Survivor Thunderbolts

[DRAKE VISCOME]

Hey...a couple "points"...hopefully of interest ...the Thunderbolt info on HAMB site hokey *** message board...is a Thunderbolt followers dream come true...in a word...awesome...Nate's longtime partner Tom Caldara is still with us...just another super guy...and as good/genuine friend to me all these years...as aformentioned Nate was ...our Carmel Ford/Vindicator T-Bolt...is shown on the HAMB message board as well...Nate wanted me to "stick" with this car (it served as his incentive to do his T'bolt)...but I..just couldn't get the "funny car stars" out of my mind/eyes!!!...Randy DeLisio did the resto on Nate's car after buying it from Tommy...as every car Randy has ever done...beyond belief...he's the very best on the planet... doing Ford period cars bar none...T-Bolts,AFX-Comets/Mustangs ,etc....just ain't...nobody...better... Drake

[rawhide]

Back in the mid 1970's Nate was working on a pair of heads for me and asked if I knew of any Thunderbolts near me. This car belonged to a fellow I worked with so I put them together and Nate drove down to Salem, Va and picked it up. The gentleman was street driving it and it had a 390 in it.
regards, Roland

[DRAKE VISCOME]

Hey Roland...do re-call Nate telling me that is how he came upon his T-Bolt...in Virginia (I think...but "memory" isn't exactly what it once wuz 'eh...too many nitro fumes)...just one more..."maybe"..."Nate" story...of which there are/were...many...I've deeply missed that "buzzard"...over the last thirty plus years... died...way too early in life...way too young...can't ya' tell???..."loved" that "crazy" cat... Drake

[Dan Lattimore]

I'm 68 and like alot of us "young guys" I'm a little memory challenged and this is the way I remember it.-------- We were pitted close to each other at the Little Guy Nats. around 1973-4 . Nate must have set the record because the head was off. There were a bunch of people hovering around the front of the car so I went over to be nosey. As the crowd dispursed I heard him say " Let me get this back together it takes forever just to get the valves adjusted ". I thought hell I could run through those valves in ten minutes. I dropped by a little later and he was setting the valves with a degree wheel and a dial indicator? I thought about that for a long time. Camshafts weren't ground by cnc machines back then and far less than perfect not to mention valve stem and pushrod length . He was adjusting the lash + or - for best opening and closing relationship with the piston location. I still use that method today but the camshafts are much better now. Ole Nate was a pretty smart cookie.

[Stephen & Horace Johnson]

Ive heard my dad speak of him for years!!! Does anyone know what happened to his superstock 67 fairlane?

[mopar68]

"This thunderbolt was originally campaigned out of Virginia by Wayne Jones Ford. After the Wayne Jones involvement Tom Caldera bought it from Johnny Wenegar in Salem, Virginia, March 1974. Caldera’s purchase teamed with partner Nate Cohen decided to campaign the NHRA trail at that time. Nate Cohen was owner of Nazy Crate Enterprises in Freehold, NJ and was a hard charging Ford fanatic until his untimely death in April of 1980. Tom was owner of T&F Autobody and wanted to showcase his talents on a car and Nate would fulfill his need to fill the G force on the drag strip by working his magic on the Thunderbolt."-- http://www.nazycrate.com/



"Thirty years and many Thunderbolt restorations later, DeLisio got a phone call from Vindicator Racing's Drake Viscome, who had heard from Tom Caldara that Nazy Crate was for sale. DeLisio gave Caldara a call."

http://www.hemmings.com/mus/stories/2008/08/01/hmn_feature15.html#PhotoSwipe1354027776828

M68

[Hemi Moose]

Here's a couple of the '64 Fairlane Thunder Bolt called the 'Vindicator'...

[CycloneFE]

I used to attend the Ford Expo in Columbus Ohio, I believe September some time back in the 80's, always highlighted a given car or model, one year was the T-Bolt and there were I believe 12 or 13 there. That was a sight to behold.

[mopar68]

Originally Posted by Hemi Moose

Here's a couple of the '64 Fairlane Thunder Bolt called the 'Vindicator'...

F/SA? Something ain't right, here!

Drake, I thought you said: "...as aformentioned Nate was ...our Carmel Ford/Vindicator T-Bolt"?

M68

[mopar68]

I never saw this one before...


M68