1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt Tribute

1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt Tribute Description

FORD followers will look at this car and immediately recognize the lineage that accompanies this iconic paint scheme. This Thunderbolt tribute is a near perfect example of the Thunderbolt that Len Richter piloted to the AHRA Championship in 1964 and was featured in the movie "The 1320." This Thunderbolt tribute is the beneficiary of a multi-year rotisserie restoration that was finished in 2002. Powering the Fairlane is a 1967 FE 427 side oiler 4-speed and a 9" custom currie 31 spline rear axle.... The history of the Thunderbolt begins with America's love for competition. The famous motto Win on Sunday sell on Monday" was not just an idea it was absolute fact at the time. The big "3" knew customers could identify with vehicles that they saw at the track and in the showroom. If you happened to see a 427 Galaxie rumble past you at the starting line you may not purchase one on Monday. But you sure went and looked at one as soon as you could in a Ford Showroom. This amazing car was built by a gentleman named Ed M. in Michigan who is a retired Iron worker. The Car underwent a total rotisserie restoration roughly 15 years ago. The entire build is documented through photos and a build book. Many of the photos are featured below. But what seperates this from most well-done tributes is the famous driver of the original Thunderbolt - Len Richter was a close family friend to Ed and helped him during the build of this car. You can see photos below of Len sitting in the vehicle at the time of completion. "Len was in my shop at least once a week when I built that car in 2002. He wanted me to build an identical clone of his original race car all the way down to the lettering. But I decided to change it up to avoid confusion changing some of the lettering using Hemi Hunter on the trunk lit like Len used on his 1965 Mustang drag race car" Said the builder Ed. "We also choose a more dependable Side Oiler instead of the correct Center Oiler and for better street drivability we used a Low Riser heads and intake set-up". The Thunderbolt tribute also has a shade different gold paint then the original car. After the car was finished Len Richter signed the dash. This car is not to be confused with the original rather a true tribute to the amazing original car Len Richter himself and the history they made together! Speaking of the engine you can see a complete spec sheet below but today it cranks over easy and provides an unbelievable amount of torque. It runs great on pump oil the current owner uses a 2 to 1 mix of non-ethanol 90 octane and 110 racing fuel. This make it to run very smooth clean and cool around 170 to 180 even on hot days. It was never used for competition drag racing but could impress on the track! This Thunderbolt is definitely not for the faint hearted. Facts; 1967 FE 427 Side Oiler C7AE-A .600 lift cam â€" C8AX-6250-D Forged Pistons Low Riser Heads C3AE-6090-D Low Riser Intake C3AE-9425-J Ford Shelby 500 Holley Dual Quad 600 cfm Carburetor (matching set - C3AF-9510-BK & C3AF-9510-BJ) Correct and original aluminum Thunderbolt Intake Air Box Original NOS Intake Hoses from Dearborn Steel Tubing Original Borg Warner T-10 4-speed Side Loader Transmission Ford Shifter New 11" RAM Powergrip High Performance Clutch â€" 98769 Original NHRA approved R.C. Industries Shatter Shield Bell Housing New Hi Rev Mini Starter New Ring Gear New Fan Shroud 9" Custom Currie 31 Spindle rear axle Manual Brakes â€" discs on front drums on rear Front aluminum tow hooks Correct rear steel wheels with new Towel City Pie-Crust style cheater slicks (235 / 75 R 15) (used set of used original Hurst Pie-Crust slicks included (235 / 70 R 15) Correct front racing wheels with new Customs (205 / 75 R 15) (used set of used Mickey Thompson Track front tires included (28 x 7.50 â€" 15LT) Original correct interior with Boston Front Bucket seats Correct factory rear seat cloth cover Rear Arm Rest Delete Rear Window Regulator Delete Radio Delete Heater Delete Passenger Windshield Wiper Delete Crites Headers Customer Exhaust system with Badlanz Electric Cutouts New and correct Tie Rods Steel Sleeves Idler Arm & bushings ("Rare Parts") Rebuild original Center Link ("Rare Parts") New U-Joints Original and new Autolite BF42 Spark Plugs New OEM Ford Motorcable Spark Plug Wire Set Battery Cutoff Switch in Trunk Completely rebuild wire harness All light inside and outside work Tune-ups; Ignition tune-up (timing plugs wires) Valve adjustment done New fuel filter Brake Tune-Up (shoes and pads like new) All fluids changed Engine (Mobil 1 â€" 15W-50) Transmission (Royal Purple Synchromax fluid) Rear Axle (Royal Purple 75W â€" 140 high performance gear oil) All service and parts list available Extra Parts; Set of working vintage Autolite horns Passenger Wiper Linkage 1 boxes of Autolite BF42 for street driving 1 box of Autolite BF32 racing plugs (only had them in the engine for a few weeks) DOES IT WORK? Air Conditioning N/A Heater N/A Speedometer YES Oil PSI Gauge YES Temperature Gauge YES Fuel Gauge YES Tachometer YES Wipers YES Horn NO Radio N/A Headlights YES Tail Lights YES Brake Lights YES Reverse Lights N/A Turn Signals YES Runs & Drives YES