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Car Of The Day: January 31, 2010; RCCA '85 Ford Thunderbird Stock Car (Buddy Arrington)
Topic Started: Jan 31 2010, 12:26 AM (562 Views)
Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
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Today's car of the day is RCCA's 1985 Ford Thunderbird (Buddy Arrington).

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Wikipedia
 
1983 saw a much improved and aerodynamic car and the launch of the Turbo Coupe, and a much sportier image. Reputedly, in 1980 following a change in leadership, the new chief designer Jack Telnack was asked by executive Don Petersen "is this what you would want in your driveway?" Telnack's negative response prompted a redesign of the Thunderbird with the aero style that subsequently flowed on through the Taurus, Sierra and various Lincolns. In 1987, the Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe was redesigned and came with such notable features as automatic ride control, anti-lock brakes, and the intercooled turbocharged engine similar to that of the Ford Mustang SVO. All this resulted in a personal luxury car that produced 190 horsepower (140 kW) from a 2.3 L 4-cylinder engine and had a 143 mph (230 km/h) top speed.

The 1983 Ford Thunderbird was built on the same "Fox platform" as many other Ford products including the 1980-82 Thunderbird and the Ford Mustang. Unlike the previous generation T-Bird, the new-for-1983 model was redesigned with a more aerodynamic look. The drag coefficient of this body style was a mere 0.35. The 1983 T-Bird came in base, Heritage, and Turbo Coupe models. Both the base and the Heritage came standard with a 3.8 L (232 cu in) Essex V6 that produced 110 horsepower (82 kW) mated to a 3 speed automatic. A 4.9 L (302 cu in) Windsor 5.0 V8 with 140 horsepower (100 kW) was available with the former two models as well. The Turbo Coupe, the top-of-the-line model was special for several reasons. It used a turbocharged 4-cylinder 2.3 L (~140 cu in) engine with Ford's EEC-IV electronic engine control system. Unlike the other models, the Turbo Coupe came with a standard 5-speed manual transmission. Other improvements included a limited-slip differential (called "Traction-Lok"), larger tires and wheels, and a sportier interior complete with analog gauges.

For 1984, the Thunderbird few changes were made. The Turbo Coupe gained a 3-speed automatic transmission as an option. A "FILA" model was available, which featured unique paint and wheel choices, as well as badging to provide the car a more European feel.

By 1985, the Turbo Coupe gained power to 155 horsepower (116 kW), and all models received a new interior. A 30th Anniversary Edition model was offered, that featured unique blue paint and stripes, and came very well loaded with options. It was loosely based on the Elan model and most models came with the V8. Minor changes were made in 1986, including a center high mount stop lamp, and the deletion of the FILA edition.

In 1986 Ford began work on the "MN12" project which would serve as the basis for an all-new Thunderbird generation. Supposed to compete against the BMW 6-Series, Ford believed that the new Thunderbird would be too big a change for the public and still wanted to capitalize on the success that the existing generation of Thunderbirds had brought. So for 1987, the body shell and interior were altered for improved aerodynamic performance. Replacing the Elan were new LX and Sport models. The latter came with the V8 while the LX came with the V6. The Turbo Coupe earned the honor of being the Motor Trend Car of the Year for 1987. The 2.3 L turbo-4 now included the air-to-air intercooler that was found in the Ford Mustang SVO and boosted power up to 190 horsepower (140 kW) for the 5-speed manual transmission. New for the Turbo Coupe was a 4-speed automatic, with which the engine was rated at 150 horsepower (110 kW). The automatic had detuned turbo boost of 9.5 psi (65 kPa or 0.65 bar) instead of 10 to 15 psi (70 to 100 kPa or 0.7 to 1 bar). Ford's rationale for that was "transmission durability". Otherwise, the Turbo Coupe also came with anti-lock 4-wheel disc brakes, Automatic Ride Control, and 16-inch 225/60VR performance tires. On the appearance side, the Turbo Coupe received a performance hood with operational dual hood scoops with air ducts to the intercooler. The Turbo Coupe also featured a performance-styled front valance with fog lights and special trim with "Turbo Coupe" badges on the doors, as well as "Snowflake" 16 inch alloy wheels.

1988, the final year for the Turbo Coupe, saw only a minor change. The 5-speed manual transmission now allowed the full 15 psi of boost in all forward gears (as opposed to excluding the first two gears). The Turbo Coupe was replaced in 1989 by the Super Coupe which had a 3.8 L supercharged V6 engine—a radical departure from the old turbo-4.


