Features Ford Thunderbolts Photos Wanted

More '64 comets.....I want one of these...BAD!!.

 

1st Pic is a Real Deal 427 comet.....That's the one I want!...Check out the comet wagon.......

 

The very First Thunderbolt Oct 1963.....Read the small print!.....
...ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS AND SOUGHT AFTER FACTORY RACE CARS EVER BUILT. THE IDEA OF A LIGHTER CAR CAME UP IN LATE 1963 AFTER IT WAS DECIDED THAT IN THE COMING SEASON, BECAUSE OF WEIGHT AND SIZE, THE 427 GALAXIE WOULD NO LONGER BE COMPETITIVE IN SUPER STOCK CLASS. AFTER WEEKS OF DISCUSSION, THE MUCH LIGHTER FAIRLANE WAS PICKED AND THIS YEAR AT THE SUMMIT FORD SHOW IN JULY, YOU CAN SEE A WONDERFUL PART OF FORD RACING HISTORY AS DON SNYDER WILL HAVE ON DISPLAY THE FIRST AND ORIGINAL 427 FORD FAIRLANE "THUNDERBOLT" EVER BUILT. TESTED AND DRIVEN BY DICK BRANNAN, WITH DEVELOPMENT HELP FROM FELLOW EMPLOYEES AT FORD, THE CAR AND THE OTHERS TO FOLLOW WERE TRULY AMAZING FOR THE TIME. THE ORIGINAL CAR IS RARELY EVER DISPLAYED PUBLICLY AND HAS BEEN FULLY RESTORED WITH THE ROMY HAMMES FORD SPONSORSHIP NAME PAINTED ON THE SIDES JUST AS IT WAS IN 1964. BECAUSE THIS SHOW AND CAR ARE SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF FORD HISTORY, LISA LEATHERY, EVENT DIRECTOR FOR THE "FORDS AT THE SUMMIT" CAR SHOW HAS ARRANGED FOR BOTH DICK BRANNAN AND JERRY HAMMES TO BE ON HAND DURING THE WEEKEND. AND AS A BONUS, PHIL BONNER WILL ALSO BE THERE AND HAVE HIS ORIGINAL NUMBER SEVEN "THUNDERBOLT" ON DISPLAY AS WELL. DICK AND PHIL ARE TWO OF THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF THE ELITE FORD DRAG TEAM WHICH BEGAN OPERATION IN JUNE 1962. ALL PLAN TO BE AVAILABLE TO CHAT AND SIGN AUTOGRAPHS DURING THIS SPECIAL EVENT SO MAKE PLANS EARLY TO BE THERE.

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More T-Bolt pics......

 

Makes you want to cry.....How many T-bolts were wrecked

 

This car survived. It is owned by a member here.

 

Trivia - There is something odd about the car in the top photo. Hint-not the cloverleaf hood! It stumped me until someone pointed it out.

 

Troublemaker---Brannan's T-Bolt (in the early pic)has the '63 style fiberglass bumper that was molded into the lower fender panel, and the front wheels look VERY tall--I read somewhere that they had some 16 inch wheels on some of the early cars?? Is that it?

 

<TABLE class=imagetable width=0 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2> </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left>September 27, 2003 </TD><TD align=right>Tom Howerton </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

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Here ya go....more T-bolt clones.....look's like an early 'glass front bumper on this one as well

 

I'm not a Ford guy but the front fenders and bumper are different then the production versions.

 

Some very cool paperwork from Ford Special Vehicles!..... I wish I was on the list as well as pictured in the photo.....

 

Another one of my favorite T-bolt race cars!

 

Looks like the first design front bumper and NO tow bar attachments..BKH

 

You are correct, it is the early fiberglass bumper but that was common among the early cars, not unique to this one.

The trivia is no 427 birds on the front fender in the early shot. They were added to this car later on. In fact this is the only shot I've seen of the Brannan car that it doesn't have birds.

The number 2 car, Bob Ford/Richter never got them. As far as I know all of the others got them when they left DST.

Thanks to Dennis K. for pointing this out to me awhile back.

 

These are two seperate cars. The one with S/S in the back window is a clone. 622 is the real deal and the second T-bolt built.

 

They did run some 16" wheels from what I've heard. Somewhere I heard they may have been a Studebaker wheel. Not sure if that is correct though.

