Intermeccanica, a still-going concern, has an interesting history. Starting out in Turin Italy, the specialty car manufacturer moved to the U.S. in 1975 and now calls Vancouver, British Columbia home. And starting in 1970, Intermeccanica had to ditch the Torino moniker because Ford copyrighted it for its upscale mid-sized Fairlane. Heads up, the listing images for this pretty cool car are less than ideal so I’ll try to do this “Italian Cobra” justice. It’s located in Fort Meyers, Florida and is available, here on craigslist for $37,900. Thanks to Peter R. for this tip!
Starting out in 1959 as a specialty parts manufacturer, Intermeccanica got into the sports car business by manufacturing aluminum bodies that were secured to custom-built chassis. According to My Carquest, between 1967 and 1972, about 500 Torino/Italias were built, primarily using Ford engines and running gear, along with a host of European manufacturer’s parts and then placing the whole shebang upon a square tube frame. It is said there were about eleven two-door station wagon, or shooting brake, body styles offered along with the standard two-seater. Unfortunately, you won’t get a great view of this car from the listing, so the above image is how a complete Torino Italia appears.
The body on this example is fair, based on what little can be seen, but things like the bumpers are clearly missing. The seller does add, however, “This solid bodied 1969 coupe is ready for restoration with many of the unique parts already collected including the front and rear bumpers“. The original wheel selection was a Magnum 500 and that’s what appears to be still on our subject car.
Power comes from a Ford “J-code” 302 CI, V8 engine which research states is a 230 gross HP, 1968 version of Ford’s venerable Windsor small-block. This one is a non-runner, (the water pump, at least, is missing) but the engine is claimed to turn over. It’s connected to a Top-Loader four-speed manual transmission, which is supposedly hooked up to a Ford live axle – at least that’s what the Carquest article claims. Seems like an odd choice for running gear – one would assume independent rear suspension. This is an air-conditioned example but nothing is said about the existence of the componentry.
The seats are stated as having been reupholstered, and they look fine, but the passenger door card is missing and the rest of the environment is too dark and out of focus to make any kind of a noteworthy assessment. No doubt, this is a rare car, whether it’s worth the ask, especially considering the lousy sales presentation, is hard to say. This should be an attractive collectible, considering its styling, low production numbers, and V8 power but there is so little here that is well represented, it would discourage me from probing further, how about you?
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