Ford greatly improved their 1950 model lineup over the previous year with a laundry list of new equipment and mechanical adjustments, all of which were aimed squarely at the everyday American buyer. Despite the company’s foresight and high development costs, the Blue Oval had entirely neglected to imagine that a small group of American and Mexican amateur racers would take their new V-8 coupes and enter them into the most dangerous and grueling road race the world had ever seen: the inaugural Carrera Panamericana.

After more than 2,100 miles of racing across public roads in Mexico, three Fords survived, with the marque’s best finish of 14th place claimed by the American team of Kasold and Contesetto. These early ultra-endurance entries forged a lasting road-racing legacy for classic Ford enthusiasts, and the car offered here is a spiritual successor to those brave Ford V-8s which took on the Carrera Panamericana so many years ago.

This 1950 Ford Custom Club Coupe is a professionally built rally car which was constructed, developed, and thoroughly modified without consideration to expense between 1995 and 1997 for entrance in the world’s premiere ultra-endurance road races. It has been fitted with all the requisite rallying equipment, including five-point harness Sparco seats, auxiliary lights, Halda rally timer/odometer, altimeter, and a full complement of racing instrumentation. The cabin has been further modified with an integrated roll cage, custom-fabricated control panel, and a Hurst shifter which controls the car’s five-speed manual transmission.

Power is provided by a 239-cubic-inch flathead V-8 blueprinted engine built by Motor City Flatheads of Dundee, Michigan. Additional race features include Tilton master cylinder, high-output alternator, auxiliary fans, a cold air intake, competition-grade fuel lines, and a reinforced fuel cell. A set of billet wheels from American Racing are presently shod in Michelin Pilot tires.

Upon completion of its no-expense-spared build in early 1997, this Ford’s first competition appearance came at the 1997 Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, in which it performed marvelously. Driven by the American team of John Jung and Andy Vann, it placed 4th overall and 2nd in class after traveling through China, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and France. It was also entered in the 1998 Carrera Panamericana Revival and 1999 La Carrera Nevada with John Jung and Elizabeth Frank.

Few machines can survive such grueling events, and only the most disciplined and talented amateur drivers can endure the challenge of an ultra-endurance point-to-point road race. This distinctive Ford Custom Club Coupe has a record which proves that, in capable hands, it is a tremendous vintage rallying tool and especially qualified for continued ultra-endurance road racing; presented in extremely well-maintained condition, it awaits its adventurous next owner.