Bonneville – Pulpaddict

’57 FORD SUPERCHARGED FAIRLANE

Ford offered multiple high-performance 312-inch engines in 1957, but the ’57 FORD SUPERCHARGED FAIRLANE was the prelude to Dearborn’s Total Performance marketing.

’57 FORD SUPERCHARGED FAIRLANE

In 1957, Ford offered high-output engines in its passenger cars, as well as in the T-Bird. You could order the hottest dual-quad and supercharged 312-inch engines with three-speed manual (with or without Overdrive) or Ford-O-Matic transmissions in any model, base two-door sedan and station wagon to T-Bird! The lineup consisted of a single-four-barrel 312/245, dual-quad 312/270, and a Paxton-McCulloch supercharged 312/300. Law enforcement agencies favored “Police Interceptor” two-door sedans with E-Code 270-horsepower engines. A 300-horsepower F-Code T-Bird could accelerate to 60 mph in the six-second range with a top speed of 125 mph.

McCulloch VR 57 superchargers on 300-horsepower Y-Blocks, like the ’57 FORD SUPERCHARGED FAIRLANE, were manufactured and marketed by Paxton Products, which was acquired in 1958 by Andy and Joe Granatelli. Since the early Flathead days, the Granatelli Brothers had been active in Ford hot rodding with Grancor high-compression heads and multi-carb intake manifolds. The VR 57 centrifugal blower with variable drive ratio delivered a maximum of five-psi boost and was a very pricy $500 option.

The ’57 FORD SUPERCHARGED FAIRLANE was Ford’s answer to Chevrolet’s fuel-injection, optional in 283-horsepower 1957 passenger cars (and Corvettes). Chevrolet was racking up wins in NASCAR and USAC until Ford counted with supercharged 312 engines with six-plus pounds boost and horsepower ratings in excess of 340. Prior to 1957 when NASCAR’s Bill France banned supercharging, multiple carburetion, and fuel-injection, Ford’s racing accomplishments were spectacular, with 27 Grand National wins plus 12 USAC firsts. Top Ford drivers included Tim Flock, Fireball Roberts, Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly, and Glen Wood.

In addition to drag and stock car racing, Ford’s participation in competitive events in 1957 was broad-based and countrywide. It was not unusual to see a ’57 FORD SUPERCHARGED FAIRLANE running at local drag strips from coast to coast. DePaolo Engineering, Ford’s captive race shop, prepped sedans and T-Birds raced at Bonneville, set Flying and Standing-Mile records on the sand at Daytona Beach, and built the Ford that averaged 117 mph for 22 days in the Stephen Trophy Trials at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Ford was aware that, while winning races unquestionably helps sell cars, setting durability/reliability records would give dealers even more to brag about. In 1956, Ford signed off on a program to build “stock” ’57 Fords to run at Bonneville for USAC and FIA National and International records. The mission: To prove how durable Ford’s high-performance cars were.

Pete DePaolo built two Fairlane 500s powered by blueprinted stock-spec 270-horsepower dual-four-barrel engines and, with racer Danny Eames, managed the program. After a few weeks on the Salt in September 1956, ’57 Ford Fairlane 500s, driven by Johnny Mantz, Chuck Stevenson, and Jerry Unser Jr., averaged 130.94 mph for 100 hours, 120.62 mph for 24 hours, 109.39 mph for 14 days, and 108.16 mph for 50,000 miles! On September 28, 1956, USAC and FIA officials certified that Fairlanes set an incredible 458 records! One car set an International Class B Speed record at 106.55 mph over 14 days and 35,800.30 miles, the other set a National Class B Speed record at 107.09 mph over 20 days and 51,403.99 miles, and six American Class B Closed Car Standing-Start Speed records.

Ford celebrated by having its advertising agency, J. Walter Thompson, create a three-page advertorial hyping the record-setting event, The Longest Left Turn In History. It was placed in a variety of mass audience publications, including the October 29, 1956 issue of LIFE MAGAZINE.

