This Feature Car is owned by Barry Miller and is the actual race car Benny Parsons used in the 1968/1969 Championship season. This is an actual Holman and Moody car, serial number 8 HM-036-S. It was constructed by Holman and Moody from the Parnelli Jones 1966 H&M Fairlane SN C6HM-10092.
It was the Pole Winner at Daytona in February 1968 with a speed of 179.459 MPH. It led the ARCA 300 for 25 laps until crashing and finishing 22nd. It was one of the two Torinos that won eleven races that year.
This is the same car with Benny Parson behind the wheel back-in-the day!
As configured here, it replicates the 1969 Benny Parson’s Talladega. It was the very first Talladega under official timing at Daytona in February 1969 and hit over 185 MPH.
This car was later re-skinned to become Wendell Scott’s number 34 as both a 1969 and 1970 Torino.
We photographed this car at the Monster Mopar Weekend in St. Louis during the 2008 event. Certain Fords were allowed to participate as part of the Winged Car (Daytona and Superbird Club activities).
The is not pristine with immaculate paint and body, but it is beautiful. The 427 sounds terrific (watch the video and listen for yourself). The pure rawness of the race car makes you quiver. Unlike today, the race cars were not massaged to a silky smooth finish. When they started a race, they often carried the scars of the previous race. You have to remember that in those days, there were a lot more races, and some of the drivers would compete in multiple events during a weekend. There was no time to do minor body work and repaint. These were race cars and not show cars.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdckPXDsBk8&feature=channel_page[/youtube]
I don’t think that anyone at the show that weekend had more fun than the owner of this car and his son. I never saw them without a smile on their faces, and when they pulled out of the show, the father was driving and his son was sitting in the passenger window, racecar style. I had to envy them for their ability to own such a treasure.
How is that for a race seat?
Note the dual shocks and modified front clip.
See the rear shock mount and the seal around the hole in the floor? Looks like a gear shift boot to me!
Aerodynamics was beginning to become a reality.
The beginning of today’s window nets!
