1970 Ford Torino - The End

Bringing Ford’s NASCAR Aero Efforts to a Close

For a long time the proven method to going faster was simple: increase horsepower. While streamlining was common for top-speed runs on the Bonneville Salt Flats and the Daytona sand, Detroit didn't spend much time figuring out how to cheat the wind when designing production vehicles. It wasn't until aerodynamics became a useful tool for winning races that streamlined styling moved to vehicles for the public.

Chrysler reached the pinnacle of factory aero efforts with the '69 Dodge Charger Daytona and '70 Plymouth Superbird. They were called wing cars for their outrageous rear airfoils, though their missile-shaped noses were no less subtle. Prior to the wing cars, the Charger 500, with its flush grille and fastback window plug, was playing catch-up to the Talladega Torino and Mercury Cyclone Spoiler, which featured similar aerodynamic design cues.

Once Dodge dropped the hammer with the bullet-nosed Daytona in 1969 and Plymouth came out with its version for the 1970 season, Ford's designers stepped up to the plate. In early 1969, Ford came out with its own aero warriors, the Torino King Cobra and Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II.

2/9 Powering the Mercury is the top gun of Ford engines, the Boss 429, factory rated at a laughable 375 hp.

The cardinal rule of aerodynamics is, "You can move as much air as you want, but you must put it back neatly." Legendary designer Larry Shinoda penned a nose that split the wind cleanly, with recessed headlights that strongly resemble those found on the '70 Datsun 240Z (though we'd put money on both being inspired by the '62-'64 Ferrari 250 GTO).

Unlike the Mopar aero cars, which received changes at both ends of the body, changes to the Ford and Mercury models were strictly from the firewall forward. A different approach was also taken with the way the nose split the wind: While the Mopars cut through with a bullet profile that rose up from the bottom of the grille and down from the hood to meet somewhere near the middle, Shinoda's 7-foot fiberglass hood and fenders slope down all the way to the low-slung bumper, creating a ramp for the air to move over. Whereas the bullet noses cut through the air and picked up some additional downforce, the Shinoda design chiseled through, creating a lot of downforce as the air flowed over the nose.
According to Steve Honnell, who owns the cars you see here, testing by Cale Yarborough showed the cars to be "squirrelly" on the track. The nose moved air over the car nicely, creating a lot of track-hugging downforce at the front, but the roofline and decklid did little to put the air back in place, resulting in lift that caused the car to get loose at speed. A wing or spoiler would create the needed downforce, but before it could be designed, the program was killed.

NASCAR's reaction to the aero Ford and Mercury—and to Chrysler's aero cars—was a thumbs-down. The factories could have protested the decision, or at least pushed for a compromise, but NASCAR also implemented a new homologation rule for competition eligibility: Rather than 500 street versions of their vehicles as in the past, France and company bumped the number to 3,000. When you consider the costs involved and the general public's lack of enthusiasm for purchasing even 500 of these NASCAR specials, 3,000 copies priced them right off pit road. (Many of these aero cars, when released for sale to the public, sat on dealer lots for over a year, often being stripped of their distinctive pieces and returned to their "regular" appearance to finally entice a buyer.)

3/9 Each of the King Cobra prototypes received a different engine. Steve Honnell’s got the 429 SCJ.

The powers-that-be in Dearborn decided that winning on Sunday was no longer necessary for selling on Monday, and Ford backed away from full-on motorsports involvement. "I think it was NASCAR's decisions that pushed Ford out of racing," Steve tells us. "I know it cost Ford well over $300,000 to shut down the aero car program after NASCAR killed them, and that doesn't include all the money spent on research and development. Ford likes to say Henry went before Congress and said he'd build more economical cars, but they sure did boycott NASCAR for the next five or so years. Any help anybody got came out the back door."

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There were three Torino-based King Cobra prototypes built, and one, two—or no—Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II prototypes, depending on whom you talk to. We featured the Cyclone Spoiler II in the Winter 2006 issue, and it generated more than a little feedback. Some said that Mercury never got past the clay model stage with the exercise. Steve would strongly disagree. As Jerry Heasley showed in a follow-up piece in his Feb. '11 Rare Finds column, Steve recently discovered internal documents verifying the Merc as a legit car, being one of two built.

