I've never seen the the optional two speed Boss 302 rear. Did it ever exist?
I remember rumors in the 70s about some Cougar eliminators having two speed rear ends. I have never seen one, I'm doubtful but anxious to hear from others.
Karl
6s281
Here you go. Apparently this article was in a 1969 hot rod magazine? Amazing.
Karl
6s281
Great find Karguy but the question still remains in my mind if even one car actually existed? Was this just a one-of "Engineering car"? What say you Coralsnake? Maybe like the IRS Shelbys?
I have to find a way to enlarge that article so that I can read the details but my Ford Parts guy was a Boss 302 guy and as I remember told me it was an Eaton 2 speed truck rear and was very heavy so there wasn't a lot of interest in it by the racers at the time?
Quote from: shelbydoug on February 12, 2019, 07:15:09 AM
Great find Karguy but the question still remains in my mind if even one car actually existed? Was this just a one-of "Engineering car"? What say you Coralsnake? Maybe like the IRS Shelbys?
I have to find a way to enlarge that article so that I can read the details but my Ford Parts guy was a Boss 302 guy and as I remember told me it was an Eaton 2 speed truck rear and was very heavy so there wasn't a lot of interest in it by the racers at the time?
I have seen several Mustangs and a couple of Shelby's that have the Two Speed Rear End but it was a Bolt on piece between the Rear End and Drive Shaft. I can't think of the Name of it at this time but I think it was called a "Hone Drive". I had a Mustang Monthly Magazine that featured a 65 Shelby with one.
Found it..... Hone-O-Drive
http://hone-o-drive.com/product/b230/
Hone over-drive is what it is still called but that is not the two speed rear that was being proposed/talked about/built by Ford.
I saw the Hone with mostly the separate unit. They are an aftermarket part and in fact showed up in the Shelby accessories catalog, it's a different animal.
I never saw the one that attaches directly to the rear but it's around too. I don't think that was the Ford proposal though?
I can think of a black '68 GT350 from Mamaroneck, then owned by Eugene O'neil and Tom Caldera's '69 GT350, both with the separate Hone unit in them. There is a lever installed in the cabin through the drive shaft tunnel to engage them.
That article with the prototype '69 Cougar Eliminator appeared in the January 1969 issue of Hot Rod magazine.
Here is the cover.
- Phillip
(http://www.saacforum.com/gallery/134-120219095438.jpeg)
Quote from: propayne on February 12, 2019, 09:55:45 AM
That article with the prototype '69 Cougar Eliminator appeared in the January 1969 issue of Hot Rod magazine.
Here is the cover.
- Phillip
(http://www.saacforum.com/gallery/134-120219095438.jpeg)
Is that the only car ever built with it installed? I wonder if they would show up on a Marti Report?
I keep my eye out for Ford Hone-O-Drive units. They are rare.
Seem to see Baldwin Camaro units more commonly.
A Hone unit was in a 66 Hertz car I had years ago. I think the consensus at the time was that none were factory and just an aftermarket piece for cars with big gears (fords and chevys alike). Seems like they were popular in the early 70's. I've never seen one in a Boss.
Quote from: cboss70 on February 12, 2019, 10:50:23 AM
A Hone unit was in a 66 Hertz car I had years ago. I think the consensus at the time was that none were factory and just an aftermarket piece for cars with big gears (fords and chevys alike). Seems like they were popular in the early 70's. I've never seen one in a Boss.
you are thinking correctly .The consensus is the same today as it was then. After market additions typically. It was one of the items on every street driving (daily driver performance car) gear heads wish list back in the day.
Hone-O-Drives came in two versions. Ones that fit for 9" (the design we see advertised for the 55 GT350's) and those that fit between (separate unit) the trans and rearends with two short drivelines.
Have on of the Ford versions in one of my cars, have seen them in a couple of Boss's and even on a large truck
Believe they were advertised and providing a 30% overdrive.
What was described in the Hot Rod magazine was something very different and it didn't make production :(
I believe it was being developed to make a "Drag Pack" withe 3:91 or :4:30 gears more user friendly for street/highway use.
Quote from: Bob Gaines on February 13, 2019, 12:49:27 AM
Quote from: cboss70 on February 12, 2019, 10:50:23 AM
A Hone unit was in a 66 Hertz car I had years ago. I think the consensus at the time was that none were factory and just an aftermarket piece for cars with big gears (fords and chevys alike). Seems like they were popular in the early 70's. I've never seen one in a Boss.
you are thinking correctly .The consensus is the same today as it was then. After market additions typically. It was one of the items on every street driving (daily driver performance car) gear heads wish list back in the day.
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Yes after market but offered as a Shelby accessory. Pretty cool, we have a KR here with one installed. Has 4.11 gears that reduce to 2.9. Rated for up to 800hp IIRC. Originals are rare but new Hone is offering them for a mere 3200
As far as I know, that prototype '69 Eliminator has not surfaced so far.
Besides the Dana-Spicer two speed rear axle, the molded in rear spoiler, the Torque-Thrusts and the paint also didn't make it to production.
