My old buddy had a new 62 Galaxie. He ordered the best engine that year. 406 tri power 4 spd. Dealer asked if he want it super tuned. He paid an extra 250 for it. Got a build sheet from Holman n Moody. They blue printed his engine same as their Nascar version. It won lots of street races.
@@z06king Yep! Like I wish I had kept my ‘57 Chevy 2 door hardtop Bel Air Sport Coupe. When I sold it, I had a 300 hp 327 and a Muncie 4 Speed! Wish I had it now!!!
@@Loulovesspeed What a great story. I have always loved the 1962 thru 1966 Galaxies'. The Magazine 'Hemmings Muscle Cars' will feature these models occasionally and I've thought many times how nice it would be to have one in the excellent condition as they appeared in those Magazine articles. Sadly, about the only way to find one restored to Like New Condition is thru Auction Houses such as Barret-Jackson or Meacham's and they will bring in anywhere from $75K to $130K. Waaay to rich for my blood.
Nope, I remember when the modern challenger's were coming in to the scene there was this one drive in I would go to. I went there with my 74 Charger and felt so alienated with all the newer stuff there so I took off and that was that.
My dad had a 1966 Ford Fairlane GTA with a 390 ci engine. He put on 4.11 years on the rear end. At one point my dad needed a carb kit. Went to the local auto parts store. The counter worker could not find the carb numbers in his book. But, the counter worker with his knowledge looked into another reference book......... No joke----------the carb was a NASCAR spec carb. I still remember that car. It was fast, feeling the G-forces being pushed back into the seat. It was unsafe to drive in the rain.....with the gearing-------the tires would spin and easily lose traction. The engine was stock and not built. Thank you for the vid. Brings back memories.
64 Fairlane thunderbolt, to me is what a fast car should look like ..my most favorite car of all time ! Loved to have the 66 R code 427 4 speed in the the 64 body style ..when I was a kid the neighbor up the street had a 64 he had stripped and only used on the track and would do test hits up our rd all the time ..I still remember the sound and sitting waiting impatiently at the end of my driveway on my bicycle for him to go flying by.
a time when they raced a real production car” Cubic inches & weight reduction & slippery bodies like fastbacks were what they tried to beat the other makes with
@@davegeisler7802 Lol until the BO29 Hemi Barracuda & the 68 Hemi Darts came out & spanked everyone's ass including the 428 Cobrajet mustang & the 427 copo Camaros that tried to stay with them but failed .
i worked with a guy that had a boss 429 mustang, what a beast, the 60s for cars were the best years that led to some great muscle cars that can not compete with todays ones but i would take a 60s car any day over todays,
Your comment lacks a detail - WHEN?? My 70 Boss9 out of the factory was a dog until 100 mph just like the hemis that were designed for constant high rpm... No where as effective "off the showroom floor" a street racer as my 69 428 CJ Stang (still sitting in my garage today). Sold the Boss9 in 73-74 for $3,000 - ya don't say it - If I only knew....
@@donnamoss9650 - I know a Ford dealer near by that had a 70 Boss 429 since new, but he was keen enough to order the optional solid lifter cam that was available. That alone made a world of difference in the Boss's acceleration times! remember, the engine was designed only for high rpm NASCAR use, so was not tuned to have great acceleration.
Those were the days!!! I was a little guy then and loved all the street racing that was going on and the cruising that went on during the time. Good memories.
I feel like a lucky person who had the chance to assemble both (after machining was done) a Boss 429 and a 427 Cammer when I was in my 20s back in the 90s when I was working at a small shop. And I'm proud of the fact that both of those engines are still running perfectly today. It's a personal accomplishment issue that I cherish even though 99.99999% of people could not give a crap.
I can relate! As a 17 year old air cooled Volkswagen mechanic in 1998- 2001 my boss taught me SO many performance tricks, mods, combinations of the same engine.. over 40 performance engines built very few a same blueprint. A few stock engines I did to start.. then we went wild... about the only thing remaining completely Stock were the pushrod tubes distributor drive gear, the head torque specs. , and valve covers and bails.. the less displacement the more good original Volkswagen parts used... alot of 1850+cc 1914cc+ some just over 2000cc custom builds long lifespans out of these things, 2442cc was the biggest I assembled under his watchful eyes with 9psi boost on the turbo we got over 100hp per cylinder. I hand polished case halfs for to days to get the crank and connecting rod bolt clearance we needed.. hand ported and matched polished the intakes.. reamed carburetor jets by hand. Sync duel carbs by sound and acel pump linkage tune by sight sound smell heat hand (no computers just talent!)other dude in shop built the exhaust system.. we bought alot of proven custom parts but did our own massage of each part hand fitting. Valve jobs flycutting balancing we sent out to our very appreciated and trusted machine shop. but we squeezed power out of everything we built.. I learned a wealth of knowledge that has carried me far in life so I deeply appreciate your comment!! Cheers the old shop race team I got to be apart of Indio dune buggy racing Indio Calif.
Sixty three galaxy five hundred the baby blue betty getter was a bubble with a thunder bird three ninety four on the floor with four eleven gears I could get to eaghty in a city block fun days they were 🙂shure miss that car..
Very lucky to work on a Cammer & that it's still alive today being they were plagued with problems with that 8 ft timing chain the oiling issues & crank shaft problems . I know Tom Hoover from MN who started out drag racing blown nitro rails then dragsters & moved onto Funny cars & he tried those Cammer's he told me back in the day in his dragsters and said they made great power but reliability was an issue even after rebuilding the engine after each round they could get about 3 races out of one before it would blow-up rods through the block busted cranks & busted timing chains . He had stacks of blown up Cammer blocks sitting behind his shop & decided to switch back to the 426 Chrysler Hemi because they were far cheaper to build ( imagine that lol a cheap Hemi or Mopar anything compared to other Chevrolet or Ford stuff to build today especially lol ) & held together better so that's why most of the nitro guys ended up switching back to the Hemi . I do know there is some guy who it sounds like figured out the problems with those engines & they are pretty reliable now but being they were basically a prototype engine back then with not a bunch made because it wasn't a production engine you could buy in any street car Ford made they were rare but I am sure to bring one into this guy to do the mods & updates to one would be very expensive but if a guy could afford to do so would be very satisfying & something most people don't have . Even Nascar banned them I remember & Chrysler back then was building what was called the dooms day Hemi to compete with the Cammer that was a 426 race Hemi block but had double over head cams instead of single over head cams like the Cammer used but when the Cammer got banned Chrysler dropped it so only a couple survived & from what I can tell never got finished enough to even test them at all which is a shame as well because it's so cool to see American racing engines & parts & what was being developed at the time that's part of the history back then that should be kept alive in a museum so others can see them on display & what they were about or why they were developed in the first place .
Not only did I own some but I created a few. Ford published an Off Highway book that contained information on how to upgrade original equipment to high performance using factory equipment with part numbers and distribution information. I still own the original catalog specifying this information!
That was me dad and his friends. Remember them first sparkplug wire holders you could by at Pep Boys... Yeah that's him, a gearhead greaser back in da day. The fabricaters if the 50s 60s 70s...
I started working as a Tool and Die apprentice at the Dearborn Assembly plant Ford Rouge complex in Dearborn Michigan starting in September 1968 after mustering out of the Army. We were assembling all types of '69 Mustangs and Cougars including the 428 Cobra Jets, 351 Hypo Mach 1's, 429 and 302 Bosses. In the pre shipping area one day were 2 black 427 SOHC fastbacks being prepped for the test track. No special decals or striping and very mean, all business looking. We also assembled the Shelby GT350s and 500s, less front fascias and other unique items. They were completed at Carroll Shelby's facility. There were a lot of special cars for senior execs. Bunkie Knudsen's wife had a Black 428 CJ Cougar convertible with a custom tan leather interior built for her. Another exec's wife had a Mustang convertible built with the same color combination. Great time and place to be for a gearhead after 2 years in the Infantry.
That's freaking awesome, would've loved to be there working on those Hi Performance Ford Engines and Cars, must of been crazy Seeing those 427 SOHC Monsters sitting there. Those were the good days of going to the dealer and filling out the options sheet and ending up with some Ford Drag Pack Torino Cobra with a 429 SCJ and a Top Loader, one of my favorites. Or a Boss 351 Mustang.
Growing up in the Detroit area during the supercar era of the sixties and early seventies was big time fun. If a guy knew where to go, it was possible to see some special one of a kind cars the big three never built. Uh huh, uh huh... sure. Yet there they were.
@@badass6.0powerstroke10 I was raised in Detroit's southwest side and saw a lot of muscle also going back to see new '53 Hemi DeSotos thru '58 at the plant across the street that my family lived on. The most memorable cars were the '64 Bob Ford dealership 427 Fairlane Thunderbolts and big block Chevelles and B-body Mopars. The locals would show up late Friday night on Stecker ave between John Kronk and Michigan ave to drag race. There also was Woodward ave and College road in Dearborn. A friend's Uncle was a mechanic at Packer Pontiac in Detroit and he would stop by with some real beasts, like a sleeper 421 '64 Le Mans wagon. In '69 you could buy a loaded 428 CJ 4 spd Fastback Mustang for $3,900 or a Boss 429 for $4,800 in Detroit. Keep in mind, a journeyman tool maker at Ford was making about $5 an hour, the folks on the line about $3.50.
@@donrandall49 Don Yenko's dealership was just down the road from where I grew up in Pa, back in those days you had guys coming home from Vietnam with money in their pockets looking to get a thrill in life and guys who worked in the coal mines and steel mills who made decent money, between those two there were some wild cars in my area back then, but a combination of alcohol and Quaaludes usually gave a 60% chance that they'd wind up in a junk yard before they were paid off 🤣🤣🤣. Those guy's that worked in the mines and mills worked hard and they liked to play hard. The up side is by the time I was in high school in the early 80's any survivors could be had for $500 to $1500 because by then people didn't want cars like that, only gear head's wanted them everyone else just considered them to be 10 to 15 year old gas guzzlers.
When I was 4 years old in 1972, I went with my Dad to a Ford dealer and I remember riding in the back seat of something that was blue and very fast. My Dad was test driving a car, but I was too young to know what it was. Years later, I asked my Dad about that day and that car. It was a Mercury Cougar that was on the used car lot....but not just any Cougar, it was 1969 Cougar Eliminator with a 428 SCJ and 4 speed transmission. I was like "WHAT!!??.....why did'nt you buy it??" He said it just was not feasible for him to buy a car like that while me and my siblings were still young (we were all under 10 years old). He said he really wanted it, but he just could'nt swing it. My Dad passed away in 2011, and I would like to have one someday myself, or at least build a nice clone of one, just to fulfill a great memory!
Your dad was a good man. He put his kids in front of his own want. He realized it wasn’t practical. I am sorry for you loss. My dad died in 2011 as well.
I remember in the mid 70s my mom was looking at used car lots for a car I was only a few years old but I remember there was a blue, late 60s SS Camaro on the lot and I told my mom please buy that car, it looked super awesome to about a 5 year old but I never forgot and I remember my mom saying "ohhh I like that but its only 2 door" and I told her I don't care I'll climb over the seats to get in the back and she looked inside and it was a 4 speed and she said she cant drive a stick shift which killed any hopes of her buying it and I told her this isn't the only dealership lets look around and she said no she's buying a car at the tiny little place we stopped and we went home with a yellow 4 door 1975 Chevy Caprice which made me very sad.
