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1973 Gran Torino weight

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colonelsandersman View Drop Down
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    Posted: 13-March-2014 at 8:50AM
Tried a simple search for the weight of a 1973 Gran Torino, all I got was a range between 3,600 and 4,300 lbs. I have a 73 Formal roof, with a 351w. Does anyone know the actual weight. Wikipedia quoted nearly 4400 for a 73 sport roof but that seems high, I'm guessing maybe a solid 3900 for my car but I really have no clue. I'm sure this has been beaten to death but any good weight savings, or shaving ideas I could do to get the weight down, I'm talking out of the ordinary something that I might not be thinking of. All the AC components are gone up to the heater box, I can think of spare, rear seat, aluminum heads intake ect. I'm talking different, and easy. I've seen eliminating inner fenders drilling out the steel bumper behind the cover, what can you guys think of?
Jake
1973 Gran Torino
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dave302 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dave302 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-March-2014 at 10:12AM

There was a discussion about this subject, where certain members discussed the weights of their Torino's (from the different years of 1972 through 1976) and a member also discussed how he had his Torino weighed on all four corners of the vehicle.



Edited by dave302 - 19-March-2014 at 12:49AM
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Dan the ranchero man View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dan the ranchero man Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-March-2014 at 10:24AM
does your car still have the tag in the driver door jam? The weight would be posted on that tag. Depending on options you cars weight could vary from one torino to another.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote californiajohnny Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-March-2014 at 12:58PM
my 74  351w weighs 4,100 lbs
JOHN
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 72FordGTS Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-March-2014 at 2:26PM
The 4400 on Wiki is from a Car and Driver article. That was the "test weight" of the 1973 GTS CJ auto they tested. I have the article. The other weights on Wiki are shipping weights and are not really accurate to real world weight.

Around here the when the truck scales are closed, you can drive your car on them to weight them (the display still works).

I am pretty sure the door jamb (at least on my car) only shows GVWR. This is just the maximum weight the car can weigh when fully loaded. So it's basically the car + max load = GVWR. If you know your vehicle weight then you can find out your true payload. Payload = GVWR - actual vehicle weight. This is useful for pickups, since the quoted payloads are often not the real world payloads.

Edited by 72FordGTS - 13-March-2014 at 2:29PM
Vince

1972 Ford GTS Sportsroof - Survivor, One Family car

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colonelsandersman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote colonelsandersman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-March-2014 at 8:01PM
Geez, where is all this weight coming from, the gm A bodies were full frame I think and they don't weigh nearly this much. It's not like our car have any safety features, besides good ole Uncle Sam bumpers, is there some redundant steel welded in somewhere im missing. What's the lightest anyone's seen for our cars; quite frankly Wikipedia quoting 3300 lbs on the weight range for '72 has me very, very curious, if not skeptic.
Jake
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dave302 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-March-2014 at 8:26PM
The lightest 1972 torino that i have ever heard of was a 1972 two door base model torino formal roof (not gran torino), it had a 250 cubic inch six cylinder engine, a one barrel carburetor and a three speed standard transmission (not an automatic transmission).
This car had no extra options ordered when it was new. It did not even have a radio, it did not have any power accessories like power steering, power brakes, power windows or power seats and it did not have air conditioning.
This car came from the factory with only the mandatory equipment like a heater, front windshield defroster, windshield wipers, a speedometer, a fuel gage, lights, directional signals and seat belts. So it had a smaller wire harness, a smaller lighter alternator, and a smaller lighter weight battery. I had heard that this car weighed only 3,370 pounds. 
If this weight was accurate, it would have been the torino's shipping weight, not the curb weight.
 
This was also the lowest priced torino available for 1972.


Edited by dave302 - 19-March-2014 at 4:09PM
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dave302 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-March-2014 at 9:52PM
The 1972 base model torino with the 250 6 cylinder also had a lighter 8 inch rear end (although the heavier 9 inch rear end was an available option at an extra cost), some people even ordered them with a lighter weight/lower cost full rubber floor covering/mat instead of the heavier more expensive carpet with a carpet backing like the gran torino has. 
The 1972 base model torino also has a different hood, front grill and front bumper (with no header panel) compared to the '72 gran torino. The '72 base model torino also had the lower cost base model interior. 
All of these things including the other things that i listed before, might have possibly reduced the overall weight of the car down to 3,370 pounds total shipping weight. 

Edited by dave302 - 19-March-2014 at 4:24PM
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dave302 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-March-2014 at 10:18PM
Here are a couple of pictures of a 1972 base model torino. The lower cost base model front bumper, hood and grill with no front header panel might have reduced even more pounds, when compared to the slightly heavier, more expensive/higher quality gran torino parts.
I do not mean to say negative things about the base model torino, i know that there are many people who own them, like them and restore them and i have even heard of a few people who turned their gran torino into a base model torino on purpose.

