Category: 1966

This 1966 Mustang Rose Like A Phoenix From The Ashes: Video – Chris Teague @FordAuthority

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Project car builds don’t always go as planned, but sometimes they go so far off the rails that it’s hard to imagine them ever being completed. “Off the rails” might be an understatement for this 1966 Mustang project, which started life as a completely different car than the one you see here.

As explained by SoCal-based pony enthusiast named Gee, his first 1966 Ford Mustang burnt down in an electrical fire while in the shop for a tune up. That car was almost a total loss, with the only part that could be salvaged being the engine.

Since the ‘Stang was a project car, it wasn’t insured for damaged caused by “electrical fire in a garage.” Luckily, Gee was able to recover enough from the car to purchase a second 1966 Mustang Coupe and used the 347 cubic-inch Stroker engine from the scorched model to power it.

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This unrestored 1966 Dodge Charger offers a unique experience – David Conwill @Hemmings

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Plymouth folks are fond of telling you that Dodge stole every good thing Plymouth ever had. Whether that’s a fair assessment or not, it does put an interesting spin on the 1966 Dodge Charger.

In 1964, a few months before the Ford Mustang debuted, Plymouth brought out its own sporty compact. As the Mustang had its roots in the Falcon, Plymouth’s new Barracuda was based on the brand’s compact Valiant. While the Mustang used radically different bodywork from the Falcon, the Barracuda was essentially a new body style of Valiant, with a large glass fastback.

When Dodge dealers saw the success of the Barracuda, they clamored for their own sporty compact based on the Dart. In a rare act of defiance, the Chrysler board said no. Dodge would get a sporty, two-door fastback, but instead of being based on the Dart, it would use the midsize Coronet platform.

1966 Ford Mustang “Shelby GT350” Clone Packs Supercharged 302 Cobra V8 Surprise – Mircea Panait @Autoevolution

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Mustangs have always been quick, powerful cars, with the notable exceptions of the underperforming models the Ford Motor Company sold during the Malaise Era. Some of the best-handling ponies from the Blue Oval feature motorsport-inspired mods from a Texas chicken farmer, a man you have certainly heard of before.

Thanks to Carroll Shelby, the Shelby GT350 rolled out in 1965 to much critical acclaim from both casual buyers and racers alike. In addition to the go-faster upgrades under the skin, the Shelby GT350 refused to blend in with the herd from a visual standpoint as well. This fellow here may not be an original car, but had he lived, Carroll would have certainly given his blessing.

What you’re looking at is a clone with Emberglow paint, four-corner disc brakes with slotted-and-drilled rotors, as well as a 302 Cobra. In addition to more displacement than the K-Code Windsor of the Shelby GT350, the 5.0-liter blunderbuss also features a Vortec supercharging kit.

Making Things — One Man And His Mustang – Reblog

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This is an excellent blog from Mart please read and subscribe!

Today is my car’s birthday. This day fifty four years ago on the 11th July 1966 my car rolled off the Ford production line at Dearborn, Michigan. USA. Speaking of things being built, I was bought a model kit a while ago which was the LEGO GT500 kit, which I reviewed here. I thoroughly enjoyed […]

via Making Things — One Man And His Mustang

Video: Behind the Scenes at a Spectacular 1966 Chevy Commercial – @MacsMotorCityGarage

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For the 1966 model year, Chevrolet produced a feature-length film extravaganza for its dealers called Impact ’66, complete with Hollywood-style production values and hosted by Lorne Greene, star of the NBC television western Bonanza. (Chevrolet was a presenting sponsor of the popular 1959-73 horse opera.) While the movie runs a bit too long for internet viewing, we have featured a few select excerpts now and then, and here’s another choice item: a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of a rather unique commercial for the 1966 Chevy big-car line.

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Differences between a 1965 and 1966 Impala — Reblog from Classic Nation

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I currently own a ’65 and a ’66 Impala, and I’m always surprised how many people seem to mis-identify them. This seems to happen even more frequently when there is a side profile of my ’65 posted online. Many people who know that the ’65 has the three individual tail lights but who can’t see…

via Differences between a 1965 and 1966 Impala — Classic Nation

America’s love affair with cars, as viewed in 1966 – Mike Austin @Hemmings

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Some people think that cars might be too dangerous, expensive, and bad for the environment. What may surprise you is that some people thought that back in 1966. The Great Love Affair, preserved and presented on YouTube by Periscope Film, “looks at the impact cars have made on families, the U.S. economy (including the process of purchasing a car), marketing and media, and entertainment during the mid-1960s.” Scroll down to watch the embedded video.

