rrrr
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...1957 Ford sedan delivery. Here's the story. My Dad and my grandfather started a commercial sheet metal business in Albuquerque in 1953. They chose Albuquerque because they knew the government intended to spend billions of dollars in New Mexico to build facilities for the production of nuclear weapons. The business had over 125 employees by 1967.
This was during the time the Cold War was quickly expanding. The US built over 30,000 atomic fission and hydrogen fusion warheads between 1950 and 1960. The warheads were designed and built at the secret Los Alamos National Laboratory, near Santa Fe, with material from Oak Ridge, TN and Hanford, WA. Sandia Base, in Albuquerque, was responsible for designing and building the bomb casings, high explosive trigger assemblies, and fusing for the bombs.
To give you an idea of how these materials were used, a 10 megaton hydrogen fusion thermonuclear bomb warhead required about 22 lbs of Plutonium, 15 lbs of Uranium 235, about five ounces of Lithium Deuteride, and around 5,000 lbs of high explosive to trigger the explosion. It produced an explosive force of ten million tons of TNT.
In 1963, my Dad bought a black 1957 Ford sedan delivery from a government auction at Sandia Base. It had a 312 CI Y-block engine, in a factory version that was quite rare. The engine had a Paxton supercharger (built by McCulloch), a four barrel Holley carburetor, and was rated at 300 HP. From what I can tell by using online searches, the actual horsepower was closer to 340.
It also had a Warner T-85 three speed overdrive transmission. I believe this combination was only available in Thunderbirds, but obviously also in special government spec vehicles like the car Dad bought.
When Dad went to pick up the vehicle after the auction ended, he was told the vehicle was used to transport secret material to and from Los Alamos National Laboratory to Sandia Base, and also Kirtland AFB for air transport to and from Oak Ridge and Hanford. Oak Ridge produced enriched weapons grade Uranium 235, and Hanford produced Plutonium.
I was a small kid at the time, but remember riding in it. My Dad still has pictures of the car and engine. This is a photo of the engine I found online. The supercharger is mounted at the right front of the engine. Comparing it to a standard 312 CI, the supercharged version has 2" radiator hoses instead of 1½", and a four row radiator rather than the stock three row to handle the increased power output and resultant heat.
This was during the time the Cold War was quickly expanding. The US built over 30,000 atomic fission and hydrogen fusion warheads between 1950 and 1960. The warheads were designed and built at the secret Los Alamos National Laboratory, near Santa Fe, with material from Oak Ridge, TN and Hanford, WA. Sandia Base, in Albuquerque, was responsible for designing and building the bomb casings, high explosive trigger assemblies, and fusing for the bombs.
To give you an idea of how these materials were used, a 10 megaton hydrogen fusion thermonuclear bomb warhead required about 22 lbs of Plutonium, 15 lbs of Uranium 235, about five ounces of Lithium Deuteride, and around 5,000 lbs of high explosive to trigger the explosion. It produced an explosive force of ten million tons of TNT.
In 1963, my Dad bought a black 1957 Ford sedan delivery from a government auction at Sandia Base. It had a 312 CI Y-block engine, in a factory version that was quite rare. The engine had a Paxton supercharger (built by McCulloch), a four barrel Holley carburetor, and was rated at 300 HP. From what I can tell by using online searches, the actual horsepower was closer to 340.
It also had a Warner T-85 three speed overdrive transmission. I believe this combination was only available in Thunderbirds, but obviously also in special government spec vehicles like the car Dad bought.
When Dad went to pick up the vehicle after the auction ended, he was told the vehicle was used to transport secret material to and from Los Alamos National Laboratory to Sandia Base, and also Kirtland AFB for air transport to and from Oak Ridge and Hanford. Oak Ridge produced enriched weapons grade Uranium 235, and Hanford produced Plutonium.
I was a small kid at the time, but remember riding in it. My Dad still has pictures of the car and engine. This is a photo of the engine I found online. The supercharger is mounted at the right front of the engine. Comparing it to a standard 312 CI, the supercharged version has 2" radiator hoses instead of 1½", and a four row radiator rather than the stock three row to handle the increased power output and resultant heat.
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