I got to drive one of the Thunderbolt's at a collector car auction about 20 years ago, what a BEAST! None of the other drivers bringing cars across the auction block were willing to drive it since it was so powerful. As the only driver that day that had actually done any drag racing, I got the task. As we were lining up the cars in their auction catalog order, I purposely held back just outside the building and lined up with the stage as best as I could. I did nearly a full power launch, but quickly let off so as to not shoot past the stage. I kind of bounced to a stop just in time and gave the auction audience a bit of a shock. The car sold for just over $1 million and about $150,000 OVER its auction estimate. There was no guessing that the car was race ready and not just a show piece. I didn't even get yelled at for the launch. I think they figured that it helped sell the car.
I had a 2 door 63 Galaxie with 390 cid. It would purr at 90 MPH. I loved that car. I replaced the front bench seat with Mustang bucket seats and center console. It was a fast car.
In 1989 I had the chance to buy a 1966 Fairlane GT500 without a motor. It was located in a trucking company across the street from Moon Eyes in Santa Fe Springs Ca. What made the car unique it was the 1974 NHRA West Coat Champion and had all the race & sponsor stickers still on it (poor car was rotting away outside uncovered). The guy wanted $7000 and I thought he was out of his mind since it had no motor. I now realize I was looking at one only 57 cars built like that. . .If I could only go back in time
I love all early American Muscle cars Ryan. Ford, Chevy, Chrysler, A.M.C. Pontiac, Buick. I pretty much love all cars to be honest. Except hybrids and electric. If I wanted one of those I would buy the best golf cart I could find.
You mean back when the Hemi was banned from racing till the rest could catch up? lol. 60's were some crazy times, the first Chrysler 300 and old tunnel ram cars were the first true muscle cars, GTO just got the credit but Mopar showed them how its really done because omg those factory Hemi Dart / Barracudas and 6 pack cars were absolute beasts..lol Just standing near one you felt the earth literally shaking under your feet from their power. Crazy they were factory built. If car makers would have stayed involved in racing like they did back then the level of reliability would simply be remaaarkable instead of the Yugo chit they build us today.
I recently fixed some small dents on one of the specially commissioned '69 Mustang 429's mentioned in this video. It was a survivor with the original paint, as it had not been on the road since the late 70's. It even still had the white crayon notes on the front inner fenders from workers on the assembly line. I’m not a Mustang guy by any means, but that was a beautiful work of art. I’m glad I got pics as proof because my friends had trouble believing me 😆
Nice, when I started working in a garage in 81 when I was in high school there were still survivors around like that, we had one that was owned by an old lady that was a Feather Duster, every gear head that I knew used to bug me to give them her phone number, drag racers used to try and get their hands on those to put a performance engine in that was something that would start out as a junk yard engine that they'd build, they wanted those Feather Dusters because they were already lightened up from the factory with a bunch of aluminum components. I remember seeing all kinds of factory markings like that around the thing it was in such original condition, it barely ever got driven in the weather. I was around a bunch of cars like that back in those days that people would freak out over in this day and age, late 60's Camaro's, Mustang's, Super Bee's, Firebird's, all kinds of neat stuff that you see them going crazy over on Barrett-Jackson nowadays.
When I was a freshman in high school, another freshman had bought a '68 Charger 500 that he couldn't drive because he didn't have his license, yet. He sold it for $400 and was very excited because he made a profit. The guy he sold it to still has it 43 years later.
I owned a 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 Sports Coupe built in late 64. It had a K code 289 in it. It was a Hi-Po 289 version of the Thunder bolt. It had a badge on the C pillar that said Sports Coupe. Like a lot of you out there, should've kept it.
I owned a 64 Ranchero and did some modifications to it, pulled out the 3 on the Tree and added the 71 Boss Mustang close Ration top loader, the 289 that was in it had a 2 BBl and that didn't last long soon it had a 650 Holly, it had headers, the stock 325 Gears, the silver paint was faded and looked like just and old ford until the tail lights lit up the car I was racing, there is only one car that never raced me and that was a 70 Cuda, everyone else went home in shame, I used to build race car quality Street cars, that twas back in the 70's when all the good Ford parts were easy to find, I sure wish I would /could have kept even 1/2 of those ford parts, Every ford I owned was FAST back then.
1967 Cougar XR7 GT 390 4spd, pretty sure the Ford tech I bought it from put in a 428 engine, it would rev way higher than a stock 390. 1967 Fairlane 390, rebuilt with Lemans rods, 406 solid cam and tri-power. My should have kept list is about 30 vehicles long. Oh, well. It was good times.
I'm a euro car guy, but even I can appreciate the incredibly wild and even more incredibly rare versions of these cars. I was born in '61 so some of these cars were on the road brand new or nearly brand new when I was a kid. I had no idea nor could I have appreciated them for what they were. Thanks so much for this highly informative and very well done video. Side note: my grandfather bought a mid 1960s 454 Buick Wildcat brand new to pull his 32 ft Airstream trailer after the Cadillac dealer told him it was straining his Caddy too much. I didn't realize how insanely fast and powerful that car was until my dad borrowed it one day and took me for a "spirited" drive in it. Good times.
Buick was strange in that they listed the torque rating on the air cleaner rather than displacement. That was a 401 nailhead, there were three versions and your grandfather had the most powerful of them, producing 445 foot pounds of torque. There was also a 375 and a 410.
A friend I hung out with in high school aquired a 1969 4 door galaxy or LTD , with a 429 4 barrel and it turned out to be the ultimate sleeper. I was in that car and enjoyed the look on the face of Camaros , Mustangs , when the big 4 door sail by them!
The 60's GT40 is one of the greatest cars to have ever been built! 4 Le Mans 24 hour wins in a row! Ferrari had to take a backseat and overhaul their entire racing department because of it. A true beast! Definitely in the same echelon as the McLaren F1.
@@michellemorrison5841 Porsche and Toyota currently dominate at Le Mans. Toyota has won since 2018, and Porsche won 2015-2017. Ferrari hasn't won since 1965.
Mid 1960ies and my dad was driving me & mom & 4 sisters to visit family in southern New Mexico when I looked at the speedom-mo-meter ... we were cruising at 84 mph (Plymouth Fury III, 383 under the station wagon hood). No seat belts, no GPS, plenty of jack rabbits and beautiful country.
In 1966 while taking machine shop at out loca JC I was driving a powder blue and white 59 Galaxie with a 352 and three speed. Scored a 427 R code engine with a broken rod..rebuilt as a class project and immediately scattered the 3 speed. Local wrecker had a wrecked R code race car..scored everything from the bell housing back for $275.00. With stock hubcaps and 352 valve covers and aircleaner I passed it off as stock and had fun with the Chevys... Also ran a pair of cheater slicks..LOL
An uncle described a ride on a rural two lane asphalt road in a 64 T-bolt as the most horrifyin* ride he ever got. Said it ran accelerated on two wheels to triple digit speed, although he was scared stiff and probable didn’t even think to glance over at the speedo. That was back in the mid 60s when the Bolts were past their prime in their NHRA class and were sold off and a friend of his acquired one.
Oh the memories! My dads' Ford/ Lincoln dealership in Hinsdale (ILL), "Hinsdale Ford" (formerly Jack Loftus Ford), campaigned a couple FX Fairlane's and we also had the only Cobra Franchise in ILL/Wisc/Indiana and raced several AC Cobra's (a road racing 350HP 289V8, two Drag Racing 427V8 AC Cobras and a "Cooper Ford" 289V8 in IMSA road racing.
Back in 1980 these vehicles were around as used cars. 60s vehicles parts were only available in junk yards and in some bodies backyard. My first car was a 64 1/2 Mustang 289 for $2000 with a new paint job. Had for 5 years and it was a hoot, but I miss my 67 Fairlane XL 500 it had the 390 an was a cruiser.
I agree about the FE family of Ford V8s. Had a '67 LTD 2-door with a 390 4-bbl, automatic with positraction and ran quite strong, yet was very reliable. Talk about cheap prices, bought it in '71 for $1,300 and it had only 31,000 original miles. I put over 60,000 miles on it in 2 years with no issues and Fords back then were known for bad water pumps.
Yes the 80’s seen a lot of good 60’s cars still in great shape that’s what we all had in high school. My buddy had a Galaxy 500 with a hot factory 429 and a 4 speed that was pretty mean Ford. I had a 66 Pontiac Tempest with a 389 Tri Power and a four speed that was a mean car too, probably more car than a 16 year old should have, but I never wrecked it and I could get 13 second 108 mph runs out of it. Sounds slow now but fast in 1985 for a factory car.
I have one and it's 100% fully restored correctly. It's a black, with red interior XL "427 "R" code car. I upgraded the suspension bushings to urethane bushings, use HD gas shocks and run Michelin tires. It's not a handful to drive at all. I did install P/S though.
I owned a 1970 Ford Torino, 429 Cobra, with the blacked out hood and locking hood locks, with a Hurst 4 speed, and Posi-Trac rear end - all factory stock. I still have dreams of that car. Oh Honey, why did I let you go?
@Rick D - A college friend of mine had a 70 Torino 429 Super Cobra Jet, yellow with a black interior, 4spd. and 4:30 diff. It looked stunning and went like stink! Great looking and performing car!
We had a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL, with factory air conditioning! Beautiful car with bucket seats. 390 4V carburetor. As I remember that was the coldest air conditioner I can remember. It would freeze your balls off in July!
@knobdikker - My Dad had a '68 500 XL with a lower compression 390, 2bbl. that burned regular gas. Strange enough, it was hooked to the Police Interceptor C-6 HD automatic. That car at 115 mph was as quiet, smooth and unruffled as if you were going 60! He traded it in with 100,000 miles and never had a problem with it. The A/C in that car too would form frost on the metal dash outlets! That C-6 would still chirp the tires on the first to second shift with 100K miles on it. It had a stirrup shift on the console that allowed gear changes without a clutch. I would pull close to 60mph in first, then push the shifter to second and it always chirped the tires! Cool highway cruiser. My Mom had a '64 Galaxie 500XL pillar less fast back with a 352 4bbl, black with a red interior. In my humble opinion, the nicest looking car Ford ever made. Even my Chevy friends thought it was a stunning car! Oh the wonderful memories.
