Ford Talladega and Spoiler II Family Reunion at Forge Muscle Car Show

If you are a regular reader of Legendary Collector Cars you already know that there is going to be one great event for all the Ford Talladega and Mercury Cyclone Sp0iler/Spoiler II cars this fall. On October 1 and 2 of 2010 we will have the first ever reunion of some of the rarest production cars ever built. The Tim Lopata Forge Muscle Car Show will be featuring the Ford Talladega and its cousin the Mercury Spoiler II this year.
A while back we showed you the red Banjo Matthews prototype Talladega that is now undergoing a complete restoration. It is going to be there restored or in what ever stage it might be in at the time!
When was the last time you saw the first production car off the assembly line? When was the last time you saw the last production car off the assembly line? I bet you have never seen both at the same time! Well at the Forge Muscle Car Show you will have the opportunity to see the very first regular production Talladega off the assembly line and the very last production Talladega off the assembly line! I would think that has to be the first for any show.
We will save the last Talladega for another post but for this one how about the first?
The photos shown in this post are of the car prior to our putting it back to its original appearance, to see how it looks now CLICK HERE.
This is actually our Talladega. It was scheduled to be built on January 21, 1969 but was delayed until January 22, 1969. It was sold new to D. E. Brown at Tower Ford, Inc. in Baltimore, MD on April 15, 1969. According to some of the history we have been able to put together it later went to an auto auction in Darlington South Carolina. It was then purchased by Annie Haire of Mc Bee SC on June 6, 1973. As we understand it, there may have been some street racing going on during this time.
Michael Ratterree purchase the car for parts in January of 1989. Luckily, he soon realize what he had purchased and began a long, extensive and high quality restoration. The car was restored to be a driver and not to concours standards. He took a few liberties along the way with tires and wheels, interior and hood treatment. The biggest difference being the gloss black rather than the correct competition black on the hood and rear tail light panel. The restoration took him 7 years.
Katrina and I purchase the car in October 2007 and began to take it back to a more factory look.
This photo was taken during the filming of the “Flash Back” feature for Muscle Car TV. You can see this episode by CLICKING HERE.
Although there will be some great muscle cars on the inside at the Forge Muscle Car Show you are invited to bring you Talladega or Spoiler II and display it in the outside display. Contact Jason at thompsons122@charter.net for more details. See you at the Reunion.