Interpreting a Craigslist ad is often inherently challenging. More common than not sellers fail to provide critical information about a vehicle either intentionally or perhaps due to indifference. Should an ad’s lack of detail be regarded with skepticism or intrigue? Why didn’t the seller bother to provide a photo of the car’s interior? Is the underside so rusty he purposefully avoided showing it in photos? Maybe, but then again the seller might simply not have had the means to lift the car. And why didn’t he post the mileage? Is it frighteningly high or did he simply forget? The more savvy Craigslist shopper will wisely regard these omissions as red flags and move on. The rest of us are perhaps a bit more gullible. In the case of this ’69 Torino GT, for sale here on Craigslist just north of Syracuse, New York, the seller has left out some important specifics about his car and instead offers one suggestion: “This is not a show car…will need a restoration.”
It’s not clear why it’s so important to show the car with both the trunk and hood open in nearly every photo but that appears to be the sales tactic employed here. Although the photo of the driver side is shadowy, its evident there is significant rust along the entire lower portion of the car. It’s becoming apparent as to why the seller recommends a restoration. As previously mentioned some photos of the underside would sure be nice to reveal how bad things might be in terms of overall rust. The vinyl top shows a couple of tears and looks a bit weathered too. The good news is the car appears to be very original with its chrome accents and emblems intact, as well as the nonfunctional hood scoop and correct wheels with “GT” hubcaps.
The owner claims the combination of this GT’s four barrel 390 V-8 and manual four speed transmission result in it being just 1 of 205 produced by Ford in 1969. He offers to include a detailed Marti Report along with the sale for verification. With the exception of the Moroso air cleaner (which is looking pretty ratty), things look to be original under the hood. There is a fair amount of grime and some corrosion but the owner states the car “runs and drives” and makes no mention of any known mechanical issues.
No photos of the interior are provided but the seller mentions this GT comes with bucket seats, a center console, and factory optional tachometer and clock. Dual exhausts should also be present on this four barrel 390, although the seller doesn’t mention it in the ad or provide photos. As suggested by the seller this Torino seems prime for restoration and his asking price of $7,500 OBO might just be in the ballpark for a savvy – I mean gullible – Craigslist buyer.
Nice write-up, Jay. I think you covered all the bases regarding questions based on the listing.
Great write-up. I think you are dead on, the seller is practicing deception by omission, not as bad as some, but bad enough. The ads text and the pictures angles have been thought out, this is a perfect example of why potential buyers need to be aware.
When I was a kid, there was a tan w/black vinyl top formal roof 390 4spd Torino GT you would see around town on a regular basis. It was really clearance, looked all stock and well cared for. The last time I saw it was in the early 80’s, because of the temperature climate, it had a good chance of surviving, I hope it did.
Steve R
I always thought the 1968 and 69 Fairlanes (or Torino in this case) looked like smaller versions of their Galaxie siblings those years.
Would be a nice car to have if the restoration wouldn’t break the bank, I would just make it nice enough for a daily driver.
There is a difference in color between the hood and fenders along with a small alignment issue. May have tangled with something in the past.
This body would likely be a lot easier to park than the fastback (which I had at one time)
Just an observation
You all left out that the rear bumper also has had a run in or backed into something hard enough to put a nice bend into it. To many question, it would have to be see before offer in my opinion!
Very nice write up. Much admired. Im extremely familiar with these bodies and I expanded the pic you have that shows under the hood. If you look just behind the master cylinder there is cancer there. This is this bodies Achilles heal. Water has been collecting there for years and the rust comes later.
This car’s body integrity is now compromised. Vital welds are gone. I’m afraid this is just a parts car. Or landfill. Sorry
Thank you Ken. I do most write-ups on a laptop which puts me at a disadvantage because I can’t see pictures all that great. Glad you took the time to investigate this car some in detail and point out (more) flaws.
Jay
Yea..hey..pleasure Jay. I’m really glad I can help out when I can. Have a great night.
Why didn’t he post the mileage in the Ad?
Maybe because the car is 50 years old and the numbers on the dash don’t matter anymore.
Had a ’68 Torino, same body with a 302. I remember it as a really fun to drive car, one of my favorites, and I’ve owned something like 150.
I find it hard to believe that in 1969, right in the middle of the muscle car craze, only 290 of the 390 4 speed formal roof Torino GTs were built. How many ’69 Chevelle SS 396 4 speed cars were built? Thousands. Wasn’t the Torino basically one of the Chevelle rivals?
Well, could be true I guess but, I still don’t buy it.
The Marti report will answer that question. The sellers number is for formal roof cars with this specific engine and transmission combination and seems reasonable.
You hardly ever saw formal roof 69 Torino GT’s or Cobras, the sportier fast back models were more common.
Steve R
The 1 of 205 is the number of cars with the same engine and trans codes.
The 390-4V was an ‘S’ code. In 1969 Ford offered a wide ratio 4 speed which was code ‘5’ and a close ratio 4 speed which was a code ‘6’.
What the 1 of 205 means on this car is it is 1 of 205 with the 390-4V and either wide ratio or close ratio 4 speed.
That means there are another 1 of ??? with the 390-4V and with the transmission that this car doesn’t have.
In ’69 it would have been this car, or most definitely the fast back, powered by the stronger 428 cobra jet to be considered a true rival of anything like SS 396 Chevelle’s. My own opinion of course…
Again, very good write up and you pointed out very important facts. In a post above mine to elaborate about omission and very well and thought out pictures.
I know these bodies very very well. I expanded the picture that was posted under the hood. If you look, there are rust holes behind the master cylinder. That is the end result of water collecting through the years and not only is this is not the only thing happening, but there are welds there. Structural welds that are long gone. If you drive this car and hit a bump the front end will actually bend from around the fire wall separately from the passenger compartment.
I other words, the cars integrity is at a very weakened state. A collision, and the car will fold.
Syracuse NY is a part of NY that we affectionatly call, the Rust belt. And it’s for good reason. It’s way the upstate near Canada.
If this is a running, driving car, it’s worth no more than a 1000 bucks for parts. Or else? It’s landfill
Most of the questions could be answered with a quick phone call and an in person inspection. Personally I would never buy a car based on photographs. I like the 68/69 Torino’s,and this looks like it could be a nice project, but I think one could buy a nice driver quality car for not much more. At this price you’re going to be upside down pretty quickly. Being from NY is a bit scary too.
Oh, absolutely. Not only from being from NY and all, but an area where there is an exceptional amount of Snow. And Syracuse NY is only 87 miles from Buffalo, only over an hour and their winters up near the Great Lakes/Canada region are quite harsh.
Anyways…better off with a southern example, I feel.
Traveling from Buffalo to Syracuse on a regular basis, I can honestly say that it is more than 87 miles
I had a 68 Torino I bought for parts that still ran and drove, the cowl rust was so bad, like described above, that on accel, you could see the dash torque toward you and on decel it would pop back. I never saw anything like it.
Why no interior shots? Hmmmm. Pass. Rolling the rust dice on this one…..
Hey Warren..Yea, those are the structural welds I was talking about. Think of it as a tin can and what we used to do with them when we were kids. Bend the tin cans back and forth until they split.
Same here.
Has some nice exterior parts though.