Features Ford Thunderbolts Photos Wanted

How many cars had DST installed plexi front windshields?

 

None. Thunderbolts were built to be run in NHRA S/S. NHRA did not accept plexiglass windshields in that class.

 

Good stuff! Thanks for the reply. So do I understand you correctly in that the Ronda car is the one Bob Glidden owned for a while (or did he have more than one)? I have a few photos of a white car with some stars & stripes on the sides, narrowed up and driven by Harold Stout. Is that the Ronda car as well?


Deron

 

Would the Bob Ford automatic car have been the only one of the original 11 that didn't get one?


Deron

 

In regards to the Butch Leal car, was it ever painted black when Leal raced it? In all the photos I have it appears to be the standard issue Vintage Burgundy, although all but one are black & white so its a little tough to tell. What became of that car after it was given back to Mickey Thompson?


Deron

 

I can't say for certain if the plexiglass windshield was specifically installed at DST or not, but a number of cars had them. From my count at least ten cars had been verified having a plexi w/s, but some were installed by the owners later on when they received fiberglass doors and the lighter front fenders.

A similar telegram exists for the Tasca car.

Due to lack of minimum build the plexi windshield and glass doors were only legal in A/FX or MP. The Bob Ford car also had 1/8" plexiglass rear quarter windows, instead of 1/4".

Regards,
Dennis

 

Yes, Glidden, Stout & Spain, now Willie D. Smith T-Bolt, were all the same car, and was originally the Gas Ronda car.

Regards,
Dennis

 

No, the automatic car originally had a cloverleaf hood. In the presentation photo at the test track the #3 car (Ed Martin) had a teardrop hood. So the story goes, Leal or Mickey Thompson somehow got the hood switched to the #7 M/T car.

Regards,
Dennis

 

I don't think it was painted black, but I would imagine Leal could verify this.

Mickey Thompson never got the car back. After the disaster at the Indy 500 the Thunderbolt was taken back by Ford and reassigned on loan to Leal. At the end of the season, the car was taken back by Ford and then reassigned to Droke.

I asked Leal a few years ago about it. He indicated Ford wanted the car back when he switched to Plymouth. Larry said he pulled the engine and along with a spare sold them, and the car went to Droke. Larry said, after Droke the car was sold and then either crashed or wrecked and was junked.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Thanks for the reply Dennis. There's another group on the internet for drag race model builders and one of the fellows on there has asked for photos of the black Leal car. I figured I'd ask someone who might know for sure before I opened my mouth and looked like an idiot. I think the photos of the car with the "California Flash" lettering are the ones they're talking about being a black car. Does anyone here have a color photo of it in that era? Probably late 64 since the rear quarters state "1964 NHRA Ntl. Super Stock Champ".

Thanks too for the info on the history of the car. I remembered reading that it was given back when Leal got his deal with Plymouth, but I assumed it was given back to MT rather than Ford. I guess since it was one of the first cars, it was technically Ford's property rather than Thompson's. So what happened at the Indy 500? I don't think I've ever hear about that.

Thanks again,
Deron

 

Here's a pic of the Bob Ford Automatic car I took in Sept..1964,when it was at a track in Ontario,Canada.

I sent a copy to Craig Sutton & Joel N. several years ago..

Rick
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(WOW, THAT'S BIG, sorry)

This is the car that I traded Nicholsons Comet for, I have copies of some pics from when I had it that I need to drop off to Marco.

 

Wow!! It's rare to see a shot of this car. Thanks for posting it.

 

That is why I've never posted it on the "net".
I would prefer it stay here.. but I know ebay is a click away.

Rick
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I'm familar with the California Flash photos. Some of the decals are in the same location, whether an earlier or later photo. Perhaps the car remained Vintage Burgundy. I'm sure that Leal would know.

Being the M/T T-Bolt was a Drag Council car and sold on a $1.00 contract, Ford reserved the right to have the car returned upon notice, and they did.

