Features Ford Thunderbolts Photos Wanted

Yes, that is Bob and his son Bruce in the photo. The zip tubes he picked up at Columbus, allegedly from one of Platt's cars. The fenders are longer, look at the distance from the door jamb to the wheel opening. There was around a 8-10"' section added. When he put the car back with fender aprons, he replaced the front fenders, but removed the section from the hood and glassed it all back together. It had an Econoline front axle, but put control arm suspension back in it.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Thanks for the tip. I have the 62-66 CD, interesting to look at, the quality varies, but can't complain. I also rechecked the Les Welch Phototography website. I noticed he posted more proofs from the 69 WNats. In one of the proofs there is a poppy red T-Bolt in the background, but it looks like Jim Demmitt's car.

http://www.leswelch.com/oldstuff/222/image33.html

Regards,
Dennis

 

Dave Lyall

Enjoyed listening to your interview on Drag Racers Reunion Radio's Sam Auxier Jr. Show. The shows are archived for those that were unable to listen.

http://racersreunionradio.com/


Sam needs to get you back on, I want to hear more about the cars you raced, especially the Bob Ford 63 Lightweight and this 260 hp 56 Ford.

I also sent you a private mail.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Noticed in your reply "8-10"' section added" and " It had an Econoline front axle, but put control arm suspension back in it". My 63 Fairlane is old drag car and with an Econoline axle have been thinking of sliding both axles forward a little. So looking for info on the rear suspend setups parts used measurements and pictures for these early Alt. wheel base cars.

 

This car did not have the rear axle relocated. However, to move the rear axle forward would require either removing and relocating the existing unibody frame rail, wheel tubs, and modifying the floor pans, or fabricating a frame rail from rectangular tubing, and wheel tubs and floor from sheet metal.

The front Econoline axle was connected to the original Fairlane front unibody frame rails with shackles. When Bob put the fender aprons and control arms back, he removed the straight axle, repaired/replaced the frame rails, fender aprons, etc ... . He borrowed my blue T-Bolt as a reference to make the DST related mods to the front aprons, etc ... to install the 427. Unfortunately, I do not have any detail photos of this and after he died his wife sold all of his stuff.

In the photo I attached the hood was lengthened in the back to extend it into the cowl area, maybe it wasn't 8-10", but he did repair the cowl and repaired the hood back to original dimensions by removing the piece that was glassed in. From what I recall the front frame rails were not extended, the shackles were attached to the frame rails to relocate the wheels forward from the stock location.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Dennis,
Which T-Bolts do you own? A buddy and I used to have a swap space every year at the PFCA spring swap meet in Columbus in the '80's and one year there was a guy next to us who had an original T-bolt. Ray was his name, (I can't remember his last name)his business was called Thundercolt and was out of Milan, I think. I think he said it was one of the original burgundy cars. Do you know anything about him? His wife had a FE powered Mustang drag car. He bought up all the T-bolt stuff that was there.

 

I currently own the GIlmer Ford Thunderbolt Bob Thomas-Owner / Howard Neal -Driver, which is the blue car and the Bob Ford Thunderbolt S/S car driven by Len Richter, which is restored back as raced in 1964. In 1965 it was yellow and driven by Kenny Vogt. In 1966 Paul Harvey sold the car to Paul Moody and was painted a Corvette metallic blue and ran as Expressway Gulf.

The person you are talking about is Ray Stitt from Ypsilanti, MI. I am familar with the car and to my knowledge this was not an original burgundy nor white T-Bolt for that matter.

Regards,
Dennis

 

I was asked by Geoffrey Bradley to post these three photos he sent me of the Droke 65 car.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Hmmmmm. Neither burgundy or white? Well I guess that answers the question of whose it was originally.

Thanks,
Kevin

 

Only one Thunderbolt at the ODDR this time but there were a lot of 427 Fairlanes. Sorry there are a few off brand cars also but here is a link to my photos.

http://s56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/falconred/Old%20Drag%20Racers%20Reunion%202010/

 

Thanks Dennis...............Pretty cool car eh

 

