Phil Bonner may not be known by the youngsters who are more interested in stancing the GR Supra rather than American muscle on the blacktop, but he was one of the Ford Motor Company’s biggest assets back in the 1960s. The racing driver is widely regarded as a Funny Car pioneer, but on this occasion, we’ll focus on a different type of racing car.
Enter the Fairlane Thunderbolt, a limited-production drag racer that was produced for the 1964 model year with either a four-speed manual or the three-speed MX Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission. Car number 53 of 100 was raced by Phil Bonner in the NHRA Super Stock series, one of very few models equipped with fiberglass doors.
The hood is also fiberglass, and under it, you’ll notice a Bonner-branded 427 fuel-injected V8 with dual-quad induction. The four-on-the-floor stick shift and nine-inch rear axle are period correct as well, but then again, what did you expect from a frame-off restoration by marque expert Donald Allen that included original and NOS components?
“First time being offered for sale to the public” according to RK Motors Charlotte, the ‘Bolt sat for more than 20 years in a barn in Georgia in the ownership of engine expert Hal Reed. Bonner tried to buy the car back from him, but Reed declined offer after offer despite the racing driver’s emotional attachment to the muscle sedan.
Listed for sale at $359,900 or $3,233 per month based on 20 percent down over 120 months, the strip warrior is an investment-grade collectible just like its predecessor, the Galaxie 500 XL Lightweight. Speaking of which, the Fairlane Thunderbolt is three inches shorter and 700 pounds lighter. Unofficially, the 7.0-liter lump cranks out more than 500 HP (507 PS).
The sale further includes “documentation from the Ford Motor Company verifying the car was built for Phil Bonner” as well as a “historical summary penned by Larry Davis, founder of the Thunderbolt Owners Association.”
And now, here's a question for you. Would you pony up $359k on this blast from the past or would you rather spend that bundle of cash on something more modern, something like the special-edition McLaren 765LT supercar?
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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