Marti Report, Ford Documentation and more; Talladega Prototype
Continued from: Building the Ford Talladega Prototypes by Rick Ochs
We have been talking a lot lately about the two rare 1969 Ford Talladega prototypes known as the Banjo Matthew’s cars and today we have even more. The paperwork that follows is the same kind of things you should be looking for on your cars. It is the documentation that confirms what you claim your car is.
First up is a news article that appeared back in 1969. The white Talladega in the center is believed to be the white Banjo Talladega. You can see the hood scoop but some other features do not appear to be the same. It is possible this was one of the other Prototypes.
The article provides you with a little background on the cars but now for the good stuff. The following letters are from Ford to Banjo Matthews regarding his ownership in the cars. We all treasure the original window sticker or invoice and even early registration forms or titles but can you believe a letter from Ford offering you not one but two Prototypes!
One of the best pieces of documentation you can have if you have the right year Ford product is a Marti Report. The first thing I do when purchasing a Ford is order the Marti Report. I have also had them do special research for me which I believe is even more valuable. Here are the two Deluxe Marti Reports for these Prototypes. A big THANK YOU to Clarence and Jason Thompson for sharing these documents with us.
While visiting Banjo’s shop app: 15yrs ago there was a red 69 Ranchero GT parked at the end of the garage outside which had a Talladega front end installed and appeared to not have been driven in some time. Banjo told me this was the original Talladega front end #1 that had been been built. I have no idea why it was mounted on a Ranchero but it did fit.