NASCAR TORINOS

Lookie here,
I poseted this on the garage and the tech board.

I am looking for any info that I can find on the torinos that were used in NASCAR. I would like to find specs, and maybe even some build info as far as suspension and what nots. Thanks in advance for any help that you can provide.

NASCAR Torinos were called "half chassis" cars because they were fitted with narrowed '65 Galaxie front clips (fire wall forward) and used beefed leaf spring Torino/fairlane rear suspension. Stronger than stock Holman Moody components (spindles, control arms etc...) were used throughout. But basically a NASCAR Torino was a 1965 Galaxie from the firewall forward.

While not too in depth, you may find this article interesting about a "'73" Torino built by Jack Bowsher and raced by David Pearson. Has a Boss '9 in it and was for sale for quite a while.

http://www.genefeltonrestorations.co...Torinoinfo.htm

Kevin
[addsig]

What year are you referring to?

I have an article on the Bud Moore cars from '72, if that helps.

Send me an email if you need a copy.

Short story: The '72-up Torinos were built on a chassis fabricated from stock Torino side rails, but with custom f/r kickups to mount the H-M Galaxie front steer components and rear 9" on the customary Chevy Truck trailing arms.

Bodies were fabricated from parts delivered directly from Atlanta, or in some cases, bodies in white or wrecks. The former were for the skilled fabricators in Charlotte, who could tweak hell out of them; the latter for the bucks-down little guys who had yet to be priced out of GN racing.

Engines ran the gamut, from the Boss with the restrictor plate to the 351C.

HTH!

Is your article the one that appeared in Peterson's complete book of engines (9th Edition) ? If so it is a very good one..

Ray

My car was originally built for NASCAR as a Torino in 1969 and was later converted to a Montego. It ran for many years in the Grand National West series.

Before the chassis was modernized it had the features described in the other posts. I was able to purchase spares from Hutcherson-Pagan and road raced it in that configuration for a couple years.

I understand HP purchased much of the Holman-Moody stuff when HM exited the business. You might still be able to find some of those parts at Hutch. Pagan.

http://www.hutch-pagan.com/

Anyway, the car had a Galaxy-style frame and Checker cab brakes when I got it. In the old days it was moslty raced with an FE or a Cleveland. The guys that owned it saw the change to small blocks coming and never made the investment to switch to the 385, which is what it has now.

I still have some of the old suspension parts that I saved when I chaged over to a modern chassis design.

Got any pictures to post, would love to see it!!!!!!!!

Never thought of the Checker brakes, but that's a eureka moment, no car that big abuses them more. But, they were probably sourced from somewhere else, cos I can't imagine Checker making their own.

I'd heard 'back when' that the Checker frame was '57 Chevy-based, purchased from GM when they went to the '58 X-Frame.

Lincolns had HUGE drums that HM used for a long time, finned iron 12" X 3" ... maybe one and the same?

Pictures from the old days can be found on the "'98-00, NASCAR" page of my website.

Here is one that someone sent me from a magazine. My car is number 84.

http://www.fordmuscle.com/pics/mattr...73forForum.JPG

I am told use of Checker brakes was common. I never ran the car with them. My understanding is that at Riverside they tried to avoid using the brakes except for the first few laps and the last few laps. The Top Loader that was in my car when I got it had very closely spaced 3rd and 4th gears to make it easier to stay off the brakes.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: mattrobison on 6/17/05 5:13am ]</font>