FORD aero car

[65post]

**Inactive Link Removed**

[daytonalo]

I have 4 ford trucks , that thing is butt ugly and my 79 bronco has a better C.G than that ugly monster !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

Jeez u think they can say ''Dan gurney'' enough in that ad? -MATT

[Aero426]

I have 4 ford trucks , that thing is butt ugly and my 79 bronco has a better C.G than that ugly monster !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually, the aero on that car isn't far off the Dodge at all.  Please note that the "ugly" cars are on the front two rows here.     

[daytonalo]

There probably up front because they made more power ! not because they had a lower C.G

[tan top]

 nice  rare car

[hemigeno]

There probably up front because they made more power ! not because they had a lower C.G

Well, guess you'll have to put a 429 in your Boss Daytona, since the Chrysler Hemi is such a dog...   

[69_500]

And here I thought that Daytonalo was going to be kind to people this time around. Guess not.

That Cyclone Spoiler II is great looking. Definately a nice looking car. After I get a Daytona, I do want to pick up a cylcone spoiler II. I'd prefer the Dan Gurney edition over the Cale edition. Just due to the lower numbers.

[65post]

There probably up front because they made more power ! not because they had a lower C.G

FORDS have MORE POWER? I thought all along it was the other way around.I learn something new on here all the time. Terry

[BigBlockSam]

i like those FORD aero car's. i think they have nice lines. Rene

[hemigeno]

Interesting picture Doug...  I did do some checking on that race.  The picture was taken at the 1969 National 500 held at Charlotte, NC.  Donnie Allison's Banjo Matthews Ford (#27, started 3rd) did win that race, but there were only three other cars on the lead lap.  Guess which model those were  --   Dodge Daytonas of course (Allison, Baker & Glotzbach in that order).  Only one other car was within 10 laps of the leaders, and that was David Peason's Ford (2 laps down at the finish).

That was definitely Donnie Allison's day, and it was the first "real" race for the Daytona, after the debacle in Talladega a few weeks prior.  Best I can tell, the Daytona only raced in four races in '69...  Talladega (won by Brickhouse in a Daytona, if you count that one), Charlotte (won by D. Allison in a Ford), Rockingham (won by L. Yarbrough in a Ford) and Texas (won by Isaac).

Doug, didn't you give me some paperwork where the Ford Racing exec's ordered their race teams to run aggressive gear ratios in order to compensate for what they were giving up in aero to the Dodges?  I know I have that letter up at the office, but I thought you were the one who had given it to me.

[69_500]

How many races did the Cyclone Spoilers actually win? I see numbers for Daytona's, Superbird's, and the Talladega's all over the place, but the Spoiler II's seem to be like the 500's. Not listed. I know that the 500's won something like 14 races in 69.

[65post]

Nice pic.To bad I was only 4 years old back then.Then again if I was old enough to enjoy it they were just new cars back then so it probably would have been just another bunch of race cars.

[69_500]

Don't feel so bad in 1969 I was -9.

[Aero426]

How many races did the Cyclone Spoilers actually win? I see numbers for Daytona's, Superbird's, and the Talladega's all over the place, but the Spoiler II's seem to be like the 500's. Not listed. I know that the 500's won something like 14 races in 69.

It all depends on how you cook the numbers.  Spoiler II's were only entered in long track races, with the expection of Martinsville, the Wood Brothers home track.   At that time, the majority of the schedule was short track events.   Only 19 of 49 races were held on tracks of a mile or longer. 

If we talk about tracks of a mile or longer where aero comes into play...
1969:
Talladega  12 wins
Spoiler II  4 wins 
Daytona  2 wins   (of 4 races entered, one of them the Talladega boycotted race)
Charger 500 1 win
69 Torino (std nose) 1 win (Riverside)

If you look at the total 1969 season all events including the multitude of short tracks:
Talladega  24 wins
Charger 500  21 wins
Spoiler II  4 wins (all long tracks)
Daytona  2 wins
68 Plymouth  2 wins
69 Torino  1 win


1970 tracks one mile or longer:
Superbird   8 wins
Spoiler II  4 wins
Daytona  4 wins
Talladega  3 wins
70 Torino  1 win (Riverside)

My source was quickly flipping through the Greg Fielden 40 Years of Stock Car Racing
book this morning, so I haven't double checked this.  But it's close.

[65post]

I think the way it goes is if we were old enough back then we would now be driving around in modified 32 ford coupes and 57 chevys.Not that that would be all bad but I am glad I was born in the Muscle Car era to appreciate them later on in life.

