(click on picture for large picture.)
(click on picture for large picture.)
built by Joe Charette
Polar Lights Body Kit - 6606
8 teeth pinion - 48 pitch - PMTR1022
33 teeth Cox Crown Gear - 48 pitch - PMTR1018
On a 1:24 Pro Track Hardbody Chassis - PL412A
Professor Motor Fox III 60% Power of 16D - PMTR1032
Gears have 4.125 gear ratio
1:24 Scale Driver by TSRF - T2422
Richard Petty , the King of NASCAR racing and a hard-core Chrysler-Plymouth driver, stunned the world of stock car racing in 1969 when he chose a Ford to carry his teams' prestigious number 43. Named for the anticipated grad opening of the new track being built near Talladega, Alabama, the Torino Talladega and it's Mercury brothers would dominate the NASCAR scene in 1969, leaving Chrysler scrambling to break Ford's choke-hold on top ten finishes.
Ironically, Petty's Ford Talladega would not compete in the inaugural race of the track it was named after as he and other top drivers, backed by the Professional Drivers Association, boycotted the first Talladega 500 after complaints were ignored about the track's coarse surface. Not only was the track eventually resurface by Goodyear and Firestone, prompted by the PDA started researching new tire compounds to withstand the grueling pace of sustained laps at 200 mph. Racing slicks were created and tested for the first time that year, marking a major milestone in stock car racing history.
A powerhouse by design and years ahead of it's time, the Ford Torino Talladega combined the longer front fenders of the Mercury Montego with a flush front grille to create an innovative long-nose front end that sat lower to the ground, thus decreasing wind resistance. Rocker panels under the doors were rerolled, raising ground clearance by a full inch to allow even more front-end drop also adding to the car's awesome wind-cheating rake. Petty's Talladega began the season with a Holman-Moody engine under the hood, but would ultimately run with three different engines throughout the year, including a Ford Boss 429.
Notoriously a handful at higher speeds and tricky to handle, this beast was mastered by Petty in just a few runs to send it screaming through the season to nearly catch David Pearson in a race for points for the NASCAR Grand National Title.