The midsize sedan is a dying breed, according to every rag and blog out there right now. Whatever…they can sing the praises of crossovers and cars that drive themselves until they are blue in the face for what I honestly care. It didn’t use to be this way…there was a time when a practical four-door sedan got the job done without question. You optioned what you wanted, left what you didn’t want off of the order form and drove the beast until it’s tongue was hanging out. Nowadays, the idea of a regular car from the early 1970s seems to be a lost idea…they were all muscle cars, don’t you know? Well, we do know…not everything with a small chromed bumper was a muscle machine. They have potential and compared to all of the silver soap-shaped things on the road today, we’d take on in a heartbeat. While hunting desert metal in Arizona’s Craigslist, we found two that fall into the Rough Start guidelines that we couldn’t make a choice on, so we put that up to you guys! Pick your side!
A 1970 Chevelle is a strong pick for most people, but that enthusiasm falls off a cliff faster than Wile E. Coyote holding a sign saying, “Eeep!” when the see that there are four doors instead of two. But it’s the same A-body, same suspension, same running gear options, same everything…why would you pass one up fifty years on? Ok, the 307 V8 isn’t going to do much more than move the car, but if that under-dash A/C works, you’ll remain nice and cool, small rust issues be damned. This is a basest-of-the-base models…it’s not even a Malibu trim package car. But I know how many of you dig the dog-dish cap look, and you can find pretty much everything you need to bring this Chevelle back up to snuff in short order.
Ten years ago, it seemed that any Torino that wasn’t a 1970 or a Talladega was an easy score for a 1970s era machine. Then came the fourth Fast and Furious movie and Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino” and suddenly, 1972 Ford Torinos became the hot ticket. The one-year-only body shape would be marred in 1973 with Federal bumpers, but that’s not the case with this one. Maybe it’s managed to make it to 2018 thanks to it’s straight-six/automatic layout, which kept otherwise enthusiastic drivers away and left the car as a commuter with the fuel mileage kick. It’s a driver, ready to go…a few cosmetic clean-ups and you’ll be on your way to telling kids to get off your lawn.
Chevelle vs. Torino…which one do you choose?
Torino please , coyote/6speed swap from an F150 shoot it Blue with the offset red stripe and “Hooper” the hell out of it ! No rollovers tho ‘
The Chevelle since it already has a V8. Also a lot less work to turn it into a fun machine.
Chevelle. I would Day Two that thing so fast…but no fake one-of-none SS four door. Just a street racer vibe.
Torino all the way!
It is interesting to see two stripped down models from the 70’s. I have never seen a non-power brake 70 Chevelle, short of a drag car. I was actually partially surprised it had power steering. The under dash AC unit was quite common on ’60’s era cars, but by the 1970’s, factory AC was available in every model.
I didn’t realize the base engine in a 72 Torino was a six cylinder. All this time, I thought it was the 2 bbl 302.
I think I would rather have the Chevelle.