A.J. Foyt – Pulpaddict

All new styling and engine options up to and including the 429 SCJ turn the Fairlane into the ’70 FORD TORINO COBRA, a maximum muscle Supercar.

The new year ushered in bigger, more powerful engines, new specialty Supercars, and a plethora of Ponycars. But the future of the performance car phenomenon was not bright. In many ways, 1970 was the storm before the calm. The war in Southeast Asia continued, casting a pall over a much-divided country and thinning the ranks of young enthusiasts. Carmakers’ racing budgets were being drastically cut and engineering resources reassigned to prepare for restrictive emissions and safety legislation. And Ponycar sales had been plummeting and would register new lows at the end of the year.

The big news in Dearborn was a new SportsRoof ’70 FORD TORINO COBRA with matte black hood, shaker scoop, and standard 429/360 Cobra V-8. It had a 1.9-inch wider tread, 1.2-inch lower roofline, and a radical 57.5-degree windshield slope angle. Options included a Super Cobra Jet 429/370 with Drag Pack, oil cooler, and 780-cfm Holley carb. Some cars carried a 375-horsepower rating.

We drove a prepared ’70 FORD TORINO COBRA, and covered it in the SUPERCARS ’70 ½ issue. It had a 429 Super Cobra Jet engine, four-speed and 4.30 Detroit Locker, and, with a 117-inch wheelbase, was considerably larger than GM’s midsize coupes. We saw some 13.30s with trap speeds in the 103-106 mph area.

Stock car racing represented a huge investment, but, unlike investments in prototype sports racing at Le Mans and racing at the Indy 500, it was an investment that actually paid off in sales. Dealers sold on Monday what were full-size and then mid-size consumer versions of Fords and Mercurys that won on super speedways on Sunday.

By cutting budgets, NASCAR teams could not field as many cars. Without sponsorship money, many racers competed only in important events with large purses. Many of the winning Fords and Mercs were leftover 1969 models, including Cale Yarborough Mercury (Daytona 125, Motor State 400, Rockingham 500), James Hylton Ford (Richmond 500), David Pearson Ford (Darlington 400), Donnie Allison Ford (Charlotte 600, Daytona 400), and LeeRoy Yarbrough Mercury (Charlotte 500).

In the opening race of the 1970 season, A.J. Foyt took the Riverside 500 in a Jack Bowsher ’70 Ford. The only other win for a ’70 Ford was at the Southeastern 500 at Bristol. Donnie Allison won the race in a Banjo Matthews Boss 429 Talladega.

For more information about the ’70 FORD TORINO COBRA and the complete 1970 Ford midsize model lineup, please visit OVER-DRIVE magazine @ https://over-drive-magazine.com/2023/02/05/1970-ford-fairlane-torino-fact-sheet/

Chopped and sectioned, HOLMAN MOODY CHALLENGER III started out as a ’62 Falcon Futura styling study, matured into a lightweight 145-mph racecar.

John Holman and Ralph Moody’s stock car factory in North Carolina turned three Falcon Futura econocars into road racing screamers and the third, featured here, was the most radical, most potent of the series. They had high hopes of building a limited run of Challenger III Falcons and marketing them through Ford dealers. Unfortunately, that did not happen.

Like Colin Chapman, they believed in “adding lightness” which accounts for Challenger III’s aluminum doors, and hood and trunk panels. The icing on the cake is its aluminum fastback roof, fabricated by HM’s Lujie Lesovsky, best known for the 1967 Coyote that was driven by A.J. Foyt to an Indy 500 win. Window glass was replaced with flush mounted Plexiglass. Ready to race, the Challenger III weighed in at 2,200 pounds and had a top speed of 145 mph. Under the alloy hood rests a blueprinted 289 small-block rated at 300 horsepower and bolted to an aluminum-cased B-W T-10 four-speed.John Holman, right, and Ralph Moody with one of the Challengers in 1962

My pal and serial blogger, Jim Donnelly, writes about Challenger III, brought back to life for noted collector and historian – Howard Kroplick – by the artisans at Rob Ida Concepts. His feature can be found at https://jimdonnellyonwheels.com/2022/04/10/a-ford-rarity-for-the-race-track/

For more information about the four-wheeled art created by Rob Ida and his team at Rob Ida Concepts, please visit https://robidaconcepts.com/