Ford Thunderbolts
Jeff Sattig
We'll have to thank Joel for my renewed interest..
The documentation from the McGroder Collection,
http://www.factorymuscle.com/ , indicates that there were 111 Thunderbolts.
I'd like to make a list of who those cars belonged to, car names, etc. Can
we document all 111? If you know of a particular car (car name/number,
driver, owner, sponsor names/addresses, home track, history, current
disposition, anything..) and have a minute to forward that info., I'd
appreciate it. I'll also make a list of available photos. (as in
"Expressway Gulf Thunderbolt, Southgate, MI, home track Detroit Dragway",
pictures available from RACEC...@aol.com ) until I can acquire (buy) the
necessary pics on my own. I should have saved all those SS&DI's.. Will
assemble all info and post to it's own Web site. Let's see, maybe I'll get
my book started before we can con Joel into starting his.. I've already
begun researching thru FoMoCo, DST and other sources. Would love to hear
from driver/owners, etc. and if your last name is Hotton, that would help a
lot. Might also be interesting to hear from those folks have done clones,
manufacturers (Crites <?>) etc. Anything TBolt related. If you know info.
sources, please forward. Thanks to all.
RACECARART
>indicates that there were 111 Thunderbolts.
>I'd like to make a list of who those cars belonged to, car names, etc. Can
>we document all 111?
Jeff, Gang,
112...There was one official hardtop T-Bolt. Phil Bonner had it, I've seen an
original(late '64) photo and the car has been restored and was at the 1995 S/S
Reunion. Last I heard it was owned by a country music musician, Mark
Kuykendall of NC. Ive talked to him about it, talked to Bonner about and am
convinced it's real. I'll send a scan to Byron and maybe he'll post it.
Kuykendall also has a bunch of Dick Brannan's cars including his T-Bolt and '64
Falcon.
The T-Bolts have all been documented already by a group called the Thunderbolt
Owner's Ass'n. One of the principles passed away a year or two ago and the
group was pretty loose knit so I don't know what happened to the info.
There are a bunch of T-Bolts running nostalgoia S/S these days, so many that
they've become common place. Still it's neat idea to run 'em down so we'll all
be able to share the info. If I felt up to it I'd start now. Well here's a
few...
Tasca Ford had a '62 Failane with a 406 in it that was built by Dearborn Steel
Tubing, it was Rangoon Red.
Tasca had a '63 Fairlane with a 427 Hi-riser at the '63 U.S. Nationals, also
built by DST, and carrying a widow sticker listing the options. It was Peacock
Blue.
The first 11 '64's were factory team cars, all maroon, vintage Burgandy I
think it was called. They had a number decal right above the mirror on the
windshield. All others came through Wimbledon White. There were a bunch of
little differences in a number of the cars. DST also built the 20 Comets at
the same time. Not all of the T-bolts were built at the same time, they were
done in batches.
There may have been a mule car among the first 11 factory team cars. They
originally were built with an odd shaped cloverleaf-like hood bubble previous
to the teardrop hood.
Dick Brannan had # 1 Romy Hammes Ford
Gas Ronda, Downtown Ford, then Russ Davis Ford(repainted Poppy Red)
Phil Bonner, Al Means Ford(second car, the hardtop named Daddy Warbucks built
with the help of Holman Moody)
Butch Leal, Mickey Thompson car..
Don Turner, Ed Martin Ford
Bill Lawton, Tasca Ford.
Les Ritchey, Performance Assoc.
Len Richter, Bob Ford
Paul Harvey, (not clear here, Paul Harvey was a dealer, his son raced in '65.
I'd heard that Bob Ford had two cars)
Now my source says Clester Andrews, Wickersham Ford was a team member but his
car was white.
Jesse Tyree, #2 M/T car. Had a hemi head 427 and run very little, it was
Burgandy but I don't think a factory Drag Council member.
The original factory batch started out as production 289 cars.
They were in the hands of the Factory teams by Oct. '63. They ran A/FX until
the NHRA minimum of 50 units were built to make them legal for S/S class.
More?
Joel
RACEC...@aol.com
michael steed
color? MLS
RACECARART
>Wasn't the T-Bolt driven by Emmit "Rattlesnake" Austin a burgandy
>color? MLS
Mike, Gang,
I never saw an early color shot of Austin's car but it was sponsored by Bob
Ford so it could have been Burgandy. I think it also had some two-tone trim.
Later after it got the AWB treatment and injectors it was black. SS&DI had a
color center spread shot of it a couple of years ago. Bob Plumer sells a shot
of the AWB version.
Joel
RACEC...@aol.com
gonzo
Byron,
I'd rather have the Anglia!
gonzo
RACECARART
>Byron,
>I'd rather have the Anglia!
