Her's the truth about street Fords in the 1960's....THEY COULD NOT KEEP-UP WITH THE CHEVY'S AND MOPARS.....not until a former Chevy division president named Bunky Kundsen came over and created the 428 CJ, BOSS 302 and BOSS 429. Didn't like hearing THAT, did you. And please, answer this...exactly WHERE is Ford in Pro-Stock nowadays?
Don't get me wrong, I really like my little 289 65 coupe...but I do know and admit the truth. And the truth will be that if GM builds the new Camaro it will cost the same or less than the Mustang and outperform it in all catorgories. Always has..always will.
I always think this kind of thing must strike the young-uns as verrrry strange: old geezers arguing over who ruled the roost in this category or that,
forty five freakin years ago! I mean, I had this same conversation in 7th grade, but that was in
1966!.
OK, so you want to talk history, let's do. Let's make a list:
First affordable mass-produced car: Ford Model T. This car truly changed America, and therefore the world.
First mass-produced V8: '32 Ford.
First to put styling, color selection, and frivolity before substance, performance and value: GM, starting in the '20's when it hired Harley Earl, but really taking off with the '59 model year. Detroit at its peak, and also the beginning of the end, both at the same time.
First mass-produced overhead valve V8: GM, with the 1949 Olds and Caddy, and more significantly the '55 small block Chevy.
Worst American car of the post-war era: two-way tie: the '60 Corvair (maybe the greatest disregard for the customer's safety of any car ever built) and the '61 Tempest (with the Corvair transaxle, the cut-in-half V8, and the rope drive to try to mask the vibrations); truly a terrible, terrible device. Then there are all the horrible '70s' cars from Mopar. Ford doesn't even have a horse in this race.
Worst American powerplant of the post-war era: three-way tie: the aforementioned '61 Pontiac 4-cyl, the '71 all-aluminum Vega sohc, and the '78 Olds diesel. None of these engines had any prospect whatsoever of delivering good service to the customer. Honorable mention: the early '69 Boss 302 (happy now?) and the '81 Cadillac 8-6-4.
Post war production engine so bad-a$$ it had to legislated out of existence by every sanctioning body it ran in: the Chrysler 426 hemi; runner up: the Ford Cleveland.
Production engine that in its era dominated sports car racing world-wide: Ford 289, whether in the Shelby Cobra, the Shelby GT350 or the Ford GT (where it won at LeMans, gave way to the 427 Mk II, then came back to win again after the 427 was banned).
Prototype engine that did the same, in Formula 1 and CART: Ford Cosworth DFV and DFX.
The only pony car you can still buy; that is, the only one that's the top performer in the only category that counts: Ford Mustang.
Pony cars destined to make a splash with retro returns, only to fade into the past for a second time: Dodge Challenger (if they even build it) and Chevy Crapmaro; see also the late Pontiac GTO.
Best bang for buck today, small block division: Chevy 383.
Best bang for buck today, big block division: Ford 460.
Well, you get the idea.
And while we're pondering where is Ford in Pro Stock these days -- and who isn't?
-- we might also ask where is the "stock" in Pro Stock these days? As in, who cares?
Hey, and did anyone notice that Chevy with its new Nextel Cup motor has finally put the distributor in the right end and dropped the twin intake, twin exhaust port design -- i.e., they made a copy of the 1962 Ford "Fairlane" V8? After 45 years, they finally got it right.