For more information on the ’57 FORD SUPERCHARGED FAIRLANE, and the full range of models and options, please visit Over-Drive magazine @ https://over-drive-magazine.com/2025/06/01/1957-ford-cars-fact-sheet/

CHRYSLER 300: LETTER SERIES SUPERCARS

Chrysler jumped on the performance bandwagon in 1955 with its 300-horsepower C-300, kicking off nine years of CHRYSLER 300: LETTER SERIES SUPERCARS.

Chrysler’s letter-series entry in the 1955 horsepower wars, weighing in at more than 4,500 pounds, could accelerate to 60 mph in the 9s and top out at 130 mph. In NASCAR competition, Kiekhaefer’s legendary Chrysler C-300s were the cars to beat. Chrysler’s Hemi, one of the most successful engines in American racing history, was unstoppable on super speedways and drag strips in the 1960s-1970s and later.

While CHRYSLER 300: LETTER SERIES SUPERCARS were heavy luxury cars, they offered true Supercar/Musclecar performance. A 331-cubic-inch Hemi with two four-barrel carburetors, solid lifter camshaft and valve train, beefed suspension and dual low-restriction exhaust system powered the ‘55 C-300. A stock C-300 could go to 60 mph from a standing start in under-ten-seconds flat and cover the quarter-mile in the mid-17s at over 80 mph. A prepared C-300 clocked almost 128 mph in Flying Mile competition in 1955 and won the prestigious Tom McCahill trophy in the NASCAR Unlimited Class!In 1956 Chrysler upped its game and the 300B was available with 340 or 355 horsepower, 354-cubic-inch Hemis. Fitted with the optional 355 horsepower engine, a 300B ran almost 140 mph in the Flying Mile. It was the first American car to deliver one-horsepower-per-cubic-inch (low-volume 355 horsepower option), a year before Chevrolet’s fuel-injected 283-cubic-inch, 283 horsepower engine. Ralph Gorenstein’s rare ’56 Chrysler 300B powered by dual-quad Hemi, below, two photos, is one of only 20 built with three-speed stick!

Chrysler continued its lead position in the performance car marketplace in 1957 with the restyled 300C, powered by a stock 375 horsepower 392-cubic-inch Hemi or optional 390 horsepower version. Performance was blistering for the time, with enthusiast magazines reporting 0 to 60 mph times in the high-eights and quarter-mile times of low-seventeens at over 90 mph. Running on the old Daytona Beach sand course, a Chrysler 300C won its class with an impressive 138.9-mph pass.

In 1958 the 300D received the last version of the dual-quad 392-inch Hemi, rated at 380 horsepower. A small number of fuel-injected 390 horsepower, 392-inch Hemi 300Ds were built, but the system proved to be unreliable and was quickly discontinued. A 300D, piloted by Norm Thatcher, ran over 156 mph at Bonneville to set the Class E record.

Starting in 1959, CHRYSLER 300: LETTER SERIES SUPERCARS received new 413-cubic-inch Wedge engines, first with inline dual quads and later with long (30-inch) and short (15-inch) cross-ram dual-quad induction systems. In 1960 the 300F came with a stock 375-horsepower engine; approximately 15 optional 400 horsepower models with 15-inch short ram manifolds were produced. The short ram cars were fitted with exotic Pont-a-Mousson four speeds built in France originally for Chrysler powered Facel Vegas.By 1961 most American carmakers were involved in building performance cars and racing. The Chrysler 300G was once again restyled and still available with long and short ram 413-cubic-inch Wedge engines rated at 375 and 400 horsepower respectively. While the four-speed was no longer available, you could order a three-speed manual racing transmission – if you were well connected. Only a few of these Option Code 381, three-speed 300Gs were built for competition and first surfaced at the 1961 Daytona Flying Mile Trials. In articles and advertising, Letter series Chryslers were often referred to as “Banker’s Hot Rod” and “Gentleman’s Express.”The idea of a car that was designed around, built – and marketed as a true performance car was initiated in 1955, during the “Horsepower Wars” – by Chrysler Corporation with the first Chrysler 300. Chrysler marketed the 300 as a purely performance/luxury car for nine model years, culminating with the ’63 300 convertible Indy 500 Pace Car. It was a 300 model, not J, fitted with a 413-inch, 390 horsepower engine and 300J coupe wheels and tires. Chrysler skipped a “letter” for 1963, going from the 1962 300H to the 1963 300J. All 400 production 300Js were coupes; Indy Pace Car special-build convertible was a one-off.

