Bill Holbrook here and yes we did build some SOHC 66 Galaxies. After the Riverside race in California in 66 I was told by my leader Charlie Gray to deliver a vehicle to Shelby's shop at the LA Airport. It was a rust colored 66 427 SOHC Galaxie Hardtop, four speed. I had met Gordon Cooper, the Astronaut, at the track where he gave me the keys, he had been given the car to drive several months earlier for publicity. We were trying to get NASCAR to allow us to run the "Cammer". I think Shelby was to ship the car back to the Dearborn area. Did you know that there was a 1968 Torino Talladega that was the first one we built. I know because I was given the task of building it by Jacque Passino. I sent for A J Foyts master metal fabricator and to Holman Moody for a guy named Bob Sweetak. We took a new 68 Yellow Torino from our department car count and acquired a enclosed room at Karkraft where we cut the nose off the vehicle and proceeded to build the first Talladega. As I recall this was accomplished in approximately two weeks. Now for the weird part, somehow this car later was sent to the "B" lot at Ford for resale. A Ford Engineer that worked in the "X-Garage" had tagged this car for resale purchase when we were done using it. His name is Bob Schnieder, I'm not sure of the spelling. A while back I contacted a old mechanic that worked in the X-Garage and he told me Bob had driven the car for many years but didn't remember what happened to it, now that would be a real find even if it was a "rust bucket". I was also the guy that directed the build of the 1965 427 SOHC Galaxie that we later gave to Bob Ford that Jerry Harvey drove. It was called the "Quite One" and ran in BFX, turning low 11's high 10's, another one of a kind vehicle. There is a ton of stories to be told and I only wish I could remember all of them. Retired from Ford 1985 - Bill Holbrook 9/14/08

I just enjoyed your web site. My dad is Jacque Passino. I was a kid in the 60’s when he would drive a different car home every night from World Headquarters in Dearborn. You would appreciate some of the cars he would bring home….some of the more memorable; a 427 Maverick, a sleeper Torino that had a competition roll cage and an flat aluminum dash board with toggle switches that controlled hydraulics….the rear end would lift up for rake and a rear engine Mustang….mounted where the back seat would be. Of course, the orange 427 Cobra Jet Torino, Shelby mustangs with competition roll cages and Boss Mustangs. We would have GT40 cars in the front yard when they won LeMans. I was 8 or 9 years old….my brother was 17 and drove all those cars up and down Woodward Ave ! Thanks, I enjoyed the photos. - Andrew Passino 6/11/08

Thanks For The Memories - My name is Paul Martin, and have just been turned on to your web site. Wow!!! did you bring back memories. My dad's car (OUTLAW Mustang) is on your Green Valley page. Plus my dad was part owner of the '68 John Turley 428CJ Mustang on the same page. My Ford roots go so deep that I can never buy anything else. Raymond Martin (my dad) was service manager @ the Ford dealership for over 35 tears, and a mechanic for 10 tears before that. He started racing Fords in 1960 with a '40 model flathead 3 speed coupe. He bought the car in the picture in 1966 from Carl Sweat. He owned the car until his death in 2000. My gosh guys I grew up at Green Valley and the tracks in this area. I was at and have home movies of the race Dallas International when Schwartz was killed. Well I could go on forever. Feel free to e-mail me back if you are interested in some stories of the old days. I could never fit them in an e-mail. - Thanks Paul Martin 1/5/08

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