My 44th Starsky & Huch Gran Torino Project...Episode 16

Well, here is Torino #44 all finished. It came out really well and I had four guys stop and come look at it while I was filming this. My goal was to bless Tony with a car that he could take to car shows, out to dinner or go get groceries and draw a crowd.
It is not perfect and Tony has plans to continue working on it. Doing things such as rebuild the engine and transmission, recover the front seats etc. Old cars are always a "work in process". That is part of the fun of owning a classic car, tinkering with it.
Tony chose the hybrid stripe which is both Hero #1 Torino from the TV show and the front of the stripe is like the L.E. He also wanted color keyed sport mirrors. He also wanted the bumpers chromed. I had never in my life had anything chromed so it was a learning experience. I had also never taken the skin off a torino bumper core.
There were some odds and ends missing. Some interior trim gone. I added the rear arm rests, sail panels and hat shelf as well as some misc. interior trim.
Tony had provided a better grill and surround so I put those on which made it even better. Another nice thing he wanted was a new windshield since the one in it was either put in wrong or it had shifted over to one side badly so I couldn't remove the window trim clips or install new ones.
The rear window trim was not attached properly because it was pretty bent and it was missing some clips. So I took one of my extra trim pieces and replaced it so now it snaps on and stays.
The fellow who has painted it before Tony bought it had replaced the passenger rear tail light mounting panel with one made of tin and sheet metal screwed it to the body. I left that on but had to re-do the tail light mounting holes because they were too low and made the tail light sag. Now it is nice and straight.
The worst thing on the car I fixed was the opera windows. The previous owner had taken out the opera windows and J.B. welded a thin piece of tin in the opera window hole and then bondoed over it. Which of course cracked in the shape of the window hole. I welded in new steel and did the body work and it turned out quite well. You wouldn't know it ever had opera windows.
So, now that it is done, I feel great and look forward to the next car project.
Thank you Tony for the opportunity to starskyize your baby.

[@ericmithat-bp8hm]

Beautiful magnifique i love it nice car

[@elviscanadien2895]

You are the Torino Wizard! Simply beautiful job as usual!!

[@born_again_torinos]

Thank you Elvis!

[@williamrtorres1182]

I love that Ford Gran Torino

[@tonysaylor2373]

Today I picked up my car from Steve. This was such a great experience from start to finish! Steve is a wonderful person and goes above and beyond making his cars correct and very nice! Its extremely hard to find someone like him these days, works hard, proud of his work, nice to deal with and for a reasonable price! Do not hesitate in having him work on your car! This was a very big and memorable project in my life and steve handled it as if it was his car!!! Thank you again Steve for a very great experience, a beautiful car and a new friendship! I really feel that im in a elite group of people now, 44 of us took a leap of faith with you, trusted you with something close to are hearts, were a small group of people who see these as super rare and special cars, dream cars! Thanks steve!!!!!

[@born_again_torinos]

Wow, Tony I don't know what to say but thank you. One of the best things about doing your torino was meeting you and your best friend Terry. I have to tell everybody that Tony surprised me with a really nice RC 4-wheel drive car. Him and Terry like to take out their RC cars and race and jump in Oregon. Tony asked me if we had an RC track/course in Spokane and I said yes, near my house even. Well they brought their RC cars and I tagged along to watch them race, looking forward to it because though I fly a drone, I have never used an RC car. After we got to the track, Tony was showing me his car and how it worked and then he pulled out a brand new one and I was thinking, wow, how many does he own and he handed it to me and said "this is for you". I was blown away. We had a blast racing and jumping, a memory I will never forget, thank you for everything Tony. I look forward to updates on #44. One more thing. Tony gave me the high honor of signing and dating the car under the trunk lid. He made me feel so special. Steve

[@jeanpierreberjot5359]

Superbe voiture etbtres bons acteurs j'ai vu toutes les series

[@V8AmericanMuscleCar]

Beautiful ride!!

[@nicaux7645]

Great work! Be proud to restore models of the iconic S&H Ford Gran Torino. I hope I will see a real one in my life. Greetings from Normandie :-)

[@born_again_torinos]

Thank you so much for the kind words. I have sold several of my S&H cars to France. You may see one yet. Have a wonderful blessed day.

[@danielkmunroe2489]

Once again, a beautiful job, carried out with care and real heart. I really enjoy these videos. Take care.

