Police Handling Package on 73 Torino

Hey!  I have a 73 Gran Torino Sport Fastback (Q Code), which came with a factory rear sway bar.  I understand that the existence of the factory rear sway bar indicates the car was ordered with the Police Handling Package.  My question relates to the brake system which may have come with the Police Handling Package.  What size rotors came on a car so ordered?  Does the rear sway bar specify a package which comes with the Police Brakes?  Aftermarket stores, like AutoZone, show the difference in rotor size between standard disc brake rotors and police brake rotors as 10.75" vs. 11.75", respectively.  My car has the factory 14" Magnum 500 wheels.  But research states that the 11.75" rotors require a minimum 15" wheel.  Is my research lacking or will the factory Magnum 500 work with the police brakes?  What gives?  I ask because I want to upgrade my rear drums to 98 Explorer rear disc brakes, which have a 11.2" rotor.  Will my 14" wheel fit the 11.2" rotor?  Thanks!

I have a 72 Q code and it didn't have any special handling package. Ir didn't have a rear sway bar and had a skinny front bar. I think the handling package was an optional thing.

Thanks for the info, Guys! 

I crawled under the Torino to measure the existing rotors as best as possible.  The rotors appear to be the nominal 11".  I think they are called 11", even though research seems to indicate their actual outside diameter as 10.72".  This is the measurement specified by all national big name auto parts stores like Advance Auto, AutoZone, O'Reilly's, etc.  Note:  NAPA gives different sizes for most all measurements.  As for the other stores, for the police/taxi rotors, which you nominally call 12", the actual outside diameter is 11.72" (Same indicated for the 76 77 Lincoln Mark IV, etc.).  Some websites did specify a 11.78" or 11.79", but most called them 11.72".  Maybe measurement depends upon who is doing the measuring.

I, also, researched the 72 Thunderbird (Small spindle & rotor 11.72" with 5 on 4.5), 72 73 Torino (Small spindle & rotor for police/taxi 11.72 with 5 on 4.5) and the 74 Torino (Large spindle & rotor for Police/Taxi 11.72 with 5 on 5 ****NOTE the 5 on 5) for, both standard and police/taxi rotors and bearings sizes for the different rotors.  As previously stated here within this forum topic, there is a big different between bearing sizes for the 72 73 Torino and the 74 Torino (Both standard spindle and police/taxi spindle).  The outer bearings on both spindles appear to be the same.  It is the 'inner' bearing which is smaller on the 72 73, whereas larger on the 74.  As stated before, the 74 Torino wears the same spindle bearing sizes as the big cars. 

NOTE:  I forgot to research the 'height' dimension for the different rotors.  I assumed all these would be the same, since many of you indicate a straight swap of big rotors (Front & Rear) off large Ford & Lincoln cars is possible on the 73 Torino, if the Torino has the large spindles and with swapping axles from 5 on 4.5 to 5 on 5. 

Also, as stated, in order for me to be able to determine whether or not I have the early small spindles or the later larger spindles mounted upon my particular (Late February build or mid year if 73 nominal build begins in August) Torino, I'd have to pull a rotor and check bearing part numbers. 

NOTE:  Research indicates the backing plates for the nominal 11" and the nominal 12" brake rotors are the same.  Thus, no need to change those.  The 12" will fit the 11" backing plates.  The rotor just fills out the backing plate fully, but with no overhang.

ALSO, I researched to find Magnum 500 wheels for the 5 on 5 bolt pattern.  There aren't any...  Not made...  Cannot be ordered.  Thus, if I wish to upgrade to 5 on 5, then I cannot upgrade to 15" Magnum 500 wheels.  This would be important to me, since I would wish to keep my Torino appearing (At least from the outside) to be factory built. 

The aftermarket makes great stuff!  You can greatly enhance your old muscle car using technically advanced components.  However, when you begin to put modern components on your old car to make it faster, handle better, etc., then you end up with a resto mod.  And collectors don't like resto mods.

That said, if you already have a rare high performance car from the factory, changing to modern components means you can FORGET about what price you can sell your car to a collector for.  Ain't happening.  He'll take one look and walk away.  And remember, value for original cars goes up, not down. 