A 390-horsepower short cross ram engine was available in 300J coupes that could sprint to 60 mph in the low-mid 8s and cover the quarter-mile in the high 15s at just under 90 mph. However, that engine was not available in replica Indy 500 Pacesetter coupes and convertibles which were fitted with lower-horsepower single four-barrel engines.

CHRYSLER 300: LETTER SERIES SUPERCARS were designed and marketed to grasp the buyer who wanted power, performance, luxury and handling that few others could touch.

’59 Chrysler 300 factory promo postcard courtesy of Sarasota Café Racer Ralph “Red” Hynch, a former member of So-Cal’s legendary Kagel Canyon Gang.

Check out the 1955 to 1963 CHRYSLER 300: LETTER SERIES SUPERCARS details and sales brochures @ Over-Drive magazine, https://over-drive-magazine.com/category/fact-sheets/fs-chrysler/

‘57 FORD Y-BLOCK SUPERCHARGED MUSCLECAR

Ford offered OHV V-8s, dual quads & superchargers; yet it was the worst of times: the AMA racing ban. The ‘57 FORD Y-BLOCK SUPERCHARGED MUSCLECAR, however, represents the prelude to TOTAL PERFORMANCE.

The 1950s ushered in an era of aggressive competition, both on the street and racetracks. Ford, Chrysler and General Motors did whatever it took to lure buyers into showrooms. Detroit’s competitive spirit during the mid-to-late-1950s set the stage for some of the most exciting years in automotive performance history. Ford’s weapon of choice – an all-new, short-stroke, overhead-valve Y-Block V-8, first released in 1952 for Lincoln and then in 1954 by Ford and Mercury. By 1957, Fords could be ordered with optional dual-quad and supercharged 312-cubic-inch Y-Block engines.

The overhead-valve V-8 was introduced in popular-priced ’54 Fords a full model year before Chevrolet revealed its vaunted small-block V-8. The 239-cubic-inch Y-Block was rated at 130 horsepower. The mid-priced Mercury received a 161-horsepower, 256-inch version. Weighing 610-630 pounds including accessories, Ford’s Y-Blocks represented a new generation of lighter, modern V-8 engines. The Y-Block designation came from its deeply skirted block, giving it a “Y” profile.

It was the 160-horsepower, 317-cubic-inch Lincoln V-8 that gave Ford its first OHV engine bragging rights. Lincolns prepared by Bill Stroppe & Associates, Signal Hill, CA, were winners of the grueling road race across Mexico, the Carrera Panamericana. First run in 1950, the race crowned a single winner. It was then expanded in 1952 to multiple classes: Sports Cars and Stock Cars with large and small-displacement engines. The nine-stage, six-day race over approximately 2,100 miles lasted just five years and was cancelled in 1955 for safety reasons. In the mid-early 1950s, Mexican road race Lincolns dominated the field.

