Click here to view Windows Media File.

Click here to view QuickTime File.

Holman & Moody History Timeline

1956	NASCAR John Holman moved from California to Charlotte, NC, to take over the Ford racing effort in NASCAR. He had been working for Bill Stroppe and the Western arm of Ford’s racing effort. Holman develops special stock racing wheels, which become the standard.Peter DePaolo Engineering raced cars driven by Joe Weatherly, Curtis Turner, Marvin Panch, Bill Amick, Ralph Moody, Fireball Roberts and others. The main competition was from the Kiekhaefer Chryslers, an the battles on and off the track were impressive. One particular point of contention was the rumor that the Fords were cheating with locked rear ends.
1957	NASCAR The season started with Ford winning race after race, and the other teams began to complain. NASCAR allowed a new Chevrolet engine to even things up, so Ford countered with the introduction of the supercharged 312. The AMA ban on auto racing went into effect, so Ford and the other manufacturers withdrew sponsorship of racing. Each of the Ford drivers were given a race car, transporter, and some spare parts. John Holman and Ralph Moody put what money they had into buying additional cars and equipment, and Holman Moody was formed. Lee Holman was given the job taking inventory of all of the spare parts. The Holman Moody Fords won their first two races in 1957.
1958	NASCAR Holman Moody entered two 1958 Fords at the last two races on the beach at Daytona. The same two cars, one driven by Curtis Turner and the other driven by Joe Weatherly, raced to firs and third in one race and second and fourth in another.Holman Moody began to change from a racing team to a racing factory. In addition to building and racing their own cars, the shop was now building cars and selling them to other teams. By late 1958 Ford support was slowly returning to racing. This support helped the Holman Moody team in the construction of ten 1959 Thunderbirds. This was the first time Holman Moody was able to get bare bodies off of the assembly lines. The production line was stopped while Holman Moody got the bare chassis and parts they needed to build the race cars. All unnecessary items in the production automobile were left off. Curtis Turner wins in a Holman Moody Ford at Champion Speedway (3/15), Lakewood Speedway (4/13), and the Southern States Fairgrounds (4/18).
1959	NASCAR Holman Moody Power Products Thunderbirds are the talk of Daytona. Johnny Beauchamp in the Holman Moody car and Lee Petty in an Oldsmobile finish in a virtual dead heat. After three days NASCAR officials decide Petty is the winner by inches. The two cars averaged 135.521 mph, which made it the fastest stock car race in history. It is slightly under the Indianapolis 500 record average speed of 135.601 mph.
1961	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.Holman Moody makes a number of important developments including the three piece sway bar.Fred Lorenzen wins in a Holman Moody Ford at Martinsville (4/19), Darlington (5/6), and Atlanta International Raceway (7/9).
1962	Road Racing Holman Moody enters the "Challenger" in the 12 Hours of Sebring. The "Worlds fastest Falcon" was driven by Marvin Panch and Jocko Maggiacomo.A Holman Moody prepared small-block AC Cobra, driven by Augie Pabst , is one of three Cobras entered in the Nassau Speed Weeks. The Cobra is still in the development phase, and none of the three cars finish.NASCARHolman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.Nelson Stacy wins in a Holman Moody Ford at Darlington (5/12), Charlotte (5/27) and Martinsville (9/23).
1963	Road Racing Holman Moody enters a small-block AC Cobra in the 12 Hours of Sebring (four more were entered by Shelby). While the Cobras posted the fastest lap times, they lacked durability, and the Ferraris prevailed.NASCARHolman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.Holman Moody makes a number of important developments including gas cans and window nets.Dan Gurney wins in a Holman Moody Ford at Riverside International Raceway (1/20).Fred Lorenzen wins in a Holman Moody Ford at Atlanta International Raceway (3/17), Charlotte Motor Speedway (6/2), Bristol International Speedway (7/28), Asheville-Weaverville Speedway (8/11), West Virginia International Speedway (8/18), and Martinsville Speedway (9/22).Fireball Roberts wins in a Holman Moody Ford at Bristol (3/31), Daytona (7/4), and Old Bridge Stadium (7/19).
