confess closet Ford owners

[talwell]

Here is a pic of my GT500 Tribute powered by 04 SVT Cobra supercharged motor & T56 6 speed that I recently sold. Not a "true" supercar but with a little magic it was turned into one.

[Fast67VelleN2O]

Todd... that Shelby is to DIE for. I would seriously kill to own that. Gorgeous car.

[Tommy Nolen]

I ain't ashamed....Here's my '61 Starliner. Original 390/375 3 speed upgraded somewhere along the line to a 401 4 speed.

[Xplantdad]

Tommy...that car rocks!

[agtw31]

here's Jack(skinny)Fuche's 61 Starliner he bought new

390 3 speed

he ran 486 gears in it,and kicked some butt with the car.

[/quote]

[old5.0]

Love those 61s. Best looking of all the early 60s big Fords.

[Tommy Nolen]

I don't think too many people realize what this 390/375 motor was, it's not just a 390 with a solid cam and more compression. It had both but the block was different from the regular 390's, it was a high nickol casting with different oil passages aong with other upgrades. I beleive this motor was responsable for Chevrolet coming up with the 409. In the fall of 1960 when Ford introduced this 390/375, the biggest thing that Chevrolet had was a 348/350. In an attempt to keep up, Chevrolet had no choice, they had to do something so they came out with the 409 which was really just a bored and stroked the 348. Chevrolet produced 142 cars with these motors but most of them came apart. Chevrolet quickly stopped production of the 409 and redesigned motor. Then, for '62 they came back with the new and improved 409 which went on to become a legend. I'm a GM guy but give credit where credit is due....a '61 375 Starliner was one bad a$$ car in it's day!!

[old5.0]

You know, its been discussed many times, but the 61 390/375 is good example of Ford having the hot hardware but not making it available. The 66 Fairlane GT with its 390/335 was a strong car and competitive with other entry level musclecars of the day, but had trouble with cars like 396/375 Chevelles and 389/360 Tri-Power GTOs. A Fairlane with a 390/375, or even better, a 401 horse Tri-Power, would have made it a whole different ball game.

Along the same lines, a basic 67 Mustang coupe with a 427 Hi-Riser option would have probably been regarded today as one of the baddest cars of the entire era. Oh well. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/dunno.gif[/img]

[Sportyworty]

The 66/67 427 Fairlane and 68 CJ Mustangs are considered some of the baddest cars of that era. You can't compare 390 cars of the later 60's to 396/375 GM and 389/360 Pontiacs Ford never intended them to be thus the R codes.

[old5.0]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SportyWorty1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The 66/67 427 Fairlane and 68 CJ Mustangs are considered some of the baddest cars of that era. You can't compare 390 cars of the later 60's to 396/375 GM and 389/360 Pontiacs Ford never intended them to be thus the R codes. </div></div>

Well, that's kind of my point though. You also can't compare a limited production car like an R-code Fairlane with a mass-produced, commonly available car like a Tri-Power GTO or an L-78 Chevelle. How many 427 Fairlanes and Cyclones did Ford build again? I think there may actually have been more COPO Chevelles than 427 Fairlanes. I recall that a couple of years ago Mustang Monthly reprinted a series of memos from disgruntled Ford engineers stating basically the same thing I'm saying here; that Ford had no viable answer to the big engine Goats and Chevelles, which was ridiculous since all the good pieces were sitting there in parts bins just waiting to be used. I also seem to recall Bob Tasca sharing a similar sentiment.

As for the Cobra Jet, yes, it was a bad customer. And yes, it was a huge step in the right direction for Ford. Nobody can take away the 428 CJ's place in history. But making the 427/425 a regular option in the Mustang, and giving it some marketing push, would have ended any debate immediately.

Think about how fast the Lightweight Galaxies and Thunderbolts were. And now imagine walking into a Ford dealer and being able to order a new, plain-jane Mustang coupe with the same drivetrain. HemiCudas would have run and hid.

I love FoMoCo. Which is why it's particularly frustrating for me when they steadfastly refuse to be the best they can be. Ford has <span style="font-style: italic">always</span> had the hardware to run with and beat any of the other manufacturers (427 SOHC, anyone?), but all too often they have refused to actually sell it to anyone.