The Twister specials
With the Rainbow of Colors promotion for the west coast in 1967 built at the San Jose, California, assembly plant, the national Color of the Month promotion running from January through April 1968, with a special color for each month, Denver dealerships ordering more special-paint High Country Specials and Ski Country Specials than any other Colorado dealership. Ann Goodro's dealership in Denver even creating a She Country Mustang for 1967, available in four unique colors... The 1968 California Specials as well... The mid-west needed something of their own to boost sales in the region.
Enter the Twister Special.
Directly from Terry Fritts' original Twister Special Registry:
The Twister Specials, a group of 96 specially ordered and consecutively numbered Mach 1's, were a promotional Mustang made exclusively for the Ford Kansas City Sales District dealers. Also produced were 90 Torino Cobra’s with 429 SCJ engines and 4 Torino Ranchero’s with 351 Cleveland engines.
Over the past several years I’ve had the pleasure of talking to several current and former Ford employees. Located in Detroit, or Kansas City years ago they have provided enough information and documentation to track the Twister's evolution.
To set the background for our story we must back up in time to late in the 1969 production year. The Boss 302 has been highly successful.The Boss 429 is being produced to meet NASCAR production requirements and the phase out of the Shelby/Mustang has begun. Ford is coming in late but very strong to the performance car mass production era. Sales plans for the 1970 models will concentrate heavily on special promotions to help Ford capture a larger share of the high performance market, an estimated market of some 800,000 cars in 1970 alone. It’s here that the Twister Story begins to unfold.
In Detroit, Ford’s Special Promotion Division was approached by the President of American Raceway's, Inc. (ARI), a close personal friend of “Bunkie” Knudsen, Ford’s president. He requested pace cars for use at five of his existing or planned race tracks. Ten 1970 Mustangs were built. Five Mach 1’s and five convertibles. All ten cars were sent to a special Ford garage in Dearborn where the drivetrains were completely balanced and blueprinted for high speed requirements for pacing NASCAR races. All were equipped with 428 SCJ’s and automatic(C6) transmissions. Distinctive side stripes and rear quarter decals having the appropriate track logo were designed. Plans called for color coordination of the tracks and pace cars. Later disaster struck and ARI went bankrupt with only two of the five planned tracks actually built.
***
In order to make the ARI project possible, because of the high investments costs, Special Promotions had to find a Ford District willing to do a promotional car, with around 100 cars pre-sold to District dealers. The Kansas City Sales District Sales Office (DSO 53) stepped up and signed on with the project.
***
Ford was encouraging use of District special promotion cars as part of their 1970 high performance marketing plans. Special Promotions work on the ARI project would be the pattern used to create the Twister Specials. As Note; None of the ARI cars were converted into Twister Specials.
The side stripes were redesigned containing the "Ford" oval and a "Mach 1" logos. Rear quarter panel, track designated decals, were redesigned with a tornado background and the Twister Special logo. Certainly everyone knows of the Midwest’s reputation for these quick and high powered storms.
The original Twister Special order was placed for 100 Mach 1’s, light on convenience and luxury, heavy on performance options. Goodies included 428 SCJ engines, drag pack, competition suspension, power front disk brakes, shaker hood scoop and Goodyear F70x14 Raised White Letter Polyglass tires. The only non-performance options were an AM Radio and Tinted Glass. Half the order was to have been equipped with C6 automatic transmissions and 3.91 traction-lok differentials. The remainder with four-speed manual transmissions and 3:91 traction-loks.
Upon receipt of the order in Dearborn there were not enough 428 SCJ engines on hand. The 48 available 428 SCJ’s were used and the remaining 48 cars were equipped with the newly announced 351 Cleveland 4V engines. Except for the power train combinations, all of the Twister Mustangs were produced in Grabber Orange and equipped identically. All 96, 1970 Twister's were built at Dearborn in the early to middle part of October 1969. At the same time, in Atlanta, the 90, 1970 Twister Torino Cobra's were being produced in Vermilion having either 429 CJ or 429SCJ engines. The Twister Mustangs were produced first. The Twisters were in the 118,000 VIN series while the 10 ARI pace cars were in the 120,000 series.
The cars were shipped to Ford’s Kansas City Claycomo assembly plant out-bound transportation lot. Stripes and decals were applied by a detailing firm under contract with Ford’s Special Promotions Division. Completely finished, the cars were once again transferred, this time as the main attraction for Kansas City’s special day.
