The fun thing about tributes of extremely rare classics, is that they're Fun! The originals get too valuable to risk breaking because they can pretty much be considered irreplaceable. If you wreck one or break one, it will never be the same again. This Tribute can be taken out on cruise night and it will turn heads like the original. Take it to the drag strip and it will turn fast times, like the original. Maybe even faster. Go ahead,... play with it. Play hard if you like. This car is easily recognizable by more than just Ford history buffs and car collectors. It is seen on screen in games like Forza Motorsport and more. Hot wheels makes a miniature. This version is very real, it is life sized and is fully functional. It is presented in a beautiful Acapulco Blue, which really shows off the gold, red, and black racing stickers. Up front, the fiberglass hood is held down with pins and has that distinctive teardrop hood scoop emblazoned with a lightning bolt along with 429c.i. The top of the fender has Competition Proven on it and Zimmy-1, holman moody, Ford Thunderbird with racing flags, Tasca Ford, and Thunderbolt appear down the side. There is a white accent stripe trimmed in polished stainless running down the side just under a body crease that ends in some of the last tail-fins to appear on these cars. Front and back bumpers are painted silver to emulate some of the weight saving measures that helped this car earn the 1964 NHRA Super Stock championship for Ford. Inside you will find a blue interior that has been nicely redone and is great for cruising or playing. It is a comfortable, street-oriented interior. The door panel has a pleated center section with blue painted upper and blue vinyl lower separated by lots of shiny metal and chrome piping. The split bench seat is quite comfortable with dark blue seating surfaces and medium blue trimming out the edges. A deep dish, wooden steering wheel sits in front of a stock dash with the speedometer in the center and engine gauges off to each side. A Sun Supertach II sits on the dash where the driver can see it easily in the heat of battle, and mounted just below it, three white faced gauges keep accurate tabs on oil pressure, water temp and voltage. A Hurst drag racing shifter for the automatic transmission is mounted in the floor and a half roll cage allows access to the back seat for flexible people and real safety in the event something goes wrong on a run. Pull the pins, raise the hood and check out the healthy 429 sitting in there ready to be put to the test. The originals had FE block 427s, but the 429s are actually better breathing engines which are plentiful, cheap, and easy to build. Perfect for a tribute car. This one has a Holley carburetor feeding an Edelbrock intake. Aluminum heads topped by aluminum valve covers flow well getting the mixture in and out while MSD handles the ignition duties. Long tube headers get the spent gasses back to Flowmaster mufflers and an aluminum radiator keeps everything running cool. The suspension is thankfully modern making it easier to optimize chassis set up and helping the car handle better. A 4-link rear end gets the power on the ground and tubular control arms with coil overs handle things up front. 4-wheel disc brakes insure that you can haul this ride back down from speed and the rubber meets the road through 315/35R17s in the rear and 235/45R17s in the front all mounted on American Muscle alloys. A nice tribute to a historic Ford that will turn heads on the street, and, one that is ready to relive the glory days of 1964 at the strip too.