1966 Trans American Sedan Racing Mustang #5
The race car was rebuilt in collaboration with the original Trans-Am Mustang #5 driver Ed Diamond, his friend and later Crew Chief Brian Fallon who provided all details of the race car as she was raced in 1966. Mustang #5 was purchased through David Nagle of Nagle Ford in Rochester/ NY
Driver: Ed Diamond, New York/ NY
Main sponsor:
Nagle Ford Rochester/ NY
Tire sponsor: Barry Budlong, Rochester/ NY
Mustang build out: Barry Budlong, Rochester/ NY
Engine: Jess Haelen, Rochester, NY
Cylinder heads: Joe Mondello, Los Angelos/ CA
Suspension: Maynard Troyer, Rochester/ NY
Engine
- 289cui K-code High Performance (Hi-Po) engine
- Ported and polished cylinder heads by Joe Mondello
- Hi-Po chrome valve covers (one breather per valve cover)
- Aluminum single quad hi-riser intake manifold
- Holley 4150 carb
- Hi-Po air cleaner (chromed top and painted base)
- Hi-Po distributor
- Engine oil cooler kit with radiator
- Shelby Cobra aluminum T-oil pan
- Competition headers
Transmission
- Borg Warner T-10 4-speed man. transmission (“close ratio”)
- Bell housing
Suspension, steering, brakes
- 9" rear end with traction bars and no-spin differential unit
- Koni shocks
- Front springs one coil shortened
- 1" diameter sway bar
- Steering equipped with Quick Steering Kit
- Front manual disc brakes, rear drums
Body
- Front fender support brace
- Standard gas tank with the standard fill
- Battery relocation kit
Interior
- Stock interior with stock steering wheel
- Roll bar
- Rear seats removed, rear seat divider installed
- Competition driver seat and harness
- Stock instrument panel with an electric tach mounted on the steering column
Advertising/ decals (Sebring 1966)
- Rear fenders: “NAGLE FORD” below “Driver” below “Ed Diamond”
- Front Fenders: "Mondello Heads“ (Mondello did the porting & polishing the heads), Fram filters, Champion Spark plugs and the Goodyear Diamond
Race History
- 1966 The Sebring Four Hour International Touring Car Race at Sebring International Raceway, Sebring/FL, March 25, 1966
- 1966 V.I.R.400 Trans American Sedan Championship V.I.R.400 at Virginia International Raceway, Danville/VA, July 30-31, 1966
- Several regional SCCA American Sedan (A/S) Races on different race tracks like Cumberland Raceway, Lime Rock Raceway, Thompson International Raceway, etc. Car history
T/A Mustang #5 was purchased through David Nagle of Nagle Ford in Rochester/ NY. Ed Diamond: „ The debut was the first Trans-Am race at Sebring in the spring of 1966. I started 2nd next to AJ Foyt, but quickly lost ground. Do not recall the finishing position…” (it was position 28 – #5 couldn’t finish the race) …”but that event was dominated by the Alfa Romeos of AutoDelta. The starting grid for Sebring, including #5, was featured on the cover of a British magazine, Autosport, a month or so later. We raced another Trans-Am event at VIR and several SCCA amateur events that year at Lime Rock, Cumberland etc. You may already know this but the car only ran these 2 Trans -Ams and finished neither. There were a few more successful SCCA races that same year. I recall that we did well, perhaps won an SCCA race at Cumberland, MD. We also raced at Lime Rock, but I do not recall the outcome. I eventually sold the car to someone who used it on the street.“
Tom Taylor, a later owner of the Mustang, reported:” I purchased a blue '66 Mustang notchback back in early 70's in LeRoy/ NY that had a bent in passenger door, door post and fenders. When I bought the car from the fellow in LeRoy NY, it had been repainted the same blue and all the markings, numbers were not apparent. I was young and not into SCCA racing and I didn't have a clue what I had bought. All I knew was it had a bunch of Cobra goodies and I had the T pan for my hot rod I was putting together.” …”aluminum T-pan, chrome valve covers, aluminum hi-rise manifold, engine oil cooler, bell housing, polished hi-per heads, fast steering arms. It was a K-code with a hi-per 289 four speed but somewhere along the line, if I remember correctly, the pistons were changed to low compression ones. The car had a roll bar, traction lock rear end and front disc brakes. The body had no rust when I bought it. Also found under the paint some "A/S" markings on the door-quarter panel. About the same time, I told a Ford mechanic friend of mine, Fred White, about the car who said that it sounded like a car that he'd worked on or had come in at a Ford dealer…” (Nagle Ford ) “…that was on the corner of Buffalo Rd and Howard Rd. in Gates NY. He took the Mustang body. That’s all I know.”
