...Up for Controversy! I think I may be the first to Mount the FORD Blue Oval on a Pantera. I searched and searched the Archives of the FORD GT-40's that ran at Lemans
in '66 and '67...None of those Racecars ever Ran with the 'Blue Oval' Emblem, in Any Photo I could discover, to My knowledge. Very Interesting!
I have always been a FORD Enthusiast, ever since purchasing My first car, while in High School, working a part-time job, after school Thursdays and Fridays and 8 Hours every Saturday, I Saved and Saved. In 1968 I bought a '65 Mustang Coupe Inline 6, with 3 Speed 'Stick' on the Floor. I had to learn how to drive a 'Clutch'. I paid $1150.00 for Her. I was 17 when I graduated from HS, Started Junior College at Laney in Oakland. I Couldn't Handle the Load and withdrew from classes, sold the '65, and joined up in the US Army, after being an Officer in HS R.O.T.C, I Was sent to Nam, sent All My Monies home, Saved, to buy My Next Mustang.
After Returning Home, My friends had Located a '67 GTA 390 FE with a 3 Speed Automatic*, I Purchased it On The Spot! I switched-out the C4 for a C6 ($400) out of a '67 Fairlane...after the 390 FE Blew-up the C4. The 390 was Re-Built by Me and was Undefeatable! After...I Spun 2 Bearings Racing Cross-Country, Sustained for Top Speed, with a '442', westbound in Wells, Nevada. I was Granted a Emergency Leave from Ft. Riley Kansas, to arrive Home in Oakland, CA, in time for My Mothers' Funeral. I was 19, fresh back from Vietnam and finishing up 13 Months of a 3 year enlistment. The Year was 1971 and Super was 27 Cents a Gallon! I Had to leave the GTA, at a shop to be picked up later, and towed home, by a Friend and I. It took forever to get home on a Greyhound.
I am Proud of My Pantera and especially the 351 Cleveland the FORD Genius Engineers, and Master Assemblers were Capable of Creating.
Here is Their Badge!
* A Exact Clone to the 'Bullet' Mustang, right down to the Paint color and American Mags. Excepting a '67 NO Side Lights and NO 4-Speed Stick.
MJ
P.S. The Tach read 7200 RPM, if memory serves, when 2 Con-Rod Bearings spun, and the Center Main Web had a Hairline crack through it. I was on the side of I-80 when the '442' Passed-by, a Minute and a Half, Later. He Honked, I Ignored Him...I was Down, I was Not Out!