>gonzo
Gonzo!
Don't provoke me!! Smart guy!!!
T-Bolt is more valuable(ex-Ronda car, '64 World Champ points), you can run it
today with all sorts of N/SS cars, not just show and exhibition cruise/passes!
Joel
RACEC...@aol.com
Dennis Friend
Gonzo,
With or without the antlers???
Dennis
Vern
I recall watching Jake King race a Thunderbolt at the old Concord, NC
dragstrip around 1964-65. I think the car was light blue in color with the
old Ford emblem (not the blue oval) on each door. Vern
RACECARART
Gang,
More T-bolts from '64...
First 11 to the factory teams...burgandy color...All the rest white. All
T-bolts had beige interiors with no arm rests, radios or heaters. Plexi glass
side windows too.
The first T-bolts had fibreglass front bumpers('63 style) that were integral
with the splash pan. A few of the next batch had them as well before NHRA
ruled against the 'glass bumpers, because there were no bumper brackets is what
I hear! Such was the way NHRA nit-picked back then. The bumpers were replaced
with aluminum '64 style bumpers. A few of the second batch had the 'glass
bumper.
Next batch...39 built, 30 of them were automatics, Ford was tryin' to compete
with the Mopars in S/SA and deal with the 7" tires, a big disadvantage for
stick cars at the time. 39 plus 11 equals 50, the T-bolts are now legal S/S
cars for NHRA racing. Up 'til then they had to run A/FX. Supposedly the last
13 of these had plexi glass rear windows.
The final batch of 50 all had the aluminum bumpers and safety glass rear
windows. I'm not sure of the deal on the rear window clips, how many had them.
Favored teams got special goodies from Ford, aluminum radiators, magnesium
water pumps, long spindles, extremely thin 'glass front fenders and even rarer
'glass doors.
Now if you'll note, the count given here...my source on the T-bolts adds up to
100 cars, plus the '62 car, the '63 car, and Bonner's one-of hardtop. That
makes 101 '64 cars and the two prototype early year cars. Jeff quotes
McGroder as saying 111.
Joel
RACEC...@aol.com
Bill Dedman
Joel,
Thanks for posting this T-Bolt stuff; it's fascinating.
A couple of things that I've always thought of note: The hood openings
on these cars were to let air OUT, rather tnan in. I guess it's pretty
obvious, what with the cold air system they had (big hoses running from
the radiator support area near the headlamps back to the air cleaner
housing. Most other race cars that have holes in the hood are using
those holes to get air INTO the underhood area (or engine), not out....
Also, the transmissions in those factory-equipped automatic T-Bolts were
Lincoln transmissions. I don't know what kind of differences there were,
but I've read that many different places. Probably the only Lincoln
transmissions ever used in a drag car (except for the early "close ratio"
Zephyr manual jobs.)
How about Darrell Droke's home-brew '65 OHC 427 "T-Bolt"???? That thing
killed 'em at the '65 Winternationals, if I remember right, in AFX.
Something like 10.56??? Am I close?
Bill
RACECARART
>Subject: Re: Ford Thunderbolts
Gang,
T-bolts in '64...
1) Hubert Platt, Little GA Shaker, Frank Vego Ford, blue
(restored) Runs N/SS at present, eastern PA area.
2) Al Joniec, Al swenson Ford,Phila., PA, white
3) Chuck Graap, Dobbs Ferry Ford, Dobbs Ferry, NY white
4) Bud Shellenberger, King Ford Sales, MD white
5) Mike Gray, Reynolds Ford, Syracuse, NY white (being restored)
6) Stan Haggard, Rockenfield Ford, Cinn., OH white
7) Don Martin, Archway Ford, Balto., MD white (stolen?)
8) Earl Lasko, Bridenthal Ford, Greensburg, OH white
9) Midge Hall, Rich Lamont, Norristown Ford, N'town, PA white
(restored) Runs N/SS at present, eastern PA area.
10) Jake King, Atwater Ford, Burlington, NC light blue
11) Kenny Warren, VA Twister, white
12) Courtesy Ford, CO? white
13) Farnham Ford, VA? white
14) Jack Whitby Ford, MD? white
15) Larry Kovoch, Hi-Risers, MI, white and ?
16) Jim "Bull" Durham
17) Fred Henderson, Shazam, Phila., PA orange & silver
18) Jerry Alderman Ford, white
19) Bob Shawcross, Metro-Missle, Lemay, MO gold?
20) Hilton-Kimball, Fred Warnock Ford, Homestead, FL white
21) Carl Moyer, Cedar Falls, IA
22) Tom Shumacher, Bolt Action, Worthington, OH
23) Howard Neal, Strip Teaser, Blue Ridge, GA
24) Tom McGroan, McGroan Auto Sales, Garland, TX white & ?