Narrated by CBS News correspondent Harry Reasoner, the various aspects of automotive culture are looked at through a curious, almost anthropologic lens. The film starts by noting that 9 million cars were made the previous year, while only 4 millions babies were born. “You might conclude that we love cars more than twice as much as babies,” says Reasoner with an extra-dry delivery. From there, The Great Love Affair covers everything from traffic, drive-thru services (including a church), youth culture, and the various aspects of the car economy in an attempt to understand “this thing we have about cars.”

This being 1966, the car as the primary means of transportation wasn’t yet considered a fait accompli. The film features a dinner party scene featuring David E. Davis Jr., John Fitch, and Tom Wolfe all in thoughtful conversation. Davis questions, “Why should anybody be allowed to drive a car in and out of New York City?” and Fitch theorizes that the automobile could be reduced to a means of sport, similar to the fate of horses and boats

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Ford’s 1966 plan for city congestion: little cars that fit in huge buses – Daniel Strohl @Hemmings

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Lawson’s concept actually begins with his Hub Cities proposal, which would restructure the country’s urban environment by stringing a network of planned cities across the country “to create better living through less densely-populated cities and safer, more efficient transportation,” according to a description by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian’s Design Museum.

Lawson’s utopian vision of better city living required a network of Hub Cities to be built across the country, each accommodating 50,000 residents and their sites of employment. For the ease of construction, Hub Cities would feature mass-produced and pre-fabricated buildings that could be implemented in a similar plan in a range of geographic sites. A building at the city’s center would house all utility and service offices, commercial retailers, and business offices. Perhaps most importantly, the central building would also house a parking lot for private cars and a marshalling yard for all subsurface transportation equipment.

To prevent traffic from bogging down the Hub Cities with congestion, he envisioned placing industrial areas at the peripheries of the cities to keep trucks and other large vehicles off the city streets. But people still needed to get around within the cities, he reasoned, so he designed the Mini-Max car system.

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The 427 FE Sideoiler: Powering Ford To Victory At LeMans And Reissued By Shelby Engines Today – Jonathan Bergman @HotCars.com

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The 427 FE Sideoiler: Powering Ford To Victory At LeMans

Unlike other displacements in the FE-series, the 427 version – which was actually a 426, take that Chrysler! – was the only race engine in the lot.

With the “Ford v Ferrari” movie opening in theaters this weekend, it might help to review some of the details which delivered victory for Ford at LeMans in 1966. There’s the GT40 itself, of course, the will of Henry Ford II and his need to crush Ferrari, massive engineering and financial resources of Ford, renegade race car drivers, California hot-rodders, Carroll Shelby, and last but certainly not least the venerable Ford 427 FE Sideoiler engine. The motor that started it all.

The 427 FE Sideoiler: Powering Ford To Victory At LeMans

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Related – Part of Ford’s 1966 Le Mans podium sweep, this GT40 Mk II could set an auction record

A brief history of Hertz Rent-A-Racers from the Shelby GT350H to today – Mike Austin @Hemmings

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Putting you in the driver’s seat

A brief history of Hertz Rent-A-Racers from the Shelby GT350H to today

It started when Carroll Shelby, ever the salesman, convinced Hertz to order 1,001 Ford Mustangs modified by his shop for a “Rent-A-Racer” program in 1966. The Shelby G.T.350H was born, and the legend grew almost as soon as the cars began hitting the track and dragstrip. It took 40 years for Hertz to try again, returning with another Shelby Mustang and adding a few more restrictions to the rental agreement. Since then, the Hertz special cars have come at a regular cadence, each one slightly altered from stock and produced in limited numbers, capped by the latest 2020 Hertz-Hendrick Motorsports Camaros. Here’s a rundown of all ten cars that wore the black and yellow paint scheme plus one bonus car.

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A brief history of Hertz Rent-A-Racers from the Shelby GT350H to today

Related – Yattendon Classic Car Day