Thirty years after detectives Dave Starsky and Ken Hutchinson drove their 1974 Ford Gran Torino in pursuit of criminals on the TV police drama "Starsky and Hutch," fans of the show gathered at the Carlisle, Pa., All-Ford Nationals car show in June with their own restored Gran Torinos, complete with mag wheels, teardrop-shaped police lights, and a paint scheme-tomato-red with a white stripe from front fender to rear panel to hood-that encompassed a lifetime of TV memories.

"Before the TV show, the Torino was a family car," said John Quirk. He drove his 1976 Gran Torino from Wisconsin for the show. "When they put the oversized mag tires and the racing mirrors and the white stripe on the car, it became a sports car-and everybody wanted one."

During the show's initial run, the car itself received as much fan mail as did the show's lead actors, Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul. Many Ford dealers even painted their own stock Gran Torinos to match the TV car. In 1976, Ford offered 1,000 Gran Torinos with a "Starsky and Hutch" paint and interior option package. Less than 100 are still on the road today, and can still draw a crowd wherever they go.

Terry Fitzpatrick, a Starsky and Hutch fan from Worcester, Ohio, even has several autographs on the interior trunk lid of his car.

"I met Antonio Fargas, who played Huggy Bear on the show. He was an absolutely wonderful gentleman, and he signed the trunk lid for us," Fitzpatrick said. "I also had Catherine Bach from 'The Dukes of Hazzard' sign the trunk lid, because every car show a Starsky and Hutch car owner goes to, people mistake the car for the Dukes of Hazzard car (the 'General Lee,' which was an orange '69 Dodge Charger). So she signed it 'Catherine Bach, This Is Not the General Lee.' "

The Gran Torinos at the Carlisle show earlier this year were meticulously customized to match up with the television car, adding details and trivia a Starsky and Hutch fan would instantly recognize. Many of the car license plates had "ZEBRA 3" on them (Starsky and Hutch's radio police call sign), while others had replica blue California 537 ONN vanity plates, resembling the original plates from the TV series.

"We all grew up with the show," said Fitzpatrick. "A lot of kids grew up and became police officers because of 'Starsky and Hutch.' One of the things about TV cars is that they are timeless. The celebrities may grow old and pass away, but the cars are timeless."

Did You Know?

Gran Torino Trivia:

• Ford sold 1,000 1976 Gran Torinos with the "Starsky and Hutch" paint scheme. It was the last year Ford produced the Gran Torino.
• Starsky and Hutch originally ran from 1975 to 1979 on ABC. Many of the show's episodes are now available on DVD.
• While the Gran Torino was Starsky's car, Hutch drove a 1973 Ford Galaxie 500.
• For best paint separation, the cars were originally painted white, then the stripe was masked off and the red paint added.

Find Out More

• For more information on the 1976 Ford Gran Torino and its relationship to the Starsky and Hutch TV series, visit the Web site www.starskytorino.com.
• For more information on the Carlisle car shows, including the All-Ford Nationals, go to www.carsatcarlisle.com.