunder

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @Charles_Barrett:

i concur. get some Gawker/Jalop financing and make this one hell of an in-depth feature. hell, you could rent out an alameda airstrip, Myth Busters-style, and have a weekly video segment involving explosions and remote-control hoonage.

akier

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Whats have you got a to lose? A few hundred bucks in gas, and a full days driving. no brainer!

danio3834

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Go for it man, its free, and you said you wanted hell. I like the FREE part. Take a vacation, see the sights, go pick it up and drag er home. The car will always have a story to tell.

Free projects are the best projects!

danio3834

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> I voted no, and then I remembered who will be taking ownership. Wanky needs a new home. Go for it.

Skydiver

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> For a bearded wonder such as yourself who can put together such an amazing junkyard radio I am suprised this is even a question.

Markstre302

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Jeez, can we petition Mr. Spinelli and/or Mr. Wert for a Gawker Corporate stipend to help underwrite some of this (i.e. Murilee's out-of-pocket expenses), knowing that we Jalops shall all stay glued to our monitors awaiting his every status report...

charles_barrett

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Wait, you've got:

-Backstory
-Family attachment
-Road trip to Middle America
-Rarity
-Classic American Muscle

I'm really failing to see the downsides on this, from both a personal standpoint (for you) and professional one (for us, readers of Jalop who will get to live vicariously through you.) I usually yawn or laugh my way through these PCH posts, but this one is legit. I'm not much of a wrench myself, but even I would think twice about walking away from something like this...





LemursGT

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Hmmm.... Also, hmmmm...

Murilee Martin

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Go for it! It's a family heirloom of yours...! Besides, you know your way around your local pick-a-part junk yards (full of relatively rust-free California carcasses), and parts shouldn't be hard for you to find (in your case, Murilee, none of us Jalops want you to suffer through PCH... we'd prefer it make for a pleasant passtime on mild Alameda weekends).
Besides, knowing you, ALL of us will live vicariously with your thorough photo- and wordsmithed- documentation as you proceed.
And my God, the vinyl roof is mostly intact...!

charles_barrett

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Go get the car, NOW!

junkman

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> 2 words Murilee...... DO IT. Don't spend too much time on paint, use tweed on the interior, rebuild the CJ, keep the C6, Vintage Wheels, raise the back end up to fit fat rear tires, and there you go!

UDMan

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> One my first cars was a `69 Torino stuffed full of 429 (it barely fit). A crazy scary fast piece of Detroit iron if there ever was one. Build another and make us proud!

ChickenDust

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> This deserves to be restored to its original factory glory.

Triborough

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @Torqahontas: But I have some 429 Cobra Jet (actually Super Cobra Jet) heads! Can't I use them? Maybe JB Weld will do it!

Murilee Martin

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @goatrope: Sir, yes, sir!

Murilee Martin

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Screw the neighbors, use the streets.

Also, buy this car!

TexanIdiot25: Flavor enhanced with A.D.D.

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> No. You are not worthy. This car must be properly restored to its rightful place, and not left in the hands of a hack who will never take it beyond beater stage. You don't have the talent to do the job, because this job will take testicular fortitude and other elements you ain't got. It needs to be finished; not just started. This is no duct-tape-and-vise-grips special. Pass on it and let someone qualified have a shot. You will be in over your head, and this will just be another "project" of yours in which you will prove that you are lacking.

(Is this enough motivation, or should I consult my wife and continue at another time?)

goatrope

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> For once I'll give honest advice.

Get it. Get it running/intact without massively re-doing anything (ie keep the C6 unless it's trashed). It really shouldn't be that hard to acquire and/or rebuild stuff.

Once it's up and running...then see what you want to do with it. You might just want to drive it a lot.

Mad_Science

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> I might be able to drag it back with my QOTD entry...anything I can do to perpetuate, uh, support a car project.

...oh, wait, you're on the Left Coast, orange (cty?) you? I'm on the mid-coast.

