Car loyalty comes naturally when raised in a Ford family
Ralph Torronio was raised in a Ford-loving family. Several uncles were Ford mechanics, he had relatives who worked for Joe Madden Ford in Downers Grove and it seemed everyone in his extended family owned and drove Fords.
That's why when Torronio went off to war in 1969, he anticipated coming home to a sweet new ride proudly carrying the blue-oval badge. While the options were many, his heart was drawn to the Torino model.
"The fastback styling was slick and I thought the hidden, 'hideaway' headlights were so cool," he said.
While Torronio served in Vietnam, his dad went and ordered a car so it would be waiting for his son upon his return. Little surprise, Torronio's father headed to Joe Madden where he got quite a deal on a Ivy Green Metallic 1970 Torino GT.
When Torronio got home the following year, he wasted no time in enjoying the shiny-new coupe. Torronio's dad planned to have his son pay him back the vehicle's $4,730 sticker price.
"When he gave it to me, he said I could make payments," said Torronio, who now lives in Carol Stream with his wife, Jo. "But that quickly went by the wayside after he saw how much I enjoyed it."
In addition to driving to work, cruising on dates and hanging out at Skip's Fiesta drive-in in Melrose Park, part of that delight stemmed from wintry voyages. A friend owned a cabin near the Wisconsin Dells and Torronio regularly made the drive up there.
One of their favorite wintry pastimes was snowmobiling. Torronio bought a snow machine and reached out to one of his favorite uncles - the service manager at Joe Madden Ford. One of his technicians installed a trailer hitch on the powerful muscle car, allowing Torronio to pull the recreational vehicle and it's trailer.
"I drove the Ford hard and enjoyed every minute of it," Torronio said. He racked up more than 130,000 miles on the Torino before trading it in in 1977.
"The salt from the roads was killing it," he said. From there he migrated to owning trucks and SUVs for the next several decades.
When he purchased this 1971 Ford Torino GT in 2004, it was like being reunited with an old friend. The sun-loving drop-top had been sold new in San Diego before ending up with a second owner in Arizona. It had "a few dings and dents but was all there."
A friend, John Paldo, helped Torronio pull and rebuild the 351-cubic-inch V-8 engine in 2011. A few interior bits including door panels, seat covers and a new top, were added and a new Bright Red paint job completed the striking convertible's overhaul.
From the very first test drive in the 1971 Ford, Torronio's motoring past came rushing back.
"As soon as I grabbed the skinny steering wheel, it immediately took me back to my first Torino."