Tim bought the Mustang 2003 in Texas. She was rebuilt to a street driven Mustang long time ago and had local license plates. During the restoration A/S markings and number circles were found as well as remains of a removed roll bar. After researching for over one year and having found photos of #5 at Sebring and the V.I.R. 400, Tim was able to contact Ed Diamond and Brian Fallon who helped to build the Mustang to the 1966 V.I.R. 400 condition. Driver’s history
Ed Diamond lives in New York City, his Crew Chief Brian Fallon lives just outside of Rochester, NY on the south shore of Lake Ontario about 300 miles (480 km) north and west. Outside of the Mustang, in 1967, Ed won the 1,192 cc class at the Freeport Bahamas Grand Prix for Formula Vee's ( A pro race with Rindt as well as many other pros of the day). This can be found on the Web. In the 1965 season he set the lap record at the now defunct Vineland Raceway in NJ in a twin cam Cosworth powered Elva VII. In 1965 he was awarded "Club Racing - Driver of the Year" and "Club Racing - Most Improved Driver" by the SCCA. Brian Fallon retired in 2000 and shortly after that Ed and Brian conceived the idea of running in La Carrera Pan Americana. Ed bought a '64 Porsche 356 and Brian as project manager let it turn it into a race/rally car here in Rochester. Ed and Brian ran La Carrera in 2001, '02 and '03. In 2002 and '03 they used a 912 as '01 convinced us that the 356 was too small inside and too stripped out to be comfortable for such a long event. The 912 interior was unmolested and was a much more pleasant ride. They continued to use the 356 with some success for vintage racing until 2006. In 2006 Brian built the 911 we have presently. Our biggest claim to fame with that car is that as a team we have won our class at the Sebring 4 Hour endurance race for vintage cars 5 times
http://historicracinggroup.yolasite.com/diamond.php
Appendix - Some details on the team that build up T/A Mustang #5:
Barry Budlong, Rochester/ NY
In the early days, Barry Budlong was an active rallyist, including chairing the Neophytes Rally in Jan. 1957. He began racing an Alfa Guilleta, sharing the car with Beulah Baily, who ran in the Ladies class. Barry actively raced Alfa Romeos and Chevrolet Corvettes from 1957-1961. Joe Mondello, Los Angelos/ CA
Joe Mondello and Racing are synonymous with each other. In 1951, Joe was racing at airports and drag strips throughout Southern California. Those were the days when you started a race with a flag man starter, not a Christmas tree. In the early 1950's, before Joe was 17 years old, he had already ported & relieved more than 50 Ford flat head blocks for the finest engine builders of that era. Joe's first car was a '40 Ford coupe with a 303 c.i.d. flat head Ford along with 4 Stromberg Carbs, Edelbrock heads & manifold and of course, an Engle camshaft. In the 1960's, Joe also worked part time for Carroll Shelby building the performance heads and engines that won the Le Mans Grand Prix. Those Shelby Ford Cobras, 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th places respectively. Traco Engineering, known at the time for extremely fast Indy cars and various sprint cars, utilized Mondello heads exclusively. In those days, the shop's clientele read like a "Who's Who" of drag racing greats. Today, Chevrolet performance cylinder heads still utilize the identical combustion chamber, which Joe designed in the early 1960's known as the "Posi-Flow" chamber. Joe Mondello designed open chamber big and small block Chevy cylinder heads and pistons long before Chevy did. The famed Mondello-Matsubara Blown Fuel Altered won two National Events in the 1960's. In the 60's & 70's, this was the fastest wedge-head Chevrolet, running a 7.24 E.T. @ 213 mph at the 1969 Indy U.S. All of the great drag race cars ran with Mondello. The first 7,6 & 5 second Top Fuel runs and the first 200 mph runs in Top Gas, Top Fuel, Injected Fuel, Fuel Altered were all accomplished using Mondello cylinder heads and Don Garlits set most of these records, making Mondello the most notable, historically recognized heads. Joe Mondello has set national records and won events over the years with both cars and boats. Bernard Mondello, Joe's son, grew up surrounded by the richest heritage in drag racing history. During the early 70's, this winning father-son combination went to work at the Parker Dam 9 hour enduro, winning the Jet Boat class with an Olds 455 in 1972 and in 1975 & 1976, back to back wins with a 500 c.i.d. dual-quad big block Chevrolet. The Mondello's showed they could excel on the water as well as the dragstrip. Joe's worldwide clientele bears this axiom out; using Mondello heads & engines, they have set every type of record imaginable (source: http://www.mondellotwister.com/aboutus.html)
Maynard Troyer, Rochester/ NY
Maynard Troyer was born November 22, 1938 in Spencerport, New York). He started stock car racing in 1958 and was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who raced in the 1971 and the 1973 Winston Cup seasons. Maynard Troyer was one of those drivers who had talent, not money. Maynard Troyer’s hard driving style made him one of the most feared drivers.
