Features Ford Thunderbolts Photos Wanted

Thanks for posting Jay....you really should post that pic of Linda in the dedicated thread here for her on HAMB if you already haven't....that's a great one!

 

Steve Honell's War Eagle

 

Here's something that I've been wondering about for a while now. Looking at the "restored" cars out there, it seems that about half of them have white wheels and the other half have black wheels. Which is correct, or is this one of those things that just varied from batch to batch? Also, I've noticed that some of them have both front and rear rubber floormats while others have only the front. What about that?

Deron

 

Here's three more that I can't figure out. Boy, once these cars are put back to day one "plain vanilla" mode they're tough to ID! The first one came from some photos that were taken at a show in or around Pigeon Forge, TN. I couldn't tell you where I found the second one, and the third had AACA in the filename so it muct have been taken at some AACA show. Any help would be appreciated!

Deron

 

Re: post #1328, is that the T-Bolt Too before the fenders were stretched or is that one of the other Thunderbolts that Bob Trevarrow owned?



Deron

 

Here's another one that I can't ID. This photo came off of the Kruse auction website from the Auburn auction Fall 2000. The auction description calls this the 49th car which, if if I'm figuring right should be the Jim Durham / Wendle Ford car out of Spokane, WA. The front wheels make me think it might be the Don McMillan "Hazel" car, and the airbox looks like it came out of a Cracker Jack box. Any ideas?

There was also a burgundy car on the Kruse website that looks to have been auctioned several times in the 1996/1997 timeframe and they claim it was a legitimate car. Any ideas on that one?


Thanks,
Deron

 

Wheel color, later on or restorations were at the owner's discretion. However, the majority left DST with black steel wheels. The few photos existing of cars "as delivered" indicate this. However, there may of been a few cars that left with white wheels. In circa 1964 photos, wheels got swapped, especially the rears when changing slicks.

Relative to restorations, I think the confusion may lie that in production, wheels with wheel covers are painted black and wheels with hub caps are painted body color.

Re the absence of a rear floor mat. When was the last time you tried to buy one? LOL

Regards,
Dennis

 

The first car may be a clone car. The front bumper in stock location, looks painted and may be fiberglass.

The second one is Webster Motors, photo taken at a FL car show.

The third car with the badging is probably the Bill-Rick Ford car. I Think that is the only one I recall ever being judged at an AACA event.

Regards,
Dennis

 

That is "T-Bolt-Too" after the straight axle was removed and fender aprons with control arm front suspension was reinstalled.

Regards,
Dennis

 

My notes indicate the 49th car is Beaty Ford, aka Humpin Henry car.

The Wendle Ford car is the 50th delivered.

Re Burgundy car on Kruse site. Perhaps the M/T Hemi - Jess Tyree car?
Do you have a photo?

Regards,
Dennis

 

Glad to see someone else who understands the difference between hubcaps and wheelcovers! LOL! I used to help a buddy who dealt in NOS Ford stuff when he'd go to flea markets, and there was a guy that would always come around (I think his name was Jake, can't remember the last name) buying 427 stuff and he'd get all kinds of bent outa' shape over people who didn't know the difference. He'd get all wound up and say "hubcap! wheelcover! hubcap! wheelcover!" real loud and move his hands back and forth making a little circle and then a big circle. Man, I haven't thought about that in years! LOL!

As for the rear floormat, makes perfect sense on the availability factor. So the cars originally did have them?

Deron

 

In regards to the burgundy car on Kruse's site, all there is is a tiny thumbnail photo, but it shows some quarterpanel lettering. Attached are the two thumbnails from their site and here's the link to the search I ran:

http://www.kruse.com/results/return...derbolt&YEAR_BEGIN=1964&IMGGO.x=14&IMGGO.y=12

It looks to have been auctioned several times, possibly because it never met the reserve, but the prices stated are pretty high for that time period. Too high to have been a clone I would think, but I suppose anything is possible.

In regards to the white car they claimed was the 49th, I went back and edited my original post because I forgot the photo. As for the delivery numbers, I must have something hosed up in the list that I put together. Its pretty jumbled up and crude! Regardless of the delivery number, any ideas of which car was acutioned? It looks to have Torq-Thrusts on it, but it also has the aluminum bumper and ghetto airbox which my photos of the restored "Hazel" car don't. So any ideas?

Deron

 

Any connection here? Notice the frt bumpers

 

Here's a photo that spiertb sent me this morning. It looks to have been taken in Florida according to the caption. Any ideas as to which car this might be?

Deron

 

I'm pretty sure this is the car Nick Smith has now which is currently poppy red. I think it was sold out of Ed Martin Ford.

