On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 00:48:39 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:



If I had my druthers, and really - really - wanted my "dream" car, it
would be a Torino or a Ranchero. I had a Ranchero which was basically
a Torino withe a pickup body when I was working for Texaco in the
early '70s - it was a great little car/truck/whatever.

I had a '71 Torino in high school/college. I always wanted another,
and bought a solid '70 a couple of years ago. It's a fastback GT,
351C 4V auto, with power steering, power disc brakes, and
(non-functioning) AC. I drive it weekly, but am almost finished
building my shop, where I will tear it apart and restore it. I figure
a couple of years, and it will be back on the road. I'm thinking a
stroker 408 Cleveland, built C4, 2800 stall, with 3.73 posi. Fun.

I like the Rancheros, but my wife can't stand them. Hey, she'll
actually ride with me when I go do some smokey burnouts, so she's not
all bad! :-)

I'm kind of like you - I love the older muscle cars. The "Vette has
been with me since I bought it in '70 when I was in the service. I
had a 440 GTX also that I sold recently for an astonishing sum which
only proves that MOPAR types are just plain nuts. :)

Muscle cars are going for crazy money these days. Mopars were the
worst built cars back then, and few were sold, but everybody *loves*
them now. Torinos didn't have huge sales numbers and aren't nearly as
popular as as many of the other period cars, but you can still pick
one up for a reasonable price. Their value is on the rise... fully
restored #1 drag pack super cobra jets are hitting 100K now.
Unfortunately, you can't build one out of a catalog like you can a
Mustang, Camaro, etc. You have to work for anything you need. Rear
window louvers... $1200. Hide-aways headlight grills... $800+.
Shaker setups? Don't ask.

It's pretty cool to still have the 'vette you bought back in the 70's.
Can you say "memories"? Oh yeah... :-)