Features Ford Thunderbolts Photos Wanted

Heres a close up of the Rockenfield T-BOLT.



Love the flames coming off the rear tire

 

I found a couple of Butch Leals car in action after the door change with the Calfornia Flash painted on them.





Qtr scheme changed also with crane added as a sponser on the fenders.

 

Heres a good shot of that single exhaust pipe requirement.

 

Great scans. I think I had those California Flash scans before but my old computer dumped and I lost quite a few pics. I back them up now!

 

Here is a scan of the Grabski Ford car with the reverse bars. I also inserted the previous attachment for comparison purposes.

Regards,
Dennis

 

I don't think one could of built a Thunderbolt back in 1964 for what Ford was selling them for. It cost Ford over $5,500 each to build, and they sold for around $3,800. The loss per unit was around $1,800.

A 1964 Lightweight Galaxie equipped with the same drivetrain, but with a lot less features for drag racing cost approximately $200 more than a T-Bolt.

Regardless, I'm glad that Ford Motor Company built them. What surprises me is that Ford never saved any of their factory drag cars for posterity and future display at the Henry Ford Museum.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Thanks--Mercury Junkie for scanning the Rockenfield t-Bolt. Do you or Dennis know who the selling dealer was on the Zantop car and what number it was? Thanks again. Sylvanus

 

Heres the Zantop T-BOLT



Looks like one of the first T- BOLTS to take off the side trim

 

Heres the Farnham T-BOLT

 

That car was sold thru Bill Rhodes Ford. It was part of the second batch of Thunderbolts. It was most likely 20-25th car off. It's the car (as it is now) that Jody posted a few pages prior with slot mags on the frt.

 

Does any one have the original cloverleaf hood.Other than pics I havent seen one on a current restored car.

 

I have never heard of anyone having one still but I would love to see one. I'm sure Dennis would know for sure.

 

Great pictures. What dealership sold the Virginia Twister of Kenny Warren?

 

Notice the cloverleaf hood (early) and aluminum front bumper (later).

 

A few that are posted here in the S/S Mopar thread

 

I always liked the split painted wheels.

 

Anyone have details on this Thunderbolt? The logo on the car says Curry Ford in Middletown Ohio and Baker Bros on the door. There was a dealership named Bill Currie Ford in Tampa Florida that got a new Thunderbolt but this one is spelled different. What dealer got this car new?

 

I was told or I read somewhere that this car went from Frank Vego Ford to Curry Ford in Middletown, Ohio--sold to the Baker Brothers and named the "Shaker". Some confuse this car with Platt's "Georgia Shaker" which was sponsored by F. Vego Ford but came from Currie Ford in Florida. This may or may not be correct. Hopefully those who really know will set me (us) straight.

 

Its official. 64Cyclone and mercuryjunky are my heroes!

Thanks guys for the great pics of not-so-common Thunderbolts! Everyone has photos of the Tasca car, Gas Ronda, etc. but the less famous cars are the ones that I find the most interesting.

Deron


PS: What color was Pappy Greenfield's car? From the photos it looks to have been a gold color similar to the Bob Ford car.

 

Here are a couple I found last night while searching for something completely unrelated. They were on a website about the now-closed Lakeland dragstrip in Memphis, TN. Any idea whose car it is/was or if its even a real one?





Sorry if these are reposts... And I should give credit to Glen Patrick, whoever he might be. I'm glad he took the time to post them on the web!


Deron

 

Here's another one that's not exactly Thunderbolt, but close enough that I hope you let me slide. I was scanning my uncle's photos of his old race cars (he's the Yeller Bandit in this photo) and I happened to notice something interesting behind the flagman. Not sure if thats the staging lanes or return road or ?????





Deron

 

I was just loking back at some old posts and noticed back in '06 where Troublemaker427 posted that roughly 22 of these cars are still unaccounted for. Is this number still accurate or have others been located?


Deron

 

All the Greenfield racecars were painted gold, but not a Ford gold. That may be why their Thunderbolt was named the Prospector. Here is a color photo taken in 1964 at US60 Dragstrip in Hardinsburg, KY. A trophy is sitting on the hood so it looks like Doug Greenfield must have won S/S that day.