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1969 Ford Torino Talladega Garage Find

1969 Torino Talladega

From Jim O – Hi Guys. It’s Jim O. again with a local barn find. A friend recently told me about a guy that he knew for quite some time. Until recently he had no idea that he hoarded cars. He mentioned he had a Torino Talladega. My friend contacted me to see if I might be interested. Of course I was. I met him this past Saturday at a local swap meet to introduce myself. He agreed to let me look at the car but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to sell it. He had others come and look and offer to buy it, but it never happened for whatever reason. I went over to look Monday night. Fell in love and told him that I would buy it if he decided to sell it. He said he’d think about it. The very next night at a local car show he came up to me and said he’d sell it to me!! I went over last night, paid and picked it up this morning. It had been sitting in his barn/garage for about 10 years. He parked after having some issues with it running reliably and there it sat. I can’t wait to get it back on the road.

1969 Torino Talladega 2

 

So far it is now running and moving under its own power. I’m having it now checked over by my mechanic to make sure it road worthy. The plan is to drive it as is. The only problem is that for some reason the right rear quarter panel has been primered while the rest of the car is original paint, too bad they had to do that. Not sure how to handle that.  It’ll be fun in the meantime!

 

I want to thank Jim for sharing his Torino with us and I hope he will keep us updated with his progress! So does anyone have any ideas for how he can handle the primer issue?

Comments

  1. Avatar Troy

    I know where there is a big block Came Yarborough Special that has been off the radar for a few decades. Its been undergoing a slow restoration for over 10 years. Would love to see it rescued and done right.

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  2. Avatar Danger Dan

    Sweet action!
    Total dream car
    #Keeper

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  3. Avatar William H

    Congrats to Jim on scoring an awesome car.

    I wouldn’t mind having the truck parked next to it myself.

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    • Avatar The Walrus

      Agreed WH. Even considering the somewhat clunky Military cab …

      Power Wagon > Torino

      Like 0
  4. Avatar krash

    Nice find/purchase…..

    Enjoy!

    curious…..what are the distinct differences between the Torino and the Torino Talladega?

    Like 0
    • Avatar Josh Staff

      Well the Talladega is an aero car, it was a redesign to make the car more competitive in NASCAR. If you take a look at the photo of the engine bay of Jim’s car, you can see the nose of the car curves down more. You can’t really see them in the photo, but the grille, bumper, and head lights are different. All these changes were meant to make the car more aerodynamic and subsequently faster. I’m not sure if the street car’s received all the same modifications, but the race cars also rode a bit lower, which brought the center of gravity down and improved both top speed and handling. Hope that answers your question!

      Like 0
  5. Avatar Howard A Member

    I agree, an incredible find. Apparently, Wiki claims, Ford only made this car for a few weeks in 1969. It’s believed, 754 units were made in 3 colors, Wimbleton White,( 286 built), Royal Maroon, shown here (258 units) and Presidential Blue (199 built), and the only option was an AM radio. They all had the 428 Cobra Jet motor and flat black hoods. Congrats to Jim, quite a piece, there.

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  6. Avatar Rocco

    What size eng.? 428?

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  7. Avatar DENIS

    That maroon color isn’t too tough to match..I’d spray it and the taillight panel and burr the hell out of the rest of the paint…plenty good for a driver and a helluva find-congrats….

    Like 0
  8. Avatar Shilo

    Congrats!!! A beautiful find.

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  9. Avatar Jim Baldwin

    Great Car and great find. If the primered area has no damage, I’d prep it and mix a tint base to match and blend into the quarter. These are rare cars and I’ve been watching a wimbleton white that’s been in a shed for the past 29 years in Montana. Maybe someday?????

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  10. Avatar pontiactivist

    Actually as a comment to these sitting lower. The rockers were actually elongated to make them look lower and for aerodynamics. May have had suspension differences also but not sure. Not really a Ford guy. But am a muscle car guy. I also wanna say these came with the 351not the 428, but don’t quote me on it.

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    • Avatar Jim Baldwin

      They only came with 428 engine. Never had a 351 in them.

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  11. Avatar pontiactivist

    I also wanna add that the front bumpers started life as rear bumpers with a very notched in them. The grills originate from the 68 year torino iirc.

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  12. Avatar pontiactivist

    These were Ford’s answer to the Daytona/Superbird. No big wing but compare a Talladega to the barn finds torino nose and you can see the difference. Used to know of a Yarborough special in McKean pa several years ago. They are a neat piece too.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar rob

    Is that an air conditioner compressor showing in the engine compartment? Was that available on the Talladega?

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  14. Avatar Richard

    If in fact the rest of the paint is original, the owner should match the paint on the rear quarter and buff out the original color. Original is always going to be more valuable than a respray. The Talladega WAS NOT the answer to the MOPAR Daytona and Superbirds. It is the other way around. The Talladega was kicking butt on the Nascar Superspeedways and the Chrysler crew went into panic mode and responded with the two winged cars. Factory Air was never available on the Talladega, all 754 cars were identical except for the color. If you want to Register this car, no cost, or simply know more about them and their Mercury sister car the Spoiler II go to: http://www.TalladegaSpoilerRegistry.com

    Great find and hope to see you at some of our events in the future.

    Like 1
  15. Avatar stillrunners

    Yes Richard – after Petty put 11 in a row on everybody in 1967….the new 1968 Torino’s were okay – the Charger 500’s were what got the Ford moving along to the Talladega’s with Petty for the season….then came the wing cars….and the Mopar cars got banned for the third time in NASCAR.

    Happy for Jim…..

    Like 0
  16. Avatar John Humason

    I notice he doesn’t mention where the car is/was. It looks a lot like one I saw in Fayette, MO about five years ago. I wonder if that is the same car.

    Like 0
  17. Avatar Cameron Bater UK

    Its a nice car but honestly, I prefer the early 70s, square grille Gran Torino or a mid 60s Fastback Mustang.

    Like 0

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