Working with DePaolo Engineering in 1956 and 1957, Ford fielded dozens of blueprinted-stock as well as heavily-modified new Fords and T-Birds for Standing and Flying-Mile competition at the Pure Oil Trials and Speed Weeks on the old Daytona Beach course. In 1957 alone, 15 supercharged T-Birds (part of a 100-car NASCAR homologation program) “ran on the sand” during Speed Week.Between 1955 and 1957, Ford OHV V-8 displacement grew from 239 and 256 cubic inches in 1954, to 272 and 292 cubic inches in 1955. Ford increased displacement to 312 cubic inches in 1956. In 1956, Ford offered a dual-quad 225-horsepower engine and a dealer-installed M-260 Performance Kit consisting of a hotter camshaft, new cylinder heads and dual four-barrel carbs, upping horsepower to 260. Large displacement 368-inch Y-Block engines were available for Lincoln in 1956 and in 1957 for Mercury.In 1957, Ford offered high-output engines in passenger cars as well as T-Birds. You could order the hottest dual-quad and supercharged 312-inch engines with three-speed manual (with or without Overdrive) or Ford-O-Matic transmissions in any model, base two-door sedan and station wagon to T-Bird! The lineup consisted of a single-four-barrel 312/245, dual-quad 312/270 and a Paxton-McCulloch supercharged 312/300, the ‘57 FORD Y-BLOCK SUPERCHARGED MUSCLECAR. Law enforcement agencies favored “Police Interceptor” two-door sedans, above, with E-Code 270-horsepower engines. A 300-horsepower F-Code T-Bird could accelerate to 60 mph in the six-second range with a top speed of 125 mph.

McCulloch VR 57 superchargers on 300-horsepower Y-Blocks were manufactured and marketed by Paxton Products, which was acquired in 1958 by Andy and Joe Granatelli. Since the early Flathead days, the Granatelli Brothers had been active in Ford hot rodding with Grancor high-compression heads and multi-carb intake manifolds. The VR 57 centrifugal blower with variable drive ratio delivered a maximum of five-psi boost and was a very pricy $500 option on the ‘57 FORD Y-BLOCK SUPERCHARGED MUSCLECAR.Supercharging was Ford’s answer to Chevrolet’s fuel-injection, optional in 283-horsepower 1957 passenger cars and Corvettes. Chevrolet was racking up wins in NASCAR and USAC until Ford counted with supercharged 312 engines with six-plus-pounds boost and horsepower ratings in excess of 340. Prior to 1957 when NASCAR’s Bill France banned supercharging, multiple carburetion and fuel-injection, Ford’s racing accomplishments were spectacular, with 27 Grand National wins plus 12 USAC firsts. Top Ford drivers included Tim Flock, Fireball Roberts, Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly and Glen Wood.

In addition to drag and stock car racing, Ford’s participation in competitive events in 1957 was broad-based and countrywide. DePaolo Engineering, Ford’s captive race shop, prepped sedans and T-Birds raced at Bonneville, set Flying and Standing-Mile records on the sand at Daytona Beach and built the Ford that averaged 117 mph for 22 days in the Stephen Trophy Trials at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.Ford was aware that, while winning races unquestionably helps sell cars, setting durability/reliability records would give dealers even more to brag about. In 1956, Ford signed off on a program to build “stock” ’57 Fords to run at Bonneville for USAC and FIA National and International records. The mission: To prove how durable Ford’s high-performance cars were.Pete DePaolo, above, built two Fairlane 500s powered by blueprinted stock-spec 270-horsepower dual-four-barrel engines and, with racer Danny Eames, managed the program. After a few weeks on the Salt in September 1956, ’57 Ford Fairlane 500s, driven by Johnny Mantz, Chuck Stevenson and Jerry Unser Jr., averaged 130.94 mph for 100 hours, 120.62 mph for 24 hours, 109.39 mph for 14 days and 108.16 mph for 50,000 miles!

On September 28, 1956, USAC and FIA officials certified that Fairlanes set an incredible 458 records! One car set an International Class B Speed record at106.55 mph over 14 days and 35,800.30 miles, the other set a National Class B Speed record at 107.09 mph over 20 days and 51,403.99 miles, and six American Class B Closed Car Standing-Start Speed records.

In 1957 the AMA in banned direct factory participation in organized racing and motorsports, encouraging carmakers to play down performance and racing and play up safety in advertising and marketing. All members initially observed the ban, but it turned out to be a short-lived victory for the trade association. Not long after agreeing to the ban and closing their front doors to racers and racing, carmakers’ back doors started opening up!Ford divested itself of racecars as well as the contents of DePaolo Engineering. DePaolo was not interested in continuing without a Ford contract. John Holman and Ralph Moody purchased the inventory, including the legendary Lincoln-powered Battlebirds. It was the end of one era and start of a new one, leading to Ford’s first “Showroom Supercar” in 1961! By 1963, Ford’s “marketing mantra” had become, TOTAL PERFORMANCE.