I grew up in the Motor City everybody knew everybody on our block every other house had a muscle car two houses from me on my side they had a 440 six pack Super Bee next door to them they had a 66 Grand Prix 400 TwoPlusTwo our house my father had a 67 Fastback Mustang 289 two houses from us man had a 67 Corvette convertible 427 across the street from him was a drag racer with an angla body car tilt front end with a 427 soch motor with hilborn injection it was called the stripper and every time he started that car up my mother's dishes would rattle in the cup board 😂 I used to go over when he worked on the car just hear it run of course with my ears plugged and I'll never forget he showed me he had a real AC Cobra race car in his garage with the 289 Weber carbureted engine. Oh yes three houses down from him on the other side of the block a man had a 67 Fastback Mustang with a real 427 side Oiler motor my father worked at Ford so he got a new car every year you always had the real nice Mercury's I used to build model cars and I remember having three large garbage bags full of nothing but spare model parts bodies tires engines. What I wouldn't give to go back to those days
I wanted to buy a four door coronet in 1999 it was a 79 possibly.. it was big and ugly body lines but it was a dodge and had a pretty front clip/grill headlights... I was talked out of it. By an automotive engineer former open wheel and Porsche road race driver friend. Probably because the fuel crisis of the mid 70s ended the true age of muscle production cars. I did find a great example of what I mean a few years ago and bought it!!! A 350 sbc powered 1975 with you guessed it! A 2 barrel Rochester carb and emission headers... 2 door coupe Chevrolet.... a Malibu classic/ Landau trim. And she still a heavy chevy though largely discredited as being a full fledged muscle car. Has more safety features than my 77 vw bus and I still remember how to use a timing light and tune a carburetor so its cool! Still love those older big mopar cars though!! Dodge panels are pretty too
@@davegeisler7802 Not really, they were pretty close. A race Hemi then could do high 8's with open headers and the right tires/conditions. But the important thing, in contrast to today was that they were naturally-aspirated. Really brings into question the absolute hp ratings then and now.
The Thunderbolt was not a muscle car. It was a factory race car. The average person could not go into a Ford dealer and buy one. Same with the Hemi Dart. As originally defined, a muscle car was a mid size coupe/hardtop with a big block engine. Pontiac GTO, Plymouth GTX and Road Runner. Ford's best readily available muscle car would be the Cobra Jet 428 Mustang. But if you include "Pony cars" the Hemi and 44 6 Pac 'Cuda and Challenger would be included. And I almost forgot the SS 396 Chevelle...
That was certainly the era of fast production cars. My parents had an early 60s Galaxy, which I do barely recall, a '68 Plymouth Fury III, which was a great runner, and then got a '73 Mercury Marquis, which had a 429 engine that could really haul it. But the downside is it drank gas so fast we could practically see the gas gauge move going 90, which was pretty standard for freeway driving then. Then gas prices went up sharply as US automakers' quality nosedived, and it was the end of an era.
I have always had a love affair with the Mercury's from this era. I can still see the Silver Fox David Pearson driving the #21 Wood brothers Mercury for years in my memories. Owned many Mercury cars and enjoyed everyone of them. Only at the sign of the cat.
Wood Brothers was in there prime back in them days. David great driver, little hard headed but a great driver. Amazing some of little tricks them boy's from little town called Stuart Va. came up with. I saw little clip of Leonard saying some his best ideas came from taking & waiting on his wife while she was doing her shoping. Very nice people talk to. More than nice will just set & will talk to anybody if they got the time.. Nascar I feel just is not same after big business & non-sense rules has ran out anybody not a multi-millionaire with huge billionaire companies backing to even unload a car at there events. Its more like a special members only club now days. And TV ratings are showing it too. Down right boring to watch. What idiot will wreck the other idiot only to win the race type of deal now days.
@@terrygarvin1980 Thanks Any kin Ronnie Garvin. The pilot & car saleman. Was on TV lot. Live very close over the hill from my long time girlfriend her brother big friends with him so he say's. No way I tell anybody where he lives. Poor guy need his peace & quiet. Great guy what I heard.
@@joefell7845 David Pearson was such a 'Star' that over the driver's door (of every car he drove) his name was in fancy script that said "David" no last last name needed since everyone new who "David" was! (PS, and if you didn't know who "David" was before the race, you sure did know who he was AFTER the race was over!)
In 1966 the average cost of a house was $20,000 so $4,500 for a car is nuts almost 25% of a house! In 2022 the average cost of a house is $443,200 so imagine buying a $100,000 Malibu today.
When I was in HS (late 70s/early 80s) a friend of mine had a Boss 429 Mustang (after the "oil shocks" of the 70s, cars like that were surprisingly affordable, because nobody wanted a car that could pass anything but a gas station, and they weren't old enough to be "classics"). He said the car actually handled great-in a straight line.
Great times. In the 70's these where used cars that could be bought cheap. In our high school parking lot there where 2 69 Camaro pace cars, (a 350 and a 396), a 68 Shelby GT 500 a 69 boss 302 69 firebird 400 convertible, a couple of SS Novas, along with a several of GTO's, a GTX and a gaggle of V8 Vegas and on occasion a 66 Shelby GT350 when Danny could smuggle it out of the garage LOL,. all along side the plain small block cars a few 240Zs and a silver bandit style TA I can't even remember how many big blocks we pulled from full size boats to drop into the smaller cars or ski boats. I turned down a trade for my 70 2 door 510 and $500 to get a nice condition 68 GTO 4 sp. I wish I still had either.
I had a 1969 Ranchero Rio Grande with a 351 4 speed. This video brings back memories because of the clip showing the front end hopping. Mine was also hard to keep on ground when starting off.
I bought a 1964 Galaxie 500 XL Convertible in 1969 for $900.00. It had a 361 police interceptor in it and could move pretty good for a heavy car. I owned it for 4 years and then sold it for $ 400.00 and bought a 66 ford custom 4 door because we had our first baby and the wife wanted something more comfortable to get in and out of with the baby. Oh, how I wish I had kept that car in storage some where, lol.
My favorite Ford vehicles of the 1960s is definitely the 67 Ford Galaxie, 64 Ford Galaxie, 64 Ford Thunderbolt, 67-72 Ford F100 Bumpside, 60 Ford Falcon, 66-67 Ford Fairlane, 68-69 Ford Torino, 67-70 Mercury Cougar, 66-67 Mercury Comet 427, 68-69 Mercury Cyclone 67-70 Ford Mustang, 69-70 Mustang Boss 302, 69-70 Mustang Boss 429, 61-65 Lincoln Continental, 60-69 Ford Ranchero, 65 Ford GT40, and last but not least the 65-66 Ford Mustang (which is definitely the perfect sized Mustangs). Also the 2 legendary Ford Big Block V8s of the 1960s are the Almighty 427 SOHC 2V Cammer V8 (based of the 427 Side Oiler FE V8) and the Boss 429 V8 (based of 429 Cubic inch 385 series V8) and they're both Hemi V8s made by Ford.
Bought a 60 falcon, in 1966, paid $100 for it, removed the anemic 80 horse 6 banger, and dropped in a 289 that I bought from a junkyard and rebuilt with Shelby Heads, Hedmann Headers, Holley Carb, and paired with a T10 4 speed, and 4:11 gears in the pumpkin. Raced that at Lion's drag strip.
@CJ Colvin - Technically, only the Cammer 427 was a true hemi head engine. The Boss 429 was a semi hemi design - not a completely smooth domed head like a true hemi had.
A family friend and my dads race buddy was Ed Terry who raced a factory Ford lightened drag car, 1962 Galaxie 500 (white) that he raced at Fremont drag strip every weekend ..I was eight at the time and spent many hours warming the bench seat while Ed raced on the Ford drag team ..until in mid 1970's
Back in late 1969 there was a rumor floating around that Ford is getting ready to send out a small block with racing head's. Well that's just what they did, it was the 351 Cleveland with 4v head's
Fun fact: The 7 litre rule came out of European racing circuits as the max engine size allowed; thus we across the pond were gifted with many 426,7,8 9 inch race monsters. Thanks.
At 08:00 the GT.. ah yes.. this car started the KIT CAR craze of the early 70s anybody worth his salt could build a replica in his garage.. all you needed was a chassis of anything that rolled on four wheels and Wallah!!! put a fiberglass body on it!!! YOU WERE THE KING!!!! I think that most people that built model cars as kids..dreamed of building their own KIT CAR...I know I did...and still do!!!:0)...
i inherited a 1966 ford fairlane 500 xl from my dad, it was his baby he drove it up until he passed.driving it back from atlanta to florida. i merged out on the interstate went from a dead stop to 60 in like 4seconds. it drinks gas but its a sweet ride
I had a 1969 Ford 428 SUPER CJ Fairlane Factory C6 and 456 rear gears Jade Black !!!! The HOLYGRAIL CAR THAT I SHOULD HAVE KEPT I have only seen 2 the one I owned and another one ever! I have seen a few fastbacks but not the Hardtop model
The problem with buying a muscle car in the 60's was insurance. I priced a new 375 hp Camaro in 68. The car payment was $100 a month and the insurance was also $100 a month.
An older friend had a 64 R code. What a wheel stander. He ran cheater slicks on the street. He wen ton to build his own designed twisted intake which Edelbrock later bought the patent to it. He later went on to work for Mercury Marine and was one of the designers of the new age Corvette engine.
Could it be his design became the Edelbrock Streetmaster, which has the tilted angled intake runners? i'm currently running it on my FE 427 in my 69' Mach 1. Runs real good!
When I turned 16 in 1975 my uncle gave me his 39k mile 1966 Ford Galaxy 500 with a R-code 390 that he bought new. I had no idea what I had at that time (and I doubt he did as well) and i junked it after 3 months of ownership. 10 years of running on Ohio winter roads had eroded the frame and it broke in half on me one day in the spring of 1976. I remember that car would do neutral-low drops all day long.
I had a 67 ford Fairlane with a 289. All I did was shorten the throttle linkage. By doing just that woke that baby up. I had a lot of fun with that car on the street.
Special mention to the 427 Cammer engine which was available to order over the counter from 1965-67 I think. At 616 hp and 657 hp in either 1 o.r 2 4bbl config, it was banned by NASCAR and feared by GM and Chrysler and these are true unicorns. In 10/2021, a crate engine alone sold for $60,000
- Originally, the SOCH engine was not banned. What happened was Chrysler threatened to boycott NASCAR if the Cammer was allowed. What NASCAR did was make OHC powered care carry more weight, much more, per cubic inch than the wedge and hemi cars. GM was "officially" not involved in stock car racing. By the way, if their threats did not work, Chrysler Corp. had a DOHC version of the 426 engine under development.
I remember we had a 1969 Mercury Montego that would seriously get up and move lol. It was the size of the Exxon Valdez, you could sit 4 across in the front and back seat plus it had a trunk big enough to lay down 3 across! lol. I don’t remember what engine was in it as I drove it when I was in high school in the 80’s. I just remember it going super fast and winning quite a few street races not to mention how much fun my girlfriends and I had in it at the drive-in theatre lol
I had a 67 Fairlane GT . Forrest green with white interior , bucket seats , full console . 390 duel feed and four speed . I never found another one like it.
"They are not making any more of them." If only my neighbors knew what was on the other side of the fence. I added a lot more fence this year and a carport. I decided to buy all of them I could afford. The fun part is keeping them from getting worse.
In the 60s almost every dealer wanted to be involved in racing. I remember the cars on the lot with full factory specs, then they would sell them off after a season or so. Some real sleepers like the Dodges with bench from seats.
