This 1968 Ford Torino GT looks like a straightforward restoration photo set, but the model year almost went very differently. A UAW strike nearly forced Ford to drop the standard engine, and buyers who wanted real power had to specifically order the 390. Here’s the story behind the car in these photos and how rare it really is.
1968 Ford Torino GT 390 CID V8 C6 3-Speed Automatic
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A gallery of glossy photos doesn’t always explain why a car mattered, and this 1968 Ford Torino GT is a good example of a machine that looks like a footnote but actually carries real history under the sheetmetal. Ford built more than 100,000 Torino GTs that year, yet a labor dispute nearly changed what came standard under the hood before a single one reached a showroom floor. The car pictured here carries the 390 four-barrel setup, one of several engine options buyers could step up to depending on how serious they wanted to get. What almost derailed the model year, and how rare is the version sitting in these photos?
A Strike Almost Changed the Standard Engine
About six weeks into 1968 model year production, a six-week UAW strike against Ford forced a cost-cutting move that made a 289 cu in two-barrel small-block V8 the standard engine on the Torino GT instead of the previously planned 302. Buyers who stepped up to the 390 four-barrel V8 pictured here were opting into real performance: 335 hp at 4,800 rpm and 427 lb-ft of torque at 3,200 rpm, backed by 10.5:1 compression.
How Rare Is This Body Style
The Torino GT came in three shapes: a formal hardtop, the SportsRoof fastback, and a convertible. Of the 100,384 Torino GTs built for 1968, only 5,310 were convertibles, while the SportsRoof fastback body style seen here saw 74,135 units produced with a $2,742.84 window sticker and a 3,208-lb curb weight. Period road tests put the 390-equipped SportsRoof at roughly 7.2 to 7.7 seconds to 60 mph, with the quarter mile landing in the low 15s.
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I loved the ’68-’69 Torinos. I drove one in ’76 with a 390 auto, it was a fastback and ran very strongly, if it did not sound like there was not a tight bolt anywhere on the car I’d have bought it, but it had been dogged too much, not wrecked; it just drove a bit too “loose” and rattly.