RECALL THAT FORD’S FAIRLANE-based Thunderbolt took drag racing’s Super Stock classes by storm in 1964. After years of racing full-size Galaxie models in the category, Ford poured its experience into the smaller Fairlane chassis, and for 1964 a scant 100 K-code 289 “Hi-Po”-spec Fairlanes were transformed into the now-legendary Thunderbolts (NHRA only required 50 to be built). Heaters and radios were jettisoned; sound-deadener and seam-sealer were also sidelined. Fiberglass fenders, hoods, and trunk lids replaced factory sheetmetal; likewise, aluminum bumpers replaced the normal heavier steel pieces.
The 289 would be yanked in favor of a built FE-based 427. The 427 was engineered to compete: the relatively short 3.784-inch stroke provided a willingness to rev and live, while the 4.233-inch bore was on the outer limits of the FE’s design parameters, though fortunately, the thin-wall block used high-nickel alloy and beefier internals to allow higher compression. The result was 425.98 cubic inches, but 427 cubes worked out to a nice round seven liters, a displacement limit used by various racing organizations around the world.
Extensive chassis and