I was so lucky to be a teenager in the 1970's, when one could still get entire classic Mustangs out of junkyards to restore. At one time, I owned a 1967 Convertible Mustang, a 1967 Falcon Sports Coupe and a 1965 Mustang notchback with straight 6 200 and a C-4 automatic. I found a 1966 Mustang for my Dad for $300.00 that just needed replacement linkage and a custom L bracket (that he designed) to use the 170 column shift Falcon tranny . Finally sold my completely restored 1963 144 CI Falcon Tudor Sedan, as it was just too slow for Austin traffic, had no AC, no PB, no power anything! Ford used to make really fun and inexpensive cars, but that stopped LONG ago-John in Texas
My brother has '70 Boss 302,it has 40k on the clock, he has owned it '71, in '75 he wanted to sell it to buy a '74 Corvette , I was 16 at the time and I LOVED his Mustang, I got in an argument with him in front of the owner of the Corvette telling him " you can buy Corvettes all day but NEVER find another Boss".My other brother has a'70 Mustang Mach 1.Could say we are a Ford family.
Ford is putting out some very powerful Mustangs presently.. I've driven some and not the turbo 4 cylinder yet.... I'm talking roush boss salen gt. , Cobras, v8 monsters to compete with new corvettes and dodge? I dont see many new ss Camaro models but some those have a beast drive train. But the Mustangs and challengers and vets available now are nuts New age of muscle for sure!!!
When I was in high school, the owner of a local gas station bought a white, no nonsense 1965 Chevrolet Biscayne. It had a 427 emblem up by the headlights. I didn't quite understand why the mismatch until a short time later when I bought a red 1966 Mustang with a 289 emblem. Those were the days!
Exciting and fun time in our America that will never be repeated. The influence of Rock and Roll Music combined with strong economic growth had a lasting effect on our culture. The Big Block Racing Cars bring back fond memories of that period and there are still enough lovers of Hot Stock Cars to keep up the interest of restoring beautiful Classic Cars.
I was about 3 in 1966, and I remember my mother driving a 1960 Galaxie. I have an affection for those cars. However, there were no car seats back then. She had to stop fast, and she told me that I somersaulted on to the front seat carpet.
I was a teenager in the 60's and remember all those great cars from all the mfgs. I was into racing and the local kids a few years older than me would bring out their cars and have burn out contests on our country road! The road was always black for about 5 years until that fad was over around 1973. Then we went to the local drag strip. Great memories!😀
I bought and sold/traded in so many cars in my lifetime and many of them I wish I had kept. But, I needed the money or the trade in for my next car. I had a '61 T-Bird convertible, a 1966 Mustang, a 1964 Corvair Monza Spyder, 1972 Chevy Cheyenne pickup, a 1976 El Camino and a 1976 Full Time 4 wheel drive K5 Blazer, with a small block 400 cu in engine. I had others that I liked, but I liked these the most!
In 1967, my stepdad bought a Fairlane 500 off the showroom floor in baby blue. It was a production car to hype up early NASCAR. What I recall is the dual 4 barrel carb sat not as shown in video. But, at a 45° angle on the manifold. Was bought in Longbeach CA. With only 500? Made. Dad didn't even get make first payment on it when it was stolen from Harveys Aluminum plant parking lots. The thieves cut the power plant off the frame and pulled motor and tranny through the grill in hast....
My dad had a mercury comet with a 289, 4bbl, headers,and 4speed trans, all stock I wish I knew then what i know now, i would loved to have had that comet.
My Dad bought a new 57 ford wagon and had it till 1968. I can remember a lot of good times and lots of things that happened in that wagon and to it. That's the car I learned how to change the oil on when I was in 6th grade. I pulled the plug and drained the oil and changed the filter for my Dad so he wouldn't have to get under the car in the dirt. He then added the new oil and ran it for a few seconds. Shut it off and proceeded to check to make sure the dipstick showed correct amount, and it was way over full. He started checking to see what was going on and found the oil in the drain pan was red. I had drained the trans fluid. He had me follow him back under the car and explained to me the difference in the motor and transmission. He was so calm about it that I remember to this day how bad I felt but he made out like it was not a big thing. He had to go get more oil and filter and trans fluid. Cost him more than double that day but I learned a life lesson. I could write a book about that car but I will only tell one more thing. It came from the factory with a 427 CI motor and two four barrel carbs and an aluminum intake. Dad hadn't owned it but maybe 2 weeks when 2 guys from Ford came to our house and told him he was going to have to let them have the car back because the motor had been installed in that car by mistake. They offered him any car he wanted from Ford to trade and he declined because he had already outrun every car on the road. None of his friends, even the ones that supposedly had supped up hotrods could catch him. I remember many a time he would come home and be talking to his buddies about someone else he had beat.... Wish I could find that old thing but it more than likely got cannibalized for the motor soon as Dad traded it off. In 1968 for a 68 Opel station wagon..
I got my first car at 17yo. in 1969. It was a 1964 Galaxie XL 500 with a 289 2bbl and C4 automatic transmission. It only could turn 19:49 in the 1/4 Mile. Obviously a great Blvd. Cruiser. I did see another just like mine, all Turquoise body and Turquoise interior but this one was a model that I still have fond memories of to this day. It had the 427, mentioned here, with the way cool 427 callouts on the front fenders and equipped with a Borg-Warner T10 4 speed. It was the ONLY Galaxie XL 500 so equipped that I ever saw. I always have wondered where it is all these 53 years later. I can only hope that it was well cared for and still in the same shape as it was in back in 1969. I saw my Galaxie a few years after I sold it. It had two owners after I let it go and unfortunately its condition was what I would call "Roached." It made me sad to see how bad it looked just a few years later. The once pristine Turquoise interior loaded with polished aluminum upgrades was totally "Sun Burned" to a blackened crisp and the exterior paint was so oxidized that it was nearly unrecognizable. Too bad!
As an old 60s muscle car lover, I'll take just 1 of these over any 10 present day ""paddle wheelers."" These 60s cars were absolute fun to drive and race!!
Interesting video. I've been watching a lot of the MotorTrend Retro Videos on TH-cam and find it fascinating that many of our 4 cylinder cars today are as fast and handle better than many of the V8 performance production cars in the past.
it's called advanced electronics. and no, people can't shift more efficiently than a good, modern computer controlled transmission. but i used to shoot swamp rats, i don't need the computer... okay, luke skywalker.
In 1978 I bought a 1967 Mercury Marquis 2dr fastback, factory 9inch limited slip, C6, and the R code 427 marauder. Front disc, dark green, blk vynl top and Lilly white leather 50/50 interior. PS PB AC. No other options. It was viciously torquey and fast! But I sold it for a 71 Camaro. To this day I miss that Merc. Found out it was rarer then an S55. Whoa is me!!!
Grew up in East Dearborn in the 60's. When me & buds FINALLY had licenses in '74 & '75; &, could drive our parents' cars, we would sometimes get a pizza, sit in the median of Telegraph Rd. (US-24, W. Dearborn); and watch the built machines street race.
BULL Puck - In 1969 A Boss 302 was purchased at a Detroit Ford dealer fitted with headers driven to Watkins Glen for a SCCA race with the Mich license plate on it and took 2nd place then driven BACK to Detroit. ANYONE could walk into most Ford dealers and order a race capable Boss 302 to drive home and with very few modifications drive to AND compete with any weekend. AND be competitive. It did not take a ton of money to own and compete.
I drove one back in the 1980s. I'd love to have one, but driving them is something akin to masochism. He wasn't kidding in the video when he said the things were noseheavy, and your 'control' over them was actually more of a 'loose suggestion'. Take one into a turn and get just a wee bit enthusiastic with the throttle, and that car will absolutely try to go 80 directions at once. Given that, and the money they represent today... nah. It'd almost never leave the garage. I briefly owned a '70 notchback with a 351C. Far more balanced car. Not as blinding fast as the Boss 'Nine but you could at least keep it pointed in the right direction.
WOW, Now I Know why My Dad's Galaxy Didn't have a Radio, had a Gold Eagle with the 427 on the Valve Covers and was Loud and FAST as Hell, I was Only 7 But Remember it like it was Yesterday! LMAO!!!! Wish I Still Had it!
My old buddy had a new 62 Galaxie. He ordered the best engine that year. 406 tri power 4 spd. Dealer asked if he want it super tuned. He paid an extra 250 for it. Got a build sheet from Holman n Moody. They blue printed his engine same as their Nascar version. It won lots of street races.
KOOL ! AWESOME
bet he's like the rest of us. Wishin' he'da kept her.
@@z06king Yep! Like I wish I had kept my ‘57 Chevy 2 door hardtop Bel Air Sport Coupe. When I sold it, I had a 300 hp 327 and a Muncie 4 Speed! Wish I had it now!!!
I'm guessing he may have lived somewhere near Charlotte NC as that is where H&M had their speed shop?
@@Loulovesspeed What a great story. I have always loved the 1962 thru 1966 Galaxies'. The Magazine 'Hemmings Muscle Cars' will feature these models occasionally and I've thought many times how nice it would be to have one in the excellent condition as they appeared in those Magazine articles. Sadly, about the only way to find one restored to Like New Condition is thru Auction Houses such as Barret-Jackson or Meacham's and they will bring in anywhere from $75K to $130K. Waaay to rich for my blood.
60's and early 70's. A Time and era that will never be replaced.
Cars today will never be as cool and badass as these cars
AMEN
Nope, I remember when the modern challenger's were coming in to the scene there was this one drive in I would go to. I went there with my 74 Charger and felt so alienated with all the newer stuff there so I took off and that was that.
Raw power! Raw power that set you back in your seat when you romped on it!
My dad had a 1966 Ford Fairlane GTA with a 390 ci engine. He put on 4.11 years on the rear end. At one point my dad needed a carb kit. Went to the local auto parts store. The counter worker could not find the carb numbers in his book. But, the counter worker with his knowledge looked into another reference book.........
No joke----------the carb was a NASCAR spec carb.
I still remember that car. It was fast, feeling the G-forces being pushed back into the seat. It was unsafe to drive in the rain.....with the gearing-------the tires would spin and easily lose traction.
The engine was stock and not built.
Thank you for the vid. Brings back memories.
64 Fairlane thunderbolt, to me is what a fast car should look like ..my most favorite car of all time ! Loved to have the 66 R code 427 4 speed in the the 64 body style ..when I was a kid the neighbor up the street had a 64 he had stripped and only used on the track and would do test hits up our rd all the time ..I still remember the sound and sitting waiting impatiently at the end of my driveway on my bicycle for him to go flying by.
I have a '63 1/2 black, with red interior, Ford Galaxie 500 XL 427 "R" code car that is 100% restored correctly.
What an awesome oldtimer story!
a time when they raced a real production car” Cubic inches & weight reduction & slippery bodies like fastbacks were what they tried to beat the other makes with
I always thought the same thing about the '63 Nova.
@@davegeisler7802 Lol until the BO29 Hemi Barracuda & the 68 Hemi Darts came out & spanked everyone's ass including the 428 Cobrajet mustang & the 427 copo Camaros that tried to stay with them but failed .
i worked with a guy that had a boss 429 mustang, what a beast, the 60s for cars were the best years that led to some great
muscle cars that can not compete with todays ones but i would take a 60s car any day over todays,
Your comment lacks a detail - WHEN?? My 70 Boss9 out of the factory was a dog until 100 mph just like the hemis that were designed for constant high rpm... No where as effective "off the showroom floor" a street racer as my 69 428 CJ Stang (still sitting in my garage today). Sold the Boss9 in 73-74 for $3,000 - ya don't say it - If I only knew....