Edited by dave302 - 19-March-2014 at 4:26PM
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote unlovedford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-March-2014 at 1:35AM
I have a base '72 Torino wagon with no options. Rubber mat, radio delete, no power anything, no A/C. 250/3 speed manual. I also have a '72 Gran Torino Squire wagon with all power options (seat/locks/windows/etc), a 429/C6 and every option. The base car feels and acts 1,000 pounds lighter than the Squire. Literally. Absolutely no comparison and the base car feels very light on it's feet, while the other wagon feels ponderous.
Joe
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1972 Torino Wagon
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Billy C Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-March-2014 at 3:56AM
ah, weight weight weight...

Here is a list of things I am doing/going to be doing to lighten up my big block gts
weight reduction estimate based on what I have weighed and some guessing

AC is a given must go thing...

smog crap (15lbs?)
aluminum intake (20lbs)
aluminum heads (50lbs)
aluminium water pump (10lbs?)
aluminum rad (7lbs?) 
electric fan setup vs big steel one (5lbs) 
aluminum wheels vs steel (40lbs)
back seat (15lbs?)
starter update pgm + getting rid of the relay on the fender (5lbs?)
headers (10lbs)
junk it the trunk including spare and jack (10-25lbs) 

that's creeping towards 200lb loss

Oh and the people your driving around.. ditching them will help 160-500lbs too. 

I'm sure I'm forgetting something

Battery in the trunk helps weight distribution..



Here is where integrity of the car changes

swiss cheesing all the front bumper parts (I figure if I wreck I am sh** out of luck anyways)
stripped interior
lighter front seats
no radio
no clock
manual brakes
manual steering

-Billy Conturo
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote GTW Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-March-2014 at 4:09AM
Cutting and tucking a '73 bumper (eliminating the splash pan, losing bumper sections) could reduce the weight a bit. You could do a '72 rear bumper conversion (72 brackets needed) to get rid of the '73 rear filler panel. I think it was Joe's idea to get rid of interior insulation as well, and I might follow that. I think you can buy fiberglass body panels too.
Griffin
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Torinogts73c Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-March-2014 at 4:12AM
MY 73 Sportsroof weighed 4120 with 351C 4v C-6 and factory a/c if that is any help to you!
Gary 73 Gran Torino Sport 351CJ,17 Mustang Ecoboost,15 Jeep Grand Cherokee LTD, Ford Ranger parts hauler


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote formaltop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-March-2014 at 7:10AM
My 72 gts formal top is aprox 3800# across the scale.
351w with aluminum manifold and headers, c6 and 9 " rear, no ac and no power options, but did have the jack and spare. The 73's fronts weigh a bit more than the 72's I believe but it has to be close.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rockatansky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-March-2014 at 7:35AM
I guess all you have to do is find the same source for 1973, or weigh it



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gpd294 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-March-2014 at 7:43AM
Originally posted by dave302 dave302 wrote:

Here are a couple of pictures of a 1972 base model torino. The lower cost base model front bumper, hood and grill with no front header panel obviously reduced even more pounds, when compared to the slightly heavier, more expensive/higher quality gran torino parts.
I do not mean to say negative things about the base model torino, i know that there are many people who own them, like them and restore them and i have even heard of a few people who turned their gran torino into a base model torino on purpose.
LOL! Hey I resemble those remarks! LOL!!!!!! LOL 
Carlos....1975 Gran Torino Squire Station Wagon restored to look like a 1973 Torino Station

Wagon my Dad bought new from McAnary Ford on June 6, 1973 in Gary,Indiana
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote unlovedford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-March-2014 at 7:56AM
Yes, I had a whole slew of weight-reducing measures I was going to take with one of my cars. Still may with one of my others.
Joe
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rockatansky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-March-2014 at 8:06AM
curb weights listed here for 302 engine

http://grantorinosport.org/73torino05.htm

Edited by Rockatansky - 14-March-2014 at 8:07AM
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote colonelsandersman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-March-2014 at 11:10AM
I like these ideas, and boy I can't believe the 73 formal weighs only 3760, cant imagine the 351w weighs much more than a 302. I've always dreamed of dropping my car to 3500lbs, and it looks a little more feasible, bout +200lbs to go I guess. What's this about lightweight seats? Sticking to OEM Ford, any good buckets that will drop in to replace my heavy bench, or will only 1972-76 midsize buckets work? Im thinking back to my dads 67 Fairlane and how light and basic and generally awesome those buckets were. 
Jake
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote antlerfiend Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-March-2014 at 2:25PM
Joe, send that ponderous wagon to me. Me and my 72 sportroof weighed 4038 pds in Memphis. Of course I had tools in the trunk and Gt caps on the black floorboard.
Alex
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Billy C Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-March-2014 at 4:40PM
When I say lighter front seats, I mean some NEW non-oem seats. Like fixed back Recaros

The next step would be composite body panels. 
A carbon fiber hood would probably drop 50lbs
truck lid 20lbs..
front fenders 30lbs ea

Then things like aluminum or composite rad support
valve covers
intake tubing

aluminum brake calipers
two piece rotors
smaller gas tank
tubular transmission cross member

engine mods like lighter rotating assembly
if you have a manual, then a lighter flywheel
carbon fiber or aluminum drive shaft

at that point it would probably be under 3000 without a driver

oh and duh.. an aluminum 3rd member 


Edited by Billy C - 14-March-2014 at 4:50PM
-Billy Conturo
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