The Ford That Started It All

Turn on subtitles or view the transcript at the bottom of the description if you’d like explanations on what I’m doing throughout the video At 16 years of age, my world revolved around a 1974 Ford Gran Torino, my first car. Over the course of a few years I doubled the mileage on the odometer, replaced the engine 6 times, jumped it into a ditch, shattered the transmission, and learned all the wrong ways to try and fix a car. I thought I’d have it with me forever, but after surviving all the hardships I put it through, it was totaled when another driver rolled a stop sign. I reluctantly moved on. Years later and 6 months ago, I stumbled across another Gran Torino sitting in a tow yard a couple blocks from my house. It’s an exact copy of the one I owned. 4 door, 302 engine, same upholstery, the only difference being the color. After waiting for the owner to find the title, I paid the steep asking price and began fixing it up. I have no idea how long it’s been parking for, aside from a long time, but its days of sitting in the weeds are over. Chapters: 00:00 - Bringing it home and getting started 02:02 - Seeing if it the engine spins. 05:37 - Rebuilding the carburetor 14:18 - First start 16:30 - Removing the gas tank 22:40 - Cleaning the gas tank with nuts and bolts 25:35 -Cleaning the gas tank with muriatic acid 29:27 - Reinstalling the gas tank 31:45 - Fixing the fuel sending unit 37:22 - Finalizing the gas tank installation 40:02 - Oil change 42:15 - Running the engine up to temperature 42:50 - Now it doesn’t want to run 43:39 - Revisiting the carburetor 47:51- Fixing an exhaust/air leak 51:58 - It’s fixed now 53:13 - Checking all the functions 54:54 - No brakes 56:01 - Pressure washing the underside and engine bay 1:00:53 - Replacing the rusted brake line 1:09:24 - Still no rear brakes 1:10:02 - Seized pistons in wheel cylinders 1:13:32 - Brakes work now 1:14:49 - Cleaning the interior 1:28:13 - Cleaning the exterior 1:37:50 - Replacing V-belts 1:39:27 - New wheels and tires 1:41:09 - Test drive time 1:44:24 - An ode to the 1st Torino 1:44:45 - Donuts 1:45:14 - Cat 1:45:48 - We found some baby mice