 

Not the same cars. T-Bolt-Too never had roof pillar crowns until Bob Trevarrow installed them. Satan's Angel appears to have DST track bars. TB2 had long bars, just like the Bob Ford S/S car, except they were swiss cheesed and not adjustable, but were preloaded the same as the S/S car. The history and whereabouts of TB2 from 1964 to today are also known.

However, I'm glad that people are looking. I'm sure someone knows more about the Satan's Angel car.

Regards,
Dennis

 

This car was at Norwalk Ford show. Believe to be a Brian Burnett "restoration" of the so called Pulliam Motors car.

Cracker jack airbox, this car was a bit strange.

If the Pulliam car, it would be the 45th or 46th car delivered.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Anyone have a microscope? One could go blind studying this thumbnail. LOL

It looks like a Fairlane, not Fairlane 500. I don't recall any original white cars currently painted burgundy, and don't think it's an original car. Perhaps with a clearer photo, a more definitive judgement could be made.

Regards,
Dennis

 

So are you saying that you think these two cars might be one and the same?


Deron

 

OK Jody, I know we've talked about this one. How do you determine this is the Ed Martin car that Nick Smith currently owns? I would of expected it to have an aluminum front bumper. Very few of the last 50 delivered were ran raced with a fiberglass front bumper. I recall only one or two.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Very true. Tough to tell much but it does look like no brightwork around the window frames. The only thing that really made me wonder was the fact that Kruse reported the car (and I'm assuming that both auctions were for the same car) bid up to $60,000 one time and $71,000 the other. I can't see a clone bringing that kind of money and still not meeting the reserve.

Deron

 

I've seen clones bring a lot more than that and sell. I can't recall any original white cars, currently painted burgundy. Or perhaps the reserve was set high purposely, so the car wouldn't sell.

There were clones done of the Brannan car and Leal car. Perhaps, it is one of those.

Regards,
Dennis

 

The RH photo looks like Carlisle and the tall guy looks like Bob Knudsen, then owner of the car. However, I am not 100% positive that is his car he is standing by. I realize what the file name says. I was at Carlisle, but I think most of my photos taken there were 35mm, not digital. They're in a tote container somewhere, but I would have to find them.

I recall someone looked at the data plate VIN on the one at Norwalk to figure out what car it was. The VIN was for the Pulliam Motors car.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Dennis;Bobby is standing next to his car,I have almost the exact picture.I was there in 04,came out with Jack Hazelgren and John Richmond.I had my Comet in the tent across from John's cammer Comet. ROY

 

Butch Leal's ladder bars? Ford/who made 'em?

Phil Bonner's hood....Ford/who made 'em?

Placement of "427" emblems....Down low or up high on front fenders?

A good friend of my Dad's in Pa. ....said he has complete original T-bolt full fiberglass L & R doors with plexiglass mounted in them.....Did the original T-bolts come with glass or steel doors?

Can someone post a pic of the right Rotunda 8 grand tach?

 

Not sure about Leal's bars, but that hood on Bonner's car is the "cloverleaf" hood that the first run of 11 cars had. They were all replaced with the "teardrop" hoods and none of the early hoods are known to exist.

The first run had 427 emblems on the frt of the fenders (except one that never had any??) and the later 2 runs had them down low.

There's a NOS 8 grand Rotunda tach on eBay right now. Last I saw the bid was over $800 with 5 days to go.

 

Yes, just checked, $861.00 with 4d 9h to go. Ford paid $14.77/pc to Faria for the Thunderbolt program.

Regards,
Dennis

 

The long bars may of been retrofitted at Bob Ford Inc dealership. Instructions were sent out to the factory teams on how to make the conversion. Ernie MacEwen was the person that originally figured this out and was first implemented on the 1963 Bob Ford 289 HiPo Fairlane that Doug Nash and Ernie campaigned. In addition to the long bars and shocks behind the axle change in around April 1964, the #2 Bob Ford S/S car was set up as a slider to help eliminate the bind of the fixed factory DST track bars. However, I don't believe this part of the change was released.

Plaza Industries made the fiberglass components for Ford.

Re 427 emblems, 63 Galaxie position on the first 11 burgundy cars, except on the #2 Bob Ford S/S car which never had them installed. 64 Galaxie position on the 89 white cars.

Steel doors. Can you post a photo of them? Curious to know what car they came off of.

Re tach, See the one currently on eBay.

Regards,
Dennis

 

I was looking at Nick's photo book at Norwalk. There were numerous photos in the section assigned to the history of the poppy red car showing it with this lettering.