[@born_again_torinos]

And thank you once again Daniel. I hope all is well with you.

[@gkgsquared5886]

Steve, FABULOUS job. Outstanding! Wow that looks great. One of you best thus far and the stripe is perfect. Well done my friend!

[@born_again_torinos]

Wow, what praise. Thank you so much.

[@tonysaylor2373]

Thats how I feel too!!

[@tonysaylor2373]

Ohhhhh my!!! Unbelievable that is my car!!! Such a wonderful job!!! It does look wet, deep and shiny! Just wow!!!! Im sure you are super proud of your work and you really should be, sooo killer and awwwwsome! Thank you very,very much for your hard work! Love it!

[@born_again_torinos]

That is so nice of you Tony. Thank you for trusting me with your car. Now lets get working on your mad max car.

[@kwedlake]

Looks great Steve! Enjoy Tony!

[@tonysaylor2373]

Im going too!!!! Like McDonald's says, " im loving it"!!!!

[@stephenwevans]

Simply beautiful. Your work is second to none. (Shedding a single tear for not having my Torino anymore!)

[@born_again_torinos]

That is nice of you to say, but my torinos are not perfect. They are still out there, keep looking. I'd starskyize it for you.

[@Mikey-Likes-It_101]

Steve, another AWESOME JOB! And thank you for the ride along! great audio and editing on the video. I know how Tony feels - this brings back memories to me. Now . . . you know I am itching to get mine out tomorrow while weather is nice! Thanks for sharing, . . . Mike

[@born_again_torinos]

Ah Mike, you are the only person to say something about the editing. I was experimenting with some new editing software. it was kind of fun. I'll get better at it and add back ground music maybe to some other video. Thanks for the kind words my friend.

[@timstirton9481]

that Gran Torino is a STUNNER, Steve i do miss selling mine in 2009 it has not been the same with out her one day my friend ONE DAY SOON i hope [trouble is there getting a bit thin on the ground now] to find a good one your Mate from BRISBANE AUSTRALIA Tim Stirton p/s the Vintage Ansen/US INDY Mags need your TOUCH , that would be icing on the Torino/cake

[@born_again_torinos]

Hey Tim, Well you are the slot mag polishing king. I'm hoping Tony buys the new slot mags. They are perfect and would look nicer with the new paint and bumpers.

[@tonysaylor2373]

I would get polished ones but I like having it look like the TV show car, and they just had the wheel lip polished. Either way it looks great

[@fourwinns12345]

I have one in Melbourne Australia love the car

[@born_again_torinos]

I've heard there are three S&H units in Australia, I can't confirm that. But I know that two of them are ones I built.

[@fourwinns12345]

About 5 I think there is one for sale that was used in the movie they are asking 57 k for it

[@fourwinns12345]

Born Again Torinos how can I send you photos

[@fourwinns12345]

I also own the general lee and sheriff Rosco which there are a few generals here and only 1 rosco

[@born_again_torinos]

@@fourwinns12345 You can go to the "about" on my channel and send me an email. Also there is a link to my website which has my email address.

[@dpurrott]

Steve, another work of art. Tony is a lucky guy. I will keep my eye out for your next project. Hope all is well.

[@born_again_torinos]

Hi There David. Thank you so much. I hope you are having fun.

[@tonysaylor2373]

I do feel lucky!! Never thought id own a car like this one!!

[@jamessommer6077]

Great job Steve,I actually miss selling mine,but I'll get another one someday.

[@born_again_torinos]

Hi there Jim. It is really nice hearing from you. I hope you are doing well.

[@jamessommer6077]

Born Again Torinos hi Steve,long time no hear,I'm ok just hopefully waiting for my stimulus check because I found a camper that I was seeking for,so I'm well and keeping my fingers crossed,hope all is well with you and Elizabeth and your dog!. Ya know it's funny as I always see Elizabeth on Facebook and your house and your dog,but never YOU!!! Lol

[@born_again_torinos]

@@jamessommer6077 Hi Jim, a camper can be a lot of fun and save you a ton on motels. Elizabeth is doing great, sadly we had to put Rocky down in the early spring. I'm still heart broken but getting better.

[@omartorres5688]

Tony is blessed indeed and Lucky as I got sentenced to a Honda instead

[@born_again_torinos]

That is funny Omar. 8^)

[@marcusmoon1859]

Looks great Steve! Awesome job!

[@born_again_torinos]

Thank you buddy.

