Cover- February 2009 Bird News

BATTLEBIRD

This month, our Cover once again draws on the [CD] - Thunderbird Anthology - for a very interesting photograph. Note that the 'Bird has a small windscreen, no rear-bumper, a weight reducing drilled hood, & special wheels. Other features, e.g., the drilled trunk & hinges appear in the photos on page 7.

Gallery: The 1957 Ford Battlebird

At the behest of Ford, the '57 Ford Battlebird was built by Peter DePaolo Engineering to compete against the Chevrolet Corvette at Daytona. Four cars were built in total. Two were essentially stackers, and two were modified. Only one of the modified Battlebirds survives and that car is powered by a stroked 312 Y-blocked backed up by a Jaguar gearbox. Not long after the Battlebirds took the fight to the Corvettes, manufacturers began to back out of racing, and the 'birds were sold off. User 'xseabee 1' has posted a small gallery of Battlebird photos on Webshots and there is a good frontal photo on Serious Wheels.

The Battlebird's 312 is stroked to 348-cid.

Photo 2- NOTE THE WEIGHT-REDUCING HOLES IN THE HOOD & THE STREAMLINING TREATMENT REPLACING THE REAR BUMPER. TRUNK PINS ARE EMPLOYED FOR SAFETY. # 98 HAD BEEN TIMED AT 160+ MPH; (WE SAW A MUCH SLOWER RUN AT THE BEND, OR CTCI EVENT IN 1996!)

Photo 3- THE ENGINE IS OVERBORED TO 348 CID, ALLOWING THE HIGHLY MODIFIED 'BIRD TO RECORD A SPEED OF 160.356 OVER A MILE. NOTE THE CUSTOM EXHAUST HEADERS. (CTCI MEMBER, GIL BAUMGARTNER, IS THE CTCI AUTHENTICITY CHAIRMAN.)