For more information about the ‘57 FORD Y-BLOCK SUPERCHARGED MUSCLECAR, and the complete 1957 Ford lineup, please visit OVER-DRIVE magazine @ https://over-drive-magazine.com/2025/06/01/1957-ford-cars-fact-sheet/

OUTLAW: PORSCHE DOUBLE AA SPORTS 911

With its wide-body RSR attitude, seriously upgraded suspension and supercharged 3.6 engine, Archie Urciuoli’s OUTLAW: PORSCHE DOUBLE AA SPORTS 911 rules the road!

Retired sports car racer Archie Urciuoli’s last four competition cars – Ford Mark IV, Mark I GT40, Porsche 956 and Lola T70 Spyder – represented some of the sports’ most iconic and fastest examples of purpose-built racecars. He competed (and finished) in the Le Mans Classic in the GT40 and ran 200 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in his big-block Mark IV. Now that he’s now longer racing, his favorite road car, also purpose-built, is this Outlaw-style 911 that looks and performs like a racecar!

A member of the exclusive Road Racing Drivers Club (RRDC) and a recipient of its Bob Akin Memorial Award, Urciuoli’s racing resume dates back to the 1950s when he competed on the New England SCCA circuit in popular British sports cars. He worked his way up to an exotic D-Type Jaguar, then competed in open-wheel Formula Atlantic, Can-Am and Daytona Prototype competition before moving up to a GT40. In 2005, he won the Historic GTP Series Championship in his Porsche 956.

Custom built for Urciuoli by racer and racecar builder Jim Newton and his crew at Automobile Associates of Canton, CT (AAOC), this one-of-one featherweight road rocket was crafted in the Colin Chapman tradition of adding lightness! The donor car, an ’88 Carrera 3.2 weighed in at 2,866 pounds and powered by a naturally-aspirated 3.2 liter Flat Six rated at 217 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque. After AAOC worked its magic, the Double AA Sports Porsche tipped the scales at 2,300 pounds, and its supercharged 3.6 engine from a 964 Porsche dynoed at 380 horsepower and generated a whopping 350 pound-feet of torque.

Boosted by a positive-displacement Eaton supercharger producing six pounds boost and backed up by a Porsche G-50 five-speed and limited-slip differential pirated from a 964 Porsche, Newton estimates that 0-60 mph sprints should take 3.4 seconds and top speed max out at 170 mph. Unlike modern Porsches, it’s not fitted (and controlled by) computers. It’s an “analog” car with disc brakes from a 928 Porsche. “At six horsepower per pound, acceleration is phenomenal. A 3,600-pound 911 would need 600 horsepower to equal it,” says Urciuoli!

While he wanted his Outlaw 911 to be purely focused on performance, handling and flawless build quality, he was also going for a unique look that would set it apart of other 911s of that generation. He also wanted creature comforts like great seats – custom Recaro buckets upholstery in Ferrari red leather – air-conditioning and a sunroof. A firm believer in using OE Porsche parts whenever possible, Newton utilized factory suspension components, Porsche KW adjustable shocks and updated the torsion bars to 911 (930) Turbo specifications. Custom aftermarket anti-roll bars were the exception.

What makes Archie Urciuoli’s silver metallic Outlaw 911 stand out in a parking lot of Porsches is its steel Porsche RSR widebody treatment including custom RSR bumpers, accented by VW Salsa Red striping and accents. His last racecar, a dark blue Lola T70 Spyder powered by a Weber-carbureted Corvette engine, prominently featured Salsa Red stripes. There are also the Salsa Red 17×9 front and 17×11 Fuchs alloy wheels fitted with sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.