[Aero426]

Interesting picture Doug...  I did do some checking on that race.  The picture was taken at the 1969 National 500 held at Charlotte, NC.  Donnie Allison's Banjo Matthews Ford (#27, started 3rd) did win that race, but there were only three other cars on the lead lap.  Guess which model those were  --   Dodge Daytonas of course (Allison, Baker & Glotzbach in that order).  Only one other car was within 10 laps of the leaders, and that was David Peason's Ford (2 laps down at the finish).

That was definitely Donnie Allison's day, and it was the first "real" race for the Daytona, after the debacle in Talladega a few weeks prior.  Best I can tell, the Daytona only raced in four races in '69...  Talladega (won by Brickhouse in a Daytona, if you count that one), Charlotte (won by D. Allison in a Ford), Rockingham (won by L. Yarbrough in a Ford) and Texas (won by Isaac).

Doug, didn't you give me some paperwork where the Ford Racing exec's ordered their race teams to run aggressive gear ratios in order to compensate for what they were giving up in aero to the Dodges?  I know I have that letter up at the office, but I thought you were the one who had given it to me.

Regarding the Charlotte race, the Daytonas still had tire trouble, which really is what kept them from winning.  The tire compounds had not caught up to the capabilities of the car.   Daytonas led a good portion of the race, but Allison in the Talladega led the most laps by a huge margin.   In 2005, when I asked Donnie Allison about racing against the wing cars, he told me he didn't feel the Fords were giving away anything.

I don't have the paperwork here either, but yes, I sounds like the stuff I passed on to you.   In general,  the Spoiler II was an extremely slick car.   Neither of the Fords had the adjustability of the wing cars in terms of rear downforce.   My feeling is that a driver like Earnhardt Sr. who liked a car that ran a little loose would have done very well in a Spoiler II. 

Overall, the wing car is the better aero package.  That did not stop the Fords from competing at a high level even with a reduced budget in 1970. 

[Ghoste]

And even though the Ford budget may have been reduced in 1970, prior to that it was huge.  They took that Total Performance slogan pretty seriously for a while and their engine development certainly made them a very very worthy competitor for Chrysler.  Not to mention that NASCAR was doing their best to cripple the Hemi with things like single four barrels when Ford got to run two (not all years and engines but some).

[65post]

Here are a few more pics of the ford - mercury cars.If ford offered these cars in the more popular grabber colors and put the boss 429 in them they would be bringing more $$$ today.

[65post]

Another in need of a little TLC.

[69_500]

That last photo of the Spoiler II doesn't look like it would be that bad of a car. There is one about 30 miles from me sitting outside next to a gentlemans barn. He only talked to me about the car the day I drove over in the 500. He was very friendly. And of course said he intended to restore it some day.

[Aero426]

And even though the Ford budget may have been reduced in 1970, prior to that it was huge.  They took that Total Performance slogan pretty seriously for a while and their engine development certainly made them a very very worthy competitor for Chrysler.  Not to mention that NASCAR was doing their best to cripple the Hemi with things like single four barrels when Ford got to run two (not all years and negines but some).

In '68 both Chrysler and Ford ran dual carbs with 404 CI Hemis and 396 Tunnelports.   When did Ford get to run two carbs and Chrysler one?   NASCAR (Bill France) did not like ANY of the exotic engines. 

Fords budget was pretty big, about 4 million per year for the stock car program in the aero era.  What it was cut to in '70 I'm not sure, but when Knudsen was fired and Iacocca was put in his place, it was not a good thing.   In 1967, the GT40 Lemans budget was 10 million alone.  And that was for only three races,  Daytona, Sebring and Lemans.    One thing that is not known, is exactly the neighborhood of Chrysler's race budget.

When you talk about the Total Performance slogan, they really did walk the walk.  Like them or not, nobody compared to Ford in terms of the corporate commitment they made to the different programs they raced and won in:  Drag, Trans-Am, Stock, Indy.    Chrysler certainly had it in stock cars and drags, but their T/A and Indy efforts were not with the same level of commitment.

[wetfeetmi]

That car is beautiful!  My wife is a semi mopar fan and thinks wing cars are terrible looking monstrosities. Beauty is in the eye. How can you say that Merc is ugly being a major aero car fan?

[BigBlockSam]

 

How can you say that Merc is ugly being a major aero car fan? 

[daytonalo]

A Bradley gt is an aero car as well ! They also are butt ugly !!!!!!!!!!