While it might not look as over the top as the winged Daytonas and Superbirds that it raced, the Ford Torino Talladega was built for the same purpose, going as fast as possible in the NASCAR series through aerodynamic improvements. When it comes to Torinos, finding a real Talladega is pretty much the holy grail. Well, behind the pile of junk and that old barn door is one of these incredible machines! It was stashed away in this barn in central Montana and managed to weather the years surprisingly well. The seller transported it to Monroe, Washington, got the engine running, and got the brakes working but has otherwise left it as found. It’s now up for grabs here on eBay with a current bid of $25k with just a little over a day left to bid.
If you didn’t know what a Torino Talladega was or looked it, it might be easy to overlook this find as just another old Ford that was left to languish in the barn. Of course, once you know the significance of this car you start to wonder how one ended up in a barn in Montana. Well, the store goes that the second owner bought and drove it sparingly for a few years, but then decided to leave Montana to go work up in Alaska. Since they didn’t plan on staying permanently, they parked the Talladega in this barn, put it up on jack stands and headed for Alaska. Fast forward 15 years and the car is still sitting in the barn, so they decided it was time to let it go to a new home.
The seller is clearly a dealer, but they did a decent job of presenting this find. While I understand the choice to leave it dusty, it would be nice to see it cleaned off. I’m glad they at least got it running and the brakes working though. Not only is it nice to know that the 428 Cobra Jet runs, it will make loading it on and off a trailer much easier. I can’t even imagine what a rush it must have been to find this Ford or what it will be like when it gets delivered to your house!
It’s hard to know what all this car will need to make it a nice driver, but it looks like it might be a fairly simple task. The engine would benefit from a tuneup, a set of correct valve covers, and a good detailing. Mechanical parts shouldn’t be too difficult to locate, but anything that’s unique to the Talladega might be a challenge to find. It’s going to need new seat upholstery for the front seats, but the rest of the interior looks to be in usable condition.
The Talladega might not be as flashy as the Mopars it raced against, but these cars are really impressive in their own right. Hopefully, this one finds a good home where it can be preserved or returned to its former glory. So, would you rather have a Winged Warrior or a Talladega?
New tires, wash it and drive. Leave the trailer hitch.
I agree RichS – although I wish I had the means to do one of those Repo SOHC bullets and full NASCAR used suspension from those surplus shops down NC way , and I wouldn’t paint it ..
My usuall bit. Flush and replace all fluids, breaks tires etc. Wash top to bottom and lightly but meticulously wax her up and drive it hard.
Do you mean “breaks” as in breaking loose the rear tires ( burnout ) ? Or “breaks” as in brakes that stop the car?
Once has a 69 Torino GT Fastback. They’re a bear to parallel park but a lot of fun to drive. Never seen a Talledega that I can remember but it looks like those front fenders are extended vs the regular Torino.
Hope someone gets it that appreciates it.
Yes, you’re right 86 vette. The front end is a little longer and has a little aero slant down in the nose as opposed to the regular Torinos
Rare car. One of my all time favorites.
‘Day 2’ mods – I love it – can’t wait to use it. The Ford? – wow, what a find.
Who puts a trailer hitch on a Talladega???
I can introduce you to plenty of my redneck friends that would do that
Chip would, Ricky Bobby’s Father (in-law ??) !!!!
Probably because back when it was bought, it wasn’t really considered to be that special. Even just a few years ago, I saw a nice example of a Talladega sell on B-J for $40k.
I put a trailer hitch on my 68 Mustang 428 to pull tent trailer.
Lots of fun!
People who tow Chrysler products
true that!
Awesome find, I’d choose a Talladega over any Mopar… trailer hitch and all. My trips to Home Depot would never be the same again!
Can you say BIG BIG BIG MONEY!
Notice the factory Drag Pack oil cooler!
I’ll bet this ends up near 50K large.
Yeah, but only $49,950 w/o the trailer hitch!!
I wonder where it was found in Montana.
Been there many times.Way too many Californians
there now.
I remember seeing one of these pass us on
the freeway in the early ’70’s in Southern California.
The 40 plate is sweet grass county on the interstate between bozeman and Billings. The major town there is Big Timber. Nice find. Always looking for cars in Montana. Dry climate and most people put them away nicely. Have a couple results including a mid six figure porsche I pulled out of slumber a few years back. Hope it’s kept as original as possible.
A bit a trivia, King Richard wheeled a Talladega in 69, in 70 they outlawed aero cars with anything over 305 cubic inches.
I think by reducing the cubes NASCAR outlawed the big cube engines, not the cars themselves.
From Wikipedia: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 Torinos 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. In another well kept secret design move, the rocker panels of the Talladega were reshaped and rolled to allow Ford teams to run their racing cars about an inch closer to the ground while staying within NASCAR rules; this also greatly enhanced the top speed of the car by lowering its center of gravity, and further reducing its wind resistance.
The cars were also equipped with an engine oil cooler, a power steering oil cooler, staggered shocks, a 3.25:1 Ford 9 inch 31 spline nodular open rear end, and most surprisingly: a heavy duty C-6 (cast iron tailshaft) automatic transmission that was column shifted. These other special performance parts were normally only available when ordering a “drag pack car” which would have been equipped with a 4 speed and a limited slip rear end.
Also unique to the Talladega was the presence of competition black hoods and rear tail panels on all production cars, as well as the only interior offered: black vinyl and cloth with a front bench seat.
@Fordguy1972 – Just SUPER information. BIG Thumbs up.
I never had a Talledega, but did have a 1969 Cobrajet Torino FB. It had buckets and auto on the console.
Yep. That’s right. That’s about when Ford pulled out of NASCAR. The regulations were getting out of control and Ford now focused on consumer sales.