A serious racer needs a serious road car when he retires from the sport; that’s exactly what Jim Newton delivered. For proof-of-concept after competition in 2019, Newton put it through its paces at a major vintage racing event at Lime Rock. As far as its builder and owner were concerned, it exceeded expectations on the road and race track!

Photos: Howard Mintz & Martyn Schorr

For more information about AAOC, builder of Archie Urciuoli’s OUTLAW: PORSCHE DOUBLE AA SPORTS 911, and its road and racing services, please visit https://automobileassociates.com/

PROTOTYPE ENGINES: OLDSMOBILE ‘ROCKET’ SCIENCE!

These lightweight multi-carb, four-cam and even Hemi engines were being developed for future production engine research and, in some cases racing projects.

Between 1969 and 1970, Oldsmobile Engineering was responsible for creating powerful ultra-efficient 350 to 455 cubic-inch V-8 engines rated up to 700 horsepower! Some were naturally aspirated and fitted with single Quadrajet four-barrel or Weber carburetors; others were fuel-injected and turbocharged. Most had aluminum blocks and heads. It was hard to imagine that these engines were anything other than veiled attempts at building pure racing engines, but they actually were. Oldsmobile engineering used these engines as prototypes for developing lighter, more fuel-efficient and “cleaner” production engines.

Olds engineers were responsible for the radical OW-43, above, a racing-only, four-cam 455 tested with four Weber carburetors and fuel injection with three-inch ram stacks. The OW-43 was developed at the same time Chevrolet Engineering was working on the ZL1 for Corvette and Camaro applications and Can-Am racing. The OW-43 was tested in a Can-Am racecar, but never used in competition.

Based on the same bore-stroke configuration of a production 455, the OW-43 had heads and block with steel cylinder liners cast from Reynolds 356-T-6 heat-treated aluminum. With a redline of just under 8,500 rpm, it produced 600 horsepower at 6,000 rpm with Webers and 700 horsepower at 6,800 rpm with Lucas direct-port fuel-injection. The DOHC prototype had Forged-True 12.20-to-1 pistons, Carillo billet steel rods and a forged steel crank. It weighed 50 pounds less than a production cast-iron 455.

The mildest of the group was an all-aluminum 350 small-block, displacing 389 cubic inches and utilizing dual-throat Weber 48IDA carburetors, above, right. The alloy 389-inch engine ended up in a Cutlass that was driven to the C/Production record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1968. A friend and editor at Hot Rod, Lee Kelley, drove a factory-supplied Cutlass 169.133 mph to set the record. Apparently during impound, SCTA officials never detected that the engine was an all-aluminum prototype.The engine in Lee Kelley’s record-setter was a one-off, rated at close to 500 horsepower and built in Lansing by Dave Maurer, a special projects engineer. At Bonneville, the Cutlass was crewed by Maurer along with racing legends, Ak Miller, Jack Lufkin and Ed Iskenderian.

One of the most interesting engines was the 455-inch W-43 Hemi. There were cast-iron and aluminum iterations with four-valve, Hemi-chamber heads. The W-43 engine was designed to be easily converted to chain or gear-driven overhead camshafts. Fitted with a single Quadrajet, it produced in excess of 500 horsepower at 6,500 rpm. The aluminum version weighed 75 pounds less than the then current production 455 engine. This engine found its way into Mule cars tested at the Milford Proving Ground.

Oldsmobile engines displacing 389 to 455 cubic inches had powered Can-Am Series cars, like Bob McKee-built Cro-Sal racers in 1967. The highest output Can-Am Olds was an all-aluminum, single-cam 455 with injection and twin turbochargers. It generated 659 horsepower at 6,250 rpm and 554 pound-feet of torque at 6,200 rpm.

This story is from DAY ONE, An Automotive Journalist’s Muscle-Car Memoir, covering domestic 1962-1974 high-performance vehicles, https://www.amazon.com/Day-One-Automotive-Journalists-Muscle-Car/dp/0760352364/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493561421&sr=1-1&keywords=Day+One+by+Martyn+L.+Schorr

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