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’63 FORD FASTBACK

A 427 That Helped Kick Off Ford’s Modern Racing Heritage

“Total Performance” is what the Ford Motor Company called its corporate racing program back in the early ’60s, and it was a great way to show the buying public how strong and well engineered the automaker’s vehicles were. In a bold and blatant fashion, Ford was heavily involved in competition—in a big way.

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Jim Maxwell

Words & Photography

Lee Iacocca and Ford’s Commitment to Racing

Lee Iacocca was Ford Division’s vice president and general manager during this time, and when asked by the media about the topic of the company and open competition, he made the following statement: “I’ve said many times that racing really improves the breed at Ford Division. As you know, we are committed to a program of improving our products whenever and however we can. That includes our company test tracks, and it includes public racetracks and rally courses. We will stay in open competition as long as we feel it contributes to better automobiles for the public.

“It’s estimated that 43 million people a year go to motorsports events. We may be old-fashioned, but with that many people in the stands, we figure it’s a pretty good place to show how well our products perform in direct competition with the products of other manufacturers.”

The AMA Ban on Racing

It’s easy to see that during this era, Ford was quite serious about racing. The goal was to—and it’s been said a million times—”win on Sunday, sell on Monday.” But it was not always that way around the front offices at the Ford Motor Company. Citing safety concerns, the Automobile Manufacturers Association (AMA) made an agreement on June 6, 1957, to ban all factory involvement in racing, eliminate all competition equipment offerings and delete any mention of competition from advertisements. Robert McNamara, the group vice president of Ford, wasn’t a big racing buff, and he signed on with the non-racing agreement.

Ford’s Return to Competition

While Ford was officially out of racing, GM eventually backdoored its way back into competition, and it was all done under the guise of “police” and “export” car development. Chrysler also had developed some hot performers, and by 1960, racing in general was growing in popularity—especially with NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) competition. It was only a matter of time before Ford would grow tired of sticking to the letter of the AMA ruling.

The 1963-1/2 Galaxie: A Game-Changer

By 1962, Henry Ford II had enough of the AMA ban on racing and moved to get his company back into competition. He announced that the Ford Motor Company was better to direct its own future than the AMA, and soon Ford was racing in a big way and with proud factory involvement. Special mid-year model changes were made to the ’63 Ford Galaxie to better deal with the competition, and because of the timing (in the middle of the model year), the fast Ford Galaxies of the year are known as “’63-1/2” versions.

Engineering the Powerful 427 Engine

For the ’63 NASCAR racing season, Ford went all out to prepare the best possible car for the Grand National division. The new Galaxie was released with a bigger 427 engine (replacing the 406ci engine from 1962 and early 1963), and it was factory equipped with a “fastback” roof to aid in aerodynamics.

The 427 engine featured a 4.2346-inch bore and a 3.784-inch stroke and 11.5:1 compression ratio. The block was strengthened via a ribbed web design and reinforced with cross-bolted main bearing supports. No. 1 and 5 end bearings were already well supported by the crankcase structure, and using 3/8-inch-diameter horizontal cap screws on supports 2, 3 and 4, the block assembly was now better equipped to withstand 500 miles of hard competition.

Crankshafts were balanced to 1/2 ounce at 6,000 rpm, and bearing surfaces were individually gauged for select fitting. New impact extrusion 427 pistons (0.100 inch larger compared to the 406) pistons now were made with 12 percent silicon and weighed 667 grams, lighter than the 695-gram 406 units they superseded.

Ford’s Triumphs in NASCAR

The ’63-1/2 Galaxie fastback was a big car (17-1/2 feet long) and weighed 3,715 lbs—in race trim. The new roof was designed specifically for the Superspeedways, and Ford went so far as to run it in the wind tunnel to perfect its design. Advertised as the “Sports Hardtop,” it was 2 inches shorter than the more formal vertical back glass roof it replaced, and it gave the car a much sleeker appearance. According to testing at Ford, it had 23 percent better airflow compared to the wind resistance of the ’62 hardtops. It was reported that as much as 10 mph on the Superspeedways could be gained because of its less drag and reduced lift qualities.

The Heroism of Tiny Lund

The opening race on the NASCAR schedule was the January 20 500-mile event, and that took place on the twisty turns of California’s 2.7-mile Riverside International Raceway road course. Of the 44 Grand National cars entered, the fastest entry was a new ’63-1/2 Galaxie, expertly driven by Formula One Grand Prix and sports car ace Dan Gurney. With his road-racing skills in negotiating the “esses” and twists of the eight-turn track, Gurney won the pole position with a fantastic lap of 1:37.67, averaging 99.590 mph—a new track record! Fred Lorenzen, also driving a new fastback Ford, qualified in the No. 2 position, slightly behind at 1:38.74. It was clear to the competition that these ’63-1/2 Fords were going to be tough to beat—especially with the talented drivers the Ford factory teams had employed.