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For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Ford Thunderbird & Buddy Arrington

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Buddy Arrington in a Ford. Blasphemy to long time NASCAR fans but it finally happened one fateful day in 1985. Someone really needs to do his NASCAR '83 Imperial (raced through 1985) as it was the last Mopar to race in Winston Cup until 2001.

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Wikipedia
 
Buddy Arrington (born July 26, 1938 in Martinsville, Virginia) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup Series) driver.

He has the second most starts without a win, and managed to finish in the top 10 of NASCAR points twice; in 1979 (ninth) and 1982 (seventh). He was known as a stubborn Mopar (Chrysler vehicles) loyalist until 1985 (long after almost every other team moved to other makes, and when the cars became ineligible to compete) and finished his career driving a few Ford Thunderbirds. His best career race and finish was at Talledega in 1979, where he had a powerful enough car to lead a few laps towards the end, and finished third. The race was ironic for Buddy (and Richard Petty), as Buddy finished one lap up of Petty, driving one of Richard's cast-off Dodge Magnums (a car Petty considered uncompetitive on big tracks like Talledega) and several other top NASCAR drivers. Buddy; from day one, almost always ran his own car, and his operation was a very money conscious effort. His pit crew were almost always unpaid volunteers, and relied on used equipment; at first Dodge Magnums that he bought from Richard Petty team, and also Harry Hyde's defunct team. These cars were later re-skinned and re-wheelbased to Dodge Miradas and Chrysler Imperial/Cordobas to meet the new NASCAR 110" wheel-base rule in 1981 (Buddy could not afford to build, or buy new 110" cars) and later ex-Bill Elliott Fords.

Buddy's two Chrysler Imperials were the last Chrysler products to run in the NASCAR Winston Cup series. He ran the car at first in two races in the 1981 season, and in more races (alternating with Dodge Miradas) up until April 1985, when at that point the parts supply, even used, for Chrysler products (Chrysler factory support ended in late 1978) dried up. He sold one of the Imperials (purchased from Cecil Gordon in 1984) to Phil Goode in April 85 (Goode raced it right up till the end of the 1985 season), and his other Imperial was given to the NASCAR Hall of Fame at Talledega, AL. Buddy was always a much liked man on the NASCAR circuit, and other teams and a small, but loyal fan club pitched in to help keep him racing. In 1985 the generosity of rising NASCAR star driver Bill Elliott (who sold Buddy his slightly used Ford Thunderbird race cars and parts on the cheap) kept Buddy driving until 1988. Buddy's son Joey (who at the young age of 17 served on Buddy's pit crew, and built up his engines), now runs Arrington Manufacturing in Martinsville VA. The company builds racing engines (mostly Dodges) for the Craftsman Truck Series, and test engines for Nextel Cup Nationwide series cars. Buddy is a regular visitor to his son's company, and often offers advice to young (mostly Dodge) drivers trying to make it in NASCAR racing.

Tragedy struck Arrington's team in 1986. Rick Baldwin substituted for Arrington, who had been injured the previous week at Pocono International Raceway, for the Miller 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. During his qualifying run in Arrington's Thunderbird, Baldwin spun in turn 1 and pancaked the wall with the drivers side of the car, and his head struck the wall. Baldwin remained in a coma for over 11 years, succumbing to his brain injuries in 1997.


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craftymore
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Support your local demo derby.

The wheels look like something from the PM days of JL. Did learn something today, Imperials were raced in NASCAR? That's so wrong even if they were from the early 80s.
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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1981/Buddy/index.htm
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Sak
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Ezekiel 25:17
Nice.

If you're doing RCCA, please include, in the future, the 1963 Galaxie, which came in several different liveries.
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ivantt
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New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
As discussed in a previous CotD, you can see the quality improving here in 1/64 NASCAR diecasts (body features, wheels, some details, etc.) but still a way to go to look more accurate and scale. I remember when RCCA led the way and was King of the hill for NASCAR diecast collectors. They couldn't make enough, fast enough, for demand.
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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
Sak
Jan 31 2010, 07:13 AM
If you're doing RCCA, please include, in the future, the 1963 Galaxie, which came in several different liveries.
I would, but I don't own any! :(
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DaWeber
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Station Wagon
This is a very interesting piece of Trivia about Imperials at NASCAR. We do learn something new everyday! Thanks!
Edited by DaWeber, Feb 1 2010, 07:54 PM.
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