 

In conjunction with the FCA National Meet:

Thunderbolt Owners Association
45th Anniversary Thunderbolt Reunion
Hyatt Regency - Dearborn, MI
June 26 - 27 2009

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If you know someone who owns one of these great cars please try to get them to attend. This is shaping up to be a great event. This event will not only feature the cars but the people who helped make them the legend that they are. An event like this may never happen again. Spread the world!!! Thanks<!-- / message -->

 

Got some more........second pic 289?

 

Another great thread! Thanks again!

Do you guys know if there were any magazine back issues of which chronicled in detail the 1964 Altered Wheelbase Fairlane Thunderbolts? If so, could you please provide which issues. All I have is magazine back issues which chronicle the Thunderbolts in standard form.

Do you know if there were 1964 Altered Wheelbase Fairlane Thunderbolts that retained the standard coil over spring suspenion in lieu of Straight Axle?

 

I purchased that shot of Glidden' car from Gold Dust Memories at one of Raceway Park's auto flea markets sometime in the '80's. I believe the dealer was Dickie Estevez who used to run Mustang's in Super Stock. I may be wrong.

 

Car Craft had a full feature on it in 1974.

 

Gas Ronda Thunderbolt comes out to play

Besides his collection of Australian Fords and the Cougar Eliminator that he rescued from a field, Chris Flocken has a friend in Willie D. Smith of Milton, Florida. Willie, for those of you who don&#8217;t know Thunderbolts inside and out (that is, most of us), owns the Russ Davis Ford Thunderbolt, the car that Gas Ronda originally drove. Well, Chris convinced Willie to let him display the Thunderbolt at last weekend&#8217;s Mustang Club of America show in Pensacola, Florida, along side one of Chris&#8217;s Falcons, and Chris sent along some photos of the show.

Willie D Smith has owned it since like the late 70&#8217;s. Anyhow, he is getting older, just turned 76 young and I am so glad he is wanting (willing) to get the car out a little. This weekend will be only the second time in over 20 years since it has been on public display. W.D., as I call him, AND, I cannot believe he agreed, has allowed my to load up the Tbolt to take to the show. This is a very historic car. It is not just one of the 11 race prepped cars, it is the lowest serial or vin numbered Tbolts.
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It all went awesome and had a ball behind the wheel of the Tbolt. The guy that drove my GT over for me said, now you know how I feel every time I get to drive your Falcons! Hmmm, I never understood what he meant, till now!
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Willie D. is the fellow in the center. He has not stopped talking about the weekend. We both were shocked at the amount of folks that came by saying they had heard there was a genuine Tbolt there. Seriously! Then, they find out it is the Gas Ronda car, they really go nuts. I think the paint was worn off the car with the amount of pics taken!
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One thing I was really taken aback with was the comments I overheard on the car, like about all the race participation decals on the C pillars. WOW, this is the real thing! Comments like that.
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I have to tell you this, getting behind the wheel of the Tbolt was probably the most exciting and nerve wracking time I have ever spent piloting a car. Even Willie D&#8217;s grandson dropped by, &#8220;Mr Chris, you know my dad and you are the only one&#8217;s grand dad ever let take the Tbolt!&#8221; Ok, needed a little more pressure!
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And, lest it be completely overshadowed by the Ronda Thunderbolt, Chris&#8217;s Falcon XB GT.
<SMALL>This entry was posted on Friday, April 4th, 2008 at 9:51 am and is filed under Daniel Strohl, HMM, shows, exhibitions and events, racing, Australian cars, clubs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. </SMALL>


<!-- You can start editing here. -->18 Responses to &#8220;Gas Ronda Thunderbolt comes out to play&#8221;

