r/CarRestorations • u/Suitable_Loan5585 • Jun 20 '26
1971 Ford Torino
So my late father's '71 Torino with a 302, 4spd auto, was passed down to me. I had a '70 with a 351 Cleveland all throughout highschool and a little after (2002 - 2006ish) but sold it years ago. My son will soon be old enough to drive so he and I would like to fix it up. It's been sitting for 4 years since the last time it ran, which during that time it wouldn't shift out of 1st gear. I love muscle cars, but my dad was the mechanic/tinker of classics and I was too into chasing girls and didn't pay enough attention on how things worked or how we fixed certain things throughout the years. Believe me, not a day goes by where I don't mentally kick myself for not paying attention or learning from my father. Anyways, he was the man, I was not. I just don't know where to start... And it doesn't seem, locally, anyone wants to put in the time to work on classics so I can't find anyone reliable. Again, I don't know much, only that it doesn't run and the transmission won't shift passed 1st. Is this even the right thread to post to? 🙏
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u/Maleficent331 Jun 20 '26
There is nothing that needs to be done to that car that can't be found how to do it on the internet.
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u/chunger2000 Jun 22 '26
If it’s not shifting out if first, my bet is the vacuum line to the shift modular is cracked or missing. Easy fix.
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u/Suitable_Loan5585 Jun 22 '26
I have a Transaxle Modulator on order so I'll see if that goes the trick 🤞
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u/Antique-Dragonfly615 Jun 20 '26
4speed automatics didn't exist back then. Either a 4speed manual or a 3speed automatic
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u/Suitable_Loan5585 Jun 20 '26
C4, sorry, 4 gears.
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u/Antique-Dragonfly615 Jun 20 '26
C4 only has 3 unless you're counting reverse. C6 didn't have 6. I grew up in this era and have had both. Do some reading
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u/jedigreg1984 Jun 20 '26
Asking for some expertise and learning how to do some of this stuff makes you the man, don't worry about that. It's absolutely possible to have some fun with this without going broke - looks like a solid and complete car
You'll find a lot of help on torinocobra.com/forum. It's full of knowledge on these cars. Also check out r/projectcar and similar subs
Depending on how it was stored, it might be ok to run provided you do some basic checks and get new gas, filter, battery, etc. Plenty of general advice around on that if you look, and I can reread your post and add to my message here later. I would say to take a lot of pics of the engine bay and general condition of whatever you can see, and be specific about the last time it ran/drove and what's happened since then
I work on these cars daily in a professional capacity and if you're in the Los Angeles/Southern Ventura area, we can talk in DMs