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1970 Torino Cobra 429CJ: No Nonsense

1970 Ford Torino Cobra

In 1970, if you wanted a muscle car you had nearly endless options, but if you wanted a fast Ford that wasn’t a Mustang your best choice was the Torino. You could get it in a variety of trim and performance levels, but the one to get was the Cobra! It was a no nonsense performance machine. It came standard with a 429 V8, sport suspension, 4 speed close ratio gearbox with optional C6 auto, and high performance wheels and tires. This example was optioned with the Ram Air hood, which bumped the Cobra Jet’s power rating up to 370 horses! You can find it here on craigslist in Okaloosa, Florida for $17,995. This seems like a lot of car for the money and while it needs work, it shouldn’t take much to have it ripping up the dragstrip! Thanks to James V for this tip!

Comments

  1. Avatar A.J.

    Ok, so why does the ad say C-6 but the pictures clearly show a manual transmission?

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  2. Avatar RayT

    A.J.’s comment sent me back to the photos accompanying the ad. Not clear, but the brake pedal appears to be of the wide type used with a/t cars. So I’m guessing that, despite the manual-trans-type shift boot, it has an autobox.

    Good. I didn’t need another car to dream about today. And, with very few exceptions my “wish-it-were-mine” cars all have manual transmissions. I’d make an exception for a Chaparral 2….

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  3. Avatar Mark Haltom

    Yep definitely not a C6. Even better! Well even if you couldnt see the shifter or pedals 4 speed and C6 dont go together in any way. The C6 is a 3 speed auto.

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  4. Avatar jim s

    auto or manual, that is the question. i do not see a clutch pedal or transmission oil dipstick. could it be somekind of homemade floor shifter for an automatic? nice find

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  5. Avatar geomechs Member

    Could definitely drop this car off at my place. It wouldn’t matter to me if it was a 4 speed or an auto, either would be most welcome.

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  6. Avatar Rick

    Wasn’t C6 an automatic though? A couple of images I just located show that the stick was through a console and it looks just like this one except for the console. Remove or replace the console with a different one and maybe someone just stuck a rubber boot around it so it looked like a real stick.

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  7. Avatar Rick

    My alltime fav Torina, year, model, color, etc.

    I did some looking for C6 in other Fords/Torinos and that stick looks right for it. The console would be longer though. Perhaps someone got a much smaller console and put a “boot” around the base to make it look like a manual stick.

    I found this on car guy chronicles:

    Q: How do I tell if my Torino has a C4 or a C6 transmission?

    A: It’s unlikely that you’ve got a C6 unless your Torino is a Cobra and/or Drag Pack car. If so, there are a couple of easy ways to tell. Get under the car and look at the trans. If it has a separate bellhousing and a square pan, it is a C4. If the bellhousing is in a single unit and the pan is not a true square (but instead has a bulging rectangular addition to the square), it is a C6. The C4s and C6s are different lengths, too, but I don’t remember the exact measurements and I’m usually too lazy to look them up. It’s easier just to look for the pan and bell housing!

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  8. Avatar rancho bella

    Toploader

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  9. Avatar Jw

    I thought it was a manual trans car too looking at the shifter, did anyone else but me not find the video he was talking about in the ad???

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  10. Avatar A.J.

    Sure does look like a hurst T handle on top of a manual shifter hence my question.

    The stock shifter for a C6 auto looks nothing like this.

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  11. Avatar Chuck F 55chevy

    If I had the time I’d run over east 30 miles and check it out, it sure looks like a manual shifter to me, no video link either. No wait, it’s not in Okaloosa County, just on CL there.

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  12. Avatar racer99

    Learned how to drive in one of these with the C6 automatic (I know, WHAT were my parents thinking). These are great fun and a little scary at the same time (front end lifts at over 120 mph, very rudimentary suspension on smallish tires, absolute bear of a motor, etc.). That being said, this is the cleanest unrestored example I’ve seen in a while and the pricing seems fair. Only things I see is that most of the a/c system’s been removed, the question of which transmission is actually installed in it, and a question of the condition of floorpans, etc..

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  13. Avatar Blindmarc

    A friend of mine back in the 80’s had a a green 4speed Detroit locker 429 super cobra jet version. These were very fast cars for their time. My 440 6 pack Cuda 4 speed was faster thou.

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  14. Avatar Blindmarc

    Can’t believe a descent driver costs this much nowadays

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  15. Avatar Jamie Staff

    Interesting that this is now listed on craigslist in Middletown, New York:
    http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/cto/5638628101.html

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  16. Avatar Jeff V

    This was my 3rd car in hs, 1st ’67 Stang fb 390gta (sold), 2nd ’70 Nova ss350 4spd (totaled). Mine was yellow with the blacked-out hood, 429cj engine C6 column auto, rear window louvers (stock). I was a real motor-head cruiser type back then I put old N50’s on her in the rear with air-shocks on it to clear wheel wells but no one could ride in the back bc of rubbing lol. Parked at the drive-in was ok in the back lol. I mounted a fire-extinguisher in the front bc I watched too many nascar races lol. It was a hit in hs auto-shop. Had the old ET slotted mags on her in front & crager ss’s in the back. Bought for 1500$ in ’76

    Like 0

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