In 1962, what Ford believed to be an engineering marvel turned out to be a costly affair. During the National Grand Series, it faced a major problem with its car, Galaxie, widely known as ‘Boxtop’ in NASCAR jargon. The aerodynamically flawed design cost the American engine manufacturer big-time problems like a reduction in speed of up to three mph, and that’s a lot.

However, in a bid to overcome the aerodynamic problem caused due to the squared-off appearance of the car, the engineers made some modifications to the rooftop and attempted to scam NASCAR, which failed miserably but helped the manufacturer secure a historic feat.

Ford’s 1962 Galaxie ‘Starlift’ scam sacked after one race

While the 406-CID V-8 engine gave immense power to the car to dominate tracks, it was the squared rooftop that prevented the car from reaching its true potential.

The car was becoming difficult to handle and to solve this aerodynamic problem, Ford engineers came up with a plan and added lift-off fiberglass and gave it a slippery outlook, resembling the 1960-61 Starliner, with hopes that NASCAR would buy their design and permit the car to race.

Despite their efforts to overcome the competitive disadvantage, the proposal put forth was insufficient to convince Chief Inspector Norris Friel and the founder of NASCAR, Bill France, probably because of the asymmetry between the C-pillar flowing through the rear of the car and the rear glasses, requiring plastic fillers to fill in the gaps. 

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Despite Starlift’s roof being outlawed by the officials, Ford managed to scam NASCAR as their car got an unprecedented opportunity to race in Atlanta.

Outlawed Starlift makes history at Atlanta

We can say that luck favored Ford as the verdict to disallow the use of Starlift-equipped Fords came a little late. The modified cars already qualified for the event at Atlanta Motor Speedway before the judgment came in.

Just because the cars qualified before the communication of the judgment, the management was left with no option but to allow the Starlift-equipped cars to race, and driver Fred Lorenzen clinched the victory in the first and only stint that the car would witness.

However, it was during October of 1962, when the Starlift, for one more time, was brought back to life at Bonneville, but with an FE-based 483 cubic-inch V8 engine under the hood where it set a couple of records with its top speed clocking 182.19 mph and average speed of 163.91 mph for a whopping 500 miles.

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Despite a season with a handful of wins, Ford’s last-minute alterations to the car and the delay in judgment gave rise to the historic feat that one would find nearly impossible to attain.