Ford Thunderbolt – Pulpaddict

Before there was a ’64 Super/Stock 427 Thunderbolt, there was ZIMMY-1, the ’63 A/FX 427 FAIRLANE (THUNDERBOLT) PROTOTYPE.

Most Ford fans were really confused when Tasca Ford’s Bill Lawton first staged the Ming Green A/FX ’63 Fairlane coupe at the 1963 NHRA Nationals. They were used to seeing ’63 Fairlanes running in D/Stock, like Li’L Lord Fotus, the Fairlane Milo Coleman drove for the class win at 99.88 mph/ 13.75 seconds. What was a stock-looking Fairlane doing in A/FX? After Lawton made a 12.21-second/118.42 mph pass during Time Trials, it was obvious that ZIMMY-1 was not just a just a modified stocker. Driven by Bill Lawton, ZIMMY-1 fell prey to Don Kimball’s ’63 Z11 Chevy during Eliminations, below. Before shipping the car back to Ford, Lawton did manage to set the NHRA A/FX National Record at 121.29 mph at the Division One Points Meet at Connecticut Dragway,

ZIMMY-1 was powered by a blueprinted 427 big-block, which, at the time, was only available in ’63½ Galaxies.

This unique 427 FAIRLANE (THUNDERBOLT) PROTOTYPE was the result of a joint venture between Ford Engineering (Dan Jones), Ford Special Vehicles (Charlie Gray), Ford Engine & Foundry (Bill Gay), Dearborn Steel Tubing (Andy Hotten) and Tasca Ford (Bob Tasca). The car was named after Frank Zimmerman, Ford Sales Manager who also headed up the Special Vehicles Group, ZIMMY-1 was Ford’s “mule” or prototype for the ’64 Fairlane 427 Thunderbolt.

While covering the NHRA Indy Nationals for CUSTOM RODDER and later at Tasca Ford in East Providence, RI, I spent a lot of time with ZIMMY-1 and driver, Bill Lawton. Over its short lifetime it was powered by three different big-blocks – 406 and two 427s – and fitted with a variety of fiberglass hoods. While at DST, ZIMMY-1 was built with fiberglass front fenders, hood and deck lid and aluminum inner fender panels and bumpers. Ready to race weight was 3,320 pounds.

After being sorted out, it was raced at the Nationals with a 427 High-Riser with Ram-Air induction built by Ford Engineering. They used the latest 427 NASCAR short block which utilized a steel crank, 12.7-to-1 forged pistons and machined and polished heads with 2.197-inch intake and 1.735-inch exhaust valves. A bustle with special baffles was added to the base of the engine’s stock oil pan to increase capacity to ten quarts. They topped off the engine with Holley dual-quads.

Ford engineers crafted tubular steel headers for the 427. Each tube measured 31 inches long and snaked around steering and suspension obstacles, dumping into 14-inch collectors fitted with an equalizer tube. Chassis-to-engine mounts were fabricated from 1/8-inch steel stock and topped with stock 427 rubber pads. As with 427 Galaxie Lightweights, the Fairlane’s engine was bolted to a Hurst-shifted Ford four-speed (2.36 First gear). To aid clutch cooling during repeated runs, the scattershield’s mounting bolts were shimmed for ¼-inch spacing. An HD 427 Galaxie driveshaft, shortened to 54 inches, hooks the powertrain up to a big Ford rear with 31-spline axles and a Detroit Locker with 4.44 gears.

When transplanting a 500-horsepower engine into an under-3, 300-pound car engineered for 271 horsepower, much attention has to be paid to the chassis and suspension. To effectively and safely transfer weight at launch, the chassis was “loaded” using a special (left) front coil spring and shock assembly and two-leaf (right) rear spring. The stock right front spring and shock and left rear three-leaf spring and shock were retained.

Increasing horsepower is relatively easy compared with getting power to the pavement. Completing the chassis “loading” was the fabrication of a pair of boxed steel traction bars, similar in design to the ones used on 427 Galaxie Lightweights and later on Thunderbolts. The traction bars measure 31 inches long and run from the axle housing forward to chassis mounting points which added structural rigidity and aided in weight transfer. A trunk-mounted 95-pound battery sits over the right rear wheel.

ZIMMY-1, the 427 FAIRLANE (THUNDERBOLT) PROTOTYPE was a work-in-progress while at Tasca Ford. Many small changes initiated by Bob Tasca, John Healey and Bill Lawton were incorporated into the final engineering of the ’64 Thunderbolt. They experimented with a variety of fresh air induction packages, the best being a sealed-air box with eight-inch diameter hoses ducting through grille inlets.

In 1964 ZIMMY-1 provided the blueprint for the creation of the limited-production Super/Stock 427 Thunderbolt. Totally illegal for the street (even though sold by Ford to a “straw” buyer and registered in Michigan), the 427 FAIRLANE (THUNDERBOLT) PROTOTYPE most likely went directly to the crusher after being returned to Dearborn. Its legacy lives on in surviving Thunderbolts.

