Check out these runs from the late 60s, in everything from SCJ Mustangs to hot Mavericks. Ford’s West Coast drag team was evolving and drag racing was becoming a preferred weekend sport for the ‘regular guy.’ Weekend warriors would often load the family, lawn chairs and a cooler into the daily driver and head out to a local drag strip.
With a change of wheels and tires, and sometimes a rear gearset, the family transport was ready for competitive action. Aside from the smell of burning rubber and some oil, the ambience of a weekend at the track was not a lot different than one at the beach, particularly after the racing was done for the day.
The FORD DRAG TEAM was Ford’s factory drag racing team in 1969 and 1970. The team was active in both the East and West, running super stock and match races, and giving performance seminars at Ford Dealers. The eastern Team Captain was Hubert Platt. The western Team Captain was Ed Terry partnered with Dick Wood.
Fielding two 1969 428 Cobra Jet Torinos and a pair of 1969 428 Cobra Jet Mustangs in Super Stock, as well as two 1969 Mustang fastbacks equipped with the 427 SOHC engine for match racing, these cars were drag strip terrors. They were painted blue with white hoods and white ’69 Boss 302 style stripes and also a flip-flop scheme of white with blue stripes. The match-race SOHC cars also featured a huge Boss 429 style hood scoop and American Torq-Thrust wheels.