25) Rick Hearn, Manitou, CO
Well gang, 25 is the best I can do with what I've got here, these are the ones
I can ID out of my own sources here at home. Further digging may turn up one
or two more but...
Anybody else add to the list?
Joel
RACEC...@aol.com
RACECARART
>Subject: Re: Ford Thunderbolts
>From: gas...@awwwsome.com
Byron,
Neat shot! I'd like to get a copy of that if possible, a color laser copy
would be OK, about $4. I'll pay, let me know. I can get an 8x10 photo
enlargement for $13 w/o a negative here. Trade you a gasser photo enlargement?
Zimmy III was the TASCA '65 SOHC Mustang, Zimmy II was the T-Bolt. Named after
a big cheese at Ford, Zimmerman.
Joel
RACEC...@aol.com
Bill Dedman
Joel,
Dick Walters FORD in West Des Moines, IA had a new T-Bolt in '64, though
there is a possibility that this may be the "Moyer" car you've already
listed from Cedar Rapids (some 160 miles from West Des Moines.) I didn't
move to Des Moines until 1965, so I wasn't there to witness the arrival
of this one, but I heard stories.... can't remember who drove, but the
car was sold to John Cort in '65, I believe. He may still have it.
I remember one day he let his wife drive it (it was a 4-speed car) in
powder puff and she mistakenly took off in 3rd gear instead of first; you
could smell the clutch for ten minutes!!!!! LOL!
Bill
PS How 'bout that Darrell Droke '65 SOHC home-brew T-Bolt??? It wasn't a
"gennie" T-Bolt, but if they'd built a '65 "factory" car, it most likely
would have been like this one, don't you think?
RACECARART
> The hood openings
>on these cars were to let air OUT, rather tnan in.
Bill, Gang,
Glad you like the T-bolt stuff...always been a big interest of mine.
Yes the holes in the bubble were to vent hot air out, they also had verticle
slots cut into the engine compartment sidewalls directly behind the spring
towers to further vent hot air, all helped increase air flow that got trapped
in the engine compartment.
A few of the T-bolts, Ronda, Leal, Archway Ford added extra length duct or
funnels to the headlight rims used for the airducts. Ronda and Leal had white
plastic funnel rims trimmed and attached to scoop more air into the ducts.
NHRA did not allow this at the national meets though. The headlight inlets
were not really as effective as one might think, thats why the Comets switched
to the leading edge hood scoops which worked much better.
I think the Lincoln automatic trans was a beefier unit. Not many of the
T-bolts remained as automatics. I've heard that DST had a tough time getting
the teams to take the automatic cars.
The Droke '65 car was a Ford factory effort as far as I know. The car started
out the year as a wedge car and ran in the low twelves. Later in the year it
got an SOHC and that's what got it into the high tens, but the tens didn't come
'til the end of the year. At the '65 W'Nats the SOHC Mustangs were only
running the high tens in A/FX. The Droke '65 T-bolt ran B/FX. Drokes main
competition at national meets that year was Jerry Harvey's B/FX SOHC Galaxie
"The Quiet One" which had an SOHC. The small block Comet B/FXers were strong
but never really made a mark at the national meets.
Another strong B/FX competitor was Fred Cutler's '64 & '65 Hemi-Wagons. Dodge
wagons with hemis in them, more one-ofs.
C/FX was dominated by the Hoefer Bros. 289 Weber carbed Galaxie. Someone else
had a light color Galaxie C/FX in '66, can't remember who.
'66 was the last year for NHRA FX classes I think. End of a great era that
began in 1962.
Joel
RACEC...@aol.com
Dennis Friend
Joel,
Who had the Desert's Motor"s car? Was full sized, remember car but not
year. or the driver. Remember more FORD stuff than I thought I knew!
Dennis
gonzo
Dennis,
There is a line in a John Prine song that goes:
"What I never knew, I never will forget"
I know how you love trivia,
gonzo
Byron Stack
Dennis,
If that's the one I'm thinking of, it was a white Galaxy out of
Ridgecrest, CA. I used to love that car. Big and Fast! I have an old
HRM with a pic of it. I'll see if I can find it and shoot you a scan.
--
Byron
gas...@awwwsome.com
Gasser Madness! is at:
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/4740
RACECARART
> a white Galaxy out of
>Ridgecrest, CA.
Gang,
Desert Motors was Mike Schmidtt. He was a point champ or close to it I think.
Car was an automatic and as of a few years ago was restored and still in it's
racing days lettering trim.
Joel
RACEC...@aol.com