Check REVan Evan’s video of Ray Paquet’s real 1964 Thunderbolt that runs 8s at 150-plus mph @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7_kZyMoagk

Longtime friend Bill Kolb is probably best remembered in the enthusiast community as the 1960s poster boy for Ford’s Total Performance and Win On Sunday; Sell On Monday marketing concepts. His close friends often called him, “Mr. Monday! We bonded after I did a story on him and his Lightweight 427 Galaxie in 1963 and we’ve been friends since. Remembering Bill Kolb, Jr., 1941-2021.

Bill Kolb, Jr. passed away quietly at home in Carefree, AZ, on Friday, December 3, 2021, comforted by his wife, Maryann and family. Bill was 80 years old and spent his entire adult life in the automotive retail business, and building, racing and marketing specialty cars. He was the dealer-principal at White Plains Ford, (White Plains, NY), Bill Kolb, Jr. Ford, (Blauvelt, NY); he and Maryann were dealer principals at Bill Kolb, Jr. Subaru (Orangeburg, NY).

In 1963 he campaigned a factory 427 Lightweight Galaxie; in 1964 a 427 Fairlane Thunderbolt Super/Stock in the Northeast states, both sponsored by Larsen Ford in White Plains, NY where he was employed as High-Performance Sales Director. His next venture was more entertainment than Eliminator!

Enter the Little Yellow Wagon, a raucous 427-powered “billboard” capable of running the entire quarter-mile on its rear wheels. It actually proved to be a more effective sales tool than previous Super/Stock racecars. Kolb and his ’65 Ford Econoline pickup joined the ranks of wheel-standing exhibitionists, headed by Bill “Maverick” Golden who, driving his Dodge Little Red Wagon, pioneered the genre. The Little Yellow Wagon was powered by a Hilborn-injected 427 side-oiler built by Tasca Ford’s John Healey. It was mounted on a sub-frame behind the cab.

Partnered with longtime friend and top Ford tech, John Sachs, Kolb returned to Larsen in 1975, purchased the dealership and renamed it White Plains Ford. Between 1975 and 1981, White Plains Ford was one of the top performing stores in the New York District.

A close friend of Carroll Shelby, and Lee Iacocca when he was Vice-President of Ford’s Car and Truck Group, Kolb, at Iacocca’s direction, set up a unique Shelby dealership within Gotham Ford in New York City. It was the first dealership-within-a-dealership selling and servicing only Shelby automobiles! Kolb became a member of Ford’s Dealer Council for Performance Cars – the only salesman to be part of this group. He then became a key player in Ford’s Shelby marketing programs when Ford hired him to be national spokesperson for the Shelby dealer network.

Between his time at Larsen and Gotham Ford dealerships – 1965 to 1970 – Kolb sold more Shelby Cobras, GT Mustangs and GT40s than anyone else in the country. Documented by SAAC (Shelby American Automobile Club), Kolb’s Shelby sales records, including the most 427 Cobras (18), are legendary.

Martyn Schorr, one of Bill’s oldest friends and, in 1967, editor of Hi-Performance CARS Magazine, recalls the time that he and Bill spent a day test-driving the prototype Mark III GT40 (M/3 1101) around New York City. It had been left in Bill’s care at Gotham Ford after being displayed at the New York Auto Show.

“In April 1967, Bill Kolb called and asked if I wanted to have a little fun test driving a GT40 road car, Ford’s first real Supercar. I thought of taking it to Lime Rock or another track. He had other ideas saying, ‘road testing should be done on the road.’

“We ended up dodging New York City taxis, delivery trucks and the occasional Police car, and frightened woman, children and puppies! It was a glorious day. How Bill and I stayed out of jail that day still mystifies me. Our only real challenge was trying to pay tolls on the Triborough Bridge since the GT40 didn’t have roll-down windows! It ended up being the cover story of the July 1967 issue of Hi-Performance CARS.

In 1984, Kolb enhanced his relationship with Ford as a manufacturer. The company was called Spoilers-Plus and Kolb produced aerodynamic styling and ground-effects kits for slow-selling vehicles like the Ford EXP. The line was expanded to include bolt-on restyling components for Mustangs and Thunderbirds. Spoilers-Plus became the first aftermarket company to sell aero-enhancing body kits to Ford and its dealer network.

Kolb’s Spoilers-Plus front air dam was on Bill Elliott’s 1987 Daytona 500 winning Thunderbird, averaging over 176 mph and setting a record. After the race, Elliott sent Bill a note: ‘Thanks for the air dam, it has the record’, signed Bill Elliott.”

Total Performance has always been a way of life for Bill Kolb, Jr. who parlayed a passion for racing and high-performance cars into a legendary career. Masterful at building and marketing specialty vehicles, he kept his decades-old Ford connection alive with Tungsten Grey and Heritage model ’06 Ford GTs. He drove them as long as possible until being sidelined with health issues.

Bill is survived by his wife, Maryann Kolb, left, sister, Rommy Revson, son, William (Bill) Kolb, III and nephew, Nathanial Hunt. A service will be held on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 at 10:30 am at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 92 S. Lexington Avenue, White Plains, NY 10606.

REMEMBERING BILL KOLB, JR., 1941-2021: Donations, in lieu of flowers, may be sent to: The Alzheimer’s Association, 340 E. Palm Lane, Suite 230, Phoenix, AZ 85004. Online: https://www.alz.org/ (Search Kolb)