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Last Updated: Sep 9, 2008 - 2:11:40 PM |
Only a few months have passed since the titans of Ford Motor Co. &
RC/Ertl stunned the diecast domains with their glorious peals of
thunder in the form of the 1/18-scale 1964 Ford Thunderbolt. Part of
the Precision 100 Series, the Thunderbolt was an unprecedented "act of
God" that left a never-before-felt tingling sensation in every
collector. Not soon to be forgotten, many are now asking can lightning
strike twice? Jim Thoren and the Gods at Supercar Collectibles are
working hard with the titans to unleash the storm to end all storms. In
fact, the perfect storm, the 1st ever Supercars commissioned Precision
100 series replica based on the Precision 100 1964 Thunderbolt. But,
can lightning strike twice? Before we can answer that question, we must
examine the subject at hand, in this case, the Supercars Gas Ronda 1964
Ford Thunderbolt Super Stock Eliminator.
Throughout the 50 plus
years of NHRA sanctioned drag racing, the intense sport has proclaimed
many different rulers of the two lane blacktop as world champion and
amongst the ranks of NHRA history, 1964 was dubbed the year of the
Thunderbolt. For many years before '64, Ford's Chevrolet, Pontiac, and
Mopar competitors repeatedly kept them from claiming the throne, but
Ford's redemption would come in the mid-sixties with then General
Manager Lee Iaacoca taking the helm. In 1963, the clouds descended over
the competition, and the rumble of rolling thunder could be heard
coming from the garages of Ford as the boys in blue were hard at work
on their pavement pounding blacktop bruiser. What rolled out of the
garage was a revolutionary, lightweight intermediate size Ford
Fairlane, combined with the unbridled brute force of Ford's new hi-rise
425hp rated 427, dubbed "Thunderbolt". The talented Gas Ronda, along
with 10 other factory backed drivers, behind the wheel of the furious
Ford Thunderbolt would ambush their rivalry, seizing several victories
including the 1964 manufacturers title for Ford.
Rondas 1964
Ford Fairlane based Thunderbolt had to submit to the same prerequisites
as Fords 10 other factory backed racers. The initial 11 Thunderbolts
underwent a vigorous diet, cutting out all non-essentials such as sun
visors, outside mirrors, sound deadener, radio equipment, armrests,
rear window cranks, even the jack and lug wrench to conserve weight.
The front seats were swapped out for a pair of lightweight buckets
borrowed from Fords Econoline light truck series to further drop the
number on the scale a few points. Most of the lyposuction procedures
were performed on Ford's assembly lines, but additional procedures,
such as further weight modifications and the actual heart transplant of
the hi-rise 427, were farmed out to nearby Dearborn Steel Tubing to
finish off the Thunderbolt project.
At the outset, DST &
Ford rolled out 11 burgundy & tan bundled supersonic cruise
missiles to contracted drag racers like Gas Ronda, Dick Brannen, and
Mickey Thompson for NHRA A/FX competition. Ford planned to build only
50 Thunderbolts to meet NHRA A/FX racing regulations, but ultimately
built over 100 copies, enough to qualify the Thunderbolt for Super
Stock class racing, where the Thunderbolts would find themselves most
successful. In fact, it was Gas Rondas 1964 repainted Russ Davis Ford
Thunderbolt that dominated the NHRA ranks and won the 1964 NHRA World
Stock Eliminator title. Rondas Thunderbolt was so dominant that year
that he took home the championship with double the amount of points of
his nearest rival. While Ronda scored victories in the 12-second range,
the Thunderbolts were known for elapsed times of 11.50 seconds,
cranking out a factory claimed 425hp that was later estimated to be
closer to 500hp. The boisterous thunder struck hard in 64, but amongst
drastically changing rules in the NHRA and the inauguration of a new
class of racers, the clouds soon departed and Fords rumble quietly
rolled away.
As we return to our burning question, "can
lightning strike twice", we now must examine the subject at hand, the
Supercar Collectibles 1/18-scale Gas Ronda 1964 Thunderbolt. Smaller in
scale than it's race day inspiration, the Supercars Gas Ronda T-Bolt is
equally as potent as the blue oval brigades 1964 strike of lightning.
