Yesterday, I brought you the wonderfully retro Granada from Cali's art-centric Bay Area. Tonight, my treat to viewers is this wonderfully large Gran Torino.
Common in a time where big cars, and even bigger trucks, ruled the Nation's roads, the Torino was seen as a relatively mid-size car. If you wanted a true full-size beast, you got the Galaxie; or LTD. Or one of the various Lincolns and Mercurys on sale at the time.
Since those crazy Californians tend to flock towards imports, even bigger domestic cars are not-quite-the-norm there, despite the lack of rust. I think I saw more vintage American iron in Boise. But that's not the point.
On this example, it appears as though time didn't quite stand still; while the paint is in decent shape, it remains far from show-quality-- not that enamel white had any luster to lose in the first place. The chrome, while relatively sparse, appears to be in decent shape. At least it's all there. Same story goes for the standard hubcaps. While definitely not quite pretty, they are all intact. Quite a feat for a near 40 year old daily-driver that doesn't quite have cult status.
Would I drive this example? Maybe. As far as Torinos go, I like the fastbacks a bit more. The quarter window on these coupes simply looks out of place-- almost as if it was an afterthought. Actually, knowing that this was designed in the early 1970s, it probably was. And that blind spot alone would probably scare me away from it. That, and the fact that this one is in too decent of condition to have some real fun with it.
1 comment:
Fab pics awesome vehicle :-)
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