...A while back...last year... I was at the local auto parts store ..they had a Flowmaster display w/ sound.  By pushing different buttons you could hear the different Flowmaster mufflers....there was a couple that was close, but no cigar.  I know that matching an exhaust system to a television show sound effect will be next to impossible ( I am still trying to figure out how to make my Federal Signal siren control work in both wail and yelp mode together..just like the siren sound effect in the show...and it's a 70's era siren control unit)

  I don't know if any on line search will yield you anything usable ( YouTube) or if doing research over at Starskytorino.com will yield anything as far as what other people are using on their Torinos....it would appear that Flowmaster is the way to go according to what "I" have read at that site but I don't know which model.

....It donned on me today....I saw a "Cherry Bomb" sticker on the back glass of a Ford pick up in Falls City, Neb.... Since this sound effect was used thru out the 70's and beyond...(who knows where or what created it [Ford, Mopar, G.M]) , the chances are pretty good that the mufflers where glass packs...

  I am simply guessing that the car(what ever it was) that was used for the sound effect was equipped with these items from the late 60's early 70's:

1) A big block....I have listened to different episodes over and over again to try and pin the exhaust sound down.   I have yet to hear a small block "take a few seconds" to get wound up like on the show.....even the "big inch" small blocks rev pretty quick. (i.e G.M small block 400) 

2) Manual transmission.... pay attention to when ever the car is shifted from a forward to reverse gear or visa versa.

3) Headers... unless they where some high performance,stock exhaust manifolds from the late 60's very early 70's...you just don't get that sound from factory stock exhaust manifolds

4) Dual Exhast....again, no 2 in to 1 single pipe exhaust can sound like that.

5) Glass Packs....that's all we had back in the day 

  With all that being said, the "X" factor still remains as to which engine with what goodies made the sound.

  Me personally , since I have the 351W, FMX Tranny in my Torino, am going with headers, dual exhaust (either an "X" pipe or "H" pipe) and further research will determine which Glass Packs or present day performance mufflers will be used.       

I don't think it was a Pontiac 301turbo because the engine didn't come into being until around 1980 I believe and the series was already off the air by then.... don't worry, I bleed FORD BLUE!

1. The cars on the TV show were not "owned" by the production company, but were leased to Spelling-Goldberg for the duration of the run. Once filming was complete, they were returned to Ford, and were then uncerimoniously (and surprising, knowing thier noteriety) prepped for wholesale, and then wholesaled to Ford dealers at an auction. California law forbade any type of engine/ drivetrain modifications that would render the factory-installed emissions systems inoperative, so they were left nearly 100% stock. This means the 1st-season cars were stock 400 2V, single exhaust cars, and the 2nd-4th season cars were stock 460-4V dual exhaust cars. 
2. Making any modifications that would result in the "Starsky Engine" sound would have entailed at the very least some exhaust system mods, but that would have been a waste of time and money anyway because... 
3. ...nearly all 2nd unit filming, the unit that films scenes that do NOT require the star actors to be present, is typically filmed "wild". In "Starsky & Hutch", this is most often any scenes involving the car, whether it is racing around or just driving by, as long as the star actors are not required for the shot. These shots are always filmed using stand-ins for the actors. On nearly every episode of "Starsky & Hutch", if there is a long shot of them just walking into a building, or even driving up in the car, getting out and going inside, it is usually done with stand-ins, as long as thier faces are clearly shown. This is very easy to spot in nearly all episodes. Additionally, filming "wild" simply means that they are not recording any sound with the film for that shot, or if they do film with sound, it is only to be used for a template later by the SDFX and foley artists when they create the entire sound track for that scene 100% in the studio while editing it all together. It is near impossible to get a good, clean sound recording while on location, especially when the show has to be banged together quickly.
4. The sounds of the car on the show sound great, for sure, but it is preposterous to think they could be actual live on-set recordings for many all-too-obvious reasons:
1. The Torinos in actuality are highway-geared, automatic trans cars. Conversely, the sound effects clearly depict a manual-transmission car, and clearly one with a very high (numerically) axle ratio...this is why the gears change so many times so quickly. This may be totally innacurate, but it definitely adds a lot of "zip" and excitemnent to the scenes of the Torino in action. To see how a little more realistically-recorded sound package sounds, watch any episode of "Nash Bridges" and his 71" Cuda. That show had 5 "Bridges" Cudas, but only one of them was outfitted with the equipment to give it the proper sound. (That car was a 440 magnum, 4-speed car). This car was used for all the "sounds" on the show, regardless of which actual car was used in the scene. Because it was a normal, highway-geared car most of the stunts were done at low RPM, and consequently all the engine sounds sounded to be at low RPM...subtly keeping the subconcious "zip" of the scene down a bit.
2. In any close up of the actors talking in the car on location, or while being trailered, they need as clean sound track as possible, with no or very little extraneous noises to "pollute" the sound recording. Once the sound editors have "locked" the dialogue, then foley artists add all the background sound, including the engine noises. Clearly, if the car had the "Starsky" sound in real life, it would have made dialogue recording quite difficult.
5. For many years, I have diligently attempted to track down just exactly what vehicle and engine combo was used for the Torino's sound effects, and my latest opinion is that there were several sources used, based on what "fit" the scene sonically. Clearly, a few of the scenes use sounds direcytly lifted from "Bullitt", as do many, many movies and TV shows. The SDFX editors probably just used whatever was in thier "library". My personal opinion is that most of the sounds came from a very high-performance, high-winding small-block race car, like a GT40 or a full-race Corvette or something along those lines. Those are certainly not big-block sounds for sure.
6. For some good examples of this, I direct you to two well-known and popular movies: Smokey and the Bandit, and Gone in 60 seconds (the original version from 1974).Both movies were released in thier original form on DVD several years ago, and both have sinve been re-released on re-mastered and stereo-modified soundtracks...which niether of them had originally. In both instances, ALL of the original car-engine noises were replaced with "improved" stereo versions. They both suck. Smokey was (for me anyway) RUINED by this...the sounds of the T/A in that movie were fabulous, and the new versions of it are flat and lifeless.