@@donnamoss9650 - I know a Ford dealer near by that had a 70 Boss 429 since new, but he was keen enough to order the optional solid lifter cam that was available. That alone made a world of difference in the Boss's acceleration times! remember, the engine was designed only for high rpm NASCAR use, so was not tuned to have great acceleration.
Those were the days!!! I was a little guy then and loved all the street racing that was going on and the cruising that went on during the time. Good memories.
I feel like a lucky person who had the chance to assemble both (after machining was done) a Boss 429 and a 427 Cammer when I was in my 20s back in the 90s when I was working at a small shop. And I'm proud of the fact that both of those engines are still running perfectly today. It's a personal accomplishment issue that I cherish even though 99.99999% of people could not give a crap.
The 427 Cammer and 429 boss both absolute legends! You’re a very lucky person. Cheers!
I can relate! As a 17 year old air cooled Volkswagen mechanic in 1998- 2001 my boss taught me SO many performance tricks, mods, combinations of the same engine.. over 40 performance engines built very few a same blueprint. A few stock engines I did to start.. then we went wild... about the only thing remaining completely Stock were the pushrod tubes distributor drive gear, the head torque specs. , and valve covers and bails.. the less displacement the more good original Volkswagen parts used... alot of 1850+cc 1914cc+ some just over 2000cc custom builds long lifespans out of these things, 2442cc was the biggest I assembled under his watchful eyes with 9psi boost on the turbo we got over 100hp per cylinder. I hand polished case halfs for to days to get the crank and connecting rod bolt clearance we needed.. hand ported and matched polished the intakes.. reamed carburetor jets by hand. Sync duel carbs by sound and acel pump linkage tune by sight sound smell heat hand (no computers just talent!)other dude in shop built the exhaust system.. we bought alot of proven custom parts but did our own massage of each part hand fitting. Valve jobs flycutting balancing we sent out to our very appreciated and trusted machine shop. but we squeezed power out of everything we built.. I learned a wealth of knowledge that has carried me far in life so I deeply appreciate your comment!! Cheers the old shop race team I got to be apart of Indio dune buggy racing Indio Calif.
Sixty three galaxy five hundred the baby blue betty getter was a bubble with a thunder bird three ninety four on the floor with four eleven gears I could get to eaghty in a city block fun days they were 🙂shure miss that car..
Very lucky to work on a Cammer & that it's still alive today being they were plagued with problems with that 8 ft timing chain the oiling issues & crank shaft problems . I know Tom Hoover from MN who started out drag racing blown nitro rails then dragsters & moved onto Funny cars & he tried those Cammer's he told me back in the day in his dragsters and said they made great power but reliability was an issue even after rebuilding the engine after each round they could get about 3 races out of one before it would blow-up rods through the block busted cranks & busted timing chains . He had stacks of blown up Cammer blocks sitting behind his shop & decided to switch back to the 426 Chrysler Hemi because they were far cheaper to build ( imagine that lol a cheap Hemi or Mopar anything compared to other Chevrolet or Ford stuff to build today especially lol ) & held together better so that's why most of the nitro guys ended up switching back to the Hemi . I do know there is some guy who it sounds like figured out the problems with those engines & they are pretty reliable now but being they were basically a prototype engine back then with not a bunch made because it wasn't a production engine you could buy in any street car Ford made they were rare but I am sure to bring one into this guy to do the mods & updates to one would be very expensive but if a guy could afford to do so would be very satisfying & something most people don't have . Even Nascar banned them I remember & Chrysler back then was building what was called the dooms day Hemi to compete with the Cammer that was a 426 race Hemi block but had double over head cams instead of single over head cams like the Cammer used but when the Cammer got banned Chrysler dropped it so only a couple survived & from what I can tell never got finished enough to even test them at all which is a shame as well because it's so cool to see American racing engines & parts & what was being developed at the time that's part of the history back then that should be kept alive in a museum so others can see them on display & what they were about or why they were developed in the first place .
I do!
Not only did I own some but I created a few. Ford published an Off Highway book that contained information on how to upgrade original equipment to high performance using factory equipment with part numbers and distribution information. I still own the original catalog specifying this information!
I have one for the 69 chevy Camaro
That's amazing mate 👍🏻
Cool!
I have one for 1972 gives all the interceptor casting and part numbers and specs for the chassis and engines
That was me dad and his friends. Remember them first sparkplug wire holders you could by at Pep Boys... Yeah that's him, a gearhead greaser back in da day. The fabricaters if the 50s 60s 70s...
I started working as a Tool and Die apprentice at the Dearborn Assembly plant Ford Rouge complex in Dearborn Michigan starting in September 1968 after mustering out of the Army.
We were assembling all types of '69 Mustangs and Cougars including the 428 Cobra Jets, 351 Hypo Mach 1's, 429 and 302 Bosses. In the pre shipping area one day were 2 black 427 SOHC fastbacks being prepped for the test track. No special decals or striping and very mean, all business looking. We also assembled the Shelby GT350s and 500s, less front fascias and other unique items. They were completed at Carroll Shelby's facility. There were a lot of special cars for senior execs. Bunkie Knudsen's wife had a Black 428 CJ Cougar convertible with a custom tan leather interior built for her. Another exec's wife had a Mustang convertible built with the same color combination. Great time and place to be for a gearhead after 2 years in the Infantry.
That's freaking awesome, would've loved to be there working on those Hi Performance Ford Engines and Cars, must of been crazy Seeing those 427 SOHC Monsters sitting there. Those were the good days of going to the dealer and filling out the options sheet and ending up with some Ford Drag Pack Torino Cobra with a 429 SCJ and a Top Loader, one of my favorites. Or a Boss 351 Mustang.
Growing up in the Detroit area during the supercar era of the sixties and early seventies was big time fun. If a guy knew where to go, it was possible to see some special one of a kind cars the big three never built. Uh huh, uh huh... sure. Yet there they were.
@@badass6.0powerstroke10 I was raised in Detroit's southwest side and saw a lot of muscle also going back to see new '53 Hemi DeSotos thru '58 at the plant across the street that my family lived on. The most memorable cars were the '64 Bob Ford dealership 427 Fairlane Thunderbolts and big block Chevelles and B-body Mopars. The locals would show up late Friday night on Stecker ave between John Kronk and Michigan ave to drag race. There also was Woodward ave and College road in Dearborn. A friend's Uncle was a mechanic at Packer Pontiac in Detroit and he would stop by with some real beasts, like a sleeper 421 '64 Le Mans wagon. In '69 you could buy a loaded 428 CJ 4 spd Fastback Mustang for $3,900 or a Boss 429 for $4,800 in Detroit. Keep in mind, a journeyman tool maker at Ford was making about $5 an hour, the folks on the line about $3.50.
What I wouldn't give for that black 428 CobraJet convertible Cougar...I sure hope it had a 4spd and posi rearend....
@@donrandall49
Don Yenko's dealership was just down the road from where I grew up in Pa, back in those days you had guys coming home from Vietnam with money in their pockets looking to get a thrill in life and guys who worked in the coal mines and steel mills who made decent money, between those two there were some wild cars in my area back then, but a combination of alcohol and Quaaludes usually gave a 60% chance that they'd wind up in a junk yard before they were paid off 🤣🤣🤣.
Those guy's that worked in the mines and mills worked hard and they liked to play hard.
The up side is by the time I was in high school in the early 80's any survivors could be had for $500 to $1500 because by then people didn't want cars like that, only gear head's wanted them everyone else just considered them to be 10 to 15 year old gas guzzlers.
When I was 4 years old in 1972, I went with my Dad to a Ford dealer and I remember riding in the back seat of something that was blue and very fast. My Dad was test driving a car, but I was too young to know what it was.
Years later, I asked my Dad about that day and that car. It was a Mercury Cougar that was on the used car lot....but not just any Cougar, it was 1969 Cougar Eliminator with a 428 SCJ and 4 speed transmission.
I was like "WHAT!!??.....why did'nt you buy it??" He said it just was not feasible for him to buy a car like that while me and my siblings were still young (we were all under 10 years old). He said he really wanted it, but he just could'nt swing it.
My Dad passed away in 2011, and I would like to have one someday myself, or at least build a nice clone of one, just to fulfill a great memory!
Hope you can realize your dream.
Very cool story/memories!
Your dad was a good man. He put his kids in front of his own want. He realized it wasn’t practical. I am sorry for you loss. My dad died in 2011 as well.
Great 👍🏽 go for it!!!!
I remember in the mid 70s my mom was looking at used car lots for a car I was only a few years old but I remember there was a blue, late 60s SS Camaro on the lot and I told my mom please buy that car, it looked super awesome to about a 5 year old but I never forgot and I remember my mom saying "ohhh I like that but its only 2 door" and I told her I don't care I'll climb over the seats to get in the back and she looked inside and it was a 4 speed and she said she cant drive a stick shift which killed any hopes of her buying it and I told her this isn't the only dealership lets look around and she said no she's buying a car at the tiny little place we stopped and we went home with a yellow 4 door 1975 Chevy Caprice which made me very sad.
I got to drive one of the Thunderbolt's at a collector car auction about 20 years ago, what a BEAST!
None of the other drivers bringing cars across the auction block were willing to drive it since it was so powerful. As the only driver that day that had actually done any drag racing, I got the task. As we were lining up the cars in their auction catalog order, I purposely held back just outside the building and lined up with the stage as best as I could.
I did nearly a full power launch, but quickly let off so as to not shoot past the stage. I kind of bounced to a stop just in time and gave the auction audience a bit of a shock.
The car sold for just over $1 million and about $150,000 OVER its auction estimate. There was no guessing that the car was race ready and not just a show piece.
I didn't even get yelled at for the launch. I think they figured that it helped sell the car.
I had a 2 door 63 Galaxie with 390 cid. It would purr at 90 MPH. I loved that car. I replaced the front bench seat with Mustang bucket seats and center console. It was a fast car.
In 1989 I had the chance to buy a 1966 Fairlane GT500 without a motor. It was located in a trucking company across the street from Moon Eyes in Santa Fe Springs Ca. What made the car unique it was the 1974 NHRA West Coat Champion and had all the race & sponsor stickers still on it (poor car was rotting away outside uncovered). The guy wanted $7000 and I thought he was out of his mind since it had no motor. I now realize I was looking at one only 57 cars built like that. . .If I could only go back in time
As a Mopar guy, I have to admit the 60's Fords were pretty awesome 💪
ALL those cars are awesome...let just appreciate them all at this point
I love all early American Muscle cars Ryan. Ford, Chevy, Chrysler, A.M.C. Pontiac, Buick. I pretty much love all cars to be honest. Except hybrids and electric. If I wanted one of those I would buy the best golf cart I could find.
You mean back when the Hemi was banned from racing till the rest could catch up? lol.
60's were some crazy times, the first Chrysler 300 and old tunnel ram cars were the first true muscle cars, GTO just got the credit but Mopar showed them how its really done because omg those factory Hemi Dart / Barracudas and 6 pack cars were absolute beasts..lol
Just standing near one you felt the earth literally shaking under your feet from their power. Crazy they were factory built.
