Ford’s intermediate car, the Fairlane, got a makeover for 1968 and a new name for its sportier versions. The Fairlane 500XL became the Torino and the Fairlane 500XL GTA was now the Torino GT. If you ordered a Torino GT with an R code in the VIN, you got the Cobra Jet 428 V-8 engine. Such was the case at Tasca Ford in New England when Bob Tasca Sr. bought am R-Code car for his son. The car later had an engine change and eventually left the Tasca family. But it has resurfaced in Chicopee, Massachusetts and is available here on Hemmings Classifieds for $47,500, price negotiable. Tip of the hat to Mitchell G. for uncovering this gem for our readers!
While Plymouth had the Road Runner, not all buyers of muscle cars wanted barebones machinery under them. Plymouth saw that and its GTX filled the need for speed and personal touches. Ford responded in the same way with the Torino GT. One perk of the Torino GT was its availability in a fastback body style. With a GT model, buyers got deluxe wheel covers, special exterior trim, and courtesy lamps in the door panels. They also got access to a variety of V-8 engines, from the base 302, two versions of the 390 and the 428 Cobra Jet (R-Code). While that code usually meant Ram-Air was included, all 1968 Torino GTs equipped with the Cobra Jet engine came without Ram Air. (Source: Hemmings)
Not long after Tasca Jr. took delivery of this 1968 Torino GT, the 428 was pulled and replaced by a 427 Tunnel Port motor. The C-6 automatic transmission was retained. Tasca sold the car a couple of years later to a local service station owner and it saw street action into the 1970s. It changed hands again in 1980 and was held by that owner until his death in 2015, after which the car underwent a mechanical and light cosmetic restoration. We’re told that about 80% of the paint is original and it’s in good running condition. The odometer reflects just under 24,000 miles. It’s been seen at a few car shows and even in a magazine or internet story or two.
Some of the key mechanical tidbits about the car are as follows:
- 427 Side Oiler with a .015 bore and run about 400 miles
- Tunnel Port NASCAR heads with new valves and springs.
- Restored dual 660 BK/BJ carburetors
- C5AE dual-point distributor
- 4:88 gears, new bearings, and seals
- 15×5 and 15×8 Torque Thrust wheels with 295/60/15 M/T radials in rear
- And a ton of other replacement parts throughout the car
All this adds up to a car that will really fly!
The body and paint look pretty solid and the extensive photos provided show an undercarriage that is uber clean. The chrome lip on the trunk lid doesn’t seem to line up properly with the rest of the trim out back. The interior is not bad, perhaps looking a bit tired or in need of a deeper cleaning. The resale value on a top-notch Torino GT is about half of the seller’s asking price, but that doesn’t consider the R-Code designation, even though that engine has been replaced with one that is more robust. Does a car with this one’s pedigree and potency warrant a mid-five-figure price tag?
Just my opinion, but if I had the money and the space, I think the price is fair and I would really consider this. The Tasca history and the 427 really make this car. I’m not a big fan of a gear that tall, I think I would go down to something in the high 3’s. I bet it sounds great and would be a blast to drive. Sucks that it’s an automatic though. Great wheels.
I would echo that. Very fair price if the history can be documented. A bargain maybe even.
Nice car.
The 4.88 gears may be needed to compensate for the lack of low end torque for which all tunnel port engines are notorious. Low charge velocity kills bottom end torque. TP heads cost Ford any chance of winning the 1968 Trans Am series. Like the old saying goes: “If some is good and more is better then too much is just right”. Interesting car though, if only on an historical basis.
Gotta love that dual ram air with the sewer pipes..
I’ve seen this car in person.. it’s rough, in an unrestored 52 year old car way, but awesome, as in I’ve seen a million ho-hum Cobras but THIS is rare kinda way. I believe he takes it down the track every so often, but I can recall the numbers it puts down.
25,000 miles. A quarter-mile at a time. Pasadena. Never buy a used hot rod.
Never buy a used hot rod if you don’t have the skills to fix and maintain it. Otherwise, race cars are some of the most critically attended vehicles out there…as for this car, it has been inspected, examined, optimized and generally loved since new..
I’ve always loved this body style. Want….
A guy down the street from me has a fastback 390 GT in red and a matching Mercury Cyclone in white. I drool every time his garage door is open or I see one of them out cruising.
My dad remembers drag racing cars prepped by Tasca at the dragway in Colchester CT. Usually got destroyed by Tasca cars!
I always wanted to own one of these, Ford had a better dash layout than Mopar did at this time. A had a friend who went to Missouri in the late 70’s and bought a green one like this, with similar tape accents.It had a 390 with a 4bbl, and was absolutely stunning. He got it for 1400.0 and all of us were quite jealous. It was fast but heavy as most cars were at the time. These were and still are head turners, didn’t care for the facelift they received in the 70’s. They looked more like a Maverick to me. Very nice car.
The 68/9 Fairlane/Torinos weren’t ‘Heavy’. With the FE motor, they were only about 3600lbs. The 302 was about 300lbs less.
Not going to be fun to drive on the highway. It will be screaming and have no top end at all.
It’s a purpose built car – it wouldn’t be any fun to take off- roading either, right?
I can see this torque monster in my garage! It would be cool cruising to events along with my brother driving his ‘70-429 Cobra “shaker” hood car someday!
Ford really hit a home run with this body style , but the interior on these cars were so uninspired IMO
Nice write up and a cool story behind it!! I’m sure this car is no slouch but I would have liked seeing a 4 speed in this car too!!
427 side oiler, with tunnel port heads, basically the same engine Mario Andretti had in winning the Daytona 500 in a Fairlsne, and also the Ford team GT40 that won LeMans in 1967.
That engine is gold itself.
Beautiful car, but as has already been said, you’d have to lose that rear end. Heck, with that gear you could hardly drive it to a car show if you had any highway driving distance at all without going through a whole tank of gas. You’d have to be taching around 4,000 rpm’s at 70 mph! Pure street machine.
difficult to operate this with a manual trans. It’s set up for 1/4 mile murder. That engine is special – I bet the Heavy duty c6 transmission and drag pak Are really in sync here
3600 lbs is not heavy? 2 200 lb men and you are at 4k. For a 2dr car that’s pretty hefty.
No, it’s not heavy. Ask any owner with a Hellcat Challenger. Lol.
If it had been built originally by Joe Blow it would be a neat strip/street car, mostly strip, and the fact it has a 427 race engine would be the main attraction. The fact it was bought and built, and really used by the Tasca family makes it quite special indeed. Tasca Ford, what a dealer. The very place where a 428 high performance engine made aquaintence with a Mustang, and from that came the Cobra Jet 428.
Great looking strip terror here, it’s worth the money.
My guess is that with a 4.88 gear, this car was just about at red line going through the traps. With a gear that tall, an automatic makes sense, because the auto shifts faster than a 4 speed, and you don’t have to worry about missed shifts or blowing the clutch. What it really needs is either a Gear Vendor’s or Hone-O-Drive over drive unit, or a 2 speed rear end. If I had an extra 47.5 grand laying around, I’d grab this car in a minute! I have always loved the 68-69 Torino GT body style, and the tunnel port 427, WOW!!!
bought one new in 69 351 4 speed loved the car, Had a 61 starliner 390 with a 3 speed, fords rear end gearing then was 4.86 it was gas eater around 3000 rpm” ‘s on the street at a legal speed – it went through the 1;4 mile traps at 6100 rpm 108.75 mph
I had a 69 428 blue really nice car you’ll get up and scream