TBT - FE NASCAR Mercury edition

[thatdarncat]

I wish NASCAR stockers still had some personality, but from the days when they did here are some pictures I ran across on the Mercury Musclecars Facebook page. It was cars like these that made me a lifelong FE fan.

[machoneman]

I always thought the '70 Mercs, especially the paint on this Woods Bros. entry, made them some of the coolest looking NASCAR rides of all time.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/08/26/9c/08269cabb0330d8c1f82ef969d3663ea.jpg

[BruceS]

Kevin,
If I'm right, didn't Ford / Mercury run the FE 427 well into the '70 NASCAR season?  I believe this was due to the 385 series engines taking a bit longer in development than planned.  I think they also continued to run the '69 Talledega / Cyclone Spoiler sheetmetal in '70 due to their superior aero. 

Love that picture of Cale!
Bruce

[cjshaker]

If I'm really bored at night, I'll watch the old NASCAR races on YouTube. It's sad that I'd rather watch those than the cookie-cutter cars of today, which I have zero interest in.

Seeing that #70 on the back of that hauler is just plain cool, although, for the life of me, I can't figure out why it's on the back of a Chevy 

[Katz427]

Mercury cylcones were the body of choice for sportsman racing. They were aerodynamic and 427 tunnel ports were available. The boss 429 was used in the 1969 Grand National later (Winston) series after the Daytona 500,but sportsman used 427 fe's mainly tunnel ports. They were fast and reliable. I knew guys who had Chevy modified powered cars but used 427 tunnel ports when they ran sportsman class races. Richie Evans from Rome, NY was one of them. His mechanic told me way back in 1972 that the Chevy's did not hold up at places like Daytona for the 300 mile sportsman race or Charlotte. They ran a 68 Mercury cyclone with a 427 tunnel port. Back then the chassis builder for the team I was on was a Chevy guy. BUT at the nascar sportsman races they also had a mercury with 427 tunnel port power! He admitted to me he felt the Chevy would not hold up to 300 miles at Daytona this was back in the 1972-73 season. Funny how a lot of people think racing was always a Chevy show.

[machoneman]

Kevin,
If I'm right, didn't Ford / Mercury run the FE 427 well into the '70 NASCAR season?  I believe this was due to the 385 series engines taking a bit longer in development than planned.  I think they also continued to run the '69 Talledega / Cyclone Spoiler sheetmetal in '70 due to their superior aero. 

Love that picture of Cale!
Bruce

Yep, that smile on Cale is the smile of a winner!

And yes, the teams were given IIRC a choice of running the then new Blue Crescent (remember that name fellas?) Boss 429 engines or the tried and true FE Tunnel Port engines. Later, Ford again IIRC sent down an edict, after the Boss was track proven, to stop using the FE in at least the NASCAR's big track/asphalt racing. The FE's did well for some years there after in dirt track, short track, state fair competition.     

[thatdarncat]

Here's a few more posted from the same Facebook page. Swede Savage



Dan Gurney


Dick May


No caption on this one but I'm guessing Bud Moore team

[machoneman]

Yes, that Swede Savage pic shows the great color combo, simple but striking, that I mentioned before...always liked that one best. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=ford+dirt+track+nascar,+1970&rlz=1T4GGLS_enUS683US683&biw=1097&bih=478&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiy9tj8zovMAhWJ7CYKHcMhCIUQ_AUIBigB

[Drew Pojedinec]

If I'm really bored at night, I'll watch the old NASCAR races on YouTube. It's sad that I'd rather watch those than the cookie-cutter cars of today, which I have zero interest in.

Not so weird Doug.  I've seen the 1963 Daytona 500 a dozen times.  It is awesome.

[Lenz]

If I'm really bored at night, I'll watch the old NASCAR races on YouTube. It's sad that I'd rather watch those than the cookie-cutter cars of today, which I have zero interest in.

Not so weird Doug.  I've seen the 1963 Daytona 500 a dozen times.  It is awesome.

I'll double down on that.  Love the stuff out of the 50's too, including the sand before Daytona was built, those guys had some stones.  It was a ton more interesting when you could "run what you brung" and colorful rule book interpretations were the norm, the 60's and into the early 70's rocked right along.  Now I've lost interest completely, politics, stifling rules and the need for massive bucks along with engine platforms that were never intended for public consumption have destroyed the whole concept in my view.  Must be gettin' old... .

[machoneman]

If I'm really bored at night, I'll watch the old NASCAR races on YouTube. It's sad that I'd rather watch those than the cookie-cutter cars of today, which I have zero interest in.

Not so weird Doug.  I've seen the 1963 Daytona 500 a dozen times.  It is awesome.

I'll double down on that.  Love the stuff out of the 50's too, including the sand before Daytona was built, those guys had some stones.  It was a ton more interesting when you could "run what you brung" and colorful rule book interpretations were the norm, the 60's and into the early 70's rocked right along.  Now I've lost interest completely, politics, stifling rules and the need for massive bucks along with engine platforms that were never intended for public consumption have destroyed the whole concept in my view.  Must be gettin' old... .

No, no no! Not old....

Just cynical.....LOL!

[Qikbbstang]

Wonder how a NASCAR trim 427 FE vs a 429 BOSS plays out in the weight dept?

Looks like in the 63 Daytona 500 there were peg-leg differentials in the cars getting out of the pit's with one tire smoking?