Punky Manor - Vintage Stock Car - Tribute Build

Discoveries - A learning experience

I have made several discoveries along the way so far on the Torino Tribute build. Some were interesting parts that were found on the "Boat" motor I purchased. Another was the 3-speed transmission that I bought from "Bob the Turkey Farmer". 

Beyond learning the difference between an "FE" and a 385 Series Ford engine, I have learned a quite a bit about the 460 cubic inch engine I purchased. When Punky ran the original Torino in the 1974 season he had 427 cu. in. painted on the hood. I was recently told that just because that was painted on the hood, it didn't mean that's what was under the hood! I was 13 years old at the time and I remember helping to put together an engine back then that they said was a 428 cubic inch.

Ford's FE engines were built from 1958 to 1976 and came in several cubic inch configurations. The 352, 360, 390, 406, 410, 427, and 428 were all FE engines. A lot of these engines were "used up" for racing back in the day. I tried to locate an FE for the Torino but they were fairly expensive when found. It was also suggested that I might consider finding and using something other than an engine that someone might need for a restoration.

So I focused my attention on finding a 385 Series engine. During my search someone mentioned looking into Marine engines built by Ford. I happened across two of them in the area and decided to buy the one I found up near Dassel, MN. 

The 385 Series engines were sold from 1968 to 1997 and came in 370, 429, 460 cubic inch configurations. Ford also offered this engine series in the Cobra Jet, Cobra Jet RamAir, and Super Cobra Jet versions.

Below is an image of the Hardin Marine (H320) 460 cu. in./320 H.P. that I bought for the Torino build.

During the process of cleaning and disassembling the engine I learned how to identify the various parts using the stamped I.D. numbers. My first discovery was the cast iron intake manifold. The part number D0OE-9425-C was the number used on 429 Super Cobra Jet cars.

Since I had already decided to run an aluminum intake manifold instead of the heavier cast iron version, the 429 SCJ part was sold.

The next interesting find was located on the back of the engine. When I picked up the 460, it had the original V-Drive marine transmission bolted in place. The 2-speed (forward and reverse) transmission was bolted to a Nicson aluminum bellhousing. A clutch plate was bolted directly to the flywheel, no pressure plate was used. 

Because of this rather bizarre configuration, I had my doubts about using the flywheel from this engine. That is until I looked up the casting number. The flywheel was identified as part number C9AE-6380-C used on the 1970 - 1971 429 Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet Mustang or Torino & the 1969-1970 Boss 429 Mustang. From the prices I've seen these listed at, it is a fairly sought after and valuable part!

The most interesting discovery in the part search and find process was on the 3-speed manual transmission I bought from Bob the Turkey Farmer up in Aitkin, MN. Bob had no idea what this transmission had been pulled from. I brought it home, cleaned it up and spent some time trying to identify what it came out of.

Something was very odd about this transmission and it took me a while to figure it out. It looked like a typical Ford "toploader" 3-speed but the I.D. numbers didn't show up in any searches. I also could not find any other Ford 3-speeds with this type of tailstock.

The transmission above is indeed a Ford built transmission, but it wasn't put in a Ford vehicle. The 3-speed above is called a Dearborn M13 and was the standard offering in 1966 - 1969 Pontiacs. The FoMoCo stamped toploader was used in intermediate sized Pontiacs including the GTO because the 3-speed Muncie transmission could not stand up to the higher displacement engines being introduced at that time. Most people opted to have the Muncie 4-speed option installed, so these 3-speeds are fairly rare. It is said to be one of the toughest transmissions ever installed in a Pontiac.

Next up, I am looking at how to get vintage racing tires mounted and installed. Take care for now!

Punky Manor - Vintage Stock Car - Tribute Build

Design Details - getting the "look" right

In order to comply with the following rule; "Keep it looking like a car", I will be installing all new body panels on the Torino. When I took over ownership of the race car it had already had numerous repairs done to most of the body panels. The front end was missing parts, the bumpers were bent up and in rough shape, and the GTS hood had been replaced with a flat hood. So I will be getting the car put back together to better resemble it's original shape and condition.

Chrome Bumpers - in Stock Position. For this particular rule, I will be replacing both the front and rear bumpers. The bumper rule also states that it can be "reinforced to provide safe attachment and proper protection". 

Below are some images of the process I went through to prep the rear bumper for installation. After locating a "new" rear bumper at the local salvage yard, I pressed out the dings. I then fabricated an inner roll bar structure to provide attachment points for the bumper and protect the rear of the car. The rear bumper is bolted to the tubular support so that it will be easy to remove and repair or replace if it gets damaged on the track. 

I found a handy site online that has a "Tube Coping Calculator" that makes it relatively easy to mark the "fish mouth" area to grind off when fabricating roll bars. Here is the link:

Tube Coping Calculator Website

I will now be able to fabricate the additional tubing needed to attach this assembly back into the original location on the car. Note that all original mounting hardware has been removed and discarded. The tail light and license plate areas will be covered by riveting on pieces of aluminum.

The original front bumper was covered in very fine white cracks in the chrome and it appears to have a slight twist. Once again, I found a replacement at a local yard. I will go through a similar process as mentioned above, to mount and reinforce the front bumper.

In order to achieve a period correct "look", the valve covers and other engine components need to be from the right era. As you can see by the series of photos below, I have put a lot of thought into how the engine should look. I could easily (and at greater expense) go out and buy a brand new pair of valve covers for the Torino's 460 engine. Instead I am going to try to recreate the look of the 1970's era dirt tracker.

The Modern valve covers shown (below right) would look out of place on a vintage race car. The black finish is way to recent. The chrome aftermarket covers all come with 2 lines formed in the top flat surface. Ford racing and billet aluminum are also too recent.

The examples of valve covers (below left) are a few that would have been used back in the mid 70's. The blue painted steel covers are stock and have the Ford logo embossed in them. The finned aluminum covers came on the 429 Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet engines and are a bit hard to find and can be expensive.  

When I bought the 460 cu. in. Hardin Marine engine, it came with a set of original chrome valve covers that had been painted (over the chrome) by Hardin. They also came with a chrome finish decal printed with the engine specifications in blue ink.

I decided it would be best for this build to restore the original chrome valve covers and recreate the decals. By the way, I contacted Hardin Marine and they said the division that built the 460 engines has been shut down for over 20 years, so no decals available there! To recreate the decal, I took a photo of the original, vectorized it (made it into line art) and had my sign shop friend print a half dozen on his Gerber Edge Printer. The valve covers themselves have been stripped of old paint, dents pressed out and have been sent off to Keystone Ind. to be re-chromed.      

Another issue I had to address was the entire front of the Hardin 460. The marine engine was equipped with marine water pump, non-stock alternator brackets, water pump cover, and a nest of hoses connected to the marine water cooling system. 

I removed all the marine parts and set out to locate the automotive versions of the front pulleys. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have decided to install a factory alternator to charge the battery. I managed to locate a complete set of alternator brackets up in Canada for the cost of shipping! I cleaned them up and painted the metal parts with self-etching metal primer.

I did find a stainless steel flex fan inside the race car when I brought it home. According to the part number, it looks to be the original Torino part. I am now on the hunt for the water pump pulley, aluminum fan extension and a power steering set-up.   

Hopefully I will have new tires and wheels to cover in my next post. Until ten, take care!