Red Jersey Muscle Cars

Muscle Cars - Ford Torino

ford torino grilles For 1970, the Torino now became the primary model and the Fairlane was a sub-series of Torino. Ford moved away from emulating the boxy lines of the full-size Fords to a completely new body for the 1970 Torino/Fairlane line influenced by coke bottle styling. Just as tailfins were influenced by jet aircraft of the 1950s, stylists such as Ford stylist Bill Shenk who designed the 1970 Ford Torino were inspired by supersonic aircraft with narrow waists and bulging forward and rear fuselages needed to reach supersonic speeds. The new car featured a more prominent long hood short deck styling, and was longer lower and wider than the 1969 models.

The roofline was lower, while all models now featured a much less formal roof line than previous years. The windshield rake was increased, and the SportsRoof models had an even flatter fastback roofline. The overall styling appeared much more aerodynamic than years previous, and featured a pointed front end. The grille covered the full width of the front fascia, and surrounded the quad halo headlights. The front fender line gracefully extended to front door, sloping downward and gradually disappearing in the quarter panel. Both front and rear bumpers were slim tight fitting chromed units, that carefully followed the body lines.

ford torino tail lights The taillights were situated in the rear panel above the bumper, and were now long rectangular units with rounded outer edges. The model line-up for 1970 was quite extensive, initially featuring 13 models. The base model was the "Fairlane 500", which was available in a 2-door hardtop, 4-door sedan, and 4-door wagon. Next was the mid-level "Torino", which was available as a 2-door and 4-door hardtop, and a 4-door sedan and station wagon. The 4-door hardtop was a new body style for the 1970 model year. The "Torino Brougham" was the top trim level, and was available as a 2-door and 4-door hardtop, and a 4-door station wagon.

The sporty "Torino GT" was available as a 2-door SportsRoof and convertible. Finally, the top performance model, the "Torino Cobra" was available as a 2-door SportsRoof only. To add to this extensive line-up, the Falcon name was adopted mid-year for a new entry-level intermediate. The Ford Falcon compact model continued for the first half of the 1970 model year, but was discontinued as it could not meet new federal standards that came into effect on January 1, 1970. At this time, the name was applied to the base trim level in the intermediate line. The 1970? Falcon was available as a 2-door and 4-door sedan, and 4-door station wagon.

ford torino wheels This was the lowest priced intermediate, and had even less standard features than the Fairlane 500. The Falcon was the only intermediate that featured a rubber floor instead of carpet, and was the only series that featured a pillared 2-door sedan. Also introduced mid-year was a Torino 2-door Sportsroof model, which was marketed as a low price alternative to the GT. With the above mid-year additions, the Ford intermediate line-up consisted of 17 separate models. Interiors on the Torino were all new for 1970. The dashboard featured a linear style speedometer centered on the driver, and a new "ribbon" style tachometer was an option for V8 models.

A temperature gauge was the only available gauge, oil pressure and electrics were monitored with warning lights only. High back bucket seats were available for all 2-door models, as was an optional console; the GT model no longer had the former as standard features. All 2-door hardtop, SportsRoof and convertible models featured "DirectAire" ventilation systems as a standard feature. The 2-door sedan, 4-doors and station wagons still had vent windows, and the "DirectAire" system was an option for these models. Torino Brougham models came standard with extra exterior and interior trim, finer upholsteries, wheel covers, unique emblems, extra sound insulation and "Hideaway" headlights.