429 SCJ Ford Torino Grab a Dollar From the Dash
429 SCJ Ford Torino Grab a Dollar From the Dash
It was 1977 and my friend Jeff and I made a living buying, selling and trading muscle cars.
The car I traded my 1969 GTX for was a 1970 SCJ (Super Cobra Jet) Torino with the drag pack.
Although my GTX would beat it in a flat out drag race, the Torino would at least stay on the road when you hammered it and went around curves.
The car was a true sleeper with the dark green family car color and only the outside emblems with Cobra Jets to give away the power it possessed.
This was the only car I have ever had that you could pull the old joke of putting a dollar on the passenger side dash to see if the person could grab the dollar when you hammered the gas. Only lost my dollar once.
It came with a factory solid lifter cam, dual point distributor,10.5 to 1 compression ration, beefed up engine block with 4 bolt main, and free flowing manifold and exhaust. The factory rating for my car were 375 HP and 450 Ft lbs of torque.
Even though it was a mid-sized car, we beat just about anyone on the street we wanted to, especially from a 10 or 20 mile an hour rolling start.
My car had the drag pack option that included a square dash tachometer, bench seat and the very unusual automatic with a column shift. Also locking rear end with a 3:91 ratio. I also had the optional 15-inch Magnum 500 wheels. On occasion, I would put the cheater slicks on for an even better street race.
When it came to handling I could hang the corners with my friend that had the 1970 Z-28.
That was because of the oversized front & rear sway bars with special springs and racing shocks. So this car not only went fast in a straight line but also kicked butt around corners and was an all around great ride.
I have owned 4 Torino’s in my car days. All personal drivers until I traded for another car.
2 were 1970 429 SCJ with the Drag Pack. 1 that you see with my kids in when they were young was the 1970 Thunderjet, which was the slightly scaled back Super Cobra Jet 429 engine that had 360 HP with minor differences to the block and hydraulic lifters.
One car I had in between was a 1970 GT Convertible Torino with the 351 Cleveland engine, bucket seat’s and a white interior. Very fast car also! Much more to say about these cars but I would like to hear your thoughts. Please chime in below.
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Mine looked like this
Sweet! Wish I still had any of mine. #
429 SCJ Torino
Drove one for a friend 429 SCJ 4 speed 514 Detroit locker, ran in E/S 1970 turned 11:20 et at 124 mph. In the 1/4 mile. Guys said the left tire didn’t touch ground till 3rd gear. It was a toque monster. OH 10 inch slicks.
I had one of them with the 4 speed and could do donuts all day with the posi rear end..
How cool William, 514 would make that car scream in the 1/4 mile. 11 second was damn fast back then.
Yes it was for 4000 lb. the heads were CC ed the cam stock lift & duration Lanaudi, not sure of spelling, Lakewood traction bars, full headers. I had 3 , 427 435 HP Corvette in my class and they never beat me. The car was ordered with just a AM radio. Thanks for listening to my rant.
Are you kidding? No rant at all. These cars were really good as street racers from a roll. I beat a 750 kawasaki from a standing start quarter mile. Nobody believed it! But we had about 50 witnesses. All those awesome cars we use to have!
PS shifted at 6800 and crossed the 1/4 mile mark at 6800.
Cool
Nice ride. I had a 1970 429 SCJ Torino also. They only made 125 in 1970 with 429SCJ with 4-speed and drag pack rear end. That is according to Martin Report that I have on mine, with all of those options.
The 429 SCJ drag pack I had with a 4 speed I never really had on the street. Started to restore it and sold it after 6 years.
WOW
Had one with CJ motor, dropped in scj boosted HP a little. Kept scj gonna put in something lighter.
Be nice in a Stang!
Dana Day had a white one. He kept blowing the 4 speed out of it.
Must have been a toploader
Always wanted one.
68 GTX 440 Super Commando
I had a 70 GTX, yellow,Dana rear,pinion snubbers, cheater slicks and fast…..
I’m a Chevy fan, with Mopars coming in at a close second. Yes, I’ve owned some nice Fords, with Mustang being my favorite. However……., I love this body style. I am very fond of the 429 Cobra. Very nice car!
I miss my 68 with a 390.
Steve you shared that 72 Buick this is the least I could do for ya