Hot on the tail of the success of the Precision 100 Thunderbolt,
Supercars has delivered an enthusiastic encore presentation,
replicating every detail found amidst the blinding white brightness of
it's 1/18-scale predecessor and then some. Witness, in all of its
beautiful Poppy Red glory, the 1/18-scale Supercars 1964 Gas Ronda
Thunderbolt.
If you were fortunate enough to purchase the
original Precision 100 1964 Thunderbolt, you will without a doubt be
pleasantly surprised with the Supercars Gas Ronda offering. If, for
some unexplainable reason you missed out on the original Thunderbolt
masterpiece, you surely won't want to make the same mistake twice.
There is a fortunate familiarity with the Supercars Gas Ronda
Thunderbolt, but there are also enough innovations on board to keep
this release refreshing and invigorating. Take, for example, the
strikingly bright Russ Davis Ford authentic Poppy Red repaint, true to
the race day original. Add to the smooth and rich painted exterior a
set of crisp, accurate to scale race day tampos and you have yourself a
historically correct, precisely replicated copy of arguably the most
impactful Thunderbolt in NHRA history.
Underneath the beautiful
red paint and race day decals is a painstakingly crafted true to the
original diecast body. RC/Ertl has captured the look of the 64
Thunderbolt with drop dead accuracy. The lines of the body, the stance,
the accurate contours of the raised teardrop hood, and the numerous
intricately illustrated masterpieces of chrome electroplating proclaim
an award worthy performance from the folks at RC/Ertl & Supercars.
This entire splendor rides confidently upon a set of chrome Radir mag
wheels, another Supercars innovation, wrapped in a set of skinny
rubbers up front and a pair of slicks in back.
Further
inspection of the Supercars Gas Ronda Thunderbolt is impossible to
resist. The first area you'll want to get up close & personal with
is the hood and front grille area. Both of these pieces have been
replicated with incredible attention to detail. The grille is a
plethora of photo etched and electroplated detailing with jewel like
headlamps. The inboard headlamps are void, as with the original, and in
its place, photo etched detail in the form of cross hatch screens that
are open to allow air to pass through to dual ram air tubes located
under the hood. Speaking of the hood, the shape of the raised reverse
teardrop hood is perfect, accented with two open scoops that are
finished with more photo etched mesh screens. Perhaps the neatest
detail of the Precision 100 Thunderbolt, the REAL miniature functioning
hood pins, has made a return on the Supercars Gas Ronda Thunderbolt.
Like it's 1/18 precursor, the chrome-plated anchors on the Gas Ronda
Thunderbolt are mounted to the leading edge of the engine compartment
and poke up through the holes in the hood. There are tiny pinholes in
each anchor for the hood pins to fit through. Be forewarned these pins
are tiny, and it takes a little pressure to remove them and put them
back in. It's very easy for them to slip out of your fingertips and
shoot off into the infinite distance. Nonetheless, it's a very neat
detail that was enjoyed on the Precision 100 Thunderbolt and is a very
welcome inclusion to the Supercars Gas Ronda Thunderbolt. So, speaking
of the hood pins, let's carefully remove them to take a look at what's
underneath.
First off, the entire underhood is finished in a
textured flat black paint, as are the very realistic spring-loaded hood
hinges. The plastic ram air tubes and detailed air chamber take center
stage over the painted carbs that rest upon the wired and plumbed 427.
Other "easy-to-see" details in the engine compartment include several
cast metallic painted accents to several little details such as the
radiator cap and hose clamps, the metal hood prop, plus a Caution label
on the fan shroud. Other than that, the rest of the details are hard to
see do the accurately replicated constricted environs of the 427, so
tight in fact, it's a little hard to see down "through" the engine
compartment. What's more, you have to turn the car over to view the
detailed oil filter, which is appropriately crammed between the front
sway bar and the cast metallic painted open headers that twist and turn
around the suspension components, just as DST had to do on the
original. The 427 is mated to a diecast tranny that is in turn mated to
a rotating driveshaft that functions as you turn the rear wheels. It
too is finished in a coat of cast metallic paint, as is the gas tank.
