Talladega Terror

Talladega for non ford guys it brings to mind movies with Will Ferral , Rednecks, beer and Easter egg cars, but say it to a Ford guy and aero-warriors come to mind. In 1969 with the Nascar wars at a fevered pitch manufactures were looking for any advantage. The result was a car based on the fast back Torino  but with different side panels , hood and front end. Holman & Moody  reported building 500 of the front ends but there is a reported 700 serial numbers  so the real  car count is disputed  but no  legend would be complete with out controversy .  Options were limited  bench seats , 428 CJ, and column shift C6 were the only options on interior and powertrain.  They were available in Royal Maroon , Presidential Blue,  and Wimbledon White   these three patriotic colors were the only option.  Now if you own ten of these cars as well as 7 of their brothers  the Mercury Spoiler 2 and numerous Dan Gurney  edition Spoilers  what is your  play car?  Well in this case it is a nonstandard color , modified Cobra Jet, with classic Cragar wheels and it makes this one stand out in the stable.  Mike and his son Brandon are the owners of this amazing collection.  Mike  has been collecting these since the early '70's ,  but as  Brandon came of age this is the one caught his eye. This unique car came into the fold in the early '80's but was slid towards the back be
cause of its modifications .  Not much is known about what motivated  the previous owner to start modifying it.  The list is impressive,  to start with the Mercury Cyclone hood scoop stands out on the previously smooth hood,  directing fresh air to a Torino Cobra ram air bonnet setting on a Holley 750 double pumper .   Divvying up that air fuel mixture is the tried and true Edelbrock F427  intake bolted to original 428 CJ heads.  Comp Cams bumpstick  opens 2.09/1.65 valves, exhaust  used to exit a set of Hooker headers  but in the name of ground clearance Brandon replaced them with factory CJ manifolds .  An Accell  coil and dual point distributor handle the igniting of go juice. All that legendary CJ power is channeled through a C6 with a reverse manual valve body, shifting is now on the floor with a Cheetah stick.  When Brandon pulled it out of mothballs and began reviving it it had a 4.33 Detroit Locker,  Brandon  knew he was going to be driving it a lot so 3.25 gear now resides in the 9 inch housing.  This i
s no show cruiser it logs many miles a week with frequent speed trials, and after taking a ride in it i can attest to its impressive handling and acceleration.  Feeling the G's  as we powered through turns its not hard to imagine Petty, Pearson, or Yarbrough  putting space on the competition through the high banks.   As much as seeing these rare points of Ford history  restored to perfection its refreshing to see one personalized and beating the streets as Uncle Henry intended.