I was runner up to these guys back in 1965 at Aquasco Speedway in Maryland at the Dag Times Jr. stocker meet. I still have the wall plaque from it.
I finally have an answer.My friend Steve said the man who did the lettering told him it was to match the angle of the taillight and the angle of the paint divider. If you look it makes sense.
OK I can believe that Gary but I bet you don't know why the Stahl/Benner '57 was backwards and Jere's '56 wagon was correct.
What do you suppose is the deal on this one? Engine was never offered with an automatic, Holley carb, air inlet pipe ,etc.
I remember seeing this car (or a similar one) at Art Carr's transmission shop in Arcadia, CA during the 1965 era. The presence of Les Ritchey's and Ron Root's names on the door is a clue to the fact that this was probably an experiment in pushing the envelope. Ritchey's shop, Performance Associates, was located in Covina and Ron Root was, I believe, a police officer in Pomona. Both are close enough to Arcadia to make that a reasonable place to get transmission work done. I don't recall ever seeing that '65 Fairlane in competition but it is listed in a book entitled, "Ford Total Performance: Ford's Legendary High-Performance Street and Race Cars" The author of the book described the Fairlane as being "specifically built for NHRA class racing" and sold to Ritchey for $1. Subsequently, in the same publication the author mentions a somewhat sub-par performance level of 14.40s in D/SA. My stash of Stock class records of that era is incomplete but in 1964 the D/SA class record was 13.69 and in 1966 it was 13.14. Ritchey's reputation as a tuner was extensive and well-deserved. Ron Root seemed to have access to a range of various manufacturer's new offerings in Stock and FX classes during that era so the choice of tagging him to drive the car was no shock. We are left to assume that manufacturer support, professional tuning, expert driving, and a few "experimental" parts may not have been enough to get the job done. c
Not what it says here, JS If that's the case, then the 65 Fairlane should be deleted. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-h-a-m-b-rules-guidelines.44274/
https://doverdragstrip.com Lane Motors Note the pipe coming off the collector for the then mandatory 10% exhaust going to the stock exhaust system
The Obsession Car was always sitting in a gas station on West Ave. in Stamford, Connecticut and it was a beautiful car for sure. I remember I guy named Hank owned the car and it was fire engine red and spotless from the engine compartment to the truck! I also remember he rolled the car at Dover Drag Strip one Sunday and it was history. I know at one point he traded the car for a 1941 Chevrolet Coupe and he put his engine in the coupe and named it Obsession. The 41 Coupe was built by Jimmy Lorenti of Stamford and was a real show stopper. Jimbo