Archway Ford raced a 4 speed Thunderbolt in the A/FX and (sometimes) S/S classes. It was regarded as one of the fastest T-Bolts of the time. Sometime in 1965 the car was stolen from the dealership and never heard from again.
This car is featured in a match race at (I believe) Pittsburgh International Dragway (PID) with the Luther Ford Thunderbolt. If you have any photos of that race or the Luther Ford car specifically, please contact me as there is a reward you may wish to collect!
The Al Swenson Ford Thunderbolt from the Philly area.
The Grabski Ford Thunderbolt. Pic is late '64 or early 1965. Ray Uhl drove this car until he sold it to get a 427 Comet.
The "Little Georgia Shaker" Thunderbolt driven by Hubert Platt. This car was sold by Platt to Lee Malkemes of Eastern PA. Lee rolled the car at Piedmont, NC in 1965 during a match race with Ronnie Sox. The car was completed destroyed and Lee broke his neck. Lee came back to recreate the car and race again in 1994 at the Thunderbolt reunion. He's since sold it and, as far as I know, quit racing.
This photo, a scan from Race Car Art, is the number 6 car of Gas Ronda. Notice the original cloverleaf hood, which was never used during famous competition. I know of none of these hoods today. (Dennis Kolodziej believes that only one was known to be around after the teardrops came out. The hood on the "HULLABALOO" car was a cloverleaf cut out for a scoop on top.) They were probably all folded neatly into eight or ten squares to fit in the trash bucket when the teams saw the new teardrop hood, a beautiful addition to the little Fairlane. This car was later painted orange, and lettered with "Russ Davis Ford" on the side.
This is a photo of the Wickersham Ford car from Orange, TX. It was driven by Clester Andrews. Note that even though it's a first-series car, the dealership painted it white like the last 89 cars. The fender says "The Lively Ones" and the roof says "Pass-A-No". The lively ones and the lively one are painted on several Fords from that era. Charlie Morris (422 Motorsports) tells me that a '64 Ford slogan was "Drive the Lively Ones from Ford". Kinda catchy!
The Larsen Ford T-Bolt from White Plains, NY. This car was driven by Bill Kolb, a salesman from the dealership. It was an automatic car and featured in an excellent magazine article when it was fairly new. This photo is from the article.
Please help me find photos of wrecked Thunderbolts - they are very hard to find.
All contributors of photos that I don't already have get a complimentary "Thunderbolt" t-shirt!! Please email and let me know if you have a photo you'd like to share with me. They don't have to go on the website if you want them kept 'secret'.
John Durand Photography...(Background- Tasca Ford)--Photo is copyrighted-1998.
Gas Ronda photo sent in by Race Car Art; photographer unknown.
Wickersham photo - courtesy Mustang & Fords Magazine, March 1995 (good article on T-Bolts).
Photos from John Durand are for sale. They are better quality than the ones posted here. Follow the "Friends and Contact People" link on the main page.
Sorry the "Old Photos" section is actually shrinking, but I've made some nice pages on individual cars and race teams. Check out my "History of Individual Cars" page to see lots more photos.
Old Photos are continued here
Photo credits:
