Author Topic: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles  (Read 49654 times)

5566

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Re: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles
« Reply #330 on: August 25, 2022, 08:16:20 AM »
I had a 67 Grand Prix in college.  Last of the full size models.  Fun car; I'm lucky I'm alive.  Sold it for an 80 Pinto (geez) because I couldn't afford the $5 a day in gas to get to school.  ;D

68stangcjfb

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Re: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles
« Reply #331 on: August 25, 2022, 08:39:36 AM »
Interesting how the front of the Thunderbird is shaped almost exactly like the back of the 1963 Chrysler turbine car.
68 1/2 CJ Mustang GT FB auto 3.91s 68 1/2 CJ Torino GT FB 3.91s 60 Thunderbird 64 Falcon Sprint conv. 4Spd 65 Falcon Sedan Delivery 67 Fairlane 500 SW 428 4Spd, 68 Torino 4dr 95 Thunderbird SC. 89 F250 Supercab 2wd, 98 Mustang conv. 99 Jeep Cherokee 2002 Thunderbird. 96 Harley FLSTN Heritage Special

Side-Oilers

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Re: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles
« Reply #332 on: August 25, 2022, 01:11:26 PM »
And how much the Turbine Car looked like a ‘61-63 T-bird.
Current:
2006 FGT. Tungsten. Whipple, HRE 20s, Ohlin coil-overs, 3.90 gears. 210.7 mph.

Kirkham Cobra. 482-inch aluminum side-oiler. Tremec 5-spd.

Formerly:
1968 GT500KR #2575 (1982-2022)
1970 Ranchero GT 429
1969 LTD Country Squire 429
1963 T-Bird Sport Roadster
1957 T-Bird E-model 3-spd stick

68stangcjfb

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Re: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles
« Reply #333 on: August 25, 2022, 01:22:24 PM »
I believe Elwood Engel had a hand in the 1961 Thunderbird design. He also designed the Chrysler Turbine car. He left Ford in 1961 for Chrysler. I don't know who designed that Thunderbird concept.
68 1/2 CJ Mustang GT FB auto 3.91s 68 1/2 CJ Torino GT FB 3.91s 60 Thunderbird 64 Falcon Sprint conv. 4Spd 65 Falcon Sedan Delivery 67 Fairlane 500 SW 428 4Spd, 68 Torino 4dr 95 Thunderbird SC. 89 F250 Supercab 2wd, 98 Mustang conv. 99 Jeep Cherokee 2002 Thunderbird. 96 Harley FLSTN Heritage Special

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Re: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles
« Reply #334 on: August 25, 2022, 02:30:34 PM »
Engel also was part of the '61 slab-side Continental design...then went to Chrysler and did the slab-side Imperials.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2022, 02:54:52 PM by Side-Oilers »
Current:
2006 FGT. Tungsten. Whipple, HRE 20s, Ohlin coil-overs, 3.90 gears. 210.7 mph.

Kirkham Cobra. 482-inch aluminum side-oiler. Tremec 5-spd.

Formerly:
1968 GT500KR #2575 (1982-2022)
1970 Ranchero GT 429
1969 LTD Country Squire 429
1963 T-Bird Sport Roadster
1957 T-Bird E-model 3-spd stick

FL SAAC

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Re: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles
« Reply #335 on: August 25, 2022, 03:51:16 PM »
1972 Pinto Sportiva for the win !
Living RENT FREE in your minds...

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A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs.  It's jolted by every pebble on the road

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FL SAAC

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Re: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles
« Reply #336 on: August 25, 2022, 03:52:58 PM »
Sign me up for the new Sportiva !
Living RENT FREE in your minds...

Home of the Hertz Musketeers 

A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs.  It's jolted by every pebble on the road

I have all UNGOLD cars

I am certainly not a Shelby Expert

Life is short B happy

Side-Oilers

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Re: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles
« Reply #337 on: August 25, 2022, 05:35:17 PM »
^^ Make it a mid-engine and it'd be a Fiero.   Dimensions look to be about the same.
Current:
2006 FGT. Tungsten. Whipple, HRE 20s, Ohlin coil-overs, 3.90 gears. 210.7 mph.

Kirkham Cobra. 482-inch aluminum side-oiler. Tremec 5-spd.

Formerly:
1968 GT500KR #2575 (1982-2022)
1970 Ranchero GT 429
1969 LTD Country Squire 429
1963 T-Bird Sport Roadster
1957 T-Bird E-model 3-spd stick

crossboss

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Re: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles
« Reply #338 on: August 25, 2022, 06:20:18 PM »
^^ Make it a mid-engine and it'd be a Fiero.   Dimensions look to be about the same.



