The Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt is a limited production, factory experimental, drag race only automobile built by Ford in 1964. A total of 100 units were produced; forty-nine four-speed and fifty-one automatic, enough to secure the 1964 NHRA Super Stock title for Ford.
Racing equipment includes tubular exhaust headers, an electric fuel pump, altered rear suspension with heavy-duty traction control bars and asymmetrical leaf springs, heavy-duty trunk-mounted battery, locking differential, auxiliary gauges, special drag race wheels and tires supplied both by Goodyear and Mickey Thompson (himself a recipient of one of the first ten cars) and an aluminum scatter shield designed to contain the clutch in case of disintegration under load. Fiberglass doors, hood, front fenders, and even the front bumper on the earliest cars along with Plexiglas side and rear windows aided in weight reduction; the hood with its distinctive raised "teardrop" ram air scoop designed to draw hot air from the engine compartment was pinned in position, eliminating the need for a hood hinges and a latch. Later cars have aluminum front bumpers in place of the fiberglass units due to racing regulations. The claimed compression ratio was 13.5:1.
Other weight-saving measures include the elimination of such street items as the sunvisors, radio, heater, wheel covers, passenger side windshield wiper, arm rests, rear window cranks, mirrors, sound deadening material, carpeting, trunk mat, lug wrench, jack, and spare tire. Front seats were either lightweight units from Ford's police package vehicles or rudimentary bucket seats from the Econoline van; the carpeting was replaced with a black rubber mat. Though it was technically a street legal automobile, these modifications and deletions along with a final drive ratio of 4:57.1 for the four-speed cars and 4:44.1 for the automatics make the Thunderbolt impractical for street use.
Given the special nature of the car, Ford riveted a metal plate to the inside of the glovebox door of the Thunderbolt and other race-only models with a disclaimer relating to fit and finish. The plate read:
This vehicle has been built specially as a lightweight competitive car and includes certain fiberglass and aluminium components. Because of the specialized purpose for which this car has been built and in order to achieve maximum weight reduction, normal quality standards of the Ford Motor Company in terms of exterior panel fit and surface appearance are not met on this vehicle. This information is included on this vehicle to assure that all customers who purchase this car are aware of the deviation from the regular high appearance quality standards of the Ford Motor Company.
