Stuff I DON'T hate.....

It's funny the perceptions that people develop. I've been called out several times by people asking why I "Hate" Fords.  This stems from two posts. One was several years ago talking about classic chase scenes in movies featuring musclecars. I quoted a 1987 interview with Carey Loftin who was stunt coordinator on "Bullitt".  He said that Steve McQueen didn't want two Fords in the chase. However since Ford had the contract to supply cars to Warner Brothers, GM and Chrysler refused to give them cars. He and McQueen bought the Charger from a Bay Area Dodge dealer with their own money. The Charger was a 440 / 4-speed. The Mustangs supplied by Ford were 390 / 4-speeds. Loftin said in early practice the Charger would leave the Mustang so badly that they couldn't even film it. Steve McQueen was furious. Loftin and his mechanic Max Balchowski hopped up one of the Mustangs with Hooker Headers and dual exhausts with shorty glasspacks ( which is why it sounds so badass ) an Edelbrock intake and 750 Holley double-pumper carb and a Mallory distributor. Now McQueen and Bill Hickman ( the Charger driver ) could play cat and mouse sucessfully. The other problem was-going up to 115 mph through the streets of San Francisco-the Charger had no problems except throwing hubcaps off. If you watch the film closely-the Charger loses 8 hubcaps in the chase. The Mustangs were falling apart-breaking shock towers and other suspension parts, door handles falling off, etc. Loftin and Balchowsky worked every night taking parts off the other cars to keep the camera car running. Now some people say this article "Bashes" Fords. How? I simply re-printed what was written in the original article. What was I supposed to do? Lie?  Accuse Carey Loftin of being a liar?  The second thing is when I wrote a post about engine swapping. I simply said that unlike a small-block Chevy or Pontiacs, or AMC engines or small and big-block Chryslers where just about everything interchanges, Fords are all different. They are!!  A 390 in an LTD has a different oil pan, water pump, alternator and power steering brackets than a 390 in a T-Bird,which is different than a 390 in a Mustang, which is different than a 390 in an F100 pickup. And unlike the others-Fords have different bellhousing bolt patterns. A 289 /302 is different from a 351C, which is different from a 390 / 428.  Unlike a Chevy where you could bolt a TH350 or 400 up to anything from a 283 to a 454, or a Pontiac where you could do the same to anything from a 326 to a 455.  How does that "Bash" Fords?  I'm simply stating an irrefutable fact-that Fords don't have the easy parts interchangeability of GM and Chrysler stuff. Which novice engine-swappers need to know!!  Further-I've owned two Ford F150 pickups both bought brand-new and paid off and kept 8 or 10 years. I've had 2 Mustangs-a '66 GT and an '83 "5.0".  I don't "hate" Fords. If I could find one that wasn't priced in the stratosphere I'd love to have a '55-57 T-Bird, or a '67-70 390 Cougar, or a '69-70 Mach 1 with a 351W.  I'd even settle for one of the "Eleanor" clones that are popular-'67-68 Mustang fastbacks done up like the one in "Gone in 60 Seconds"-the one with Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie- not the classic with H.B/ Halicki.  The other thing I get is people say I "hate" modern fuelie swaps. Wrong again. If you want to put the engine and tranny out of a '95 "5.0" Mustang into a '66 Mustang-of which 600,000 were built go ahead, make your day. Just don't do it to a K-code, 271 hp solid-lifter, 4-speed GT or a Shelby GT350 !!  You want to put an LS motor and a 4L80E  into a beater LeMans go ahead. Just don't use a numbers-matching Judge!!  You want put an SRT8 Hemi in a 318 Charger-knock yourself out. But don't do it to a for real numbers matching 440 R / T model !!!  That's all I've ever said. But somehow it got misquoted and misconstrued. Hope this clears things up. Mastermind