On Friday, November 7, 1969, Kansas City Sales District dealers participated in a special promotion held at the Kansas City International Raceway (KCIR) called “Total Performance Day.” Featured attractions were special appearances by the Ford Drag Team, Ford’s Total Performance Show and Bob Tasca’s High Performance Show. These teams were a traveling caravan touring the country promoting Ford’s high performance cars and after market muscle parts. Morning seminars were held for the dealers, their sales, parts and service personnel. The afternoon brought exhibitions by the Drag Teams and then a chance for participants to try their luck on the road race course or the quarter mile. Trophies were presented to the winners in each of the district’s 13 sales zones. Participation certificates were furnished all who dared a shot at the clock on the road course or quarter mile.
Around 4:00 P.M., after a full day of awesome high performance demonstrations the dealers were taken to an area containing the specially prepared, high performance, Twister Specials. Before their eyes, awaiting the drive home or shipment to their dealerships, were 96 Mach 1’s and 90 Torino Cobra’s. To a Mustang and Ford enthusiast, what a beautiful sight that must have been.
NOTE: Without the 1970 Twisters being produced to defray the cost of the ARI project, there never wouldn't have been any ARI pace cars produced!!
Enter the Twister Special.
Directly from Terry Fritts' original Twister Special Registry:
The Twister Specials, a group of 96 specially ordered and consecutively numbered Mach 1's, were a promotional Mustang made exclusively for the Ford Kansas City Sales District dealers. Also produced were 90 Torino Cobra’s with 429 SCJ engines and 4 Torino Ranchero’s with 351 Cleveland engines.
Over the past several years I’ve had the pleasure of talking to several current and former Ford employees. Located in Detroit, or Kansas City years ago they have provided enough information and documentation to track the Twister's evolution.
To set the background for our story we must back up in time to late in the 1969 production year. The Boss 302 has been highly successful.The Boss 429 is being produced to meet NASCAR production requirements and the phase out of the Shelby/Mustang has begun. Ford is coming in late but very strong to the performance car mass production era. Sales plans for the 1970 models will concentrate heavily on special promotions to help Ford capture a larger share of the high performance market, an estimated market of some 800,000 cars in 1970 alone. It’s here that the Twister Story begins to unfold.
In Detroit, Ford’s Special Promotion Division was approached by the President of American Raceway's, Inc. (ARI), a close personal friend of “Bunkie” Knudsen, Ford’s president. He requested pace cars for use at five of his existing or planned race tracks. Ten 1970 Mustangs were built. Five Mach 1’s and five convertibles. All ten cars were sent to a special Ford garage in Dearborn where the drivetrains were completely balanced and blueprinted for high speed requirements for pacing NASCAR races. All were equipped with 428 SCJ’s and automatic(C6) transmissions. Distinctive side stripes and rear quarter decals having the appropriate track logo were designed. Plans called for color coordination of the tracks and pace cars. Later disaster struck and ARI went bankrupt with only two of the five planned tracks actually built.
***
In order to make the ARI project possible, because of the high investments costs, Special Promotions had to find a Ford District willing to do a promotional car, with around 100 cars pre-sold to District dealers. The Kansas City Sales District Sales Office (DSO 53) stepped up and signed on with the project.
***
Ford was encouraging use of District special promotion cars as part of their 1970 high performance marketing plans. Special Promotions work on the ARI project would be the pattern used to create the Twister Specials. As Note; None of the ARI cars were converted into Twister Specials.
The side stripes were redesigned containing the "Ford" oval and a "Mach 1" logos. Rear quarter panel, track designated decals, were redesigned with a tornado background and the Twister Special logo. Certainly everyone knows of the Midwest’s reputation for these quick and high powered storms.
The original Twister Special order was placed for 100 Mach 1’s, light on convenience and luxury, heavy on performance options. Goodies included 428 SCJ engines, drag pack, competition suspension, power front disk brakes, shaker hood scoop and Goodyear F70x14 Raised White Letter Polyglass tires. The only non-performance options were an AM Radio and Tinted Glass. Half the order was to have been equipped with C6 automatic transmissions and 3.91 traction-lok differentials. The remainder with four-speed manual transmissions and 3:91 traction-loks.
Upon receipt of the order in Dearborn there were not enough 428 SCJ engines on hand. The 48 available 428 SCJ’s were used and the remaining 48 cars were equipped with the newly announced 351 Cleveland 4V engines. Except for the power train combinations, all of the Twister Mustangs were produced in Grabber Orange and equipped identically. All 96, 1970 Twister's were built at Dearborn in the early to middle part of October 1969. At the same time, in Atlanta, the 90, 1970 Twister Torino Cobra's were being produced in Vermilion having either 429 CJ or 429SCJ engines. The Twister Mustangs were produced first. The Twisters were in the 118,000 VIN series while the 10 ARI pace cars were in the 120,000 series.