1964	NASCAR Holman Moody develops the box steel chassis for NASCAR racing that became the standard for all cars. They also make other important developments including screw jacks and wheel studs.Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.Fred Lorenzen wins in a Holman Moody Ford at Bristol (3/22 and 7/26), Atlanta (4/5), North Wilkesboro (4/19), Martinsville (4/26 and 9/27), Darlington (5/9), and Charlotte (10/18).Fireball Roberts wins in a Holman Moody Ford at Augusta International Speedway (11/17).
1965	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.Fred Lorenzen wins in a Holman Moody Ford at Daytona (2/14), Martinsville (4/25), and Charlotte (5/2 and 10/17).Dick Hutcherson wins in a Holman Moody Ford at Greenville-Pickens Speedway (4/17 and 6/19), Fairgrounds Speedway (6/3), Rambi Raceway (6/24), Smoky Mountain Raceway (8/13), Augusta International Speedway (8/15), Dog Track Speedway (8/24), Lincoln Speedway (9/14), and Orange Speedway (10/24).Road CarsHolman Moody takes over production of the Intermeccanica Omega, a Ford Powered Italian sports car. Thirty three Omegas were built. Drag RacingHolman Moody builds 10 altered wheelbase A/FX Mustangs for the Factory Experimental class of drag racing. Eight of the cars were powered by 427 SOHC (single overhead cam) engines, and the other two had 427 Hi-Risers. All of these cars ran dual 4 barrel carbs except Les Ritcheys, which had Webers. Les Ritchey managed a 10.51 sec/134.24 mph quarter mile. Bill Lawton won the NHRA Winter Nationals A/FX class with a 10.88 sec/129.84 quarter mile. The Wickersham Mustang with its 427 Hi-Riser, was driven by Clester Andrews to 40 wins in 42 match races.
1966	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.Holman Moody makes a number of important developments including fuel cells and a fuel check valve.Fred Lorenzen wins in a Holman Moody Ford at Martinsville (9/25) and North Carolina Motor Speedway (10/30). Dick Hutcherson wins in a Holman Moody Ford at Bristol (3/20), Orange Speedway (9/18), and North Wilkesboro (10/2).
1967	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.Holman Moody makes a number of important developments including the chassis frame.Fred Lorenzen wins in a Holman Moody Ford at Daytona (2/24).Mario Andretti wins in a Holman Moody Ford at Daytona (2/26).Can AmThe "Honker II" makes its debut. The car was named after John Holman, who liked to use the air horns on the eighteen wheeler transporters he drove. The Honker II was designed by Len Bailey (from the GT program) and built by Alan Mann Racing. Holman Moody prepared the car and Mario Andretti drove it. The metallic purple car was powered by a 351 Cubic inch engine (and later a 377 CID). The handling and brakes were never sorted out, and it did not place in the two races it entered. Lee Holman brought the restored car to the Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC) convention in Charlotte, NC in June, 1991.
1968	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.David Pearson wins his second Championship with sixteen wins in Holman Moody prepared Torinos: Bristol (3/17 and 7/21), Virginia State Fairgrounds (3/24), North Wilkesboro (4/21), Asheville-Weaverville Speedway (5/5 and 8/18), Darlington (5/11), Beltsville Speedway (5/17), Langley Field Speedway (5/18 and 8/24), Middle Georgia Speedway (6/2), Fairgrounds Speedway (7/27), Columbia Speedway (8/8), Bowman Gray Stadium (8/10), Hickory Speedway (9/6) and Augusta Speedway (10/5).
1969	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.David Pearson wins his third Championship with eleven wins in Holman Moody prepared Torino Talladegas: Daytona (2/20), North Carolina Motor Speedway (3/9), Augusta Speedway (3/16), Richmond Fairgrounds Speedway (4/13), Langley Field Speedway (5/17), State Fairgrounds Speedway (6/26), New Thompson Speedway (7/10), Trenton Speedway (7/13), Bristol (7/20), Michigan (8/17), and North Wilkesboro (10/5).
1970	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.David Pearson wins in a Holman Moody prepared Torino Talladega at Darlington (5/9).
1971	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams. David Pearson wins in a Holman Moody Ford at Daytona (2/11) and Bristol (3/28).
