Oddball Muscle Cars

[Paul Ceasrine]

ODDBALL,,,not rare..The 66' Comet GTA convertible D/SA..
Check out the Barrie Poole site.. He ran one, and set the NHRA record
in D/SA in 66', and C/SA in 67'. The 390 (66' version) with 335HP had
the better camshaft, and 600 cfm Holley. The 67' version, was toned down a bit..(The Ford Bastards)..
Paul

[Rory McNeil]

Originally Posted by genuine jack

just a quick note and question on the '57 blower fords .

.
i've been looking for info on larry walker's "legal cheater" for years . also tried to locate mr. walker - with no luck . you say the car is in BC and is being restored ? are any photos - or any more information - available ? does anyone know how i might contact larry walker ?
thanx for any help .
jack

Jack, I have never met Larry Walker, but yes, his old "Legal Cheater" 57 Ford 2 door sedan has been up here in BC Canada since, I believe, about 1971. The same fellow that bought it from Walker has owned the car the entire time, and as I understand it, the car has been re-painted back to the "Legal Cheater" look. I`m a young fella, (only 52 years old), and the only time I ever seen the 57 Ford was at an event at Mission Raceway in about 72 or 73. By that time, the owner had painted the car black, with "Black Magic" lettered on the rear 1/4 panels, I believe it was running in G/SA at that time. I do have a couple of photo`s of the 57 at that race, but I`m pretty useless at posting pics, although I could ask my wife for help tonight with it. The car has been in storage from about 1973 or 74, until the past couple of years, but I do know that the owner has been having difficulty finding a good useable 312 block. I`m hoping Cec will have the 57 ready for our big "Mega Ford" race at Mission Raceway this Sept. Having owned a number of 57-59 Fords, that car was always the "Holy Grail" to me. Maybe Bob could add some more info, as he & Cec have been friends since the old Jr. Stock days.

[Rory McNeil]

As for the 66-67 Comets, the late Roger Rice from Montana ran a dark blue 66 Cyclone GTA 390 in G&H/SA until his death about 8-10 years ago. I believe that Chad Langdon had it for awhile, no idea where it is now.
Yes, there were some Comets built with 427`s, but like the Fairlane, they were usually found in the non GT-GTA models. A Ford collector up here had a really nice, black 67 Comet Capri 2 dr HT with a "R" code 427 425HP 2x4 barrel 4 speed bench seat in his collection until a few years ago. (Others in his fleet included 2 64 Thunderbolts, including the Jess Tyee driven Mickey Thompson owned M/T Hemi head 427, an injected 427 SOHC A/FX 66 Mustang, as well as a red 63 Max Wedge Plymouth, and a 70 Hemi Cuda ex SS car. I know the M/T Thunderbolt was on EBay a couple of years ago, I also believe that most, if not all the other cars were also sold.

[mtkawboy]

This is from a friend whos no longer alive but ran Nascar in the 50s. Only the factory cars ran the blower 312 motor because they had special German made blower roller bearings not available to the privateer racers or even known to them at the time. No one could keep the bearings in the blowers without them in long races so they all ran the 2 -4 barrel engines. Whether theres any truth to that I dont know but he was a big time engine builder that ran both on the beach & the first years of the big speedway at Daytona as well as modifieds in the new England/Canada area in the 50s. His name was George Nelson from Miami Fl. and he built some bad fast flatheads, Y-block Fords & small block Chevys. He also ran a Dodge Dart 273/235 stocker out of New Smyrna's Dynamic Dodge called Little Damn Ram in the mid 60s

[BlueOval Ralph]

Ford had 2 different blowers in 57 one looked like the regular Mcllough (sorry for spelling) supercharger the other looked like a modern big alternator, the one used in NASCAR as I remember used the engine oiling system the other had it's own oil interal oil system the ones that used the engine were much more durable.

http://www.mustangandfords.com/featu.../photo_12.html


SEE BELOW

According to Jim Moody's Web site, www.vs57.com, which chronicles the history of McCulloch superchargers, "With the Rochester Fuel Injection looming on the horizon, Ford's prospects looked weaker for 1957, and they were looking at all options. The decision to use superchargers was made late in 1956, and the decision to use McCulloch superchargers was probably due to the fact that Ford did not yet have a system of their own, and the fact that McCulloch superchargers were well proven in the field."

McCulloch's Paxton Products division, based in Los Angeles, California, signed a one-year contract with Ford to supply its variable-ratio, oil-cooled, centrifugal VR57 supercharger exclusively for the 312-cu.in. Ford V-8 in 1957. Paxton delivered between 100 and 125 VR57 Phase I superchargers to Ford in December 1956 to meet NASCAR's homologation rules, according to Moody. Twelve D-code Thunderbirds and an unknown number of passenger cars built in January 1957 received the Phase I superchargers, identified by the large clamp used to hold the two halves together.

Because the Phase I superchargers proved sensitive and unreliable (though reportedly more powerful), Paxton revised the design for the superchargers destined for the general public. The VR57 Phase II supercharger went into the now-famous F-code Thunderbirds (between 208 and 211 total production) and passenger cars (as many as 1,500 total), which didn't come out of the factory until later in 1957. Ford claimed 300hp from the supercharged engines, and Paxton claimed 360hp, though actual output, depending on the camshaft, peaked at 325 and 340hp.

