1969 Ford Talladega
1969 Ford Torino Description:
The 1969 Torino Talladega was based on the Fairlane Cobra "Sportsroof" (Ford's trade name for a fastback) 2-door hardtop. To make the car more aerodynamic at high speeds, a sleeker front section (whose design and construction is often attributed to the Holman-Moody race team's shop) was added. Regular production Fairlanes and Torino's had a then-fashionable inset grille and headlights, which fared poorly in the wind tunnel. The Torino Talladega replaced this nose with one that extended the car's length by about six inches, with a flush-mounted grille on a more aerodynamic front end. The close-fitting bumper was actually a rear bumper that had been cut, narrowed, V'ed in the center, and filled on the ends to create a crude air dam, further improving the aerodynamics of the car at high speeds.
All production examples were constructed during January and February 1969 at Ford's Atlanta Assembly plant in Atlanta, Georgia, and all homologation cars between January 21 and February 28. (According to the Talladega/Spoiler Registry's records, Talladega number 502 was actually completed on January 31, and then the last 247 homologation cars were built between February 14 and February 28, following a 2-week break in production.) It is unknown as to why Ford built an "extra" 247 homologation cars, once the homologation requirements had been met during the initial run, as it is thought that Ford lost several thousand dollars on every Talladega that was built.
The only options offered on the production vehicles (besides the three color choices, including Wimbledon White (286 built), Royal Maroon (258 built) or Presidential Blue (199 built)) were power steering, power brakes, color keyed racing mirrors, AM radio and argent styled steel wheels with F70 X 14 wide oval tires. All production Talladega's received the same options with no substitutions including the C6 automatic transmission and Code 9 3.25 ratio conventional rear axle.
1969 was Ford's last year of factory involvement in racing of any kind for several years. Following Congressional hearings in which they were questioned about the R&D costs of racing vs. improving fuel economy and safety, Ford completely abandoned all of their racing programs, starting with the 1970 season. Subsequently, most of the NASCAR and ARCA race teams that were running Fords continued to run their 1969 Talladega's in 1970 without any factory support, when it became apparent that their Talladegas were aerodynamically superior to the 1970 Torino's Ford had intended to be the Talladega's replacement. After the 1970 season, NASCAR effectively banned the "aero cars" by restricting all five of these "production" cars to having to compete with engines no larger than 305 cubic inches of displacement (vs. the 426, 427, & 429 cubic inches other cars could use), and the competitive history of the Talladega (and its aerodynamically-developed rivals) was essentially over.
Although most people would think that Mopar with their far-fetched rear wings or dramatic front ends dominated the NASCAR tracks back in the late 60's but that was not the case. The (very humble by visual comparison) Ford Torino Talladega actually owned the NASCAR Manufacturer's Championship. This car lead to Ford's most successful racing season and the only year Richard Petty drove a NON-Mopar with him finishing 2nd in the standings behind the winner David Pearson! With only 751 Talladega's produced in total the 300 that were available for resale are very rare today!! The body is straight and lines up well and I don't see any signs of rust in the panels. Again, the panels line up well, the doors shut nicely and visibly it is not obvious the car isn't all original. The correct brackets, panels, bumpers, grill, are all there for the Aero Nose. These are extremely hard to find parts and are a cornerstone of the value of this car.