...AND just as ugly!
Past owned Shelby's:
1968 GT-350--Gold
1970 GT-500--#3129--Grabber Orange.
Current lifelong projects:
1969 Mustang Fastback/FOX chassis, 5 speed, 4 wheel discs, with a modern Can-Am 494 (Boss 429), Kaase heads, intake with a 1425 cfm 'B' Autolite Inline carb, ala Trans-Am style
1968/70 Olds 442 W-30

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Re: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles
« Reply #339 on: October 10, 2022, 07:11:42 PM »

1972 DeTomaso Longchamp (Ghia)

Alejandro de Tomaso and Tom Tjaarda

When the Longchamps was released, Alejandro de Tomaso had been designing, racing and building cars for 20 years. By that time Ford had completely bought out his interest in Ghia, Vignale and De Tomaso Automobili, so there was plenty of speculation as to what he would do with the superb looking Longchamp prototype front-engine coupe first shown at the 1973 Turin show.

De Tomaso claimed himself as the designer, having a thorough knowledge on the evolution of a prototype from conception to the finished car. History records Tom Tjaarda from Ghia as the chief designer, but De Tomaso was so involved in all his projects from beginning to end that he also had the right to claim responsibility for it. And every car De Tomaso produced had style and distinction.

The Longchamp was developed from the Deauville four-door sedan, using a shorter wheelbase chassis with the same suspension, engine and transmission. These two models were the only front-engined production cars produced by De Tomaso. The styling was influenced by Tjaarda's previous Lancia Marica prototype.


The Longchamp was compared to the Mercedes 450SL by the motoring press - but when you look at it close up there was little if any resemblance there beyond the actual grille and headlight shapes. From a standpoint of design it was deceptively large - dimensionally close to a typical mid-size American sedan (understandable given the US was always the target market). Everything was drawn tightly around the wheels, and the surface detail was outstanding. Restraint was its keynote, along with proportion and balance - not startlingly new, but the work of a master.


In 1973 it represented the perfect solution to a 2+2 design. Longchamp tooling was planned for 10 cars a day. Engine and transmission were from Ford, as usual; air-conditioning, power steering, electric windows and the other amenities were standard as was either full leather or velvet upholstery. The prototype had velvet, which strangely was more expensive than leather because it was more difficult to work with. At the Turin show De Tomaso was pricing the Longchamp at US$12,000, which, considering what you got for your money, made it a bargain.


The Longchamp was initially offered only as a two-door 2+2 coupé. The taillights were the same units as were used for the Alfa Romeo 1750/2000 saloon.The Longchamp featured a long hood to accommodate a 351 in³ (5766cc) Ford Cleveland V8. The 351 Cleveland, a popular engine in late 1960s Ford "muscle cars," was the same as that used in the Pantera. The Cleveland produced 330 hp (246 kW) and gave the Longchamp a 240 km/h (149 mph) top speed. The engine power was later reduced to 270 hp (200 kW). The standard gearbox was a 3-speed Ford C-6 Cruise-o-Matic automatic gearbox, however around 17 cars were equipped with a 5-speed ZF manual gearbox. The suspension was independent front and rear with coil spring and wishbone suspension. Steering was power assisted rack and pinion with vented disc brakes all around, the rear discs being positioned inboard.
Living RENT FREE in your minds...

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A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs.  It's jolted by every pebble on the road

I have all UNGOLD cars

I am certainly not a Shelby Expert

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Re: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles
« Reply #340 on: October 10, 2022, 07:18:24 PM »
De Tomaso Pantera II 197x (or 7x) / Montella, 1973
The year was May 21, 1971 and American car enthusiasts had just fallen in love with the recently introduced mid-engine Pantera sport car. With great reviews, Ford’s joint venture with DeTomaso seemed like a sure sell for years to come.

That is, until the new highway safety and emissions act hit the auto industry, and eventually forced Ford to pull the plug on the Pantera in 1974. Refusing to just give up in the face of power robbing emission laws, DeTomaso sought a replacement for their Pantera.

The planned production Pantera II 197x (or 7x) was based on the chassis of the original Pantera. With all-new styling and a sweeping cantilevered roofline with open pillars to the rear, Ghia designers had done a great job at advancing both the appearance of the prototype, at the same time carrying over as many components as possible from the Pantera L model.

Unfortunately, the Pantera II 7x production car never came to be. Penned by the legendary Ghia designer Tom Tjaarda and hand built in 1973 in Italy by Ghia, the prototype enjoyed a tour as a show car in the spring of 1974, before the Ford venture came to an end late in that year. In 1975, supervised by Ghia design studio president Don DeLaRossa, the prototype underwent a conversion. The car was repainted Pearl White over Metallic Bronze, stripped of its Pantera nameplates and fitted with new ones bearing the name DeTomaso Monttella. The car was then shipped off to the U.S. and titled in Michigan, where it was stored with the hopes of showing it to other manufactures for possible production. Five years passed, and in 1981 the car was sold to a local Michigan sports car dealer that in turn sold it to a family member of the current owner
Living RENT FREE in your minds...