1. <LI class=alt id=comment-323410><CITE>Joe Grippo</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>April 4th, 2008 at 10:05 am </SMALL>Sweet&#8230;.
   <LI class="" id=comment-326944><CITE>Gas Ronda</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>April 10th, 2008 at 8:43 pm </SMALL>Hi car lovers &#8230; and Mr. Chris:
   You&#8217;re right about the Thunderbolt &#8230; it&#8217;s a great car and it used to be mine. I won the NHRA Points Championship in 1964 with that very same car. Had I known how famous the car would become I would not have sold it. Ford, who sponsored me for nine years, sold the Tbolt to me and another one to Les Ritchey of Performance Associates. We were the only two on the west coast. Russ Davis Ford was a sponsor of mine but not an owner of the car. Not too long ago, I spoke to Willie D. Smith - I&#8217;m glad he&#8217;s enjoying my old ride.
   Gas Ronda
   <LI class=alt id=comment-349604><CITE>pete</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>May 9th, 2008 at 7:45 am </SMALL>love to see the old tbolts. at atco nj back in the day i went to the track in the 60,s just to see the most spectacular show of fx cars . they would just drop by and race in those days,,when they felt like itswenson ford,ronnie socks ,jungle jim liebbman[nova] flopper cars .etc every weekend thier would be a suprise ,race because they were testing thier cars back then. you would go home vibrating from the smoke. it was like an after shave, i wish we could have bottled it you,d wear it today if you were a gear head like i was ;;;;still ready to race .waiting for my merc, s/s to get donegoood shot send more to me luv,em.guess what it,s still our day today pete,s street rods
   <LI class="" id=comment-359443><CITE>Chris Flocken</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>May 20th, 2008 at 6:55 pm </SMALL>Sir Gas Ronda:
   WOW, sl glad you saw this blog. I have been so busy the last few months, I missed it, till now. So glad you saw the pics, the car is a real time capsule. I love being around it, have been in this area for about 20 years, always hoped to get an opportunity to get it out for a run. Willie D. was kind enough to let me take her to the show. So glad he did, I know he had a ball and enjoyed the car as I have not seen him in years. Cannot wait till the next chance to get her out for a run!
   Please feel free to email me for additional pics: [email protected]
   Kind Regards,
   Chris
   <LI class=alt id=comment-424385><CITE>Steve Phelps</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>August 3rd, 2008 at 6:04 pm </SMALL>Wow! What a thrill to see that the &#8220;64&#8243; T-Bolt is still around. I purchassed a 1/25 scale model of the car several years ago that I have not put together. Though I was a young kid, Gas and Les were my Idols and I never often missed the times either were at my home track at Irwindale. Les&#8217; wife was my sundayschool teacher and arranged a treat for me on my 12th birthday at the track. I got to ride to the starting line from the pits in the Ritchey A/FX Mustang and then watch Les slam the gears to a match race victory against of all things a Rambler Marlin!
   Last time I talked to Gas was at his restaraunt in Covina California at a wedding dinner for an ex girlfriend.
   I currently bracket race in Tucson Arizona but hold very dear my memory of the real Glory Days of drag racing in So Cal back in the mid sixties!
   Cheers
   The Sageman AKA Steve Phelps
   <LI class="" id=comment-432878><CITE>John "JD" Helzer</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>August 16th, 2008 at 7:32 am </SMALL>Hi,
   Over 40 years ago I was station in the Navy in Milton&#8217;s air base and ran into Willie D, worked in his shop, helping out, got a real education with he and his brother Rex Wayne.
   Called him up last year to visit, one of the nicest and most knowlegable guys you&#8217;ll ever know!!!
   Glad to see that he has this TBolt.
   I&#8217;m retired now and might have to take a trip to Milton and see Willie D!!
   Good Luck!
   John D. Helzer
   <LI class=alt id=comment-433693><CITE>Mark Childers</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>August 17th, 2008 at 9:01 am </SMALL>Willie Dee is one of those rare southern gentlemen of a character that most folks only get to see in the movies, and to this day, remains the shining example among those who shaped the course of my life. From 1967 thru 1971 when I was stationed at Whiting Field, Willie was my &#8220;Ford Mentor,&#8221; and his whole family took me in as if I were one of their own.
   I spent a lot of hours wrenching and detailing his beautiful red 427 Galaxie &#8221; Milton Monster&#8221; and he tweaked my &#8216;68 Dan Gurney Spl Cougar into a killer street car, mostly using parts from his &#8220;junkpile&#8221; alongside his tiny garage off Alabama Street (stuff that back then was expensive and today would be worth a small fortune). He had accumulated a ton of ultra-rare FE parts, a lightweight Galaxie, a couple 406 4-speed cars, and had a flawless early T-Bird tucked away in his garage.
