Features Ford Thunderbolts Photos Wanted

Try some zoop seal

 

Hard to believe that article was over 10 years ago. The car has gone through two more owners and a complete re-restoration back to circa 1964 Tuscon Yellow paint and original lettering.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Dennis;was that the T-Bolt at last years show in Dearborn?Is that the car that Rick Hamilton had? ROY.

 

Yes, that is correct. Nick Smith has it. The Jerry Alderman T-Bolt, a four speed Drag Council $1.00 car.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Here's a couple photos I found while surfing the net of the Pulliam Motor Co Thunderbolt. Driver was supposedly Henry Easterby. The photos show it was out of Columbia, SC while the original Thunderbolt list shows it out of Charlotte, NC. Anyone know the reason why there is a difference of locations?

 

Not a clue as to why the two different cities but man that is cool. I did not know Pulliam had a T-Bolt...What happened to this car?

 

Nice to see the old pics of the Pulliam car. The only ones I have are from the reunions as restorted.

 

HIGHLIGHTS


Mecum at Monterey
August 13-14, 2010
This Lot scheduled to be sold SAT 2:30PM


Lot S115 1964 Ford Thunderbolt 2-Door Sedan
427/425 HP, Automatic





- Car #60 in Thunderbolt production sequence
- 427/425 HP
- Automatic transmission
- Previously owned by Fred Jones and Jerry Harvey of Bob Ford
- Formerly of the Pat McGroder Muscle Car Collection
- Restored by Steve Bankert
- Restoration consultation with Ford Thunderbolt project manager Vern Tinsler DESCRIPTION

Born of Lee Iacocca’s “Total Performance” program of the early Sixties, Ford’s Thunderbolt drag racers were built by racing contractor Dearborn Steel Tubing, who took special factory-prepared Fairlane tudor sedans and stuffed them with 427 cubic inches of Galaxie V-8. The 1964 Thunderbolt presented here is serial number 4F41K230530, car number 60 in the Thunderbolt production sequence, with a record of ownership that includes Fred Jones and Jerry Harvey of Bob Ford. Once a prominent part of the famed McGroder collection of Arizona, it was restored by McGroder’s resident restoration specialist Steve Bankert in consultation with no less an expert than Ford’s Thunderbolt project manager Vern Tinsler.

 

I was aware of this difference and thought Pulliam had a secondary store, but it appears not. Pulliam was in the Charlotte Sales District and perhaps when the list was typed it was entered as such.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Equipped with dissapearing rear window clips.

Regards,
Dennis

 

Kentuckian,

Thanks for posting these photos. Finds like this and the ones of the Jack Mefford car in post #1916 are exactly why I hold out hope that we may one day know how all 100 cars looked in their original race trim. Its great to see that new stuff is still surfacing!

Deron

 

High bid $225,000 The bid goes on ...

Regards,
Dennis

 

Got this pic from his son.

 

Great pic but I was told that was a Fairlane running a cammer....not a T-Bolt, but very cool. I wish I had it now.

 

Here's a picture of the Campbell Ford car. I'm actually trying to find out information on the '63 Plymouth in the near lane if any of you know about that car. I would love to know if anybody has pictures of it (foreground or background) or information you could share that would help me with the history of it. Unfortunately I've found nothing on it. PM if you have something. Thanks so much and glad I could contribute to this fine selection of photos of the beautiful Thunderbolt.

 

Here's a photo taken at the 1964 Indianapolis Nationals. The view is of a wrecked Thunderbolt from Acord-Connaway Motors in Eldorado, IL. The T-Bolt can be seen on its top next to the ambulance.

According to an article in The Indianapolis News, the car sprayed oil from its engine under the tires causing the car to flip 1 1/2 times before coming to rest on its top. The driver Bradley Wagner suffered head injuries and was hospitalized.

 

Wow, thanks guys! Two great photos that I hadn't seen before. Glad to see some new stuff coming out of the woodwork! Are there any other photos of the Acord-Connaway car in the public domain that could be shared? I've seen a few but I figure that it was probably well photographed since it was wrecked at such a high profile place.

Deron

 

John Durand has a number of photos available for purchase. However since they are copyrighted, I'll respect his intellectual property and not post them.

The photos have a lot of detail. The car has window clips which is rare for one of the last 50 build group. In one of the photos, the Rotunda tach is gone. Someone must of "snatched" it.

It is my understanding, someone forgot to tighten the rocker covers which caused the oil leak, resulting in the car to "lose" it.

Lucky the driver survived.

Regards,
Dennis

 

http://jdurand.smugmug.com/Buy-Images-Here/T-Bolts-and-AFX-Mustangs/584413_Zw7Wx#15614763_TvYyd

 

100 pages! I guess its only fitting that the fellow who started this thread was also the guy who put it over the 100 mark. Thanks Jody, I've learned a lot here about these cars that I'd otherwise probably never had a chance to learn.


Deron

 

Thanks Deron. I never imagined that when I asked for some T-bolt photos years ago that this thread would grow to what it is today. When you think of it this thread is the largest and most active location on the web for Thunderbolt information. We also are lucky to have people such as Dennis K. who have contributed their knowledge and photos to this thread. Hopefully we can hit 200 pages!!

 

I don't understand why everyone thinks I drove a Thunderbolt. I drove by alot of them, but never had one.

Billy"Cigar"Holt
I never considered my self the best, but I beat the best.

 

Billy,

There was an old newspaper clipping floating around from Phenix City that listed the names of the drivers who had attended a race and they had a "Cigar" Holt listed the driver of a Fairlane, so I think that's probably where the confusion came from. I asked a buddy of mine who grew up in Athens the last time I saw him if that could have been correct and his reply was something along the lines of "I seriously doubt he'd have been driving a Ford". If I can find my copy of that clipping I'll post it up here.

Glad to see you here. If you've got any old photos from back in the Thunderbolt days, I'm sure there's plenty of threads around here to post them in. There are threads for just about all makes of old drag cars around this place!


Deron

 

200 pages sounds good to me....


Deron