Some muscle cars from the last century simply stand out above the crowd. Other ones make a huge splash, but for only a brief second. The ones that will always pop out when discussing classic muscle cars are the Ford Mustang, Chevy Camaro, Dodge Charger, and even the infamous Chevrolet Chevelle. However, some other all-out muscle cars could shame most of those well-known vehicles, such as the race-ready 1969 Ford Torino Talladega. To say this was one of the quickest cars on the roads in '69 would be a stretch, but when put to the test on a racetrack, not much could touch it. Here's what you need to know about the Ford Talladega so it can be understood why this car is so rare but so awesome.
10 Produced For Only A Few Weeks In 1969
The 1969 Ford Torino Talladega may not be a familiar name to any but die-hard racing fans because it was a vehicle produced to dominate the NASCAR circuit. The thing with NASCAR is that one of the rules they have in place is that only cars designed to be driven on the streets can be used for the circuit races. For this reason, the Ford Motor Company designed and produced around 750 race-ready cars to be marketed to the general public, which only took the company a couple of weeks to build.
9 NASCAR-Ready Ford That Is Street Legal
The 750 or so cars produced for the streets were more than enough to hit the goal set in 1969 of 500 street-legal vehicles built to be eligible to race in the NASCAR circuit. At the beginning of the racing season, the Talladega had the FE 427 side-oiling racing engine that had brought the team so much success. Still, towards the middle of the year, that changed. Once enough 429 Boss motors were produced, the Ford Talladega took advantage of it and replaced the original FE 427, but because of street legal rules, the only engine available in the cars produced for the general public was the 428 Cobra Jet.
8 NASCAR President Bill France Jr. Had Concerns
In 1969 the president of NASCAR was Bill France Jr., and he had some concerns about whether Ford would produce the 500 street-legal cars they claimed. Ford executives invited France to come down to the plant and sit next to the exit where the vehicles would come out so he could count for himself. France did just that, but even though he made his own count and hit the number needed, it is said that Ford pulled a fast one on him by driving the same car through the tunnel several times, making it be counted more than once so they could hit the production numbers needed.
7 It Won More Races Than Expected
The 1969 Ford Torino Talladega was designed for one purpose; to destroy the competition and take first place in the NASCAR cup car championship. It may seem a little strange to hear that the car won more races than the Ford race team thought it would, but that is precisely what happened. For the 1969 racing circuit, the car won a total of 29 Grand National races and took home the 1969 Championship trophy for the NASCAR Cup Series and the ARCA racing series.
6 Named For The Brand New Talladega Speedway
Every hard-car NASCAR fan knows that the series has expanded and added new tracks to the circuit over the years. In 1969, the brand-new Talladega Speedway finished construction. It was added to the '69 NASCAR tracks, which is exactly why Ford named the new race car design the Talladega. Since the company used the already in-production 1969 Ford Torino, the Talladega designation was simply added to the end, creating the one-year wonder.
5 Aerodynamics Was A Large Part Of The Talladega Design
There is much more to racing, and street driving, than speed and power. Without the proper aerodynamics, the wind resistance will slow the vehicle down, no matter how much power is under the hood. For that reason, Ralph Moody worked with Ford engineers at the Michigan Wind Tunnel to modify the 1969 Ford Torino to make it more aerodynamic, allowing the Talladega to fly around the track without the air slowing it down. Obviously, it is impossible to completely remove the air resistance, but the better the body is shaped, the less it will be affected.
4 Nothing Is Race Ready Without Power Under The Hood
A race car is nothing without power, and neither is a street-legal muscle car. The motor that helped propel the NASCAR teams to victory was the race-designed Boss 429, but the one that pushed street racers to the finish line first was the mighty 428 Cobra Jet. In '69, this was a massive engine, putting out around 335 horses and a ground-pounding torque of 440 pound-feet. This engine could propel the car from 0 to 60 in a matter of 5.5 seconds, and the 1969 Ford Torino Talladega could shoot down the quarter-mile track in a mere 14.4 seconds.
3 Rocker Panels Were A Secret Design
Race design teams are always looking for ways to get an advantage on the track, which, most of the time, will also benefit the muscle cars on the street. In this case, while the engineers were in the wind tunnel, they found that they could create a more aerodynamic vehicle by making the rocker panels extend out and down to create a "drop snoot." This design made the car more aerodynamic and is said to have increased the speed by 5 miles per hour, which equals out to about 75 more horsepower.
2 Standard Equipment Was Not So Standard
When considering a car equipped with standard equipment, it would be assumed to have the bare-bones package. For the most part, that may be the case. But the 1969 Ford Talladega came with upgraded equipment that was standard for it but not for any of the other lineups of Ford vehicles. The 1969 Ford Torino Talladega came straight out of the assembly lines with an engine oil cooler, power steering cooler, staggered shocks, 9" Ford rear-end with 3.25:1 gears, and a heavy-duty C6 automatic transmission. All of which was standard on the Talladega but had to be specially ordered as the" Drag pack" on all the other cars.
1 Very Limited Edition Collectors Car
Since the 1969 Ford Torino Talladega was only produced for one year, the production numbers would have to be low. It has been claimed that 754 cars were built, including all the prototypes, production cars, pace cars, and a special production car produced for the president of Ford Motors Company. Unfortunately, only 750 were fully documented, so that is the official production count of the Torino Talladega. That alone makes it a highly prized collectible muscle car, but when understanding that there may only be around 90 of the vehicles left today, the value of the car for collectors goes up.
FAQ
Q: How much is a 1969 Ford Talladega worth today?
The best way to find the current value of a classic muscle car is to look at some of the most recent auction results. In this case, the Ford Talladega has been sold for around $50,000, so it is a good assumption that this amount is the car's current value.
Q: How many Ford Talladegas were produced?
The official production count for the 1969 Ford Talladega is 750 cars, but some records show the actual number produced was more like 754. Since the official documents only account for 750, that is the production number that is most commonly used.
Q: How fast is the Ford Torino Talladega?
The official qualifying speed for the Ford Talladega was 190 miles per hour, with a track time of around 3 minutes and 15 seconds. On the street, the Talladega could run the quarter-mile track in under 15 seconds with a 0 to 60 time of 5.5 seconds.
Q: Was the Ford Talladega designed as a muscle car?
The quick answer to this is no. It was designed to race on the NASCAR circuit, but because of the rules, Ford needed to build at least 500 street-legal cars, which is why the 1969 Ford Torino Talladega was produced for the public markets.