Ben's board track racer
Coming up at RM Auctions on Thursday 12th August is the last remaining ‘Battlebird’.
The Battlebirds were experimental, highly-modified, 1957 Thunderbirds, which made extensive use of weight-saving aluminium to replace many steel body panels. They were specially constructed to race the famed ‘flying mile’ speed runs at Daytona Beach in 1957.
2 Battlebirds were constructed for these show races, after which they were sold off by the Ford Motor Company.
This car, No. 98, originally ran a fuel-injected, McCullough supercharged 312 engine, and ran second to a Ferrari. It was restored painstakingly by Gil Baumgartner in the early 2000s. Check out Gil’s restoration here.
No. 99, powered by a 368 Lincoln engine, was later destroyed.
So if you want to lay some rubber down your street, here’s your chance to place a bid.
NEWS JUST IN: The Battlebird sold for US$280,000. (No, my wife didn’t buy it for my birthday.)
Picture from RM Auctions site.
Sadly, Larry Watson passed away on July 20th, a day before his 72nd birthday.
The Custom painter supremo, who created the ‘panel painting’ style most famously on his brand new ‘58 T-Bird, will be sadly missed by his fans and admirers.
No doubt there will be plenty of ‘Watson-style’ tribute cars appearing in the future.
RIP Larry.
Images from Kustomland: the Custom Car Photography of James Potter 1955-1959 by Thom Taylor.
Here on the underside of the world, it’s usually raining for 4th of July celebrations. But this year the weather gods didn’t dampen the party, and a big crowd of our U.S. pals turned up at Kardinya (just south of Perth) for the annual A.W.C. Fair. If the hot dogs, popcorn, donuts, candy, Millers and salsa sauce didn’t stir up the homesickness, the bouncy castle sure would.
Rumours that Elvis arrived in the big ole ‘Tupelo’ Cadillac were eventually dispelled… but it would have explained the ’sold out’ sign at the Krispy Kreme counter.
Paul and I waited in line for a hotdog, and dressed in patriotic colours for the occasion. We even affixed a U.S. flag to the back aerial, embassy-style. Happy Birthday Uncle Sam.
Snaps of Tbirds, Mustangs, Cadillacs, Jeeps and assorted sights here.
Last Saturday Bill invited a couple of Tbird Tragics (and a Fairlane) over to his garage for an informal howdy and a chinwag. It’s great to see one of his lovingly maintained Square Birds out and about – one of a striking couple! Luckily they escaped the hail wreckage a couple of months ago.
Bill spends some time in Broome – and wouldn’t we all love to be there basking in some sunshine? – but when in Perth he’ll come to the unveiling of a Tbird seat cover, he’s so keen. See the Big Al’s gallery for a couple more pics of his cars on the road.
Check out more pics in the gallery here.
That day the heavens opened and hailstones pounded everything in sight, we held grave fears for the Tbird’s bodywork. Although it’s kept under cover in the garage, we watched in horror as hailstones the size of lemons rebounded onto the car.
The next day we gingerly peeled back the cover and were amazed to see no real signs of damage. We could have used a Lifeguard out front – our front lawn was converted into a lake.
How did your car fare?