If car makers would have stayed involved in racing like they did back then the level of reliability would simply be remaaarkable instead of the Yugo chit they build us today.
Yo have it all
@@junglejim5785 I’m with you on all counts.
I recently fixed some small dents on one of the specially commissioned '69 Mustang 429's mentioned in this video. It was a survivor with the original paint, as it had not been on the road since the late 70's. It even still had the white crayon notes on the front inner fenders from workers on the assembly line. I’m not a Mustang guy by any means, but that was a beautiful work of art. I’m glad I got pics as proof because my friends had trouble believing me 😆
Nice, when I started working in a garage in 81 when I was in high school there were still survivors around like that, we had one that was owned by an old lady that was a Feather Duster, every gear head that I knew used to bug me to give them her phone number, drag racers used to try and get their hands on those to put a performance engine in that was something that would start out as a junk yard engine that they'd build, they wanted those Feather Dusters because they were already lightened up from the factory with a bunch of aluminum components.
I remember seeing all kinds of factory markings like that around the thing it was in such original condition, it barely ever got driven in the weather.
I was around a bunch of cars like that back in those days that people would freak out over in this day and age, late 60's Camaro's, Mustang's, Super Bee's, Firebird's, all kinds of neat stuff that you see them going crazy over on Barrett-Jackson nowadays.
When I was a freshman in high school, another freshman had bought a '68 Charger 500 that he couldn't drive because he didn't have his license, yet. He sold it for $400 and was very excited because he made a profit. The guy he sold it to still has it 43 years later.
I owned a 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 Sports Coupe built in late 64. It had a K code 289 in it. It was a Hi-Po 289 version of the Thunder bolt. It had a badge on the C pillar that said Sports Coupe. Like a lot of you out there, should've kept it.
I owned a 64 Ranchero and did some modifications to it, pulled out the 3 on the Tree and added the 71 Boss Mustang close Ration top loader, the 289 that was in it had a 2 BBl and that didn't last long soon it had a 650 Holly, it had headers, the stock 325 Gears, the silver paint was faded and looked like just and old ford until the tail lights lit up the car I was racing, there is only one car that never raced me and that was a 70 Cuda, everyone else went home in shame, I used to build race car quality Street cars, that twas back in the 70's when all the good Ford parts were easy to find, I sure wish I would /could have kept even 1/2 of those ford parts, Every ford I owned was FAST back then.
1967 Cougar XR7 GT 390 4spd, pretty sure the Ford tech I bought it from put in a 428 engine, it would rev way higher than a stock 390. 1967 Fairlane 390, rebuilt with Lemans rods, 406 solid cam and tri-power. My should have kept list is about 30 vehicles long. Oh, well. It was good times.
I'm a euro car guy, but even I can appreciate the incredibly wild and even more incredibly rare versions of these cars. I was born in '61 so some of these cars were on the road brand new or nearly brand new when I was a kid. I had no idea nor could I have appreciated them for what they were. Thanks so much for this highly informative and very well done video.
Side note: my grandfather bought a mid 1960s 454 Buick Wildcat brand new to pull his 32 ft Airstream trailer after the Cadillac dealer told him it was straining his Caddy too much. I didn't realize how insanely fast and powerful that car was until my dad borrowed it one day and took me for a "spirited" drive in it. Good times.
Buick was strange in that they listed the torque rating on the air cleaner rather than displacement. That was a 401 nailhead, there were three versions and your grandfather had the most powerful of them, producing 445 foot pounds of torque. There was also a 375 and a 410.
A friend I hung out with in high school aquired a 1969 4 door galaxy or LTD , with a 429 4 barrel and it turned out to be the ultimate sleeper. I was in that car and enjoyed the look on the face of Camaros , Mustangs , when the big 4 door sail by them!
The 60's GT40 is one of the greatest cars to have ever been built! 4 Le Mans 24 hour wins in a row! Ferrari had to take a backseat and overhaul their entire racing department because of it. A true beast! Definitely in the same echelon as the McLaren F1.
Passenger car motor whooping azz !!!!
I read that out of an old Hot Rod magazine.
Right on man.
@@michellemorrison5841 Yeah, you won't see any Viper there as it is no longer made!
F1 they all have the same size engine. Ford needed to double the size of theirs to beat Ferrari. So not even close.
@@michellemorrison5841 Porsche and Toyota currently dominate at Le Mans. Toyota has won since 2018, and Porsche won 2015-2017. Ferrari hasn't won since 1965.
Mid 1960ies and my dad was driving me & mom & 4 sisters to visit family in southern New Mexico when I looked at the speedom-mo-meter ... we were cruising at 84 mph (Plymouth Fury III, 383 under the station wagon hood). No seat belts, no GPS, plenty of jack rabbits and beautiful country.
In 1966 while taking machine shop at out loca JC I was driving a powder blue and white 59 Galaxie with a 352 and three speed. Scored a 427 R code engine with a broken rod..rebuilt as a class project and immediately scattered the 3 speed.
Local wrecker had a wrecked R code race car..scored everything from the bell housing back for $275.00.
With stock hubcaps and 352 valve covers and aircleaner I passed it off as stock and had fun with the Chevys...
Also ran a pair of cheater slicks..LOL
Man the sixties were awesome, the cars ,the music, girls in mini skirts. If it wasn’t for the Vietnam war it would have been the perfect decade.
I agree!
Yes.
No dought!!!! I graduated in,68,!!!! It was a great time!!!!! Sept for Nam!!!!!!
The aura of the sixties so much better then today As you say cars girls. Music but most of all FREEDOM. You could park your cars without
@@russcooke5671 I can still park my car without
An uncle described a ride on a rural two lane asphalt road in a 64 T-bolt as the most horrifyin* ride he ever got. Said it ran accelerated on two wheels to triple digit speed, although he was scared stiff and probable didn’t even think to glance over at the speedo. That was back in the mid 60s when the Bolts were past their prime in their NHRA class and were sold off and a friend of his acquired one.
Oh the memories! My dads' Ford/ Lincoln dealership in Hinsdale (ILL), "Hinsdale Ford" (formerly Jack Loftus Ford), campaigned a couple FX Fairlane's and we also had the only Cobra Franchise in ILL/Wisc/Indiana and raced several AC Cobra's (a road racing 350HP 289V8, two Drag Racing 427V8 AC Cobras and a "Cooper Ford" 289V8 in IMSA road racing.
Back in 1980 these vehicles were around as used cars. 60s vehicles parts were only available in junk yards and in some bodies backyard. My first car was a 64 1/2 Mustang 289 for $2000 with a new paint job. Had for 5 years and it was a hoot, but I miss my 67 Fairlane XL 500 it had the 390 an was a cruiser.
I agree about the FE family of Ford V8s. Had a '67 LTD 2-door with a 390 4-bbl, automatic with positraction and ran quite strong, yet was very reliable. Talk about cheap prices, bought it in '71 for $1,300 and it had only 31,000 original miles. I put over 60,000 miles on it in 2 years with no issues and Fords back then were known for bad water pumps.
Yes the 80’s seen a lot of good 60’s cars still in great shape that’s what we all had in high school. My buddy had a Galaxy 500 with a hot factory 429 and a 4 speed that was pretty mean Ford. I had a 66 Pontiac Tempest with a 389 Tri Power and a four speed that was a mean car too, probably more car than a 16 year old should have, but I never wrecked it and I could get 13 second 108 mph runs out of it. Sounds slow now but fast in 1985 for a factory car.
Nice! My cousin had a 65 Galaxie 500 XL with a 390 4 bbl 4 speed. It was a real sleeper. We took many a 396 and 383 Mag.
Hertz Hurst Mustangs May not have been racers, but they were raced😉
And their engines were stolen and swapped en mass. Unfortunately.
Race on Sunday, sell on Monday!
I'm sure more than one of those made it back with a moter swap!
I've heard many stories of people renting them and then taking out the K Code 289, then returning them with plain jane 289,s.
Come the 70s and that EPA killed it all!
My first Ford hot rod was a 1963 1/2 fast roof 427 4-gear Galaxie. It was a handful to drive, but boy, was it a screamer in a straight line!
I have one and it's 100% fully restored correctly. It's a black, with red interior XL "427 "R" code car. I upgraded the suspension bushings to urethane bushings, use HD gas shocks and run Michelin tires. It's not a handful to drive at all. I did install P/S though.
Things will never be the same
Never was . That Ford 427 was awesome.
Damnit..I grew up 10 years to late! What a magnificent time in Automotive history!..
I owned a 1970 Ford Torino, 429 Cobra, with the blacked out hood and locking hood locks, with a Hurst 4 speed, and Posi-Trac rear end - all factory stock. I still have dreams of that car. Oh Honey, why did I let you go?
@Rick D - A college friend of mine had a 70 Torino 429 Super Cobra Jet, yellow with a black interior, 4spd. and 4:30 diff. It looked stunning and went like stink! Great looking and performing car!
We had a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL, with factory air conditioning!
Beautiful car with bucket seats. 390
4V carburetor.
As I remember that was the coldest air conditioner I can remember. It would freeze your balls off in July!
@knobdikker - My Dad had a '68 500 XL with a lower compression 390, 2bbl. that burned regular gas. Strange enough, it was hooked to the Police Interceptor C-6 HD automatic. That car at 115 mph was as quiet, smooth and unruffled as if you were going 60! He traded it in with 100,000 miles and never had a problem with it. The A/C in that car too would form frost on the metal dash outlets! That C-6 would still chirp the tires on the first to second shift with 100K miles on it. It had a stirrup shift on the console that allowed gear changes without a clutch. I would pull close to 60mph in first, then push the shifter to second and it always chirped the tires! Cool highway cruiser. My Mom had a '64 Galaxie 500XL pillar less fast back with a 352 4bbl, black with a red interior. In my humble opinion, the nicest looking car Ford ever made. Even my Chevy friends thought it was a stunning car! Oh the wonderful memories.
I grew up in the Motor City everybody knew everybody on our block every other house had a muscle car two houses from me on my side they had a 440 six pack Super Bee next door to them they had a 66 Grand Prix 400 TwoPlusTwo our house my father had a 67 Fastback Mustang 289 two houses from us man had a 67 Corvette convertible 427 across the street from him was a drag racer with an angla body car tilt front end with a 427 soch motor with hilborn injection it was called the stripper and every time he started that car up my mother's dishes would rattle in the cup board 😂 I used to go over when he worked on the car just hear it run of course with my ears plugged and I'll never forget he showed me he had a real AC Cobra race car in his garage with the 289 Weber carbureted engine. Oh yes three houses down from him on the other side of the block a man had a 67 Fastback Mustang with a real 427 side Oiler motor my father worked at Ford so he got a new car every year you always had the real nice Mercury's I used to build model cars and I remember having three large garbage bags full of nothing but spare model parts bodies tires engines. What I wouldn't give to go back to those days
Back in the day we used to see many trick factory Fords at Tasca Ford in East Providence, RI.
Love it back in the day when a stock car was truly a race car!
Ford Thunderbolts and Chrysler's Hemi Coronet were probably the purest examples of muscle cars.
I heard the Thunderbolt can run 9’s on modern slicks.