The cars were shipped to Ford’s Kansas City Claycomo assembly plant out-bound transportation lot. Stripes and decals were applied by a detailing firm under contract with Ford’s Special Promotions Division. Completely finished, the cars were once again transferred, this time as the main attraction for Kansas City’s special day.
On Friday, November 7, 1969, Kansas City Sales District dealers participated in a special promotion held at the Kansas City International Raceway (KCIR) called “Total Performance Day.” Featured attractions were special appearances by the Ford Drag Team, Ford’s Total Performance Show and Bob Tasca’s High Performance Show. These teams were a traveling caravan touring the country promoting Ford’s high performance cars and after market muscle parts. Morning seminars were held for the dealers, their sales, parts and service personnel. The afternoon brought exhibitions by the Drag Teams and then a chance for participants to try their luck on the road race course or the quarter mile. Trophies were presented to the winners in each of the district’s 13 sales zones. Participation certificates were furnished all who dared a shot at the clock on the road course or quarter mile.
Around 4:00 P.M., after a full day of awesome high performance demonstrations the dealers were taken to an area containing the specially prepared, high performance, Twister Specials. Before their eyes, awaiting the drive home or shipment to their dealerships, were 96 Mach 1’s and 90 Torino Cobra’s. To a Mustang and Ford enthusiast, what a beautiful sight that must have been.
NOTE: Without the 1970 Twisters being produced to defray the cost of the ARI project, there never wouldn't have been any ARI pace cars produced!!
1970 american raceway incorporated (ARI) Pace Cars
The Registry of American Raceway Incorporated (ARI) Mustangs is located here for viewing. Wolfgang Kohrn and John Bakke have spent the last quarter century collecting information on these fine automobiles and at their request I have removed this crucial piece of history from the site. Any additional information about the ARI Pace Cars can be forwarded to their own registry.
1970 Mustang Twister Special
From Terry Fritts' original Twister Special Registry:
I also know that there were 100 Twister cars ordered and they were ordered as 428 cars. But Ford was short of 428 engines, so they put 351 in 48 of them, but all of them had 428 engine compartments. And the final delivery was shortened to 96 cars.
All 1970 Mustang VINs start with 0F05("M" or "R") and 118XXX serial number and have consecutive numbers.
I also know that there were 100 Twister cars ordered and they were ordered as 428 cars. But Ford was short of 428 engines, so they put 351 in 48 of them, but all of them had 428 engine compartments. And the final delivery was shortened to 96 cars.
All 1970 Mustang VINs start with 0F05("M" or "R") and 118XXX serial number and have consecutive numbers.
1970 Torino Cobra Twister Special
From Terry Fritts' original Twister Special Registry:
Of the 90 Torinos, all the Cobras were Vermilion (Calypso Coral). All the Torino Cobra Twister Specials were 429's either CJ or SCJ (a topic of discussion since it was once believed that all were SCJ's), dog dish hubcaps and trim rings, 60 automatics and 30 - 4 speeds. The numbers for all the twisters fall between 0A38J131596 and 0A38J134632, not consecutively.
All 1970 Torino Cobra VIN's start with 0A38J and 13XXXX with two groups of consecutive serial numbers.
Of the 90 Torinos, all the Cobras were Vermilion (Calypso Coral). All the Torino Cobra Twister Specials were 429's either CJ or SCJ (a topic of discussion since it was once believed that all were SCJ's), dog dish hubcaps and trim rings, 60 automatics and 30 - 4 speeds. The numbers for all the twisters fall between 0A38J131596 and 0A38J134632, not consecutively.
All 1970 Torino Cobra VIN's start with 0A38J and 13XXXX with two groups of consecutive serial numbers.
1970 Ranchero Twister Special
There were four alleged Twister Rancheros built and no one has any information about them.
FALSE.
In the ever-evolving era of the internet, we have dug up information that even Terry Fritts himself wasn't able to find. The background on the elusive Twister Ranchero has always been filled with misinformation but thanks to Wes Eisenschenk, famed author and automotive archaeologist, we now know that there were only TWO FORD RANCHERO TWISTER SPECIALS ever to exist!
Mr. Eisenschenk has done the dirty work on these vehicles and found the information we've all been waiting to hear in his excellent book titled LOST Muscle Cars: 45 Stories of Hunting the Most Elusive and Valuable Muscle Cars which can be bought at the link above. At his request not to give away the entire story, we're going to let you have a sneak peek of how these monsters were optioned, but for the full read you're going to have to sink your claws into the book he's written.
