Car is looking very fine, Dan. I would like it even more if it was about 4" lower at both ends, but to each his own. I hope you are going to somehow lock that spare so it can't easily be stolen. Maybe you could cross-drill the mounting stud to take a small lock? It is doubtless much more valuable now than the car you started with -- what are the insurance issues for a build like this?
I love the sitting high look. It especially looks good on Ranchero's (Mercury's), them being trucks and all.
Rims look great Dan! 20 min with a torch will fix the height problem if you really are looking for a 3 spoke rimblow let me know
First there is NO height problem!!! . Second I have a nice core for a 3 spoke wheel. Guess it will cost me about $450 for a complete wheel W/ new horn switch (I will refurbish my center pad myself) BUT if you have something really nice for less that I will not have to rebuild (just clean up a little) shoot me a PM!
The car sits at 32 1/2 inches in the rear and 31 1/2 in front. Look at this way I will NEVER need a floor jack to change oil! . (still thinking about a roll bar for the box) Yes I thought about cross drilling mounting rod OR like the 74 having a cover made (out of sight out of mind) to keep the spare safe. I will need to talk to the insurance man very soon. They still think it has the LTD II front end. I will need to get a new apprasial then I will go in and talk to them.
Look's great Dan. I like the stance also. I went back several pages to see what size tires & rims you're running , but couldn't find the info. I'm going to be replacing my '73's shoes in the near future.
15x7 (4) rims P225/70R15's on the front and P255/70R15's on the rear and (if you care) a P235/70R15 for a spare.
Thanks!,Do you or, your buddy Tony, have an extra Rim Blow center pad for a Torino? I scored a Rim Blow wheel,years ago, and it has a Cougar emblem.
Beautiful truck!!! There is nothing wrong with the ride height on it. I like it sitting up a bit. That front end looks so much better than the LTD II front end they came with in the later 70's!!!!!! Great work.
It's just a beauty!!!! Dan. Every time I see the pic's it puts a smile on my face thinking "here the Ford guy's has a lot to learn about design"
Interesting quandry. Guess it depends on where you are. For example, Nebraska plated my '78 as a 2-ton commercial vehicle (truck), while Oregon issued car plates. My understanding (probably flawed) is that Ford considered them to be cars (what with the Falcon/Torino/Thunderbird underpinnings). Also, they never to my knowlwdge issued a GVWR, essential for a vehicle to be a truck.
Tennessee titles them as pick ups. I'll have to look for the GVWR but pretty sure it's on the door jamb somewhere. Wish mine set like Dan's.
It is titled as a truck here as well. In fact back in the 80's I was required to take the thing in for truck saftey inspections on top of the emission testing. I always felt funny sitting in a truck testing station with big deisel rigs waiting to get my little ol ranchero saftey tested. Somewhere in the late 80's the smaller "B" plate pick ups (8000 LB or less) no longer where required to saftey test and that ended my once a year visit.
In Norway they are reg as a car as any other 5 or 6 seater, no truck or comercial vehicle so the tax when they where new was so high that nearly none was imported Thats because they are as comfortable as any car out there Now the tax is very nice if any vehicle are more than 30 years, well all of our stuff we buy outside the country is 25% but a new car is all together from 70-500% depends on co2 and Hp and weight so a big american car with a powerfull V8 are up to 6 times as expensive here
They were sold in the Ford Truck lineup; therefore they are trucks, regardless of what a stupid state thinks they are. The Gov't considers PT Cruisers and Chevy HHR's to be SUV's, as an example.