Mercury branded that rear end as "Streep", for street and strip and they launched a whole "Streep Scene" marketing campaign around that, creating a logo and some of the wildest and best advertising materials of the late '60s.
So I would think that that two speed rear axle was seriously planned for production up until the very end - to late to alter the marketing campaign.
Phillip
(http://www.saacforum.com/gallery/134-130219075735.jpeg)
(http://www.saacforum.com/gallery/134-130219081202.jpeg)
Quote from: propayne on February 13, 2019, 08:13:45 AM
As far as I know, that prototype '69 Eliminator has not surfaced so far.
Besides the Dana-Spicer two speed rear axle, the molded in rear spoiler, the Torque-Thrusts and the paint also didn't make it to production.
Mercury branded that rear end as "Streep", for street and strip and they launched a whole "Streep Scene" marketing campaign around that, creating a logo and some of the wildest and best advertising materials of the late '60s.
So I would think that that two speed rear axle was seriously planned for production up until the very end - to late to alter the marketing campaign.
Phillip
(http://www.saacforum.com/gallery/134-130219075735.jpeg)
(http://www.saacforum.com/gallery/134-130219081202.jpeg)
Where was it photographed? LA? Detroit? That might be a hint at where to look for it? It's quite a package and I'd guess that the rear put too much onto the cost to seriously be considered for production? At this point though, I'd lean to making it an IRS with the two speed. Kick it up a click or two? Rear discs too.
Back in the day, we used the Hone-O-Drive (attached directly to the differential) in the '70 GT500 w/ 4.88's, and it was great for the dual purpose function, but, it also proved to be the weak link in the drive train when coupled to the 461 cu. in. Tunnel Port w/ the 12' x 29" Hoosier dirt tires. :o Therefore, if attending a track event we would swap-out the differential for a non-Hone equipped unit. I suspect that this may also have been a concern with the proposed 2-speed unit, as the compact dimensional requirements would possibly have compromised strength requirements. And of coarse, costs & marketability considerations. :-\
Scott.
I just happened to notice the profile on the rear tires on the car. Those look like the equivalent of what I've got on my 68, which are 295-50-15's. You can get them in with room like that to the fender if the banjo is narrowed.
I've got a Lincoln Versailles in the back because of the disc brakes and I think it is 3 inches narrower then the stock 68 housing. That sets the tires in like that. It looks so stock, few even notice. I think that's very trick. VERY interesting car. I wonder if that's a Kar Kraft creation?
It looks like the same color as the Coralsnake? Could Pete live with that?
Quote from: shelbydoug on February 13, 2019, 08:19:28 AM
Quote from: propayne on February 13, 2019, 08:13:45 AM
As far as I know, that prototype '69 Eliminator has not surfaced so far.
Besides the Dana-Spicer two speed rear axle, the molded in rear spoiler, the Torque-Thrusts and the paint also didn't make it to production.
Mercury branded that rear end as "Streep", for street and strip and they launched a whole "Streep Scene" marketing campaign around that, creating a logo and some of the wildest and best advertising materials of the late '60s.
So I would think that that two speed rear axle was seriously planned for production up until the very end - to late to alter the marketing campaign.
Phillip
(http://www.saacforum.com/gallery/134-130219075735.jpeg)
(http://www.saacforum.com/gallery/134-130219081202.jpeg)
Where was it photographed? LA? Detroit? That might be a hint at where to look for it? It's quite a package and I'd guess that the rear put too much onto the cost to seriously be considered for production? At this point though, I'd lean to making it an IRS with the two speed. Kick it up a click or two? Rear discs too.
The Cougar prototype photo were taken in Dearborn in Ford's proving grounds.
Since DST (Detroit Steel Tubing) appear to have worked on the '69 Boss 302, I would suspect they also did this '69 Eliminator.
Quote from: Richstang on February 13, 2019, 06:28:58 PM
Quote from: shelbydoug on February 13, 2019, 08:19:28 AM
Quote from: propayne on February 13, 2019, 08:13:45 AM
As far as I know, that prototype '69 Eliminator has not surfaced so far.
Besides the Dana-Spicer two speed rear axle, the molded in rear spoiler, the Torque-Thrusts and the paint also didn't make it to production.
Mercury branded that rear end as "Streep", for street and strip and they launched a whole "Streep Scene" marketing campaign around that, creating a logo and some of the wildest and best advertising materials of the late '60s.
So I would think that that two speed rear axle was seriously planned for production up until the very end - to late to alter the marketing campaign.
Phillip
(http://www.saacforum.com/gallery/134-130219075735.jpeg)
(http://www.saacforum.com/gallery/134-130219081202.jpeg)
Where was it photographed? LA? Detroit? That might be a hint at where to look for it? It's quite a package and I'd guess that the rear put too much onto the cost to seriously be considered for production? At this point though, I'd lean to making it an IRS with the two speed. Kick it up a click or two? Rear discs too.
The Cougar prototype photo were taken in Dearborn in Ford's proving grounds.
Since DST (Detroit Steel Tubing) appear to have worked on the '69 Boss 302, I would suspect they also did this '69 Eliminator.
It's a great car. I'd have bought it.