SeanKHotay

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> It is your birthright my son. I want to see that sucker so clean and stock and original that it rips a hole in the space-time continuum.

Spence

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> The glass is there, the chrome is there, the sheetmetal looks to be in pretty good shape. Front suspensions components are readily available. Drop a 390 and a C-6 in it just to drive (Ford nine inch rear ends are cheap) - rebuild the 428 at your leisure and do the swap. And it looks like it's got some nice vintage mags.

What's the delay?

Here's a 63-1/2 Galaxy that I'm thinking of snagging. This could be Hell...

[seattle.craigslist.org]

Vintage Racer

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Despite the numbers matching aspect of it, I'd say that's not a huge issue here considering your plans. And the fact that it's a 428 *without* the CJ heads. The "free" part IS a big deal though, so what's your time worth to drive out there and pick up the heap?

I'd say pick it up if you have a reliable, satisfying daily driver and a fetish for ill-handling blue oval road barges. Non-running project cars seem to take epochs to get in road worthy form... and they'll nickel-and-dime you until you're selling the only good organs you have left.

Torqahontas

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Like there just aren't enough ORIGINAL muscle cars for aging boomers to buy for multiples of the original price.

cough, cough.

Restore everything but the seats and driveline to clean/but condition and play with a far out driveline.

Lots of room for a Termi blown(stock with a pulley) 4.6 and T-56 and you'll have years of watching boomers choke on their double bacon cheese blasters for committing the affront of not using those stupid crimp hose clamps. Maybe you could even reuse that big silly aircleaner as a coolant tank for the intercooler.

Hoonage? Damm straight.

JETSOLVER

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Resoring it to factory specs sounds like a pain in the arse. I would blend the two extremes: Make the motor look stock, but mod it nicely internaly. So you can have some serious fun smokin the tires. Atleast the body isn't wrecked, right?

ujointclothing

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> You owe it to the spirit of Dirty Duck (Who I assume was the illegitimate offspring of Dirty Lyle and Rubber Duck) to bring this thing back to stock and make it a DOTS: Personal Edition.

DokterDitka

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Even though it's easy for me to say, since it's you that'll be doing the work, I'd say go for it. I would if I were in your boots. Make it beautiful and give the keys to Murilee Jr. when you're done with it.

thunder

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> I forget to mention that I live in an extremely crowded downtown urban area, with only two off-street parking spaces. Thus, taking on the Torino would mean either A) [Torino + Daily Driver and no other Hell Projects], B) [Torino + Another Hell Project - Daily Driver], or C) [Torino + 5 Other Hell Projects + 3 Daily Drivers Using Up All Street Parking For Blocks + Lynch Mob of Angry Neighbors].

Murilee Martin

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> I would pass, except that it is a family item and I get a bit sentimental about such things... Still wish that I never sold my pop's Jeepster off. Thus I voted yes and agree with the 'do the work and pass it along' meme

Akbar Biberkopf

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Murilee says,"... but this thing is so rare that even I cringe at the thought of deviating too far from the factory setup."
Yeah right Murilee. You sure are a stranger to deviation.


MalFuller

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> @beercheck: Yeah, what he said.

Mike the Dog

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> No brainer. Buy it, restore it (not to anal-retentive never-been-driven original, but to "driver" condition) while keeping the originality that is the root of its value. Drive it for a few years, then either sell it to someone who will do the OCD originality job on it, or keep it. Then get a 6-cyl or 302 car you can do the big-block/rockcrusher thing with.

Mike the Dog

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Yep. Do the deed. Back to stock. Then pass it on to a family member. For free. All the work, none of the benefits. PCH incarnate.

Then go find a project for you.

beercheck

]]> <![CDATA[PCH, Personal Dilemma Edition: 1968 Ford Torino GT]]> Go for it. If you bring it back to it's original glory and aren't having fun (unlikely, at least if it were me), you can always unload it at Barrett-Jack$on. Though considering the sentimental value, you might just want to keep it anyway.

Tomsk

]]>