I wanted to buy a four door coronet in 1999 it was a 79 possibly.. it was big and ugly body lines but it was a dodge and had a pretty front clip/grill headlights... I was talked out of it. By an automotive engineer former open wheel and Porsche road race driver friend. Probably because the fuel crisis of the mid 70s ended the true age of muscle production cars. I did find a great example of what I mean a few years ago and bought it!!! A 350 sbc powered 1975 with you guessed it! A 2 barrel Rochester carb and emission headers... 2 door coupe Chevrolet.... a Malibu classic/ Landau trim. And she still a heavy chevy though largely discredited as being a full fledged muscle car. Has more safety features than my 77 vw bus and I still remember how to use a timing light and tune a carburetor so its cool! Still love those older big mopar cars though!! Dodge panels are pretty too
The Thunderbolt smoked Hemis 🏁🤩💪🏼
@@davegeisler7802 Not really, they were pretty close. A race Hemi then could do high 8's with open headers and the right tires/conditions. But the important thing, in contrast to today was that they were naturally-aspirated. Really brings into question the absolute hp ratings then and now.
The Thunderbolt was not a muscle car. It was a factory race car. The average person could not go into a Ford dealer and buy one. Same with the Hemi Dart. As originally defined, a muscle car was a mid size coupe/hardtop with a big block engine. Pontiac GTO, Plymouth GTX and Road Runner. Ford's best readily available muscle car would be the Cobra Jet 428 Mustang. But if you include "Pony cars" the Hemi and 44 6 Pac 'Cuda and Challenger would be included. And I almost forgot the SS 396 Chevelle...
That was certainly the era of fast production cars. My parents had an early 60s Galaxy, which I do barely recall, a '68 Plymouth Fury III, which was a great runner, and then got a '73 Mercury Marquis, which had a 429 engine that could really haul it. But the downside is it drank gas so fast we could practically see the gas gauge move going 90, which was pretty standard for freeway driving then. Then gas prices went up sharply as US automakers' quality nosedived, and it was the end of an era.
I don’t care how fast todays cars are. Nothing beats these cars. Badass!!!!
Today's cars would be nothing without their turbos!
I love the 1966 1967 Fairlanr!!
My favorite car
Yes 1 of my favorite Fords…
I have always had a love affair with the Mercury's from this era. I can still see the Silver Fox David Pearson driving the #21 Wood brothers Mercury for years in my memories. Owned many Mercury cars and enjoyed everyone of them. Only at the sign of the cat.
Wood Brothers was in there prime back in them days. David great driver, little hard headed but a great driver. Amazing some of little tricks them boy's from little town called Stuart Va. came up with. I saw little clip of Leonard saying some his best ideas came from taking & waiting on his wife while she was doing her shoping. Very nice people talk to. More than nice will just set & will talk to anybody if they got the time.. Nascar I feel just is not same after big business & non-sense rules has ran out anybody not a multi-millionaire with huge billionaire companies backing to even unload a car at there events. Its more like a special members only club now days. And TV ratings are showing it too. Down right boring to watch. What idiot will wreck the other idiot only to win the race type of deal now days.
@@Houndini You are so right! Now they rarely have a full field! Much more competitive and interesting before wall street got involved...
@@terrygarvin1980
Thanks
Any kin Ronnie Garvin. The pilot & car saleman. Was on TV lot. Live very close over the hill from my long time girlfriend her brother big friends with him so he say's. No way I tell anybody where he lives. Poor guy need his peace & quiet. Great guy what I heard.
David Pearson, GOAT.
@@joefell7845 David Pearson was such a 'Star' that over the driver's door (of every car he drove) his name was in fancy script that said "David" no last last name needed since everyone new who "David" was! (PS, and if you didn't know who "David" was before the race, you sure did know who he was AFTER the race was over!)
The world would be a better place if cars like these were still made at 60's prices.
In 1966 the average cost of a house was $20,000 so $4,500 for a car is nuts almost 25% of a house! In 2022 the average cost of a house is $443,200 so imagine buying a $100,000 Malibu today.
You mean like the new Bronco is going for $100,000 after markups. Yes I can Imagine.
When I was in HS (late 70s/early 80s) a friend of mine had a Boss 429 Mustang (after the "oil shocks" of the 70s, cars like that were surprisingly affordable, because nobody wanted a car that could pass anything but a gas station, and they weren't old enough to be "classics").
He said the car actually handled great-in a straight line.
I owned a 1966 Fairlane GT, 390, 4bbl, 4 speed. Miss it dearly. ☹😢
I bought a 66 Comet 390 4 speed in very nice condition, red with black interior. Got the engine out and strokin it to 444.
Great times. In the 70's these where used cars that could be bought cheap.
In our high school parking lot there where 2 69 Camaro pace cars, (a 350 and a 396), a 68 Shelby GT 500 a 69 boss 302 69 firebird 400 convertible, a couple of SS Novas, along with a several of GTO's, a GTX and a gaggle of V8 Vegas and on occasion a 66 Shelby GT350 when Danny could smuggle it out of the garage LOL,. all along side the plain small block cars a few 240Zs and a silver bandit style TA
I can't even remember how many big blocks we pulled from full size boats to drop into the smaller cars or ski boats.
I turned down a trade for my 70 2 door 510 and $500 to get a nice condition 68 GTO 4 sp. I wish I still had either.
I had a 1969 Ranchero Rio Grande with a 351 4 speed. This video brings back memories because of the clip showing the front end hopping. Mine was also hard to keep on ground when starting off.
I bought a 1964 Galaxie 500 XL Convertible in 1969 for $900.00. It had a 361 police interceptor in it and could move pretty good for a heavy car. I owned it for 4 years and then sold it for $ 400.00 and bought a 66 ford custom 4 door because we had our first baby and the wife wanted something more comfortable to get in and out of with the baby. Oh, how I wish I had kept that car in storage some where, lol.
Australian Ford division did the same thing with the Falcon GT HO. A clean Phase III now sells for around AU$1 million.
My dad's friend who he worked with had an XWGTHO he said it went like a rocket and was hard to drive in traffic because of its big cam.
My favorite Ford vehicles of the 1960s is definitely the 67 Ford Galaxie, 64 Ford Galaxie, 64 Ford Thunderbolt, 67-72 Ford F100 Bumpside, 60 Ford Falcon, 66-67 Ford Fairlane, 68-69 Ford Torino, 67-70 Mercury Cougar, 66-67 Mercury Comet 427, 68-69 Mercury Cyclone 67-70 Ford Mustang, 69-70 Mustang Boss 302, 69-70 Mustang Boss 429, 61-65 Lincoln Continental, 60-69 Ford Ranchero, 65 Ford GT40, and last but not least the 65-66 Ford Mustang (which is definitely the perfect sized Mustangs). Also the 2 legendary Ford Big Block V8s of the 1960s are the Almighty 427 SOHC 2V Cammer V8 (based of the 427 Side Oiler FE V8) and the Boss 429 V8 (based of 429 Cubic inch 385 series V8) and they're both Hemi V8s made by Ford.
Bought a 60 falcon, in 1966, paid $100 for it, removed the anemic 80 horse 6 banger, and dropped in a 289 that I bought from a junkyard and rebuilt with Shelby Heads, Hedmann Headers, Holley Carb, and paired with a T10 4 speed, and 4:11 gears in the pumpkin. Raced that at Lion's drag strip.
@CJ Colvin - Technically, only the Cammer 427 was a true hemi head engine. The Boss 429 was a semi hemi design - not a completely smooth domed head like a true hemi had.
A family friend and my dads race buddy was Ed Terry who raced a factory Ford lightened drag car, 1962 Galaxie 500 (white) that he raced at Fremont drag strip every weekend ..I was eight at the time and spent many hours warming the bench seat while Ed raced on the Ford drag team ..until in mid 1970's
He raced the Carol Shelby Cobra Dragon Snake at the neighborhood tracks here in Jersey, Atco and Englishtown Raceway Park. I remember him well.
Back in late 1969 there was a rumor floating around that Ford is getting ready to send out a small block with racing head's. Well that's just what they did, it was the 351 Cleveland with 4v head's
No "rumor": it was the 1969 BOSS 302, which was basically a 302 Windsor with the canted-valve heads destined for the next year 351 Cleveland.
My friend had a 1967 comet 202 . It originally had a 427 and was drag raced since it was new.
Had a 66 Fairlane GT 390 factory 4bbl 4 speed with buckets, consol ect black with red Int.
Fun fact: The 7 litre rule came out of European racing circuits as the max engine size allowed; thus we across the pond were gifted with many 426,7,8 9 inch race monsters. Thanks.
At 08:00 the GT.. ah yes.. this car started the KIT CAR craze of the early 70s anybody worth his salt could build a replica in his garage.. all you needed was a chassis of anything that rolled on four wheels and Wallah!!! put a fiberglass body on it!!! YOU WERE THE KING!!!! I think that most people that built model cars as kids..dreamed of building their own KIT CAR...I know I did...and still do!!!:0)...
i inherited a 1966 ford fairlane 500 xl from my dad, it was his baby he drove it up until he passed.driving it back from atlanta to florida. i merged out on the interstate went from a dead stop to 60 in like 4seconds. it drinks gas but its a sweet ride
I had a 1969 Ford 428 SUPER CJ Fairlane Factory C6 and 456 rear gears Jade Black !!!! The HOLYGRAIL CAR THAT I SHOULD HAVE KEPT I have only seen 2 the one I owned and another one ever! I have seen a few fastbacks but not the Hardtop model
The problem with buying a muscle car in the 60's was insurance. I priced a new 375 hp Camaro in 68. The car payment was $100 a month and the insurance was also $100 a month.
I still have a 427 side oiler motor that I pulled from a 67 FAIRLANE 40 years ago lol, I’m like wow, it even still amazes me
An older friend had a 64 R code. What a wheel stander. He ran cheater slicks on the street. He wen ton to build his own designed twisted intake which Edelbrock later bought the patent to it. He later went on to work for Mercury Marine and was one of the designers of the new age Corvette engine.
Makes sense the ls has winsor intake port design
Could it be his design became the Edelbrock Streetmaster, which has the tilted angled intake runners? i'm currently running it on my FE 427 in my 69' Mach 1. Runs real good!
These cars look so cool and they are really beautiful. I completely understand why someone would rather drive one of these than a brand new car.
When I turned 16 in 1975 my uncle gave me his 39k mile 1966 Ford Galaxy 500 with a R-code 390 that he bought new. I had no idea what I had at that time (and I doubt he did as well) and i junked it after 3 months of ownership. 10 years of running on Ohio winter roads had eroded the frame and it broke in half on me one day in the spring of 1976. I remember that car would do neutral-low drops all day long.
I had a 67 ford Fairlane with a 289. All I did was shorten the throttle linkage. By doing just that woke that baby up. I had a lot of fun with that car on the street.
Special mention to the 427 Cammer engine which was available to order over the counter from 1965-67 I think. At 616 hp and 657 hp in either 1 o.r 2 4bbl config, it was banned by NASCAR and feared by GM and Chrysler and these are true unicorns. In 10/2021, a crate engine alone sold for $60,000
- Originally, the SOCH engine was not banned. What happened was Chrysler threatened to boycott NASCAR if the Cammer was allowed. What NASCAR did was make OHC powered care carry more weight, much more, per cubic inch than the wedge and hemi cars. GM was "officially" not involved in stock car racing. By the way, if their threats did not work, Chrysler Corp. had a DOHC version of the 426 engine under development.