Dennis:
Sam invited me back on his Radio Program, sometime in November. I am also doing the Wally Bell show October 20<SUP>th</SUP>. It is impossible to cover a 50 year Racing Career (1957 to 2007) in only 30 minutes. (So many adventures……so little time)
The ’63 Lightweight I drove while I worked at Bob Ford was the Test Mule Car Les Ritchey drove at Pomona. (Picture attached) After Pomona the car stayed behind at Les’s shop while they thrashed engine updates, which became available later in the year. In April, my wife and I drove a new Station Wagon (I took out of inventory for the trip) out to Les’s shop in California. (in 56 hours) Before heading home flat-towing the fastback, we spent the next day with Les and Gas Ronda going to the San Gabriel Drags, which Gas won in his ’63 Lightweight. We arrived back in Dearborn on Thursday, and the Bob Ford body shop crew stayed up all night repainting the car yellow and black. (Paul Harvey’s favorite color combination) That Friday I installed a fresh Blueprinted engine which Les had shipped back ahead of me, while Paul Hatton lettered the car. We went to the NHRA Division 3 points meet at Detroit Dragway, setting a new MPH record at 118+ MPH, which Farmer Dismuke disallowed due to a casting number dispute with Charlie Gray. (Farmer was smarter than any Ford Motor Company Engineer, God rest his sole) We had a successful season with the fastback, and at Indy I was well on my way to winning S/S (picture attached) when Farmer again pulled me out of the lanes, on another interpretive technicality, reported to him by the Ramchargers, as I would have most certainly run against them for S/S eliminator. (Farmer and I had an ongoing deal, and he subsequently threw me out on many more occasions, including my class win in my Cobra Jet at Indy in ’68) After Indy, Paul Harvey sold the car to Tony Cicceralla, who owned Sunset Fireworks in Toledo. I understand the car was eventually wrecked, and the frame and rear axle became a welding trailer, an inglorious end for so fine a race car. After Paul sold the yellow and black car, I took over the Black Fastback from Richter, built a new AFX engine and installed my Traction Bar design. (Which became the Thunderbolt Bars) The next weekend we ran an 11.70 at Detroit Dragway with that car, and it went on to become Jerry Harvey’s ride for 1964, replacing the B/G ’57 Ford I had built for Jerry in 1963.
My ’56 Ford which I raced in A/S ran 16 flat at 90 MPH, which was fast in 1957, especially on those stock 4” wide 6.70 X 15 tires.
Dave Lyall

 

Dave,

Looking forward to your return on DRRR. I know I asked you this many years ago over at Holbrook's, but explain the story about "Big Sam", the name on the rear quarters of your 63 Ltwt.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Dennis:

The Big Sam name came from Les Ritchey. To properly frame the story, you have to consider it is early 1963, just a week or so before Pomona, all the Ford Owners, Drivers, Mechanics and Ford Special Vehicles Brass are at Les&#8217; Shop (Performance Associates) in Covina prepping for the Winternationals, they are working long hours with little sleep and having occasional libations to keep up everyone&#8217;s spirits. During a moment of very serious &#8220;what if&#8221; discussion, Les asked if anyone heard Big Sam was coming to town? Everyone looked at each other, and said who is Big Sam? Less said he was at the local saloon the other night, when some guy comes in the place a yells: &#8220;Big Sam is coming...... Big Sam is coming&#8221; The place suddenly completely cleared out, everyone running over each other for the door. The bartender, trying to understand what just happened starts turning off the lights and getting ready to lock up, when suddenly, the front door swings open with a huge crash, and this 7 foot tall, 300 pound guy, unwashed, unshaven and ugly as hell walks in the door, goes up to the bar and says &#8220;Give me a double shot of whiskey boy, and make it quick&#8221; The bartender pours the whiskey with shaking hands, and the big ugly guy slams it down. The bartender timidly asked the ugly stranger if he would like another whiskey. The stranger looks around and says: &#8220;I ain&#8217;t got time boy&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;. gotta get the hell outa&#8217; here&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..Big Sam is coming&#8221; There was total pandemonium, as all the exhaustion, tension and pent-up emotion was unleashed in uproarious laughter. So &#8220;Big Sam is coming&#8221; became the tension-breaking phrase for the next week, and when the seig painter came to letter the Bob Ford lightweight, which Les was going to drive, Les had the painter letter the name on the car. When we repainted the car yellow and black, we kept the name. Then when the Black Lightweight Len Richter and Bill Humphrey drove was lettered, it was named &#8220;Big Sam Too&#8221;. That story also sets the tone how Jerry Harvey&#8217;s T-Bolt was named &#8220;Thunderbolt Too.&#8221;
I attached pictures taken at Dragway during the Div 3 points meet, of my record-setting run (which Farmer disallowed, in spite of any thing Charlie Gray said or showed to him) right after I got back from California, when the yellow and black paint was not completly dry yet and we had to stop Hatton from finishing the lettering because we were out of time. Dave Lyall

 

Dennis:

Got timmed out loading the pictures, so here they are.

Dave

 

Yes, that is how I recall you telling me the story years ago at Holbrook's.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Dave, How early did Ford start testing the Hi-Riser 427? The earliest I had heard of it being officially used was in NASCAR at the Daytona Firecracker 400 over the 4th of July in 1963. Any input about its earliest use in drag racing?

The Kentuckian

 

That's a great story!! Thanks for sharing it Mr. Lyall!!

 

Great thread.I grew up in Dearborn just south of DST's Trowbridge building.I remember in the summer of 64 riding in the alley behind the building and seeing two white Bolts,slicks deflated, sitting against the fenced in compound.Did'nt have a camera would have made a great shot.I realize this is a comment on an old post,but here it is anyway.I was told by a Ex long time DST employee that for a time the Thunderbolts were delivered out of Fellrath's Lumber yard building in Inkster,Mi,that DST rented,just a couple of miles West of Dearborn.He also related the story of Phil Bonner picking up his replacement car and being told the last 4 speed car availible at that moment was shipped earlier that day.The story went that he was'nt happy but he had to accept a automatic.