The McCulloch-Ford contract expired in September or October of 1957, after factory-involved racing took two big hits: NASCAR's April 1957 decision to ban superchargers and fuel injection from its tracks and the Automobile Manufacturers Association's June 1957 decision to end all direct factory participation in racing. Thus, the F-code Thunderbirds lasted just one year.

But the link between the two companies didn't simply materialize from thin air. McCulloch had introduced a supercharger for the flathead V-8 in 1937, then in September 1953 released another bolt-on supercharger, the variable-speed VS57, initially available for the Ford flathead engine, though the company soon produced kits for most automotive V-8s and six-cylinder engines, including the Y-block. According to the aforementioned Motor Life article, McCulloch's installers said a good half of the VS57s made their way under a Thunderbird's hood.

McCulloch's own performance figures recorded a 3.2-second reduction in 0-to-60 mph times for a VS57-equipped 1955 Thunderbird. Motor Life magazine's testers managed just a 2.5-second drop, down to eight seconds. On a 1956 Ford with an automatic transmission, McCulloch stated a 7.5-second 0-to-60 time.

Originally Posted by mtkawboy

This is from a friend whos no longer alive but ran Nascar in the 50s. Only the factory cars ran the blower 312 motor because they had special German made blower roller bearings not available to the privateer racers or even known to them at the time. No one could keep the bearings in the blowers without them in long races so they all ran the 2 -4 barrel engines. Whether theres any truth to that I dont know but he was a big time engine builder that ran both on the beach & the first years of the big speedway at Daytona as well as modifieds in the new England/Canada area in the 50s. His name was George Nelson from Miami Fl. and he built some bad fast flatheads, Y-block Fords & small block Chevys. He also ran a Dodge Dart 273/235 stocker out of New Smyrna's Dynamic Dodge called Little Damn Ram in the mid 60s

[Dan Bennett]

Originally Posted by genuine jack

the 427 comets were, indeed , rare . a tudor [ light green , i believe ] has been featured in magazines many times . i've also seen a hardtop [single 4 barrel ] featured more than once . i've seen one or both of these cars at shows in pennsylvania a few years ago . i don't know of any 427 comets that were drag raced by the factory , but eddie schartman led a factory team of 390 C/S comets in 1966 .
as an aside , i used to own a '66 cyclone GT [ 4-speed ] convertible . they were fairly rare - about 2150 built . i lost it while going through a divorce several years ago .

jack

Back when I was involved with the original Musclecar Nationals, a really nice 427 Comet R code appeared at our Atco show. For the life of me, I can't remember the owner's name but it was truly a stand up car in every way. The car was white, a hardtop, and I seem to remember a tan interior.

[NewHemi]

I had all but forgotten about the new 68 Dodge Monaco I had with a 318.... Hardly a muscle car, it didnt seem to be able to get out of it's own way. It was pretty but definitely underpowered. I had traded a 63, monterey convertible 390 merc in on it, and was immediately dissapointed with the performance.

It was stolen after about a month, and when I got it back, it was even weaker than before..

So, when the new Mercs came out, I traded it up for another full sized 390 merc monterey that you could land airplanes on the hood or the trunk. That car ended up with about 300,000 miles before the rust monkies ate it completely up...
________
Dental insurance advice

[W J]

Here's a beauty.... Checker Motors started making Checker cars in 1922. To start, they were sold as Taxicabs only, but by the 1960 model year, they started making models for sale to the general public--- both a 4dr. sedan and a 4 dr. wagon....By 1968 you could order either with a 275hp Chevy 327. In 1969, both sedan and station wagon were available with a 300hp, 350 Chevy motor w/a Power-Lok rear axle....sorry guys, no 4-speed transmisson, only a 3 sp. column stick or optional Dual-range automatic.... Shipping weights varied from 3220 for the lightest sedan to 5000 for the longer "limo" wagon model.....Hmmm, are these things in the classification guide?? (Chevy Kingswood wagon racers---look out...) The final Checker rolled off the assembly line at Kalamazoo, Mich. in 1982. WJ

[Paul Ceasrine]

WJ,Any of those mis-guided parachute jumpers from the Orange Dragstrip, did they ever land on your home in central Mass.On those Checkers, the body on that thing was indestructible. Had one race at Dover, in 70' or so. Ran in M/S (14.00 - 14.99 wt/hp).Funniest thing, trying to watch the guy power-shift with a 3-speed on the column...We used to make believe to 'Hail-A-Taxi' every time he went down the track,,and down the return-road we would scream 'Taxi!!..Now that was fun racing...Paul,,

[W J]

Originally Posted by Paul Ceasrine

WJ,Any of those mis-guided parachute jumpers from the Orange Dragstrip, did they ever land on your home in central Mass.On those Checkers, the body on that thing was indestructible. Had one race at Dover, in 70' or so. Ran in M/S (14.00 - 14.99 wt/hp).Funniest thing, trying to watch the guy power-shift with a 3-speed on the column...We used to make believe to 'Hail-A-Taxi' every time he went down the track,,and down the return-road we would scream 'Taxi!!..Now that was fun racing...Paul,,

Paul, I just knew that you'd be all over me as soon as you saw this Checker post! I would definitely want the automatic model Checker wagon w/at least 5:38's....or does anyone make a 6.19 gearset???? BTW, to land on my house in Paxton, those jumpers would have to be blown off their landing target by almost 35 miles, but here in New England, ANYTHING's possible....the runway that was used for the Orange Dragstrip is still intact.....Keep the hits coming, and best wishes.... WJ