Well, our Torino cars do seem to be somewhat lagging in value considering other cars (Mustangs, Chevelles, GTX's, Chargers, Camaros, etc.).  But a factory muscle car is still a muscle car.  And for 72 73 'Q' Code Torino owners, we have a muscle car...  Even if it has a C6 transmission.  Although those 4 speed 72 73 cars do seem to get much more attention.


Edited by jester - 30-September-2015 at 12:51AM

The Competition Suspension was available as an option on all Torinos except the wagons in '72. It had better shocks, revised rear suspension arms, rear bar, stiffer springs, larger front bar. It was not standard on any version GTS or otherwise regardless of the engine. To add confusion, there was a more comprehensive option that included the Competition suspension and Sport cluster all in one package. It was also available on non-GTS cars and 4 doors. The Sport cluster package was available as an option on all Torinos including wagons. Front brakes were the same across the board, but larger rear drum setups could be ordered.

The Police Package had different springs, the better shocks, larger rotor and drum sizes, 5 X 5 bolt pattern, revised suspension components, rear bar, larger front bar, HD battery, HD cooling, transmission cooler, 15 inch steel wheels, rubber mat and was almost exclusively on base Torino 4 doors only. However, Ford was famous for allowing ala carte ordering.

Great info, Joe!

It is interesting that the 72 73 Torino with police/taxi rotors had the 5 on 5, as well.  Thus, a swap to the 72 Thunderbird 12" would not be correct for the 72 73 cars.  The police package certainly came with everything upgraded.  If the package came with rubber floor mats, maybe that would cause most buyers, even when ordering their cars, from ordering the police package.  But maybe ordering the bucket seat interior, which came with special floor mats which had rubber inserts inside the carpet material, would have superseded the plain rubber floor mats. 

Wow!  That would be something to find.  It would be as hard to find as a 72 73 with the extra heavy duty transmission and rear end package.

Your car would not have the "Police Suspension" unless it was a police car.  The rear sway bar would indicate that you have the competition suspension. 

Hey aquartlow!

Thanks for the clear and very informative pictures.  I wondered where the spacer went.

Jim

Hey Andrew!

Happy for the hearsay.

Jim

jester wrote: Hey aquartlow! Thanks for the clear and very informative pictures.  I wondered where the spacer went. Jim

I have a 73 Gran Torino with the factory rear sway bar.  I measured its diameter and got 11/16".  I'm trying to fully restore the suspension with new everything front & rear, i.e., springs, bushings, shocks, ball joints, etc.  Plus, I want to use all polyurethane, instead of rubber.  I'm having trouble finding the rear sway bar link kit.  The factory link kit came with the lower link attaching to the sway bar with a horizontal bolt through a horseshoe, which has rubber bushings.  The vertical link kit, which is normal to other sway bars won't work.  I can only use some universal bushings (I hope) with the factory link kit.  The upper link is vertical and seems to take universal bushings.  Is there an OEM link bushing kit for this rear sway bar, especially for the lower link?  I'll have the old hardware sandblasted and powder coated for re-use.

Hey John!  Thanks for the info.  I've added those parts to my Amazon cart. 

Next question...  Are there supposed to be coil spring insulators, both, at the top of the springs and at the bottom, as well?  So far, I've only found two sets of insulators, one set for the front & another set for the rear springs. 

Prothane offers a set of insulators for the front springs.  But I couldn't find the part number.  For my car, it appears the bottom of the rear springs do not have insulators.  Nothing has been disassembled yet. 

I have not been able to have a better look with proper lighting.  And I don't have any way to get up under the car for a good inspection.  What I've seen was from when my mechanic installed a 7 quart oil pan.

The heavy duty front & rear coil springs have arrived, along with an Energy Suspension 4.3120G rear control arm bushing kit.  It comes with shells for the lower control arms. 

The upper control arms are different from the control arms on my Mustang.  They are cast iron and attach quite differently.

californiajohnny wrote: IIRC mine only had thin OEM insulators only on the top of the springs front and rear

Mine was like John said... ONE TOP SIDE ONLY front & rear.

Edited by TV 2M8O - 29-October-2015 at 10:57PM

jester wrote: And removing the old rubber bushings from shells so the shells can be re-used with Poly bushings doesn't look fun.

Great pictures of your resto!  From those, I can see details I had not imagined.  Thanks!

Hey John,

Yep!  My dash lights definitely need more light.  Thanks!

I went to Joe's website and looked at all his pictures.  There were so many I couldn't get through them all.