 

Kentuckian:
The Hi-Riser pistons, rings and valves were in the test engine that was in the &#8216;63 lightweight I brought back from Les Richey&#8217;s shop in April, 1963. So they were testing some of the parts right after Pomona, which was the reason &#8220;Big Sam&#8221; stayed behind at Richey&#8217;s shop. Les had an engine development contract with Ford, and was the supplier of all the blueprinted drag engines for Ford. When Paul Harvey came back from the Ford Drag council meetings, he always stopped in the shop at my work area to fill me in on the latest news and who was doing what, ect. It was early in the season, probably mid-June when he came back from one such meeting and told me Ford had developed a 500 HP engine, and we would be one of the first drag teams to test it. The engine became known as the Hi-Riser, for obvious reasons, and sure enough, shortly thereafter two of these engines showed up at the shop one day in a Ford Engineering Delivery Truck. These were engines built at EBU, (Engine Build Up) and were not at the level of an all-out blueprinted engine like Les Richey would build. This was equivalent to the engines which later came with the Thunderbolts. I do not remember the date, but it would have been late June or so. We put one in Big Sam and Ernie Mackewen put the other one in Big Sam Too. We also received a set of fiber-glass air inlet tubes, and an adapter which used the top and bottom of the production cast air cleaner to form an air box. We tested at the Ford Test Track in Dearborn, and Ford rented Detroit Dragway also. As I recall, on 7&#8221; tires the Hi-Riser was about .5 second quicker and about 5 MPH faster than the legal blueprinted low-riser engine. As we had a regular race dates to make, we did not keep the Hi-Riser in Big Sam very long, but I did continue to use the &#8220;zip tubes&#8221; frequently, as they were worth .2 second and over 2 MPH on the low riser engine.
They kept the Hi-Riser in Big Sam Too, and Len raced it in Indy in AFX. After Indy, when I took over Big Sam Too, I built a new Hi-Riser which I pushed to rule book limits, and we ran an 11.70 at 120 MPH with the car at DD. This was at about 3450 lbs, which is what the &#8220;lightweight&#8221; Galaxy&#8217;s weighted. Dave Lyall
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Thank you for the info on the early usage of the Hi-Riser engine.

I knew Les Ritchey was involved with Ford Racing as I had seen several articles back in the 60's about his racing, but up until now I never knew just how important he was to the Ford engine development program. With all the engineers at Ford at the time, he really must have been a great engine builder to land a contract to be the supplier of all of Ford's blueprinted drag engines. I'm sure his tragic death was a blow the everyone at Ford Racing. And I mean that in two ways...first as a business contractor but even more as a fellow Ford racer and friend. RIP Les.

The Kentuckian

 

Do you guys know that Ford built some '63 T-Bolts, this was before the T-Bolt name was thought up!!

 

Have you ever met brent hajek, ames okla.? He has several and a restoration sorce for advice. Super nice guy. You may have read in
hot rod and other mags about danny thompson (micky's son) and him trying for land speed record in 2010 mustang. Hajek motorsports ames ok.
580-753-4611

 

If anyone is interested I can post some pics from a period magazine showing a '63 Fairlane 427 car, even has the window sticker on it!! TGIF; Toes Go In First!!!

 

Dave,

Since we are on the subject of 427 High Risers in 63 Lightweight Galaxies. Do you recall the origin of the small scoop (not the teardrop) that was on the black Bob Ford car? The same type of scoop was also on the Brannan and Tasca Ltwts when they were running A/FX at the 1963 Nationals, I assume all High Riser powered.

Regards,
Dennis

 

The Cloverleaf looking one ?

 

No, it was a scoop.

 

Dennis:

Would that be the big truck scoop? I seem to remember one of Ed Martin's cars having one, but it may have been his "F100 XL" pickup.

John

 

I wasn't aware that Ed Martin had the F100XL Pickup. From what I recall, that truck was a DST creation that had Stu Wilson Ford - Dearborn MI on it, then went to Friendly Ford in MD. DST built a few other trucks with HiPo 390 and 406's installed. I understand they were used as part chasers.

The Pontiac people say the Ford Truck scoop was used on 421 SD's. However, I think the scoop used on the handful of 63 Ltwt's with High Riser engines installed may of been something different as it looks a bit larger. The scoop on the black Bob Ford car, Tasca Ford, and Brannan's 63 Ltwt look similar. What I would like to find out is if Ford came up with a scoop to install, was it a complete hood made by Plaza, or what. The other thing was it an actual scoop or was it just for hood clearance for the carbs with the HR intake? As Dave mentioned about the ram air ducts being used, if so no need for an air scoop. As soon as the 64 Ltwt Galaxie fiberglass teardrop hood came on the scene, the Bob Ford car and others went to that type.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Dennis:

The Martin truck ran at Muncie. It may have been built in Martin's shop rather than a DSO. Glidden may have info, he was driving for Martin in those days.

John