1972	Ralph Moody’s stock in Holman Moody is bought back by the company, and he goes on to other racing teams. The company name remains the same. In an effort to clear away old race cars, the company has the first of a number of auctions. Holman Moody sells all nine GTs, some Can Am cars, and some retired stock cars to make room for new projects. NASCARHolman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1973	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1974	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1975	John Holman has a heart attack and dies while testing a new truck intercooler that he hoped to patent. NASCARHolman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1976	Holman Moody is being run by a bank trust department. NASCARHolman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1977	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1978	Lee Holman takes over as President of Holman Moody, Inc., and injects new life into the struggling company. His first goal was to get back into racing, so Holman Moody began building race cars again. They built a Mazda which raced at LeMans, and also continued with their engine building program, which included Can Am and NASCAR engines. NASCARHolman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1979	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1980	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1981	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1982	The Charlotte airport gave Holman Moody notice of their intent to condemn the Holman Moody building in preparation for a new airport runway. The Board of Directors chose not to fight the airport, and thought that it would be a good time to let any of the stockholders who wanted to cash out do so. The company held an auction to sell off the equipment, and Lee Holman bought much of it. Holman Moody was then going to divide the cash from the building and equipment among the stock holders, and the new company, Holman Automotive, Inc., would continue the work of building race cars and engines in a new facility. As of 1997, the Charlotte airport has not condemned the six acre property and the two companies, Holman Moody and Holman Automotive, continue to operate out of the same 75,000 square foot facility. NASCARHolman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1983	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1984	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1985	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1986	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1987	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1988	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1989	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1990	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1991	Road Racing The first of the continued production GT MKIIs, chassis P201, is shown in incomplete form at the Shelby American Automobile Club convention (SAAC 16) in Charlotte, NC. An article featuring the continued production cars and chassis P201 appears in the November 1991 issue of "Mustang & Fords". NASCARHolman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1992	Road Racing GT MKII chassis P201 is completed in September. This is the first of sixteen continued production GT MKII’s using original tooling, suppliers and components. See the "GT Mark II" section for more production information. NASCARHolman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1993	Road Racing GT MKII chassis P201 runs at the Jefferson 500 (Summit Point, WV) and Targa ’66 (also at Summit Point, WV). It also runs in the Walter Mitty Challenge (Road Atlanta, GA) and the Lime Rock Vintage Festival (Lime Rock, CT) and SAAC-18 (Watkins Glen, NY).NASCARHolman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1994	Road Racing GT MKII chassis P201 runs at the Jefferson 500 (Summit Point, WV) and Targa ’66 (also at Summit Point, WV). It also runs in the Walter Mitty Challenge (Road Atlanta, GA) and the GT 30th Anniversary Reunion in July of 1994 (Elkhart Lake, WI).NASCARHolman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1995	Road Racing GT MKII chassis P201 runs at the Jefferson 500 (Summit Point, WV), Targa ’66 (also at Summit Point, WV), and the Walter Mitty Challenge (Road Atlanta, GA).NASCARHolman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1996	NASCAR Holman Moody is building engines for the Woods Brothers #21 cars, and grinding cams for many other NASCAR teams.
1997	Holman Moody and Holman Automotive, continue to operate out of the same 75,000 square foot facility next to Charlotte-Douglas Airport. We are currently building the GT MKII, performing mechanical restorations on other GTs and other Ford powered race cars, building engines for the Woods Brothers NASCAR team as well as other customers, and grinding cams for many NASCAR teams and customers. See the list of "Services" for a complete description of what we can do for you! Future plans include the prospect of a Holman Moody racing museum. Road RacingGT MKII chassis P201 will be running at SAAC-22 (Elkhart Lake, WI).