7/9 The King Cobra’s interior features bucket seats, full instrumentation, a console with a Hurst Competition Plus shifter, and an AM/FM radio. The prototype Talladega Torino the year before was similarly equipped, but the production cars came with bench seats, warning-light instrumentation, auto transmission, and AM radios. We wonder if the King Cobra would have suffered the same mundane interior had it gone into production.

Bud Moore got two of the original King Cobras from Kar Kraft, while another came out of the Holman Moody shop. Steve first met the guys at HM in 1962 and would continue an association with Ford through his drag racing efforts with a then-new Thunderbolt before becoming a Ford service rep through the '70s. He says, "After I saw the King Cobra on the cover of Motor Trend [Oct. '69], I was picking up some parts at Holman Moody and asked about the one they had."

After Ford canceled the program, the HM car just sat before Steve indicated his interest. A while later he asked about it again, expecting that it would have been sold, but he was told they were waiting for him to pick it up. The King Cobra was in Steve's possession by the end of 1970. "I had some reassembly to do," Steve says, "but soon had it looking like new. I drove it on the street for 15 years." Steve tells us the car hasn't been restored, just kept in excellent condition.
Each of the King Cobras got a different engine; Steve's has a 429 Super Cobra Jet. At one point he pulled the original engine and installed a detuned 494-inch Can Am race engine, but last winter the original 429 was reinstalled so it would be correct when the King Cobra and Cyclone Spoiler II went to the Forge Invitational Musclecar Show in Tennessee, where we photographed the aero warriors.
The 429 was balanced and blueprinted by Holman Moody and features JE forged pistons on stock rods, an HM solid-lifter cam with 0.560 lift and 310 degrees duration, and 2.275-inch intake and 1.88-inch stainless sodium-filled exhaust valves in the closed-chamber Police Interceptor heads. A special HM oil pan is under it, with a NASCAR "Spider" 360-degree intake, a Holley 780-cfm carb, and a Boss 429 dual-point centrifugal-advance distributor topping it. Gear changes are handled by a Top Loader with a 2.32 First gear, 13/8-inch input and output shafts, and an 11½-inch HM clutch and nodular steel flywheel. Out back, 4.57 gears ride a 31-spline Detroit Locker in a nodular 9-inch case. While the deep gears would normally make the engine scream at highway speeds, the King has an experimental overdrive unit on the front of the differential housing, pulled from the '70 Cougar Eliminator program. Since the car is based off a Talladega Torino, it features staggered rear shocks and single-piston power discs up front, along with power steering and a 1¼-inch sway bar.

8/9 Even if it didn’t have the Larry Shinoda–designed fiberglass nose surrounding it, this Holman Moody–built, balanced, and blueprinted 429 Super Cobra Jet would be a head-turner. Police Interceptor heads, a rare single-plane intake designed for NASCAR use, and a cast-iron Boss 429 distributor set off the once-polished finned aluminum valve covers.

The interior is nicely appointed, with bucket seats, a console, a Hurst Competition Plus shifter, an AM/FM radio, and full instrumentation, including the rare "ribbon" tach.

It's easy to pull out the clichés when writing about cars with this kind of history, but we really can't help but wonder what would have happened had NASCAR not banned aero cars, or had Ford not decided to get out of racing. This King Cobra and its Mercury counterpart make impressive bookends in Steve's stable, a collection that includes his original Thunderbolt, which could arguably be considered the beginning of Ford's "Super Car" era. Fitting, then, that it's parked alongside the end of the era. MCR
At a Glance
1970 Torino King Cobra
Owned by: Steve Honnell, Belfast, TN
Restored by: Unrestored original
Engine: 429ci/335hp Super Cobra Jet V-8
Transmission: Top-loader 4-speed manual
Rearend: Ford nodular 9-inch with 4.57 gears, 31-spline axles, Detroit Locker, and factory experimental overdrive unit
Interior: Black vinyl bucket seats
Wheels: 15x7 steel
Tires: F60-15 Goodyear Polyglas GT

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9/9 Unlike Chrysler’s wing cars, which had aerodynamic modifications front and rear, the King Cobra (and its Mercury counterpart) featured aero tricks up front only. This caused the cars to be a bit squirrelly during testing. Ford pulled the plug on its aero program before a wing or spoiler could be developed to tidy the air moving off the car.