Home of the Hertz Musketeers 

A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs.  It's jolted by every pebble on the road

I have all UNGOLD cars

I am certainly not a Shelby Expert

Life is short B happy

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Re: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles
« Reply #341 on: October 10, 2022, 07:20:22 PM »
De Tomaso Pantera II 197x (or 7x) / Montella, 1973

The De Tomaso Pantera has posthumously achieved legend status but, in period, its fortunes were much different. In fact, it was nearly replaced just two years into its life by this: the Pantera Series II, also known as the Monttella.

In the late sixties, Henry Ford II was still bitter about his company’s failure to acquire Ferrari. The legendary GT40 wins at Le Mans offered him some sense of retribution, but he still yearned to sell an Italian sports car under the Blue Oval. A partnership developed with De Tomaso, which also hailed from Modena and, while not enjoying the same prestige as the Prancing Horse, had the added benefit of owning Italian coachbuilders Ghia and Vignale – assets which Ford soon happily acquired, with Alejandro de Tomaso anticipating them making little future profit for his company.

With Tom Tjaarda at the helm, one of Ghia’s first projects under Ford tenure was to design and build the Pantera, a joint collaboration between Ghia’s previous and current owners. It debuted in 1971, boasting a 5,780cc Ford V8 cloaked by Italian coachwork: a combination which many Americans found irresistible despite the car’s well-reported build quality issues. While sales were mounting all seemed well, but when the 1973 oil crisis and U.S. safety and emissions laws combined to make design changes to the Pantera necessary, Ford began losing patience.

De Tomaso saw life yet in the young Pantera, so enlisted Ghia to design a ‘Pantera Series II’ using the underpinnings of the existing model. Tjaarda gave the concept the relevant bumper modifications to satisfy new legislation, but also reworked his original design to include flying buttresses in place of rear pillars – a flourish used on the Maserati Merak a year earlier, which was coincidentally penned by Tjaarda’s predecessor at Ghia, Giorgetto Giugiaro. The Pantera Series II concept was finished in a striking bronze colour, and was unveiled at the 1974 LA Auto Show.

Meanwhile, the worsening state of the automotive industry had led Ford to rethink its priorities, and by the end of that year the American giant had withdrawn its corporate finger from the Pantera pie. The Vignale factory (where the original Pantera was being built) was closed, with all tooling within being scrapped, although De Tomaso continued Pantera production up until 1991 using its own dies and casts. In 1975, the Pantera II concept was re-christened ’Monttella’, given a fresh white-on-bronze colour scheme and shipped to Ford’s Michigan HQ. The intention was to find a replacement production suitor; however, there was little interest, with few manufacturers wishing to take on new projects in such uncertain times. As a result, the Monttella sat unused until 1981, when Ford sold it – alongside several other Ghia prototypes – to a local dentist.

It remained in the dentist's ownership until his death in 2006, and a year later his sons consigned the car to be auctioned at RM’s Monterey sale. It realised 99,000 dollars, the buyer being a Milanese architect who happened to be a close friend of the car’s original designer. Tjaarda gladly assisted with the subsequent body-off-frame restoration, and the car was promptly returned to its original bronze colour and Pantera identity in time for its re-inauguration at the 2008 Villa d’Este, piloted by its beaming creator.

Regularly seen at UK events on British registration plates, it seems the Pantera II concept now has yet another stamp in its passport. And as for the birth certificate – it may have spent the majority of its life under an alias, but the car’s identity is clear. It’s the Pantera that would have been, were it not for such unhappy external factors.
Living RENT FREE in your minds...

Home of the Hertz Musketeers 

A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs.  It's jolted by every pebble on the road

I have all UNGOLD cars

I am certainly not a Shelby Expert

Life is short B happy

98SVT - was 06GT

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Re: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles
« Reply #342 on: October 10, 2022, 09:19:38 PM »
1972 Pinto Sportiva for the win !

Ended up as the Ford EXP
Previous owner 6S843 - GT350H & 68 GT500 Convert #135.
Mine: GT1 Mustang Track Toy, 1998 SVT Cobra, Wife's: 2004 Tbird
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98SVT - was 06GT

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Re: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles
« Reply #343 on: October 10, 2022, 09:24:27 PM »
First thing that came to mind when I viewed the Tridon was a giant white moth
The word that struck me was pimpmobile.
Previous owner 6S843 - GT350H & 68 GT500 Convert #135.
Mine: GT1 Mustang Track Toy, 1998 SVT Cobra, Wife's: 2004 Tbird
Member since 1975 - priceless

crossboss

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Re: Ford Experimental -Concept Vehicles
« Reply #344 on: October 10, 2022, 10:40:39 PM »
1972 Pinto Sportiva for the win !

Ended up as the Ford EXP




Bob Glidden called his EXP "The Frog"
Past owned Shelby's:
1968 GT-350--Gold
1970 GT-500--#3129--Grabber Orange.
Current lifelong projects:
1969 Mustang Fastback/FOX chassis, 5 speed, 4 wheel discs, with a modern Can-Am 494 (Boss 429), Kaase heads, intake with a 1425 cfm 'B' Autolite Inline carb, ala Trans-Am style
1968/70 Olds 442 W-30