[@henriminaguer3413]

Hello can you give me a price order for a complete car preparation. Amazing work ❗ thanks Henri 🙏

[@born_again_torinos]

Hi Henry, I'm afraid I can't. Each torino has been a different price. I don't have one at this time. I'm still looking for a good candidate but the ones I'm finding are either too rough or over priced. The last two torinos I Starskiezed, the owners brought me their own gran torinos for starskization. So I will be looking and you should be looking for one as well. If you find a good candidate, I can look at it and tell if it would work or to pass on it. Thanks, Steve

[@born_again_torinos]

Hey Robert, That jeep is the neighbors and it is a major pile of junk. I love how these always come out looking wet and shiny.

[@hoodagooboy5981]

Is that your CJ5? Nice sounding exhaust. That paint job looks like it's dripping wet. :)

[@born_again_torinos]

Hey Robert, That jeep is the neighbors and it is a major pile of junk. I love how these always come out looking wet and shiny.

[@eg395]

Beautiful job. Did you ever find out the rake combination? Springs..shocks? Simply awesome!

[@born_again_torinos]

Thanks, No I simply put air in the air shocks. 8^)

[@Mikey-Likes-It_101]

I own Born Again Torino #30, and I can tell you that since the springs were very old (and had 122,000 miles) I replaced them, it made no difference. But, with air shocks, like Steve mentioned (and I keep them inflated) that really helps, also the 15” wheels on rear and 14” on front per the prototype, it looks perfect.

[@born_again_torinos]

@@Mikey-Likes-It_101 Thats right Mike. I'm sure #43 had Ranchero springs though. It had the perfect rake and no air shocks. I may try that myself some day.

[@eg395]

I remember Steve had mentioned that one car had no air shocks. Yes I have 14’s on the front and 15’s on the back.

[@eg395]

I bought a set of Ranchero springs. The air shocks really give the car a hard ride. I’ll let you know when I do that and when I change the air shocks to a regular shock

[@ALittleHelp-vn4ld]

Steve, I am building a tribute car and I plan on it being a driver. Can you help with the stripe dimensions? I had to close in the opera windows too and got information in your comment section on how to close in the interior.

[@peterlaurancearmenio5545]

Really nice work I would go with a Stripe from the TV show on my car Can you tell me what the color is fire engine red

[@born_again_torinos]

Thank you very much. No, the color is a factory Ford color from the 70s. The code is 2B bright red, the white is an off white and is a ford fleet color called Wimbledon White.

[@canamcdh06]

Anything for sale at the moment Steve?

[@user-cm5sc1vj5f]

What size tires and rim on front and what size on back. Looks great George.

[@born_again_torinos]

Hey George, I don't remember off the top of my head, check out my other videos, I did a video on tires and wheels. Thanks, Steve

[@jeffwelch34]

Nice work on your Torinos Steve. In 2007 I imported a 76 Brougham out here to New Zealand and did a S&H replica. Only 4 of them in this country. The car can be seen on StarskyTorino.com. It was the 250th car on the site. Hard to get parts out here sadly. Ive been looking for some new tail light bezel surrounds - with the tabs as I have the trim that goes across from light to light being the Brougham model. Would appreciate if you know where I could find any. I know theyre kinda rare. Anyway - great job. Merry Christmas. Jeff Welch.

[@LordRusty5]

EXQUISITE!

[@jamescorsey9376]

So, did you sell that beauty?

[@born_again_torinos]

Hi James, This particular torino belongs to Tony in Oregon. He trailered it up to me for Starskyization. He came a couple weeks ago and picked it up.

[@mickeyjohnson5247]

Zebra 3!

[@ajjy1110]

wrong.. the car was never called zebra 3 it's their call sign in any vehicle or on foot

[@mickeyjohnson5247]

@@ajjy1110 I know that dude!!!

[@rahim5217]

It appears that you aren't making any more Starsky Torinos. Is that correct?

[@born_again_torinos]

I am still making them. I'm looking for a good candidate to Starskyize that is affordable. Also waiting on a couple guys who want to bring me their torino to do.

[@rahim5217]

@@born_again_torinos Thanks for the reply. You didn't, by chance make the Starsky Torino that is on eBay right now that is for sale in Washington?

[@born_again_torinos]

@@rahim5217 I haven't seen it.

[@rahim5217]

@@born_again_torinos Okay, thanks!