The 1959-1960 Ford Thunderbirds (Square Bird) had a special engine option, the Lincoln 430ci V8 @ 350hp. They were among the fastest cars of their time. At 15 years of age I watched one race in 1960 at the old California State Fairgrounds' one-mile dirt track.
Hi Stephen! The Thunderbird runs a 430 MEL, which was standard issue amongst the Holman Moody Nascar Thunderbirds. H&M also retrofitted floor shifters to their Thunderbirds in period, to which it runs a Borg Warner T-10 gearbox. The only difference to the original 1959 Daytona 500 running spec is a safety allowance in the racing regulations to convert the front drums to a disc and caliper of a type used by Ford prior to 1963.
Holman-Moody rides again.."Competition Proven "
The 1959-1960 Ford Thunderbirds (Square Bird) had a special engine option, the Lincoln 430ci V8 @ 350hp.
They were among the fastest cars of their time.
At 15 years of age I watched one race in 1960 at the old California State Fairgrounds' one-mile dirt track.
I guess it's running a 352 ci FE engine, but what's the gearbox used? Love watching these old timers getting used as they were designed to be.
Hi Stephen! The Thunderbird runs a 430 MEL, which was standard issue amongst the Holman Moody Nascar Thunderbirds. H&M also retrofitted floor shifters to their Thunderbirds in period, to which it runs a Borg Warner T-10 gearbox. The only difference to the original 1959 Daytona 500 running spec is a safety allowance in the racing regulations to convert the front drums to a disc and caliper of a type used by Ford prior to 1963.
@@billshepherdautomotive Thanks for the reply.