1968 Ford Torino GT
What's in a name? Quite a bit it seems, especially if it's Engelbert Humperdinck.
Most of you, I'm sure, would have heard the name, even if you can't list any of his songs. ('Release Me' is his most famous track, if you were wondering). Humperdinck had been slogging it out in clubs up and down the UK under the name of Gerry Dorsey (which wasn't his real name either) for close to a decade when his manager, Gordon Mills, suggested the name change to help him stand out from the crowd. And so, in June, 1965, Arnold George Dorsey became Engelbert Humperdinck. Did the change work? Well, the fact I'm referencing him in this article, and the majority of our readership would know the name, even if they know nothing beyond that, proves the change worked!
'Nothing to do with cars', you may say, but the tale of the Ford Torino is something of a mirror of Humperdinck's. Originally an upmarket trim level of the Fairlane, the Torino soon became more popular than its forebear, as well as another weapon in Ford's muscle car arsenal of the late 1960s. Our feature vehicle comes from 1968, the first year of Torino production, and is in the popular fastback body style. The black on black colour/trim combination was a relatively rare one for '68, only 1086 of the total production of 74,135 fastback GTs for the year completed with this pairing.
Seven 82 Motors bought the car last year as a lightly restored original. The exterior had been resprayed and the interior featured new seat trims in black vinyl, along with new headlining, carpets and parcel shelf. Our feature car mirrors Humperdinck in another way, too. Old Humpy was a big hit with the ladies in his day (and still pulls a few in Vegas, apparently!), and our feature car had the same effect. Ben of Seven 82 imported the Torino for his wife after she fell in love with it and wanted the car, right or wrong! Family priorities meant the car eventually had to go, but found another enthusiast owner on the Gold Coast. Prior to that sale, Seven 82 treated the Torino to a set of new Showwheels Ramblers, painted black to match the body, along with rebushed and lowered suspension, new ball joints, reco brakes, red stripe tyres, new chrome bumpers and new seatbelts. 12 slotters, as seen on some of our XW/XY-era Fords, were standard fitment on these cars when new, but the black Ramblers are a good match, while the red stripe tyres nicely complement the GT's 'C-stripe'.
On the inside, door cards and dash are in good original condition. The factory rear speaker set-up has been replaced with some aftermarket units, as has the factory AM radio, although the original units are available. The engine bay is in tidy original condition, but the exterior is arguably the highlight of this particular car - upgraded, or "Humperdinck-ed", if you will - to improve on and highlight the original package.
While it doesn't have the outright grunt and collectability of a Cobra Jet-equipped or Talladega model Torino, the 302 V8 & C4 auto should satisfy most enthusiasts. Speedo shows 52,663 miles. Currently on consignment with Seven 82 Motors, the $29,900 asking price is pretty reasonable for a car of this style, age and condition. It's also LO2 complied with Qld safety certificate and registration.
So, if you want to stand out from the crowd without 'Humperdincking" yourself, this car could be the ideal start.
WHAT, WHERE, WHEN & HOW MUCH
Model:Ford Torino GT
Year:1968
Dealer: Seven 82 Motors
Unit 3/132 Spencer Road
Nerang, QLD, 4211
Ph: (07) 55 966 566
Price:$29,900
0-100 kph:About 8.5 seconds
Best point:Tuff looks
Worst point:Not a Talladega
Recommendation: A neat Non-Mustang entry to muscle car ownership
Trivia: When is a Torino not a Torino? When it's an 'IKA' Torino, built in Argentina and based on an AMC (Rambler) Rogue mildly redesigned by Pininfarina. One of Argentina's most popular home-grown models, the IKA Torino was built for almost 15 years
