Classic Mustang A/FX Drag Cars Head to Mecum Auctions

By Eric Rood - December 20, 2017

Gas Ronda A/FX Mustang Drag Car

Gas Ronda’s pair of radical SOHC-powered, mid-1960s Mustangs will cross the auction block at Mecum Kissimmee in January.

The 1960s were the heyday of the old racing adage “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.” In Detroit, that left American automakers scrambling to one-up each other on the NASCAR oval with crazy engine development. However, the radical extremes of that came in NHRA racing, which spawned these radical A/FX 1965 and 1966 Ford Mustangs raced by Gas Ronda. Now, these two classic SOHC-powered Mustangs head to auction at Mecum Kissimmee as part of a huge collection of 1960s factory drag cars.

The “Altered Wheelbase” classes featured cars with axles moved dramatically to improve weight distribution and transfer. Dick Landy’s Dodge Coronet (also up for sale in the collection) might be the most famous, but Gas Ronda’s Mustangs strike our fancy.

Ronda was a flashy NHRA racer known for dressing well and driving like a bat out of hell. He sold cars by day at Russ Davis Ford in California, who helped procure him factory backing from Ford. On weekends, Gas Ronda was a legend at the drag strip. In 1964, he won the NHRA Stock Eliminator title, no small feat in another heated factory-competition class.

1965 and 1966 A/FX Mustangs

With growing competition in the A/FX (A/Factory Experimental) class, soon to be known as “Funny Car,” Ronda squared off against Landy and Ronnie Sox. Ford had their own famous big-block engine: the legendary SOHC 427 to bring to battle. Holman-Moody prepared Ronda’s ‘65 Mustang with some subtle axle relocation. He responded by running 10.88 and winning the AHRA Top Stock final. However, Landy’s radically altered Coronet had him beat in NHRA competition.

In 1966, things got wild quickly. Ford built Ronda a long-nose ‘66 Mustang that stretched the whole car out to nearly dragster length. Ronda and his team started feeding the 427 nitromethane and methanol with fuel injection. That combination took it down into the 8s at more than 170 miles per hour. At this time, however, other manufacturers — notably Ford’s company mate Mercury — introduced flip-top-body Funny Cars, which were more capable.

Restoration

Both cars underwent restoration in Elk River, Minnesota, by Eric Lindberg. While listed separately on the auction block, together they represent visually the huge leaps in just a single year of A/FX competition. Mecum estimates the ‘65 Gas Ronda Mustang should bring between $300,000 and $500,000. The more radical ‘66 Long Nose should push past a half-million pretty easily.