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