Other details on the undercarriage include diecast tow bars up front,
black traction bars in back, a functioning coil spring suspension
system, and the rear differential housing is finished in a coat of red
paint. It's an amazingly replicated package, and it doesn't stop here.
Go
ahead and open the doors on the Gas Ronda Thunderbolt, which by the way
operate on those fantastic realistic functioning door hinges.
Everything about this interior says attention to detail right down to
the turning window cranks on a set of the most detailed door panels to
date. The glowing golden interior is finished with several chrome
accents focused mainly around the dash, which is nothing short of a
work of art. The highly legible gauges are recessed in a wall of chrome
that is itself recessed in a gold painted dash with a wired chrome
plated Ford Rotunda tach resting upon it. The dash is finished off with
an opening glove box, sliding ash tray, several chrome-plated knobs and
doohickeys, an oil pressure gauge on the underside of the dash that has
a direct line running to the 427 through the firewall, plus the
Precision signature pair of keys in the ignition. All of this rests
above a gold painted steering column that culminates at an elegantly
detailed mix of gold & chrome steering wheel. The lightweight
buckets slide and fold forward providing access to the rear bench seat.
All of the seating is finished in gold with gold & cream horizontal
bars, accented with a blue pin stripe. With the chrome trim on the door
panels and side panels in the back seat, the look is very eye catching.
The rest of the interior is complimented with a simulated rubber
flooring just like the original, real chrome sill plates, detailed
shifter, dome light, and the accurate drivers side only sun visor. The
passenger side sun visor was a further delete to conserve weight, just
as the passenger side windshield wiper was; yet another accuracy that
can be found on the Supercars Gas Ronda Thunderbolt. If you feel a
little stunned by all of the intricate little details packed into the
Thunderbolt, then brace yourself, as there's more to come.
Pop
open the trunk lid and behold perhaps the greatest application of
detail ever on a trunk. For starters, when you open the trunk, amidst
the body color trunk bed, take a peek into the shadows to discover a
small patch of light orange deep inside the trunk. Upon closer
inspection you'll see miniature black painted springs on the patch of
orange. What you're seeing is what the rear side of the back bench seat
looked like through the trunk. There was no back wall to the trunk, so
what you saw was the rear cushioning of the seat and the springs. The
addition of this detail is incredible and it has been faithfully
carried over to the Supercars Gas Ronda Thunderbolt. The trunk is
finished in the authentic Poppy Red with a rough texture feel. The
trunk is further accented with a wired truck battery mounted on the
right side of the trunk, a detailed trunk lock, a chrome plated trunk
catch, and a molded housing around the pipe leading from the gas cap to
the tank. Speaking of the gas cap, it can be found behind an opening
door in the rear tail light panel that rests between two bright red
afterburner taillights and a Fairlane 500 plaque.
The Supercars
masterpiece comes wrapped up in a custom made window box similar to the
regular American Muscle window boxes. Even the box is attractive,
finished in bright red with a white pinstripe & footer bar, and a
checkerboard background. Rather than penetrating the undercarriage with
damaging screws, the Gas Ronda Thunderbolt is securely braced in its
packaging using custom molded hard plastic. As an added bonus, you'll
find a matching 1/64-scale copy of the Gas Ronda Thunderbolt with
opening hood & trunk. Even the chassis of this little pavement
pounder is detailed with a painted gas tank and red painted
differential housing. As is stated on the box, the Supercars Gas Ronda
Thunderbolt is #10 in their successful Heritage Racing Series, and I
for one couldn't think of a better way to celebrate this small
milestone. If this is a sign of the things to come, I can't wait to see
what release #100 will have in store!
The Precision 100
Thunderbolt instituted many new "firsts" for a high detail car, and the
Supercars 1/18-scale Gas Ronda Thunderbolt carries on those impressive
qualities and invokes a few new niceties. Just as the original
Thunderbolt came and went in a very short time with a production run of
10,000 +++, so likely is the Supercars Gas Ronda Thunderbolt to have
the same fate. With only 2500 copies being produced, like a severe
thunderstorm that quickly blows over, the Supercars Gas Ronda
Thunderbolt is bound to make a lot of noise but disappear swiftly. So
to answer that damn question, can lighting strike twice? Absolutely.
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