2/22/2024 0 Comments 1963 ford thunderbird 0 60![]() ![]() The fix: a crash program to design the Galaxie Sports Hardtop (aka slantback, fastback, or scatback in the day), which made its production debut in mid-March as a 1963 model. ![]() NASCAR OK'd it for that race, Ford won, and NASCAR instantly kiboshed the cheater top. At the Atlanta 500 in 1962, Ford and the Holman & Moody team showed up with a "Starlift" removable hardtop shaped like the aero-sleek '61 Starliner coupe that bolted onto the convertible and was allegedly available over the counter, though the stock convertible windows didn't fit the top's openings. These mighty 409s became the engines to beat in the Super Stock class on NASCAR circuits and NHRA dragstrips.įord's power may have been competitive, but a 1962 restyle dropped the slick, curved Starliner roofline for a formal Thunderbird-style notchback that cost the Blue Oval dearly in aerodynamic drag on the big tracks like Daytona. Many musclecar enthusiasts point to the 1961 Impala SS409 (only 142 built) as the first true musclecar, but the one that got the Beach Boys singing was the solid-lifter dual-quad 11:1 compression variant that arrived for 1962. On December 17, 1960, Chevy announced a new Impala SS package for 1961 that would be available with a bored and stroked version of the big-block displacing 409 cubic inches and producing 360 hp. GM President Harlow Curtis suggested the ban in hopes of averting government regulation of motorsport, but while Ford adhered to the spirit of the ban, dutifully selling its entire inventory of racing parts to race shop Holman & Moody, the Chevy folks winked at the letter of it, and continued to engineer new racing hardware for sale over the counter at dealerships. The Bow Tie brand's racing success stemmed primarily from its interpretation of the voluntary ban on factory racing support the Auto Manufacturer's Association had agreed to in June 1957. In truth, Chevy's domesticated truck motor wasn't that great a competition engine. ![]()
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