M/T entered an aluminum chassis car at the Indy 500, with an inexperienced driver, and supposedly the car was ill handling. Shortly after the start, Macdonald ran the car into the wall, lost control, and Eddie Sachs crashed into him. Both drivers were killed, and others were burned. The book "Ford: The Dust and the Glory" gets into the details, there are even a photo of the fire and the wrecked car. It was a very horrific crash.

Regards,
Dennis

 

I just watched a dvd by loreson called ford at the races 1963-1964.Theres a great clip of this car running down the track.I'll try and figure how to put it on here.

 

Thunderbolt pic of the day.

 

Cool pictures! Is that possibly the #3 car out of the first batch that went to Ed Martin Ford sales? I've got a photo of that car in a red or red/orange (maybe Poppy red) with the #944 on the side.

 

I believe its a tribute car.Never did get to see him run so not sure how he did.Its a very nice color combo.

 

Ken;the green Fairlane is a T-Bolt clone.It belongs to Randy and Kim Bramwell out of Ohio,they run N/SS with it.They are running a 427 FE,glide combo,nice car.I met them at the Dearborn,Mich.,Fairlane Nationals last year,good people. ROY

 

The Ed Martin car still exists. It is currently unrestored and unassembled from what I hear...

 

So,what ever become of the automatic car I posted a few days ago?

Curious minds need to know.

Rick

 

Car was sold to Bill Molby, converted to four speed and ran as Turner Ford in 1965, a dealership on the East side just North of Detroit. It got out of control at Motor City Dragway, Bill came out the door, thrown out and was killed by the car. Not sure what the cause was, but it was my understanding it did not break an axle.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Is that the same Turner Ford where Phil Featherston's car was originally delivered?

 

Who was the original owner of the T-Bolt that Randy Delisio restored for Jon Paradise in the series of articles in Super Ford back in the '80's? Who has it now?

 

Dennis;

I had heard that ,but didn't know how true it was..
Sad deal for sure..

Did they chop up the car after that?

Thanks;
Rick
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OK guys,

I'm having trouble keeping some of these cars straight (which should come as no surprise since they made SO many of them ) so I'm asking for a little help. Here's a couple for starters.

Courtesy Ford: Are these two photos the same car, or is the second one a tribute?





I've also got this photo that has Courtesy Ford in the filename (one I saved from earlier in this thread). Is it the same car, another one Courtesy sponsored or just mis-named?



And finally, a few pages back Dennis stated that the black car with red "Thunderbolt" on the quarters was originally the Courtesy Ford - Rick Hearn car. Is that either one of the above cars or another one entirely?

Stay tuned, cause there are more questions to come. But I'm going to give you guys a break for a little while.

Thanks,
Deron

 

OK, I lied about giving you guys a break...

But this really will be my last post begging for info today. I promise.

Below is a photo of the Read Mullan Ford car out of Phoenix, AZ that's been sitting here on my hard drive for quite some time but I don't know squat about it. Can any of you guys shed a little light on this one such as the driver's name, history, etc? Any help would be greatly appreciated because I just got done talking with Read Mullan's grandson and he's offered to try and help me gather more info about the car if I can just get him a better picture or a name. Think hard guys!




Deron

 

Great photos! Its funny because when I was in college at Auburn my buddies and I used to go racing on the weekends at Phenix City, and it was the biggest POS hole-in-the-wall track I'd ever been down. Its hard to imagine that track being big-time enough to have folks from Indy and further coming there to race. I remember the first pass I made down that track, when I went through the lights I noticed foot tall weeds growing up through cracks in the track. Boy, I miss those days!

Deron

 

Back in the sixties and early seventies Phenix City was home to some great SS, FX and then Prostock racing. All the big names would show up at Phenix City for their shows. That's Robert Nance in the Mr. Plymouth he is racing against. It was a potent car in the the south.