Any reason Ford would see a need to install a 12,000 rpm tach? Was the original plan to install a Kawasaki engine??
Ford engineers needed a front bumper for the longer nosedTalladaga,pulled it off the back and bolted it to the front. And as they say the rest is history.
LOL..It’s a little more involved than that, but the Torino Talladega is extremely rich in NASCAR history. NASCAR is the only reason this car exists.
They didn’t just take the rear bumper off the rear and bolt in on the front. The front bumper is actually modified from two rear bumpers to fit the front of the car.
“If you didn’t have any idea what a Torino Talladega was or looked it, it might be easy to overlook this find as just another old Ford that was left to languish in the barn.”
AHHHHH! Now I have a headache.
Surprisingly, the Big T’s never have taken off with collectors like the Mopar winged cars. Even the Charger 500, which was what the Talladegas (and Cyclone Spoiler II’s) were originally designed to fight on the super speedways, has a higher collector following. Take it from someone who owned one and spent a lot of his time explaining what the car was to people asking “What is that?” Don’t know where the reserve is, but I’d be shocked to see this car bid over $40k. Nice find though, totally jealous! Still crying myself to sleep regularly over letting mine go.
Man. I feel your pain. Do I ever. I owned a Wimbledon White. Actually, it was quite troublesome. Three times on three seperate occasions the valve springs snapped, a year later, the head gasket blew, white smoke out the tailpipe, antifreeze mixing with the oil. Oh it was all kinds of ugly.
I did make sure from the guy I sold the car to it would not be mutilated. Yea, i was actually interviewing people, perspective buyers. Hey..even with the blown 428 CJ (i even added a ram air flapper) it was now a Ram Inducted 428 CJ, I still got big money.
My Uncle drove a Torino in the Arca series in the 60’s and 70’s he always rant the 427 Side Oiler. Worked at the Louisville Big Truck plant and raced any chance he got. Drove with some greats, Tiny Lund, Benny Parsons, Wendell Scott etc….
LOL..It’s a little more involved than that, but the Torino Talladega is extremely rich in NASCAR history. NASCAR is the only reason this car exists.
Man what a find. Most people haven’t a clue as to what this car is or even why it exists, or if they do the comments would be only semi true at best. It always always upset me that only the Aero-Warrior MOPARS get all the attention and are worth nearly three times as much as the “T”, and have no idea what a Talladega is.
For goodness sakes the “T” was an extremely fierce competitor up against the Super Birds and Daytonas. Hell, NASCAR was still racing year old Talladegas in 1970
As impressive and rare those Talladegas are, I don’t think even they’re near the aura of a Daytona or Superbird. I’d take one of those winged birds any day over the Ford though I do agree it’s a cool vehicle and story. With that being said; neither of those will ever be in my(or most others)economical ballpark…
I’m not sure how you are using the word Aura, but once Petty saw what Holman/Moody did to the Torino, Petty defected to the Ford racing team, jumped in a Torino Talladega, passing the winged warriors, passing the Fords on the track and thrusted this super Ford to Victory. On day one.
Those were indeed the days.
25 thousand three hundred so far and 7 hours to go. You go boy..GO!!!
For the insane money MOPAR areo cars are bringing in any condition, this “T”‘s looks like a Bargain!! Very rare, unmolested, complete, Great starting point for anything you want it to be! I’d put modern gas shocks, freshen the chassis, make Sure it’s safe and scar the grandkids!! Enjoy this while you still can!! Good luck to the new owner!
These are terrific cars with rich NASCAR history. They also come with a loyal following of enthusiasts who enjoy getting together to share stories and experiences. Once every five years there is the Talladega Reunion for all the Ford, Mercury, Dodge and Plymouth Aero Cars. What a blast that is. The next one is in 2019! If you want to know more about these cars visit the Registry at http://www.TalladegaSpoilerRegistry.com
I’d take a Torino over a flimsy mopar with that goofy looking wing and nose. Torino’s were twice the car.
It’s hard to believe 2019 will be the 50th Anniversary reunion of the Talladega Super Speedway fall race!
I would take this over a mopar for sure! Great find!
Ford had it all in NASCAR at the end of the sixties. The car, the engine, the drivers, basically an onslaught to get rid of that “Ford is dead” rumor going around.
Someone once told me a long time ago that back then it just wasn’t cool to own a Ford, that was the Man’s car, the Mustang got a pass but anything else was narc material. I don’t know if I really believe that, yet there seem to be so few Ford mid sized muscle or “youth oriented” products around compared to the other guys it makes me wonder. Somebody set me straight.
Love to read these funnies by youse peoples that don’t have a clue…..respect to the 68/69 Ford products….sure doesn’t look lie a SOCH motor there.
Race results on the track at the end of a season – Mopar for 1970-71-72….GM -73 and back to mopar 74-75….GM pretty much ruled until 1988 when a Ford made it back.
Funny that grey fox won his first championship in 1966 in a Charger the year before Petty had his string of wins – that has yet to be matched to this day – on his way to the 1967 championship….with all respect to Jimmie and Jeff and the rest…it’s a tough crowd out there today…haha
And what 60’s NASCAR approved body/car holds the Bonneville record on the salt ?
26,700. Very disappointing.
My friends T rotting away.
Its inside, under fine dust.. not ‘rotting’
sad.
Lost oil pressure and parked it 20 years ago
4 speed car.
Parked 20 years.
Need a 427 block?
Several new in cosmoline 427s
429 boss
Owner has 50 plus cars and hundreds of rare engines.
Won’t sell a bolt off of one!
1963 galaxy 500.
Rare 429 boss intake with Autolite inline 4 barrel carbs.
It’s still out there but owning it is a different story!
Ended: Aug 17, 2018 , 7:43PM
Current bid:US $26,700.00
Reserve not met
[ 50 bids ]