The Great White
by Robert J. Cuillerier
My dad is a Big Mustang enthusiast, even though he did own a few awesome GM cars, such as a 1959 Chevy Impala, 64 Pontiac Acadian, 1969 Chevelle convertible and a 1972 Buick Skylark. By the time I was old enough to realize what cool cars were, my Dad had already owned these great cars. But by 1978, he told me how he always dreamt of owning a 65-66 Mustang. In the early 80’s he finally bought his ’66 Stang and then in 1986, he bought a brand new Mustang GT, which he still owns today. So I was brought up thinking Mustangs were the way to go.
That Summer I bought my first car, it was a ‘70 Mach 1 Mustang, powered by a 351 4v with automatic transmission, My dad and me spent 6 months, 5 nights a week restoring it. Final product was finished in Calypso Coral orange with factory Mach 1 hood and deck lid stripes, it featured the shaker hood option, magnum 500 wheels, front and rear spoilers. It was a great looking car. But unfortunately, I ended up selling the car to go back to school and earn my degree in Architectural design. When I would graduate, I promised myself to find my dream muscle car, which at the time was a 1969 Mach 1 with the 428 Cobra Jet power plant and 4 speed transmission. But by the time I was ready to buy another Muscle car, the prices of these big block Mustangs sky rocketed to unaffordable status for the common bread winner, so I started looking around for another “Blue Oval” Muscle car I could afford. I’ve always had a soft spot for the ‘65 Ford Galaxies, but I thought it didn’t have the “Muscle image” I was yearning for. I then looked at the other Galaxies, early Fairlaines, Cougars, Mustangs, Cyclones, and Comets…but nothing really caught my attention, until I saw this ’70 Torino GT pass before my eyes. I still remember the first time I saw it. It was the summer of 1992, when our club The Eastern Ontario Mustang Club, was having its yearly car meet. It was love at first sight! Its sculptured nose and long-sleek lines is what did it for me. I knew then what my next muscle car was going to be.
I started reading on the 1970 Torino Cobras and GT’s. Everything I could get my hands on, I would buy and the more I read on these cars the more I wanted one! “How could I have ever overlooked these great Muscle cars?” I though to myself. By then my passion for Torinos was stronger than my passion for Mustangs had ever been, I had to have my 70 Torino! I then approached the owner. Even though by that time, the car had spent its last 8 years in storage, he wasn’t ready to sell the car just yet. So I started traveling to Quebec City, Hamilton Ontario, Montréal Quebec and then to Detroit Michigan plus all types of car shows, but everything I found was either out of my price range or in really bad shape.
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