Was surprised to see a Penn. ‘car barn’ museum owner (TV) showing off his ‘56 Vette with dual quads/solid lifter/high compression heads, and supposed 245 HP (265ci) engine. I’m assuming that much power (if indeed accurate) must have come with a substantial torque sacrifice, though likely not so impactful on such a light (fiberglass) vehicle. I wonder if the comparable ‘Hi Po’ dealer-option/dual quad kit available for the ‘56 312ci T-Bird also included a special cam & heads?  I don’t recall any comparison road tests between those two specially equipped sports models (?).  

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Gm would not have allowed that in public. They had to remain the King of performance even if they had to lie.



Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Funny how that was.  Henry II was rather slow to catch on re: all the GM subterfuge.  Plenty of Bird/Vette test comparisons, but the scrubs were somehow always faster through suspicious equipping of the cars supplied. You seldom saw a stick Bird vs. an auto Vette article (usually the reverse), but even then it was qualified (dual-quad Vette vs. single-quad Bird).  Probably, disc jockeys weren’t the only ones getting ‘payola’ back then.  Receiving essential cars for magazine tests maybe involved some pre-conditional politics.  A straight-up ‘best of’ test would likely have never been allowed.

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Daniel, the '56 Ford "Hi-Power" kit did indeed include a  special cam (rumored for years to be an Isky) and lifters, and heads.  "G" heads weren't available yet, so "C" heads broached .060" were in the kit.  Of course the  manifold and carbs were  included, along with a special vacuum advance canister for the load-o-matic  distributor.  There was a service bulletin that detailed all the parts included  in the kit.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

I did a lot of street and and strip racing with my 57 Bird after I bought it in 1965. Never ran a 283 scruby I couldn’t beat or come darn close to. Ran a local with a 57 scruby with dual quads. I was still running the stock single 4 barre 3 speed 3.89 gear. Beat him with no problems. Had a 58 Ford custom 300 before Thad Bird. 292, 3 speed, 3.89 gear, 312 4 barrel, and dual exhaust.  Beat every 265 and most stock 283’s I raced.   Buddies 54 scruby 283 with a .30-.30 rattler Corvette cam would beat me y about a car length or less.  Had a lot of fun. 

I lived in AZ about 20 years ago and was in my early 20s.  I had a '55 Fairlane with a 272 and 3 speed at the time.  Whenever I needed parts I'd go to one specific NAPA because there was a guy who worked there named Jerry who knew how to look up parts in books...they all did, really, but Jerry was a retiree who you could tell enjoyed the job.   Every time I'd tell him it was a '55 Fairlane with a 272 he'd reminisce about all of the races he used to win in the '56 he had when he was younger. 

Your title indicated 55, everyone responded with 56 info or experience. The 55 offered the 292 from the Thunderbird for law enforcement and some medical personnel according to Mike Beckwith a technical advisor for the Crown Victoria Association but never offered in production cars. A “M” code on passenger ID tag would have designated a 182 hp 272”. It would be interesting if someone claiming to have a stock 55 with a 292” would tell us the engine code listed on the ID. From what I can find there was no “P” in 1955.

As for the 1956, the “High Power engine kit B6A-9000-B” offered as an over the parts counter to anyone and it never had a code either. They were rated at 260 hp for NASCAR.  It was recommended for 312” standard and overdrive engines only and I’m guessing racers bought most of them along with open states law enforcement like Montana, Wyoming, Texas, etc. The air filters for the ones competing in NASCAR had a large mandated red Purolator air cleaner and I understand the passenger cars including Thunderbirds got a different one. The passenger cars was similar to the oval 57 E code. I do not know about the Thunderbird. Recently I read on aThunderbird site that only 103 of the kits were ever made. The intake manifold was different than the 57 E and it did not need a different valley cover. I have read articles that the intake for the 1956 was made for Ford by Vic Edelbrock since he has manufactured one for the 54 256” Mercury but upon seeing photos of both the placement of the rear carburetor was different on each. Articles written about these kits stated there were quite a few left in dealerships in 57 which were not sold since the 57 had it as a production option they were discounted to under $200. 

56 Vic, B'Ville 200 MPH Club Member, So Cal.

Sorry, that was a typo (should read: ‘56 scrub). Tried to edit later, but no luck.
BTW: The Carter carbs reminds me of the ‘300 hp’ Vic Edelbrock HRM article. Likely the ‘56 Hi Po NASCAR kit should have come close (typical under-stated hp for ins. reasons?)  
Also:  Pass. car AC wouldn’t have fit under the ‘56 T-Bird hood, so I assume the flatter ‘57 E-type model AC was included so the kit would be universal (?).  Were there two kits, or was the large AC just a separate/add-on part (or vice-versa)?



6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

I understand for 1956 Fords the hipo kit were all the same with the exception of the air cleaner. The red Purolator was mandated fore every NASCAR competing engine of any brand. There were subtle differences in each. I am not sure for the 56 car air cleaner but they did fit under the T-bird hood because some of them ended up on them too. Remember the 56’s did not have a valley cover with the lowered center area….but fit the T-bird. I have seen oval air cleaners with the bubbles but not sure which model or year they were used on. Dan “the Hot Rod Reverend” has shown us a 57 dual quad unit he just bought with the correct stick shift carbs and a round air cleaner with notch for the oil fill. 

56 Vic, B'Ville 200 MPH Club Member, So Cal.