C.J. Bonura and the Restoration Legacy

All during this legend-building time in NASCAR history, Californian C. J. Bonura was just a young kid growing up in Los Angeles; but he eventually learned all the exploits of his favorite Ford drivers by reading stories in car magazines. Once he was old enough to drive, he had a definite liking for these vintage ’63-1/2 Galaxies, and over the next several years, he had owned several of them, including the beautifully restored Black-on-Black “R-Code” version pictured here.

The story of this car goes back to 1992, when Bonura found the car for sale in a local Recycler paper. The Ford fanatic—who also owned a Country Squire station wagon model from the same year, which he still has today—snapped up the 390cid-equipped car for its $2,000 asking price.

Total Performance Lives On

With it now being revealed what a rare and desirable car he had purchased, he knew it would not be wise to modify it into the race-replica he had planned. The goal now was to find all the required parts to bring it back to original factory condition. With lots of searching for correct date-coded parts, plus loads of NOS (new old stock) components needed for a complete job, the car was well on its way back to its former “R-code” glory.

Ford’s High-Speed Specialists:
Holman and Moody

A major component of the Ford Motor Company “Total Performance” program in the ’60s was the highly successful team of John Holman and Ralph Moody. Their Holman-Moody business was based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, and the story actually goes back to 1957 when the pair pooled their talents. Soon they were leaders in NASCAR competition and went on to become the premier builders of Ford Grand National competition vehicles.

The Beginnings of Holman-Moody

John Holman, an ambitious self-taught man with lots of business savvy and a knack for management and organization, had been an over-the-road trucker who specialized in buying loads of salvage in Texas and selling the lot in California at a profit. His trucking abilities caught the eye of Clay Smith and Bill Stroppe, who had just got the Ford Motor Company to support a huge Lincoln assault on the popular Mexican PanAmericana races south of the border.

From Trucking to Racing

They needed a great truck driver to transport the parts-supply truck all over the wilds of Mexico, and in a quick fashion. Holman was the man. After working for Stroppe (Smith was killed in a racing accident in 1954) as a mechanic and parts man, Holman next moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, to serve as manager of Ford’s East Coast racing efforts, Peter DePaolo Engineering.

Ralph Moody: The Racing Prodigy

One of the star drivers on the DePaolo Ford Team was Ralph Moody, a former New Englander who in his early career was unbeatable in midget racing and sprint cars. At one point while winning 11 straight feature events at a single track, he was banned from racing at that facility because of his dominance. Besides his skills behind the wheel of a racecar, he also was a mechanical wizard and had much experience in high-performance parts, since he had owned two speed shops in Massachusetts before moving south to get involved in Grand National stock car racing. The crafty but reticent driver soon mastered the larger stock cars as well, and before he retired from active driving in the late ’50s, he had won five Grand National victories.

The Formation of Holman-Moody

When the edict from Ford came in 1957 to stop all racing activity, this effectively put both men out of work. Holman bought the bountiful inventory of Ford racing parts and took on Moody as a partner, and with the help of a loan from a Charlotte bank, Holman-Moody Inc. was born.

Building a Racing Empire

In 1958, the duo built a fleet of 10 Thunderbird racecars (constructed from “bodies in white”), and soon Holman-Moody became known more as a “racing factory” as opposed to simply a racing team. Complete turnkey racecars and sales of race engines (by other NASCAR Ford teams, including the Wood Brothers) quickly followed. Their complex (located adjacent to the Charlotte Municipal Airport) was jam-packed with sophisticated equipment, and they manufactured several components specifically for stock car racing, including spindles, hubs, wheels, camshafts and safety equipment.

Spotting Talent

While Holman was the master at running a successful racing empire, Moody was an ace at seeing driver talent. He is credited for “discovering” one of the hottest NASCAR pilots ever, “Fast Freddie” Lorenzen. Moody taught some now-famous drivers how to manhandle a stock car, including Dan Gurney, who at first was having some trouble running fast times with the big iron in qualifying for the ’63 Riverside 500.

The Legacy of Holman-Moody

By 1967, Holman-Moody had 250 employees and outlets in Long Beach, California (where they had bought out Bill Stroppe and Associates), and were the winningest race organization in NASCAR history. Besides all this—and having their “Competition Proven” parts sold in the Sears catalog—there was a Holman-Moody high-performance marine equipment division with shops in Florida and California.

The End of an Era and Continuation

When Ford pulled out of racing in 1972, it dried up the factory revenue for Holman-Moody; the partnership was over. Lee Holman, John’s son, who had been involved with the business since the beginning, is now running Holman-Moody and Holman Automotive, and is actively involved in various facets of Ford motorsports as well as the building and sales of the GT40 Mark II sports cars. For detailed information, visit www.holmanmoody.com.

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