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1966 427 SOHC GALAXIE
Ford never built any cars with 427 SOHC engines in them, right? It was strictly an over the
counter engine, right? Well they did build a few SOHC Mustang drag
cars in 1965 and 1966,
actually constructed by Holman & Moody. But did they build any regular production assembly
line SOHC-powered cars? Mostly likely they did not, even though they gave the SOHC engines
an engine code in the parts catalog. "L" was for single 4V engines and "D" was for dual 4V
engines. Apparently Ford did build a '64 Galaxie test car fitted with a SOHC. But what about
this '66 SOHC Galaxie reportly built for Ford Racing chief Jacque Passino. These photos were
found in a book called FORD - THE PERFORMANCE YEARS (out-of-print) by Martyn Schorr. It was
most likely built in one of Ford experimental shops, not on the assembly line. Where is this
car today, and did it's vin contain a L or D in the 5th position?
Update 3-7-06: Adrian Clements from the
Motor City Galaxie Club sent in this info....
In late July 2002, a fellow on a Ford e-mail forum using the handle "bigcarl" looked at a 1966 Ford full-size car
that was for sale in the Detroit area
with no engine or transmission. His rubbing of the Warranty Tag showed the following VIN and production codes:
VIN 6S68L103XXX,
BODY 63C, COLOR M, TRIM 25, DATE 15B, DSO 84, AXLE 9, TRANS 5
The VIN of 6S68L103XXX decodes as follows:
The production codes decode as follows:
Man, what a car! I tried unsuccessfully to get in touch with "bigcarl" back in the
summer of 2002. I wonder whatever became of this car?
Could this be Passino's SOHC Galaxie? Big Carl, where are you and where is this Galaxie?!
1967 SHELBY GT-500 CONVERTIBLE
A '67 GT-500 convertible? One of one built? Yes, Shelby did build one
prototype convertible, which
somehow survived all these years. The story is it was stolen before it could
be crushed, when
it was recovered, it was converted to '68 bodywork and sold. Somehow it was
discovered to be the
long lost '67 convertible. Old Shelby himself was surprised to see it survived.
Supposedly he
gave the car his blessing. It has been restored to '67 specs and is on exhibit
at the Volo
Museum in Illinois. Is this really THE '67 GT-500 convertible? Hmmm.....
1967 SHELBY GT-500 HARDTOP
A '67 GT-500 Hardtop too? There was also one prototype GT-500 hardtop,
a supercharged 428 vinyl-topped terror called "Little Red". Unlike the
convertible, Little Red was shown off to the press and then disappeared
forever. Most likely another unfortunate victim of Fords crusher.
1968 SHELBY GT-500 HARDTOP
Another GT-500 Hardtop? This one's a '68 loaded with goodies and it
survives today. Called the "Green Hornet", this prototype was
a 390 test car fitted with a 428-CJ equipped with an experimental
Conelec fuel injection setup, and an independent rear suspension,
neither of which ever made production. It was purchased from a Ford factory sales lot
in 1971 by a Ford employee, it's owned today by Craig Jackson of Barrett-Jackson fame.
The Green Hornet apparently never received a Shelby serial number, so it's not
recognized as a legit Shelby by purists.
1968 427 MUSTANG
Ah yes, the always controversal 1968 427 Mustang, a very touchy subject for
some Ford "experts". Here we find both Tasca Ford's "King of the Road" 427
Mustang, obviously an engine-swap done by Tasca, and a "pre-production
pilot" 427 Mustang. These photos were also found in the Ford - The Performance Years
book. The author, Martyn Schorr, was the editor of CARS magazine in the 60's.. The
highlighted text reads:
"This is a shot of a pre-production pilot 427 Mustang...." Ford
undoubtedly DID build some 1968 427 Mustangs and Fairlanes in the
prototype shop, but did any of these cars carry a "W "engine code, and
did any of them survive the crusher?
1968 427 TORINO
According to all the Ford experts, including
Mr. Marti, in 1968 Ford
put 427's in one car, and one car only. That would be the fabulous
Cougar GTE,
which featured a slightly detuned hydraulic cammed, single 4-barrel, 390-horse
427. These cats are identified by a "W" engine code in the vin number. Why Ford
put 427's in Cougars only is anybodys guess, that aspect seems to be a mystery.