   Willie thought nothing of dumping the clutch on that 4,000 pound Monster at 7,000 rpm, and if the motor grenaded, well, he&#8217;d just build up another one and keep on racing&#8230; I happened to be passing through Milton the day after he got the Gas Rhonda T-Bolt, and it was like he&#8217;d just brought home a new baby&#8230; That&#8217;s been some years now, because our son was just a little kid then and he&#8217;s now in his mid-thirties.
   Mark Childers
   Chesapeake VA
   <LI class="" id=comment-440171><CITE>keith sorrell</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>August 27th, 2008 at 9:29 pm </SMALL>You are right. The car is a winner in my book to i went to watch Lyle race it in Huntsville,.Al. Thunderbolt picked the tires up so high you could see the whole bottom of the car. Nobody even cared that the jet cars were about to run. They were all in the pit with us wondering how long before Lyle was going back to the line. He drove the whole track dragging the shackles and the bumper. Lyle just knew he was going the right way he said. Well I had to ask him how he knew .He smiled and said he could see the powerlines just fine.
   <LI class=alt id=comment-453685><CITE>Chris Flocken</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>September 29th, 2008 at 5:29 am </SMALL>Hi Guy&#8217;s,
   I just happened to be thinking of Willie D as the Drag Racers Reunion was last weekend in Panama City, he was there, no T-bolt this year. Anyhow, clicked on the blog here. I will print out all your post and get to him. While he is the finest old school FE man I have ever known, he is not too into the net, so Lyle, Casey, friends and myself print him interesting items he will enjoy reading.
   I wanted to mention a few months after he and I took the T-bolt to the MCA show the local MCA guys came by and presented him with trophy and card they all signed out of appreciation for the car being in attenedence. He was really moved. For me, I still cannot believe he let me take it to the show. The day I picked it up, Casey (his grandson) says to me, Mr Chris, you and dad are the only ones he ever let take the T-bolt. Ok, no extra pressure here! haha!!
   Anyhow, I just want to say, Willie D has been not just a Ford mentor, but a wonderful example of a southern gentleman to so many of us. He is a true living legend.
   Anytime you guys are passing through Milton, FL be sure to look up Smith&#8217;s Hi-Performance. You will find him to this day behind the counter sipping a cold Diet Coke and always happy to talk drag racing.
   Cheers,
   Chris Flocken
   <LI class="" id=comment-469778><CITE>Opie Nimon</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>November 11th, 2008 at 1:12 pm </SMALL>IN 1966 I was racing my 1965 Comet Cyclone at US 30 Drag Strip in Indiana when I first saw Gas Ronda Thunderbolt Fairlane. I loved the car and the name Ronda. My daughter was born in January of 66. Thunderbolt wasn&#8217;t a good name for a girl but RONDA was. When she told me that she thought she was named after some old race car I wanted to let her know that it wasn&#8217;t just some old car but a real classic. Anyone know of some good pictures that are available. I would like my Grand kids to see them. By the way my 65, 225hp Comet was running 13.70&#8217;s with a little Hoosier tweeking. This Blog has brought back some great memories.
   Thank You
   Opie Nimon
   <LI class=alt id=comment-492566><CITE>Eddie Wilson</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>December 10th, 2008 at 7:11 pm </SMALL>I remember Gas Ronda from when he raced his 61 starliner at half moon bay, then his 62 bill waters ford, every time he showed up at the drag in the bay area, I went, I remember him driving a black (or dark colored) thunderbolt and a red one, did he have it painted? I have a picture taken with him when he drove his 65 mustang A/FX, thanks Gas for all the good time&#8217;s at half moon bay and other area drag stips, the thunderbolt was the boss.
   <LI class="" id=comment-492852><CITE>Bobby Likis</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>December 11th, 2008 at 8:15 pm </SMALL>Willie D. and I raced against each other too mant times to recall. He was always friendly / walking with a smile on his face / as tho he knew something I didn&#8217;t. My friend (Ronnie Dunning) owned the race cars and drove while I learned how to make &#8216;em go. We really enjoyed those times. Thanks, Willie D., for sharing.
   Bobby Likis
   <LI class=alt id=comment-502970><CITE>jean ronda</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>January 6th, 2009 at 3:42 pm </SMALL>Question to Gas Ronda, would it be posible to have your dirrect web site to be able to contact you about Antonio Dominico Ronda.I look forword to hearing from you.
   Thank you
   Jean Ronda
   <LI class="" id=comment-507411><CITE>Bruce Elworthy</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>January 18th, 2009 at 1:50 am </SMALL>I remember Gas Rhonda and Ed Terry when they drove for William Waters Ford in Oakland. I was privileged to go to the weekend drags up and down the Valley with them. I remember that Gas&#8217; parents lived in San Jose - a far different city from today. Gas was great in helping a kid with a Ford learn how to drag race. I would really like to hear from him - we last spoke when he was in the LA area in 1963+/-.
