1976 Ford Gran Torino Starsky And Hutch Limited Edition on 2040-cars

This is a 1976 Ford Gran Torino Limited Edition.  It is a factory Ford Starsky and Hutch car.  I have owned the car since July 1996 and have enjoyed it during my use.  I am the second owner of the car and bought it from a guy in Springfield, Illinois.  This owner bought it from Ford after they used it is a floor demo to bring buyers in to the dealership.  This owner changed several things on the car including the following:  Factory 351W engine replaced with a 351C with four barrel heads, rear end changed from factory open diff with 2.79 ratio to a Traction Lok rear axle with 4.11 gears, removed the center console, modified seatbelts, installed battery in trunk, removed factory clock and put in a tach, disabled AC, changed C-4 transmission to a C-6 with manual valve body, painted chrome trim items red and black, put in headers and glasspack mufflers, cut some holes in the front bumper to attach mounting points to tow the car behind another vehicle, removed the bumper guards and pads, rocker and quarter panel mouldings and wheel lip chromes. 

When I bought the car I started to bring it back more to a factory condition.  I changed the heads and intake to a Edelbrock 4v intake with factory 2v heads and a Holley carb.  The rear end ratio was changed to 3.25.  The mufflers were changed to Dynomax Super Turbo and the headers were changed to fit the 2v heads.  I believe they are Dynomax headers as well.  I found NOS replacement black seatbelts for the driver and passenger side.  I put in a NOS factory clock.  The speedometer was changed to a 1974 part that was also NOS.  The car still has the factory AM radio. I also found NOS bumper pads and guards for the most part.  I know one of the pads on the drivers front was used and missing a bit of the end.  I have a couple of factory Ford center consoles that I was going to clean up and spray black to install.  I also moved the battery back under the hood and had the transmission changed back to an automatic valve body.  

Some other things I have done to the car include adding a Gear Vendors overdrive unit.  This gives a .78 overdrive ratio for those long freeway cruises.  It is controlled by a dimmer type switch on the drivers floorboard and some electronics under the dash.  The car had a new shortened and balanced driveshaft added.  The car has a front PST swaybar and links added.  I bought the rear PST bar but never installed it.  Well I drove the car frequently around town where I lived and took it to a few car shows in Wisconsin Dells around 240 miles away and a show in northern MN.  I did that for a few years in a row.  In 2006 I was going to another car show and hit traffic part way to the show as a tanker had overturned on the freeway spilling its contents.  Needless to say it took over two hours to get ten miles.  Temperatures were hovering around 95 that day.  Because of the stop and go traffic combined with the header heat and the outside temperatures, I had what I believe to be a head gasket failure.  I had the car towed home for me to repair on my own.  

Due to the time delay and some other events in life, the car was never put back together had has been stored since.  Frankly I just don't have the time to address the car in the manner that it deserves.  So I am offering it here on ebay hopefully to the right buyer.  

Regarding its overall condition I would say it is good.  I would give the interior and 8 out of 10.  If the first owner had left the console alone it would be a 9.  The seats are not ripped at all and are in great shape.  The dash pad has no cracks and there are no holes or damage to the dash face.  The gear vendors unit it mounted so that nothing is damaged.  I have the replacement NOS seatbelts for the driver and passenger front.  The rear seatbelts are all intact and are in very good condtion and are not faded or frayed like on some other cars.  The car also still has the factory speakers for the radio.  The headliner is very good and is not ripped or sagging.  It still has a smell to the interior after all these years.  I would give the outside a 7 out of 10.  The prior owner lived in the country and had to drive the car on a half mile long gravel road to get to the main streets.  So the car developed some rock chips on the rear quarter panels and behind the front tires.  The passenger side quarter panel was scraped in a parking lot and I had this area resprayed.  I then scuffed it again myself by pulling into the garage at a bad angle due to family visiting and being in the way of me pulling in normally.  Also from the photos you can see damage to the drivers door.  Again that is me being stupid.  The car was being stored on a lift and I was trying to move it outside by myself.  Once the car hit the incline of the lift ramps after the final push it started rolling backwards.  I had the driver door open and had been pushing on the door frame.  The car door struck a bicycle that was in the garage hitting the main tubing.  This caused this dent.  I was quite upset and it could be read on my face several hours later.  It still is quite upsetting to this day.  The paint otherwise is factory Ford including the stripe that is applied.  I had debated also on if a car like this should be totally repainted or left alone.  That may now be a question for you.  

The car will come with the existing engine and the intake and parts in the trunk, a set of factory Ford shop manuals.  As it is in non running condition, it will have to be transported to a new location.  I hold the title for this car with the lien release that was issued many years ago.  An out of state buyer will have to register the car in their state and the plates will be removed.  The car is being sold as is where is with no express or implied warranty of any kind with no regard as to fitness or merchantability for any particular purpose.  I would say that a prospective buyer would want to inspect the vehicle before making this type of purchase.  Arrangements would have to be made to do so with yourself or a prospective buyers agent.  Since I don't mess with paypal, I can't ask for an electronic deposit immediately after a purchase.  I would ask that the whole deal be wrapped up within 7 days of winning the auction.  I understand that people have busy work and family schedules and can't just drop everything to travel the next day.  However I don't want to deal with game players or those that think they can bid and win and not buy.  If you are in the market for this package, bid.  If not then move on.  I have several more photos on photobucket.  The pictures can be accessed by     http://s1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc409/DETSGTSTARSKY/?albumview=slideshow.

If you have questions ask them before bidding.  I will try to answer a question asked regarding the car.  If you ask me if this is a Ford or Chevy then I might ignore you.  Remember all this is an AUCTION.  If you bid on the item and win it don't cry that someone else made you do it or bid you up.  Only bid what you are willing to spend unlike some who choose to play games.  Good luck!