Apparently the vin records Ford has produced show zero 427 Fairlanes, Torinos,
Cyclones, and Mustangs. The 427 was planned for these models as evidenced by the
option showing up in brochures, owners manuals, and parts catalogs. Ford also
tooled up 427 hood scoop emblems
for '69 model year 427 Mustangs and Torinos that were never built. These emblems
were availible over the counter at Ford dealers, p/n C9ZZ-16637-A.
Here we have a "427" Torino GT that appeared in Super Stock magazine in December
1967. Was the magazine car a "real" (W-code) factory 427 Torino, a 427 prototype,
or simply a re-badged 390 car? Hmmmm......
1969 TALLADEGA
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6 = model year: 1966
S = build plant: Pilot Plant (Allen Park, Michigan)
68 = Body Serial Code: Galaxie 500/XL 2-door hardtop, bucket seats (25,715 produced during the 1966 model year)
L = engine: 427-4V V-8 Single Overhead Cam (SOHC), 616 hp @ 7000 rpm (high performance)
103XXX = Consecutive Unit Number (CUN): 3,XXXnd Ford car scheduled to be built at the Pilot
Plant (Allen Park, Michigan) during the 1966 model year (Job 1 was CUN 100001)
BODY 63C = Body Style Code: Galaxie 500/XL 2-door hardtop, bucket seats (25,715 produced during the 1966 model year)
COLOR M = exterior paint color: Wimbledon White (white)
TRIM 25 = interior trim color, material and front seat style: unknown (likely a recording error on the part of "bigcarl")
DATE 14L = scheduled build date: Sunday, November 14, 1965
DSO 84 = District Sales Office: car was originally ordered through the Home Office
Reserve (employee lease and purchase vehicles, factory show vehicles and crash test vehicles)
AXLE 9 = rear axle ratio and type: 4.11:1 non-locking
TRANS 5 = transmission type and shift location: Toploader 4-speed manual, console shift
Yours in old Ford iron,
Adrian
"LITLE RED"
"GREEN HORNET"
TRUE or FALSE??....UNKNOWN
C9ZZ-16637-A 1969 Mustang
& Torino hood scoop emblem.
C8OZ-16228-A 1968/69 Torino
& Fairlane fender emblem.
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In response to Chryslers first Nascar warrior, the Charger 500, Ford produced around 750 "Talladega" Torino/Fairlanes in 1969. The Talladega featured rolled rocker panels, an extended nose with a flush grill, and a radically reworked rear bumper mounted on the front. All in the name of aerodynamics and beating the Charger 500, and eventually the Charger Daytona, on Nascars big tracks. Win they did, with victories at Daytona, Darlington, Charlotte and other tracks, the Talladega brought Ford yet another championship. Factory Talladegas were only availible in three colors, Wimbledon White, Presidential Blue, and Royal Maroon. All Talladegas featured 428 Cobra Jet non-Ram Air engines and black bench interiors with a column shift C-6 auto trans. So, why is this one painted Bright Yellow? This is a very special one-off Talladega, built for then Ford boss Bunkie Knudsen. It was finished with a yellow exterior and a unique white bucket seat/floor shift interior. It is beautifully restored and was on display at Ford's 100th Anniversary celebration in 2003. There are also rumors of two other special paint Talladegas being built as well, a red one and a black one. One or both of these also supposedly had Ram-Air, another option not availible on Talladegas. Where are these cars now?
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UPDATE...The Red and Black Ram Air Talladegas aren't rumor anymore, here they are. Noted Ford Racing Historian Dr. John Craft sent the photos and the details.
"This is the Red Prototype R Code car. After use as a PR photo subject, this
car was given to Banjo Matthews. It was a cool car: C Stripes, Ram Air, Red GT
Bucket seat interior and A/C. Unfortunately, Banjo drove the car into the ground.
It rusted away to nothing behind his shop and was sold just after his death.
Very unlikely that it will be restored. And, this is a shot of Ralph Moody's
Black R-code Talladega circa 1990. Ralph still owned the car at the time of
his death. This car could and should be restored". (John Craft 10/14/05)
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1969 BOSS 429 COUGAR
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Ford did indeed commission Kar Kraft to build two white Boss 429 Cougars in 1969, one for "Dyno Don" Nicholson, and one for "Fast Eddie" Schartman. Dyno painted his red and dumped the Boss engine, replacing it with a SOHC. Shartmans yellow and blue Cougar was updated with a 1970 front clip and retained the Boss 429 engine. While these Cougars were built by Kar Kraft with Boss 429 engines, they did not carry the tell-tale "Z" Boss engine code in their vin numbers. Knowing they were destined for drag strip duty, Ford did not bother changing the R-code Cougars over to Z-codes as they did with the Boss 429 Mustangs. Ford sold these Cougars to the two drag racers for ONE dollar each with the agreement the cars would be returned to Ford (for a date with the crusher) after they were done racing them. Surprisingly, neither one made it back to Ford. They were briefly in the spotlight, being raced by big-name drivers Nicholson and Schartman, and then they were sold off and forgotten like so many other old race cars. Both cars are supposedly accounted for today. One of them turned in a Mustang & Fords magazine Rare Finds article several years back, relieved of its floor pan. A great article on these cars was on competitionplus.com, but has since been taken down. Read it here, less photos.