GT

The GT Mark II

Lee Holman, President of Holman Automotive, Inc. and Holman Moody Inc., is producing new 1966 specification GT Mark II LeMans race cars. These cars are built at the Holman shops in Charlotte, NC using the original Ford GT Mark II blueprints, specifications, and base chassis that Holman Moody used to build their GT Mark IIs.

Ever since the Ford GT Mark II won LeMans more than 30 years ago, Holman Moody has been asked if an original Mark II could be remanufactured. Due to high tooling costs for such a small number of cars, Holman Moody only repaired or restored the few existing Mark IIs. Now, with the interest in vintage racing at an all time high and the number of inquires growing substantially, Lee Holman and a number of the original Ford LeMans team members decided to build a limited production of authentic racing LeMans Mark IIs.

These cars will have the advantage of the Holman Moody teams' vast racing experience, blueprints, race reports, and paper work from the Ford LeMans program. The Holman cars will be built just as they were raced, using original Mark II body molds, chassis from original tooling, Kar Kraft style transaxle, new 427 Ford dry sump engines, and a number of the original spare parts.
The parts that make this a true Mark II will all be just as raced so the owner will not only have the sound and the look, but also the feel of a true LeMans racing machine. Holman Automotive will offer the car as a Mark II A or Mark II B.

One of the most important aspects of this project is the people that Mr. Holman has pulled together to build these new Mark II race cars. These are the workers that helped Ford build and race the original LeMans GT, Mark IIs, and Mark IVs. They will assure that these new Mark IIs will be true to original design and as great as the Mark IIs that made history.

Specifications

Chassis
	Construction	Pressed steel monocoque made to the original Mark I GT drawings. Modified to Mark II specifications at the Holman Shop by Jimmy Tucker and Jim Rose. Both men have extensive knowledge of the car and its history having built some of the original Mark II's and both were crew chiefs for Ford at LeMans.
	Front Suspension	Independent double wishbone, anti-roll bar, adjustable shock absorbers with coil over springs, all parts interchangeable with the original cars Holman Moody built. There is an option of the Alan Mann style upper front A-arm which would allow for more front end adjustment.
	Rear Suspension	Double trailing arms, lower wish bones, anti-roll bar, adjustable shock absorbers with coil over springs; all parts interchangeable with the original cars Holman Moody built.
	Front Brakes	Girling C R type calipers, 11.56" vented disc, Girling master cylinder, bias bar as standard on the Ford Team cars; all parts interchangeable with the original cars Holman Moody built.
	Rear Brakes	Girling C R type calipers, 11.56" vented disc, Girling master cylinder, Aeroquip lines and fittings, all parts interchangeable with the original cars Holman Moody built.
	Steering	Magnesium casting original GT type rack and pinion; all parts interchangeable with the original cars Holman Moody built.
	Wheels	Magnesium or Aluminum cast Mark II type wheels. Size will vary if the car is built as a Mark II A or B.
	Tires	Type and quality appropriate to the use anticipated by the car owner.
	Instrumentation	Standard is the Mark II A dash with tachometer, water temperature, oil temperature, oil pressure, differential and transmission oil temperature and fuel pressure. Optional is the Mark II B aluminum dash with the same gages but switch locations are changed to a large dash box.
	Seats	Mark I style cloth seats are standard with the option of the Mark II B fiber glass molded seats.
	Wiring	Original Mark II type wiring loom made using the Ford blueprints.
Drive train
	Engine	Ford 427cu. in. medium riser with aluminum heads and intake, original new Ford cast iron block, built at the Holman Shop by Jimmy Tucker, the builder of race engines for the original GT Ford race teams as well as hundreds of 427 NASCAR engines.
	Carburetors	Mark II A - one Holley four barrelMark II B, two four barrel carburetors.
	Exhaust	Stainless steel 2.250" headers interchangeable with the original headers Holman Moody built for all the Mark II team cars.
	Oil System	Ford style magnesium cast oil pan with pumps mounted in the aluminum front cover, aluminum oil cooler, aluminum Mark II B style rear oil tank, Aeroquip lines and fittings. The Mark II A front mounted oil tank is not recommended, but can be mounted.
	Cooling System	Aluminum radiator, stainless steel and aluminum water pipes, aluminum water tank, twin cooling fans (not on original Mark II's)
	Fuel System	Two fuel cells similar to original, each with its own fuel pump. A complete Mark II system which used 3 pumps and a number of valves can be mounted as an option. This system was hard to maintain, however, and is not recommended.
	Transmission	Kar Kraft T-44 style 4 speed with magnesium case castings, ratios are changeable. This is the correct and original transmission for these cars.
	Body	Mark II A or B style bodies are available with the parts made using original team molds and/or parts. Original air craft body latches are used. The glass work is fitted to the chassis better than Holman Moody did in 1966 and 1967. (TOP)