1973 Ford Gran Torino Station Wagon 351 Windsor 4bbl V8 from North America
Summary:
Huge inside and out, strong, and INDESTRUCTIBLE
Faults:
The "usual" stuff that would be wrong with a car from '73 that you bought in '94.
- Carb problems.
- Tear in rear seat when purchased.
- ALL mirrors broken when purchased.
- Rear seatbelt would lock at the slightest jerk/pull.
- Muffler lost on our rural driveway.
- Due to muffle loss, THAT SUCKER WAS LOUD AS SH.
General Comments:
My dad bought it when I was 14 for a birthday present for my mom. (He traded our LTD Station Wagon, THANK GOD) So bonus points for being a birthday gift.
No sheet metal, just unholy adimantium forged on the sun.
Due to it's weight and size and what a paramedic called it, we dubbed it the "War Wagon". So we were sitting in this giant contraption that would make the Ford Excursion crap itself, and all of the sudden some dude in a lowered, riced out Civic comes at us at about 30 when we in the middle of an intersection (our light was green, his was not) and he slammed into the rear right section of our truck area, we ended up spinning out and the the Civic dude crawls out of his new industrial-sized paper-weight, and yells that he's going to call the cops. So about 15 minutes later, the police and paramedics arrive (turns out the Civic-guy broke his left knee and shoulder). They say they have to check each of us out (just to be sure or something), and after verifying that me and my dad were fine, we over heard the paramedic say to his co-medic that " They're lucky they were in that godda**** War-Wagon or they'd gotten F***** up!", so after laughing so much that our lungs started to hurt, we from then referred to it as the "War Wagon".
Good Facts:
The huge Civic-shaped dent was easily banged out with a sledgehammer.
The trunk was big enough to store B-17 bombers during peace-time.
The engine bay doubled as a bedroom, even with the 351W in there.
The 351 Windsor in that sucker could tear the brass coloring off of a sheet of copper.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 22nd May, 2009
26th May 2009, 17:24
"so we're sitting in this giant contraption that would make the Ford Excursion crap itself" - Oh my gosh, this is the best written review I've read on here as yet, and I've read most of them.
30th Jun 2009, 09:34
Damn, I need one! Have been looking around for a while now. Anyone have one they want to sell? Any idea about the mpg? How much would a steering pump replacement be?
28th Jan 2011, 14:42
Fine, entertaining review. In a similar vein, check out the movie The Big Lebowsky, where The Dude drives an old Torino, and to hilarious effect.
15th Jun 2014, 04:21
Where did the four-barrel come from? In 1973, 351 Windsors as-built-by Ford came with two-barrel carburetors only.
27th Nov 2015, 22:10
So you're questioning the number of carburetor barrels, but have no problems with a trunk on a station wagon, or sleeping in the engine compartment.
30th Nov 2015, 11:11
Sounds like the family truckster driven by Chevy Chase.
30th Nov 2015, 22:44
That was an LTD wagon, not a Gran Torino wagon.
1st Dec 2015, 16:31
I realize that, but this vehicle is in the ballpark.
1st Dec 2015, 21:56
Clark Griswald may not have driven a Torino wagon, but Greg Brady did drive one to high school in the first "Brady Bunch" movie... he uses hand signals to turn in to a parking space.
4th Dec 2015, 04:37
Ford station wagons that were seen in movies? OK let's do it, why not.
Remember in Goodfellas at the end, after Henry Hill became a snitch? A '78 Fairmont Country Squire wagon was seen in his driveway. Pretty pathetic after the beautiful '68 Grand Prix and '79 Coupe DeVille Phaeton he drove earlier in the movie, wouldn't you say?
26th May 2009, 11:11
I think the rodents were living in the B-17 bombers that were stored in the trunk... Hey, wait a minute this was supposed to be a Gran Torino Station Wagon... how on earth did it have a trunk?