Of the TWO, count em TWO, 1970 Ford Ranchero GT Twister Specials, both came optioned the exact same way from the Kansas City DSO #53 sales offices. Since one has been found, here is what we're all looking for in one of the rarest Twister Special cars out there to date:
Originated in Atlanta, Georgia
429-4V Cobra Jet Ram Air Engine
Drag Pak suspension
Vermillion paint
C6 Select Shift Automatic Transmission
3.91 Traction-Lok rear axle
Black vinyl bench seat
F70x14 belted tires
Power disc front brakes
AM radio
Tinted glass
Color-keyed racing mirrors
FALSE.
In the ever-evolving era of the internet, we have dug up information that even Terry Fritts himself wasn't able to find. The background on the elusive Twister Ranchero has always been filled with misinformation but thanks to Wes Eisenschenk, famed author and automotive archaeologist, we now know that there were only TWO FORD RANCHERO TWISTER SPECIALS ever to exist!
Mr. Eisenschenk has done the dirty work on these vehicles and found the information we've all been waiting to hear in his excellent book titled LOST Muscle Cars: 45 Stories of Hunting the Most Elusive and Valuable Muscle Cars which can be bought at the link above. At his request not to give away the entire story, we're going to let you have a sneak peek of how these monsters were optioned, but for the full read you're going to have to sink your claws into the book he's written.
Of the TWO, count em TWO, 1970 Ford Ranchero GT Twister Specials, both came optioned the exact same way from the Kansas City DSO #53 sales offices. Since one has been found, here is what we're all looking for in one of the rarest Twister Special cars out there to date:
Originated in Atlanta, Georgia
429-4V Cobra Jet Ram Air Engine
Drag Pak suspension
Vermillion paint
C6 Select Shift Automatic Transmission
3.91 Traction-Lok rear axle
Black vinyl bench seat
F70x14 belted tires
Power disc front brakes
AM radio
Tinted glass
Color-keyed racing mirrors
Don't get too excited, this clone belongs to John Karl out of Pierson, Florida. He built this using his own imagination.
One Ranchero was delivered to Noller Motors in Topeka, Kansas and the other was delivered to Southtown Motors in Kansas City, Missouri. Of all the leads chased no past employees could be contacted about the two cars. If you know anyone that would have further leads on someone that may have worked at the dealerships, fill out the contact form on the home page and we'll try to piece some more of the puzzle together. Addresses of the dealerships are posted below:
HAS BEEN FOUND
Dealer #53A003 sold theirs on December 22, 1970.
Southtown Motors (has been out of business for decades now)
1326 East 47th Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64110
STILL MISSING
Dealer #53H517 sold theirs on November 30, 1970.
Laird Noller Topeka Ford (formerly Noller Motors)
2245 S Topeka Boulevard
Topeka, Kansas 66611 (previous ZIP code at time of sale was 66603 when the town was smaller)
The VIN number of the final car is known, but because of the legwork done by Mr. Eisenschenk on the Ranchero Twister Special I'm electing not to give it out willingly. I'm going to make you buy his book as a thanks for all the hard work he put into it and you can read all eleven digits of glory in LOST Muscle Cars: 45 Stories of Hunting the Most Elusive and Valuable Muscle Cars when it shows up at your doorstep. No he's not a site sponsor, no I'm not getting kickbacks on the book, you all just need some additional culture in your lives and I guarantee the suspense is already killing you.
Little information about the locations of the remaining 1970 Ranchero Twister Special is known and none have been found - rumors are it could be floating around Nebraska and I've also heard Centralia, Kansas. If you have any leads or documentation on these vehicles let us know!
HAS BEEN FOUND
Dealer #53A003 sold theirs on December 22, 1970.
Southtown Motors (has been out of business for decades now)
1326 East 47th Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64110
STILL MISSING
Dealer #53H517 sold theirs on November 30, 1970.
Laird Noller Topeka Ford (formerly Noller Motors)
2245 S Topeka Boulevard
Topeka, Kansas 66611 (previous ZIP code at time of sale was 66603 when the town was smaller)
The VIN number of the final car is known, but because of the legwork done by Mr. Eisenschenk on the Ranchero Twister Special I'm electing not to give it out willingly. I'm going to make you buy his book as a thanks for all the hard work he put into it and you can read all eleven digits of glory in LOST Muscle Cars: 45 Stories of Hunting the Most Elusive and Valuable Muscle Cars when it shows up at your doorstep. No he's not a site sponsor, no I'm not getting kickbacks on the book, you all just need some additional culture in your lives and I guarantee the suspense is already killing you.
Little information about the locations of the remaining 1970 Ranchero Twister Special is known and none have been found - rumors are it could be floating around Nebraska and I've also heard Centralia, Kansas. If you have any leads or documentation on these vehicles let us know!