57 Ford battlebirds

[Walter F.]

Just read a short article where the claim that Fords Thunderbird broke and held the record at the spring Daytona seed event setting a top speed of 160MPH and a record of a two way run 138.755 MPH. I was always under the impression Ford never wanted there Thunderbird to be looked at as a sports car , yet with supercharges being placed in many cars making over 300 Horsepower it almost seems as if the Corvette was playing second fiddle to Fords so called personal car. Was the 57 Thunderbird really more of a performance car then Chevrolets Corvette. When I look at the numbers on paper both cars almost seem about totally equal.

[Stuart F.]

Re: 57 Ford battlebirds

Walter;

Back in the day, Ford factory and enthusiasts were able to tweek their 312 ci engines with Superchargers to get some respectable results. I recall, in 1961, I frequently squared off against a 57 flip top running A/S in our series for top stock eliminator. I was running a 57 Chevy post Bel Air with a 292 ci Vette engine in B/S. There were 3 classes above us too, incl.: B/SS, A/SS and U/S. We were regularly running in the low 13's with street tires. I guess a lot of their performance resulted from their ability to adjust their boost on the Superchargers. However, I don't recall ever seeing anyone at the track with an actual Thunderbird.

Stu Fox

[Philip A.]

Re: 57 Ford battlebirds

Just read a short article where the claim that Fords Thunderbird broke and held the record at the spring Daytona seed event setting a top speed of 160MPH and a record of a two way run 138.755 MPH. I was always under the impression Ford never wanted there Thunderbird to be looked at as a sports car , yet with supercharges being placed in many cars making over 300 Horsepower it almost seems as if the Corvette was playing second fiddle to Fords so called personal car. Was the 57 Thunderbird really more of a performance car then Chevrolets Corvette. When I look at the numbers on paper both cars almost seem about totally equal.

Walter
The answer is in your post; and the history. The Corvette was designed and built to be a sports car and race against the European sports cars. This involves both power and handling. The T-Bird, as you state, was designed to be a personal car within the U.S. auto market place. This involves power over handling. Any vehicle can be a "performance" vehicle based on power to weight ratio only.
Phil

[D S.]

Re: 57 Ford battlebirds

I own a '57 Thunderbird 312/245 and have read they all can easily attain 120 MPH. Look under '1957 Thunderbird Engine Options/Automotive Mileposts' for more information.