Mag wheels on station wagons may be the start of a new trend! The other day, we shared a 1977 Buick Century with a set of mags, and now we have this high and dry 1971 Torino with 14-inch Torq-Thrusts. For those who want a classic intermediate station wagon but prefer Fords, this Torino is worth a look.
Ford advertised that the similar 1970 models were “shaped by the wind,” but that claim doesn’t quite fit the Torino 500 Station Wagon seen here. Still, if you want a practical Torino as a cool driver, this is a worthy candidate. The 1971 Torino, by the way, was the last to feature unitized construction, as the 1972 models moved to a body-on-frame architecture.
The seller lets the pictures speak for themselves regarding rust: It looks like there isn’t any to speak of. The paint is older and getting tired, but a clean, rust-free original car with well-worn paint isn’t a bad look.
Aside from that, the ad is very complete about what’s been done to the car. The car had been parked for years with a failing transmission, and that was recently rebuilt. Before it was parked, the differential was rebuilt and the axle bearings were replaced. The fuel tank has been cleaned and sealed, and the rest of the fuel system has been attended to. The brakes have been sorted. It has a new radiator, battery, and tires. It sounds like it’s ready to drive.
The engine is the basic V8, a 302 with a two barrel, originally producing 210 horsepower. A muscle wagon it is not, but the 302 is a known quantity that is stone reliable with basic maintenance. The Torino also has power steering and brakes, but the air conditioning is inoperative. The seller claims that the Torino has 104,000 miles on it.
The interior is a nice contrasting blue, and is mostly original except for a reupholstered front seat. The seller doesn’t mention whether the dash pad is cracked underneath the carpeted cover, or whether the cover is protecting a pristine original pad. It may be a question worth asking if you’re interested in the car.
Wagons are pretty hot these days, for good reason: They’re practical and they look cool. It sounds like the hard work has been done on this one; it’s currently for sale on Craigslist for $15,000. Thanks to Tony Primo for bringing it to our attention!
I love it, never seen one before. A very sporty looking wagon.
You left me behind at AC is inop… 71yo Florida-Boy here. I can’t take the heat at all anymore! Good Luck to the Next Owner!
I had Cragars on my brilliant blue ’65 Dodge Custom 880 nine passenger wagon back in the early 70’s. The stance was naturally perfect. A fun and unique
first car for a high schcooler. No one confused me with anyone else while cruising
I think that this would look nice with changing the
grille to one with hideaway headlights.
I agree, pop-up head light grill would set this girl off nice. Plus give it a ton of attitude.
Like the Buick, or the Sportabout, mags really do change the whole nature of the car. Again, back then nobody, and I mean NOBODY, would waste their money on mag wheels for a station wagon.The wagon and what mag wheels implied were in 2 different universes. You see, back then, mag wheels indicated something special was under the hood. It was, in most cases, the finishing touch to a hot rod. I remember mag wheels weren’t cheap, and of course some big meats, you could have a grand in wheels and tires alone, in many cases, worth more than the car itself. A station wagon? Save it for church, ma, or better yet, fetch a load of beer. It was just that much of a difference. Wagons were the cars that you ran for parts, for the cars had mag wheels.
Fast forward to today, where a wagon really is an unusual sight, and mag wheels almost instantly tells the world, it’s a special car, and today, it is.
Our skinflint neighbor traded in his 1956 Chevy wagon for a used ’71 Torino wagon, circa 1975. A stripper special, save for the 302 under the hood. Three on the tree, no power anything, and flow thru air conditioning, with all the windows down.
Sounds like a was a nice simple Ford.
These were a rare sight even when new, while Chevelles and Vista Cruisers seemed to be everywhere. To expound on Howard’s reference, it’s would make a good beer runner/parts chaser.
These rode a shorter wheelbase than other Torinos, shared with the Falcon wagon and halfway between the Falcon sedans’ and the non-wagon Fairlane-Torino. GM, Mopar and AMC dealers most likely pointed out that their wagons were on the longer of the midsize wheelbases shared with 4-door sedans (or in AMC’s case all on one span the same as the others’ 4-doors) while the Vista-Cruiser was an extra long one meant to bridge mid- and full size.
Built when Americans actually took pride in the product they built in Detroit unlike the junk they build today, I bet this 53 year old car with God knows how many actual miles has fewer squeaks and rattles than a brand new Tesla built in California
Mag wheels on a wagon isn’t new. Hot rodders would put mags on anything they drove, even back then. I remember my neighbors with a big gm wagon back in the late 60’s with, yup, mags on it. Not a new trend.
Love this wagon. Tempted to offer my ‘94
Mercedes E320 wagon, white with a blue interior in a straight up trade. My AC doesn’t work either, but mine has a good running 3.6l, c-36, motor under the hood. Unfortunately we are on opposite sides of the continent.
Love this wagon just as it sits.
Yeah,I put a set of Mustang TRX wheels on our Black
’78 Fairmont wagon.It lowered it & filled up the wheelwells
nicely.I even autocrossed it once.
My ’66 Falcon Futura wagon has “Magnum” mags…looks great. The Torq-Thrusts on this Torino are outstanding. Love those wheels, have them on several other cars here. Dash pad is concerning, but seats and headliner look good. Plus, this has the two-way tailgate, which is awesome and was only used on the “better” Ford wagons (not on my Falcon).
Good luck to the seller…wish it wasn’t on the far side of the country from me.
why is it that always-no a/c???
Because fifty years ago your parents and grandparents weren’t beholden to air conditioning. Plus the regions of the country where air conditioning is desired were not yet as populated. And lastly it was expensive.
The good news is that this one HAS A/C, it just needs to be fixed. I would upgrade the system to a modern vintage air that would use a lot less horsepower than these early ’70s compressors.
I am an old guy…by the time this came out I had already served and bought my first home… at that time also had a 67 Corvette. Guy down the street raced Pontiacs…mostly wagons…a lot of 389 3×2.. all with either mags or chrome reversed rims with baby moons. Loved his 60 wagon the most..and yes, we put mags on anything that we could.
Wish I had a bigger garage! This would be a great fit.
cool car. lose the spoiler and the mags. they hurt the look. just put some factory rally wheels on it and drive it.