They came to win, and late 1968 marked an epic period when both Chrysler and Ford went after glory on America’s superspeedways. The car here is a true factory Torino Talledega, one of only 754 produced in 1969 to legalize this body shape. As is immediately visible, this example has been rebuilt for more than mere appearances. Indeed, now under the hood is a NASCAR-themed Boss 429 CI engine that includes the special magnesium intake manifold and rare, cast magnesium, dry-sump oil pan, as well as a set of magnesium valve covers once worn on David Pearson’s actual race car. Street legal and track ready, the mill is rated at 870 HP at 6,500 RPM and 809 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 RPM. A manual transmission backs it up, and the interior is in race-design trim with a roll bar, side-support aluminum bucket seats, competition gauging, floor shift and a differential cooler. Historically, this car has been on such tracks as Talladega Superspeedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Willow Springs Raceway, Milwaukee Mile Speedway, St. Louis Gateway Speedway and was even part of the Official NASCAR Parade lap at Talladega. The aluminum radiator top features 17 signatures including Jack Roush, Junior Johnson, Bill Holbrook, Henry Ford III, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and more, and the buyer will also receive a book with a history of each person who signed the radiator along with a picture of them signing the radiator (where applicable). This car was restored in Benny Parsons tribute livery, displayed at Parsons’ Estate and Winery, and is one of just six special cars invited to Carroll Shelby’s American Racing Museum to compete in the Dyno Wars, where it achieved a 228 MPH reading. Featured in the December 2007 issue of Hot Rod Magazine and others, as the images accompanying this listing show, this is a car to be driven, though it will obviously turn heads in any collection or on the show field as well. Well-recognized in the hobby and carrying the signatures of many noted Ford personalities, this is a Talladega still meant to be a winner.