Nice job on this, thanks. I'd go for any of those in my garage!
I remember we had a 1969 Mercury Montego that would seriously get up and move lol. It was the size of the Exxon Valdez, you could sit 4 across in the front and back seat plus it had a trunk big enough to lay down 3 across! lol. I don’t remember what engine was in it as I drove it when I was in high school in the 80’s. I just remember it going super fast and winning quite a few street races not to mention how much fun my girlfriends and I had in it at the drive-in theatre lol
My buddy has a 69 Ford Mustang "Drag Pack".
It is insane, low gears, 428 race engine.
Super rare and and super awesome.
I had a 1968 Super Bee 426 Hemi 4 speed . That car was so fast, wish I still had her
I had a 67 Fairlane GT . Forrest green with white interior , bucket seats , full console . 390 duel feed and four speed . I never found another one like it.
I had the same car when I was young. Loved it. What it would be worth now.
Yes yes yes, as a kid my father had the 66 fairlane gt 390 yellow color. They are hard to find, just to see.
Best Ford ever built
"They are not making any more of them." If only my neighbors knew what was on the other side of the fence. I added a lot more fence this year and a carport. I decided to buy all of them I could afford. The fun part is keeping them from getting worse.
In the 60s almost every dealer wanted to be involved in racing. I remember the cars on the lot with full factory specs, then they would sell them off after a season or so. Some real sleepers like the Dodges with bench from seats.
I was so lucky to be a teenager in the 1970's, when one could still get entire classic Mustangs out of junkyards to restore. At one time, I owned a 1967 Convertible Mustang, a 1967 Falcon Sports Coupe and a 1965 Mustang notchback with straight 6 200 and a C-4 automatic. I found a 1966 Mustang for my Dad for $300.00 that just needed replacement linkage and a custom L bracket (that he designed) to use the 170 column shift Falcon tranny . Finally sold my completely restored 1963 144 CI Falcon Tudor Sedan, as it was just too slow for Austin traffic, had no AC, no PB, no power anything! Ford used to make really fun and inexpensive cars, but that stopped LONG ago-John in Texas
My brother has '70 Boss 302,it has 40k on the clock, he has owned it '71, in '75 he wanted to sell it to buy a '74 Corvette , I was 16 at the time and I LOVED his Mustang, I got in an argument with him in front of the owner of the Corvette telling him " you can buy Corvettes all day but NEVER find another Boss".My other brother has a'70 Mustang Mach 1.Could say we are a Ford family.
I have a yellow, all options, 1969 Boss 302 Mustang that I bought new from TASCA Ford in RI. It's still in showroom mint condition and has 68k miles.
We're almost seeing the same thing today! Glad I get to experience this era before they have to start putting out boring electric cars! Great video!
Ford is putting out some very powerful Mustangs presently.. I've driven some and not the turbo 4 cylinder yet.... I'm talking roush boss salen gt. , Cobras, v8 monsters to compete with new corvettes and dodge? I dont see many new ss Camaro models but some those have a beast drive train. But the Mustangs and challengers and vets available now are nuts New age of muscle for sure!!!
When I was in high school, the owner of a local gas station bought a white, no nonsense 1965 Chevrolet Biscayne. It had a 427 emblem up by the headlights. I didn't quite understand why the mismatch until a short time later when I bought a red 1966 Mustang with a 289 emblem. Those were the days!
Exciting and fun time in our America that will never be repeated. The influence of Rock and Roll Music combined with strong economic growth had a lasting effect on our culture. The Big Block Racing Cars bring back fond memories of that period and there are still enough lovers of Hot Stock Cars to keep up the interest of restoring beautiful Classic Cars.
I remember when my Dad brought home his brand new 1969 Torino Talladega it was turquoise with a black hood.
I was about 3 in 1966, and I remember my mother driving a 1960 Galaxie. I have an affection for those cars. However, there were no car seats back then. She had to stop fast, and she told me that I somersaulted on to the front seat carpet.
I was a teenager in the 60's and remember all those great cars from all the mfgs. I was into racing and the local kids a few years older than me would bring out their cars and have burn out contests on our country road! The road was always black for about 5 years until that fad was over around 1973. Then we went to the local drag strip. Great memories!😀
I bought and sold/traded in so many cars in my lifetime and many of them I wish I had kept. But, I needed the money or the trade in for my next car. I had a '61 T-Bird convertible, a 1966 Mustang, a 1964 Corvair Monza Spyder, 1972 Chevy Cheyenne pickup, a 1976 El Camino and a 1976 Full Time 4 wheel drive K5 Blazer, with a small block 400 cu in engine. I had others that I liked, but I liked these the most!
The fairlanes,galaxies and falcons didn't look anything like a race cars and that's exactly what made them look such cool race cars.
The Automotive history is a thing of beauty...
In 1967, my stepdad bought a Fairlane 500 off the showroom floor in baby blue. It was a production car to hype up early NASCAR. What I recall is the dual 4 barrel carb sat not as shown in video. But, at a 45° angle on the manifold. Was bought in Longbeach CA. With only 500? Made. Dad didn't even get make first payment on it when it was stolen from Harveys Aluminum plant parking lots. The thieves cut the power plant off the frame and pulled motor and tranny through the grill in hast....
My dad had a mercury comet with a 289, 4bbl, headers,and 4speed trans, all stock I wish I knew then what i know now, i would loved to have had that comet.
Great video with several gems I’d never seen before.
My Dad bought a new 57 ford wagon and had it till 1968. I can remember a lot of good times and lots of things that happened in that wagon and to it. That's the car I learned how to change the oil on when I was in 6th grade. I pulled the plug and drained the oil and changed the filter for my Dad so he wouldn't have to get under the car in the dirt. He then added the new oil and ran it for a few seconds. Shut it off and proceeded to check to make sure the dipstick showed correct amount, and it was way over full. He started checking to see what was going on and found the oil in the drain pan was red. I had drained the trans fluid. He had me follow him back under the car and explained to me the difference in the motor and transmission. He was so calm about it that I remember to this day how bad I felt but he made out like it was not a big thing. He had to go get more oil and filter and trans fluid. Cost him more than double that day but I learned a life lesson. I could write a book about that car but I will only tell one more thing. It came from the factory with a 427 CI motor and two four barrel carbs and an aluminum intake. Dad hadn't owned it but maybe 2 weeks when 2 guys from Ford came to our house and told him he was going to have to let them have the car back because the motor had been installed in that car by mistake. They offered him any car he wanted from Ford to trade and he declined because he had already outrun every car on the road. None of his friends, even the ones that supposedly had supped up hotrods could catch him. I remember many a time he would come home and be talking to his buddies about someone else he had beat.... Wish I could find that old thing but it more than likely got cannibalized for the motor soon as Dad traded it off. In 1968 for a 68 Opel station wagon..
I got my first car at 17yo. in 1969. It was a 1964 Galaxie XL 500 with a 289 2bbl and C4 automatic transmission. It only could turn 19:49 in the 1/4 Mile. Obviously a great Blvd. Cruiser. I did see another just like mine, all Turquoise body and Turquoise interior but this one was a model that I still have fond memories of to this day. It had the 427, mentioned here, with the way cool 427 callouts on the front fenders and equipped with a Borg-Warner T10 4 speed. It was the ONLY Galaxie XL 500 so equipped that I ever saw. I always have wondered where it is all these 53 years later. I can only hope that it was well cared for and still in the same shape as it was in back in 1969. I saw my Galaxie a few years after I sold it. It had two owners after I let it go and unfortunately its condition was what I would call "Roached." It made me sad to see how bad it looked just a few years later. The once pristine Turquoise interior loaded with polished aluminum upgrades was totally "Sun Burned" to a blackened crisp and the exterior paint was so oxidized that it was nearly unrecognizable. Too bad!
As an old 60s muscle car lover, I'll take just 1 of these over any 10 present day ""paddle wheelers.""
These 60s cars were absolute fun to drive and race!!
Interesting video. I've been watching a lot of the MotorTrend Retro Videos on TH-cam and find it fascinating that many of our 4 cylinder cars today are as fast and handle better than many of the V8 performance production cars in the past.
it's called advanced electronics. and no, people can't shift more efficiently than a good, modern computer controlled transmission. but i used to shoot swamp rats, i don't need the computer... okay, luke skywalker.
And you can thank those racers of old for that
The cars of today have no soul, just like comparing the music today to the music back then.
In 1978 I bought a 1967 Mercury Marquis 2dr fastback, factory 9inch limited slip, C6, and the R code 427 marauder. Front disc, dark green, blk vynl top and Lilly white leather 50/50 interior. PS PB AC. No other options. It was viciously torquey and fast! But I sold it for a 71 Camaro. To this day I miss that Merc. Found out it was rarer then an S55. Whoa is me!!!
Grew up with them old fords, alot of the 390,s . Tough engines .
Grew up in East Dearborn in the 60's. When me & buds FINALLY had licenses in '74 & '75; &, could drive our parents' cars, we would sometimes get a pizza, sit in the median of Telegraph Rd. (US-24, W. Dearborn); and watch the built machines street race.
I had 69 pont.grand prix ..stock .it was a monster..had dbl barrel harley..hi rise edeleman man fold...the gd ol days ...
Damn, it was good being a teen in the 60's!
Dad had a 63.5 Galaxy Thing was unreal fast Had a Holly 6 pack on top. I remember it would press you into the seat on launch.
Love the Thunderbolt, such a cool looking sled.
BULL Puck - In 1969 A Boss 302 was purchased at a Detroit Ford dealer fitted with headers driven to Watkins Glen for a SCCA race with the Mich license plate on it and took 2nd place then driven BACK to Detroit. ANYONE could walk into most Ford dealers and order a race capable Boss 302 to drive home and with very few modifications drive to AND compete with any weekend. AND be competitive. It did not take a ton of money to own and compete.
I would love to have a BOSS 429 MUSTANG
Not me .... Ford Thunder Bolt 427cc is my 1st choice
Wouldn’t we all
@@rockngpa5094 I would take one of those also
I drove one back in the 1980s. I'd love to have one, but driving them is something akin to masochism. He wasn't kidding in the video when he said the things were noseheavy, and your 'control' over them was actually more of a 'loose suggestion'. Take one into a turn and get just a wee bit enthusiastic with the throttle, and that car will absolutely try to go 80 directions at once. Given that, and the money they represent today... nah. It'd almost never leave the garage.
I briefly owned a '70 notchback with a 351C. Far more balanced car. Not as blinding fast as the Boss 'Nine but you could at least keep it pointed in the right direction.
WOW, Now I Know why My Dad's Galaxy Didn't have a Radio, had a Gold Eagle with the 427 on the Valve Covers and was Loud and FAST as Hell, I was Only 7 But Remember it like it was Yesterday! LMAO!!!! Wish I Still Had it!
Back in the day, stock cars were stock cars.
Cool video, what I wouldn't give to go back in time to the 60's