{"id":37552,"date":"2014-10-04T23:43:08","date_gmt":"2014-10-04T23:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/owegopennysaver.com\/?p=37552"},"modified":"2014-10-04T23:43:08","modified_gmt":"2014-10-04T23:43:08","slug":"collector-car-corner-ford-v8-thunderbirds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2014\/10\/04\/collector-car-corner-ford-v8-thunderbirds\/","title":{"rendered":"Collector Car Corner – Ford V8 Thunderbirds"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Collector<\/a>

Photo of the Banjo Matthews driven Holman Moody 1959 Ford Thunderbird for NASCAR competition. (Holman Moody photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Collector<\/a>

Holman Moody book is available nationwide and is now in its second printing. (Greg Zyla photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

1959 430-V8 Thunderbird owner seeks information<\/b><\/p>\n

Q: Greg, I am the owner of a 1959 Ford Thunderbird that the vehicle identification number states should have a 358 V8 Ford engine, but in reality the engine is an original 430 Lincoln V8. It has standard motor mounts and has not been modified.<\/p>\n

In my research, NASCAR articles state that Ford made a production run of eight of these special 430 V8 Thunderbirds for racing. The ID tag on my engine shows a production start date of \u201c2 August\u201d with the reason for production: \u201cNASCAR rules for 1959 say all stock cars in competition must be\u00a0available for purchase by the general public.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s some more pertinent information: The engine number is \u201cedg8425\u201d and a production tag is 5 1\/4 inches by 1\/2 inch on a black, handwritten piece. It is a 1959 T-Bird, No. 2 8 25 8, with a VIN of H9yh159472.<\/p>\n

Back in 1958, Ford was racing the big Galaxie, so any help in tracking down the true manufacturer of my Thunderbird is greatly appreciated.<\/p>\n

I tried previously to contact Holman Moody but couldn\u2019t get through.\u00a0 Thanks much, Joe Swentek, Underwood Minnesota.<\/p>\n

A: Joe, your 430 V8 Thunderbird may or may not have been built by Holman Moody. To explain, I contacted Lee Holman of Holman Moody several times in the past as to these 430 V8 1959 Thunderbirds, and he said that in 1958, Ford officially gave its official stamp of approval and full factory support to the Holman Moody team.<\/p>\n

Back then, I remember seeing ads for those Holman Moody race ready 1959 Thunderbirds, of which Holman Moody built as Ford did not build them on their assembly line. (Or at least, that\u2019s what history indicates).<\/p>\n

Ford\u2019s corporate backing found Holman Moody building what Lee Holman remembers as a \u201cdozen or so\u201d 1959 Thunderbirds, all having the capacity of removing the top to compete in the convertible races and called \u201czipper tops.\u201d (see photo). Thus, there were more than eight 430 V8 T-Birds built.<\/p>\n

Since a dozen 1959 race ready Thunderbirds came from the Holman Moody stables in Charlotte, NC, yours could be one of them. However, also remember that of the seven Thunderbirds that started the 1959 Daytona 500, two of them were NOT Holman Moody built Thunderbirds, meaning others in the racing game were building 430 V8 powered Thunderbirds for NASCAR racing. Regardless, you might be sitting on something of serious collector value or at the least, a valuable replica of a 430-V8 Thunderbird. Either way, you win.<\/p>\n

You can give Holman Moody a call at (704) 583-2888 for more info, and also consider ordering a great book called \u201cHolman Moody, The Legendary Race Team\u201d by Tom Cotter and Al Pearce. This book explains in detail how Holman Moody built those 1959 Thunderbirds, and gives a great insight to their still popular business. It\u2019s available on their website at www.holmanmoody.com. Holman Moody is still in business at 9119 Forsyth Pike Drive, Charlotte, N.C. 28273. Thanks for your letters, Joe, and if any readers can help Joe with more info just write me.<\/p>\n

Recommendation for owner of T-Bird with leaking rear main seal<\/b><\/p>\n

Q: Hi Greg, I just finished reading your article on the leaking 292 V8 in Jim Gardner\u2019s Ford Thunderbird. I, too, have a \u201cY block\u201d Ford 292 V8 with a rear seal leak.<\/p>\n

In my current MAC’s Auto\u00a0Parts catalog, which specializes in old Ford parts, page 92 shows rear seals made of neoprene for the 292 V8. I\u00a0haven’t tried one yet but perhaps this might be a more permanent fix than\u00a0a rope seal main. Thanks for your informative articles. I read them in several papers here in Pennsylvania.\u00a0Dennis Mudge Hallstead, Pa.<\/p>\n

A: Thanks much Dennis. I\u2019ll make sure Jim Gardner knows about this as he might want to go the rebuild route with his beautiful 1957 Thunderbird.<\/p>\n

(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes reader questions on collector cars and old-time racing at 116 Main St., Towanda, Pa. 18848 or email at greg@gregzyla.com).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1959 430-V8 Thunderbird owner seeks information Q: Greg, I am the owner of a 1959 Ford Thunderbird that the vehicle identification number states should have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":37553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nCollector Car Corner - Ford V8 Thunderbirds - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2014\/10\/04\/collector-car-corner-ford-v8-thunderbirds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Collector Car Corner - 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