   <LI class=alt id=comment-508698><CITE>John "JD" Helzer</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>January 20th, 2009 at 10:06 pm </SMALL>Hi,
   Well after 44 years I finally made a trip down south and had the pleasure of meeting up with Willie D. Smith.
   A lot of things change over 44 years, but the one thing that did not change was the love and passion that Willie D still has for the sport of drag racing!!
   We meet twice on our trip and what a pleasure it was to talk &#8220;shop&#8221; with Mr. 427 himself. Also it was a pleasure to talk to his son Lyle, who has a great career going for himself! Met a couple of Willie&#8217;s friends and talked about the old times. Would have liked to have talked to his brother Rex Wayne&#8212;&#8212;which reminds me of the time Rex raced a best of 3 match race against a Z11 chevy, Rex broke 3rd gear on the first race and went out a beat that joker two times in a row without 3rd gear, now it doesn&#8217;t get any better than that&#8212;man those&#8217;s were the good old days!! His family treated me like family back then and will never forget it.
   I wish only the best for Willie, his wife and the rest of his family!!!
   Driving back to Colorado I would think alot of the good times we had&#8212;&#8211;and I thought to myself &#8220;If your lucky enough to know Willie D. Smith your lucky enough&#8221;.
   Willie thanks for the memories!!!!!!
   John &#8220;JD&#8221; Helzer
   <LI class="" id=comment-509161><CITE>Chris Flocken</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>January 21st, 2009 at 7:21 pm </SMALL>Hi JD, W.D. was just telling me about your visit to his place, after all those years. He was really excited.
   I have some distressing news I need to share with you all. I will paste in the link, but here is the short of it, Wille D. was mugged for the 2nd time in the last few years. This time just yards from the front door of his house. I am SO confused how someone who has touched so many lives, positively could be beaten and treated so inhumane. Here is the bad news, the assailant knew him. Only those close to him know his nick name! He was called that by the assailant. Pretty darn sorry situation. He has been a dad to me, and am just beside myself over this.
   Link:
   http://www.pnj.com/article/20090120/NEWS01/90120024/1006
   <LI class=alt id=comment-509253><CITE>Trina</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>January 21st, 2009 at 10:35 pm </SMALL>This was in the local paper and I found the link to this site, and thought you guys would be interested in knowing about this very sad attack.
   Elderly man beaten, robbed in front of his home
   Comments 45 | Recommend 1
   January 20, 2009 - 12:11 PM
   Robbyn Brooks
   Daily News
   MILTON - A 76-year-old man was beaten and robbed about 7 p.m. Monday night as he arrived home from work.
   Willie Smith got out of his vehicle and began walking to ward the front door of his Sycamore Street home when he was hit over the head, possibly with a clay flower pot, according to a Santa Rosa County Sheriff&#8217;s Office news release.
   Smith fell face first into the ground. Smith told investigators the suspect held his arms under his body and sat on him, pushing his face into the ground as he demanded money. The suspect repeatedly struck Smith in the head until he complied with his demands.
   The news release said the suspect threatened to shoot Smith, but he never saw a weapon.
   Smith told lawmen the suspect was a black man with a stocky build. The news release said investigators believe the suspect knew Smith because he used his nickname &#8220;Willie Dee.&#8221;
   Smith was taken to Santa Rosa Medical Center for treatment for numerous cuts to his face and head and a possible broken nose.
   Anyone with information on this crime or the identity of the suspect should call Crime Stoppers at 437-STOP.
2. <CITE>Mike Grein</CITE> Says:
   <SMALL class=commentmetadata>February 9th, 2009 at 12:33 am </SMALL>Hi Car lovers and Hi Gas Rhonda,
   What a treat to see the thundrbolts and what treat Gas Rhonda to have been apart of such great racing history. My father-in -law John Karelius is the nephew of Les Ritchey. He speaks fondly of the days he worked the pits with his uncle and of wathing Gas Rhonda race&#8230;Incredible stories!
   Take Care All!

 

One of the most beautiful clones out there.....Just needs to remove that outside door mirror!

 

some more.....

 

More cool pics.........

 

This is the first time I have seen a "split" pair of the carb air attachment. Is this something the early cars had?

From the Gas Ronda post

 

Looks like they were common......Cross ram set-ups......inline carbs.....Looks like a convenience to have them split...They do not have to unhook the air ducts....Of course the last two pics are my favorite design....I see alot self fab air boxes also....I would like to know what was standard ford T-bolt?