Ford upped its game in the muscle car field by adding the Cobra to the upscale, mid-size Torino in 1969. These cars came standard with a 428 cubic inch V8, 4-speed manual transmission, and a competition suspension. That gave it the nudge needed to compete with other performance cars having engines displacing more than 400 cubes. The motor is original except for some bolt-on performance upgrades. Located in a garage in Franklin, Wisconsin, this beautiful Ford is available here on eBay where the most recent bidder has set the bar at $22,300.
The Cobra was offered in two body styles, the more formal hardtop and the Sportsroof (aka fastback). The latter was the most popular at 11,099 units in 1969. Based on the Marti Report the seller secured for this car, the numbers make it one of 3,544 with the R-code V8 and automatic transmission. It’s also one of 932 ordered with the options this car has plus factory air conditioning.
Besides the hardware under the hood, Cobra’s also came with staggered rear shock absorbers, F70x14 wide-oval belted tires, 6-inch-wide steel wheels with “dog dish” hubcaps, and the proper Cobra emblems hither and yon. The seller’s car appears to have a solid body and has only been repainted once. The black interior is original with no known issues. Though it has bucket seats, the transmission shift lever is on the column, not on the floor.
At some time, the car must have resided in California as it comes with a set of those famous black plates from that state. The motor is stock except for a police interceptor intake and the fuel pump, but the snorkel is missing. Though the car has 89,000 miles, the transmission came from a Talladega Torino of an unspecified vintage. We’re told this is a good running and driving car and would be something different to show in a sea of Chevelle SS 396s and Road Runners.
Wow. A ‘69 Torino Fastback-the car that drove Plymouth and MoPar fans crazy when the King (of NASCAR, Richard Petty) switched because the Plymouth aerodynamics weren’t competitive and he wasn’t allowed to drive the new Dodge Daytona…
This is another Ford worth having in the driveway-c’mon, POWERBALL (or whichever lotto is gonna pay us off in 6-7 $$$ digits)!!!
Nice find.
Is that the correct steering wheel?
Yes,optional Rim-Blow Deluxe Steering Wheel.
Big motor and automatic options here. Buckets and column. No mention of rear gear and these had a big range from 3.25 or so to 4.30 i believe.
Cool big Ford.
I like the notchback torino best. Id love to have a 390 w 4spd.
Who knows what rear’s in it now, but the Marti Report in the ad says it was built with a 3.00 rear. With that rear, the original owner must have wanted to do some high speed cruising.
I’m not sure if the writer’s calling the Torino line upscale, or if he’s saying the Cobra was an upscale version of the Torino, when he said “adding the Cobra to the upscale, mid-size Torino”. I’m hardly a Ford expert, but I was around when these came out, and from what I remember the Cobra was a lower content model intended to compete with Plymouth’s stripper performance car, the Road Runner. The GT was the dressier Torino performance model.
For at least 25-30 years, there’s been a maroon formal roof, 69 Torino Cobra sitting in a garage not far from me. I’ve never had a close look at it, so I can’t say if it’s CJ or not, or if it’s an automatic or 4 speed, but from what I can see, it looks pretty decent.
It states the car was ordered from the factory with a 3.00 Traction-Lok axle…this is the most sensible choice and quite surprising because 99.9% of these Cobras (and Torinos in general) were always built with conventional differentials. Nearly every 428 and 429 car that I see had an open rear end from the factory. Very odd that this one does not, especially being a California car. The 3.00 to 1 gears are the absolute best choice for any car with a 3-speed automatic if you do ANY amount of highway driving. Even a 3.25 axle in one of these cars winds up pretty tight at 70 mph. Somebody checked the right box on this one. Too bad the transmission is not numbers-matching.
Nice FAIRLANE! That ain’t no TORINO….
It’s neither. It is a Cobra. Full stop. Not a Torino Cobra, and certainly not a Fairlane Cobra.
The Torino and Fairlane of 68 and 69 were the same body, as well as the Cobra.
What a great looking Ford. My favorite year. Detroit was at its finest. I would take this body style in any configuration. Cobra, Torino, GT, Talladega, etc. Was the purpose of those staggered rear shocks to prevent wheel hop, or just for stability? All the great classic muscle cars of this heyday are so damn expensive anymore that for many of us, it is just wishful thinking. Nevertheless, many for us, including me, lived in the thick of when these cars were available in driving condition for a few hundred dollars. Wouldn’t trade that for a Hemi Cuda.
I know that they hacked the floor at the factory to stagger the shocks.
4 speed cars came with staggered rear shocks not the automatic cars.
Agree Gunner and these big cars weren’t as heavy as they looked either. Love the old big rides from Ford. Hopefully this one sees alot of hwy time and heavy right foot 👍
staggered shocks are to prevent wheel hop.
Drag pack optional
2 Slow down wheel hop I Guess it works out?
I once had a 69 Torino GT so that’s my starting point. It did not have the 428 rather a 302 so that may account for some of the differences. The steering wheel was definitely different and I don’t remember it having the 3 trim pieces behind the door opening on the roof line. It was an OK car with one exception, it was a bear to parallel park, you could not tell where the rear bumper was.
Not one I’d go after again because of that.
What’s Not To Love. Eating Mopars and $hitting Chevys
will it double that current price?
Mike: you’re mostly correct. Ford just called them “Cobras”- but they were based on the Fairlane 500. I test drove a ‘68 Cobra Formal Roof, 271 horse 289/4 speed. Quick! But it had been rode hard, and put away wet. Missed out on a ‘68 Fastback 390/auto, and passed on a red Fastback 289/auto. Too tame. Ended up a Ford Guy driving a ‘68 442 400/4speed. Go figure. 🤷♂️
Chevy staggered the rear shocks for combat wheel hop on hard acceleration on the Camaro.
I still prefer my 69 Mustang Mach 1, looks better, lighter, & not a huge Tuna boat + I was into Trans Am racing more then Nascar then
I thought the Cobra Jet grill was blacked out….
No longer available.