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1969 BOSS 302 SHELBY
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A Boss 302 Shelby was built in 1969, probably as a prototype for a Boss 302 GT-350. It used the standard Boss body and did not have any of the unique Shelby fibreglass panels. It did however, carry a Shelby vin with a consecutive number beginning with "48" as all 69 and 70 Shelbys did, and the all-important "G" engine code.
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1970 QUARTERHORSE MUSTANGS
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Conceived as a possible replacement for both the Boss 429 and Shelby Mustangs, the so-called QuarterHorse Mustangs were built from actual Boss 429 Mustangs by Kar Kraft. Only one of the two built carried a Kar Kraft number, however both Quarterhorses were true Boss 429s. Also referred to as the "Composite" Mustang because it contained several different parts and pieces. The body was standard 1970 Boss 429, the front clip was Shelby Mustang, less the hood scoops, and the dash was Cougar. The first Quarterhose, KK 2061, was painted Grabber Blue and was intially fitted with a Boss 429 engine. It was soon replaced with a 429 SCJ and sent to Hollywood to star with Burt Reynolds in a short-lived tv series called "Dan August". The second Quarterhorse was Candyapple Red and was fitted with a 429 SCJ engine. Amazingly, both Quarterhorses survived the crusher and are in the hands of collectors.
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1970 TORINO KING COBRA
1970 CYCLONE SUPER SPOILER II
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When Ford changed to a all-new bodys for the Torino and Cyclone in 1970, the '69 Talladega and Spoiler became last years race car. Ford wanted the car you could buy off the new car showroom winning races, not last years car. So, the Talladegas and Spoilers were to be shelved and replaced by the new 1970 Torino "King Cobra" and Cyclone "Super Spoiler II"...... Read more..... |
1971 BOSS 302 MUSTANG
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Ford built as least one Boss 302 Mustang in 1971. No not a Boss 351, but a Boss 302. As Ford made plans for the 1971 model year, the SCCA relaxed it's engine displacement rules for the Trans Am series and allowed the larger 351-ci motors. Ford dumped the Boss 302 immediately and the Boss 351 was born. Photos of this prototype turned up and the decals were also listed in the parts catalog. It never reached regular production, but what happened to this prototype? Like most of these cars, Ford likely crushed it!
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Update 4/13/08....Thanks to numerous e-mails, including one from the owner, we can report the sole 1971 Boss 302 Mustang has NOT been crushed! Ford was apparently planning both a Boss 302 and Boss 351 package for 1971, but just ONE Boss 302 was built. Andrew Hack found this long-lost Boss recently on eBay. Unaware of it's history at the time, Andrew bought it for a driver, sight unseen. His thorough detective work has proven the car was an early promo unit built with a Boss 302 engine, and corresponding "G" vin plate and door label. It was then used for promo photos and a new car intro show in Las Vegas. After Ford pulled the plug on the Boss 302 program, instead of crushing it, the car was refitted with a 351-2V Cleveland engine and sold by a dealer in California. The Boss 302 decals were also removed by Ford and the dash vin plate was replaced by one with a "H" engine code. The door vin label however, was simply covered over with a new one with the updated engine code. Andrew found the "G" vin label while researching the car. Andrew's amazing discovery was recently featured in Mustang Monthly magazine. More photos and details can be found here and here.
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1967 428 4-SPEED COUNTRY SQUIRE
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A 428 Q-code Country Squire might not sound that rare, but how about one with a 4-speed toploader and buckets and console!? This is Adrian Clement's extremely rare '67 Country Squire wagon, one of one produced. This combination was not available, unless of course you wrote a letter to Iacocca requesting the order, which is exactly what the original owner did. Iacocca obliged, and the order was processed. Never say never when it comes to Fords! Check out more shots at Adrian's motorcitygalaxieclub.com website.
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Updated: 04/13/08
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