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Beginning with the 1962 season, the Ford Motor Company threw its full factory support behind what was known as the Ford Drag Team that competed in the Stock and Super Stock divisions. During the 1969 and 1970 season, the team was led by Eastern Team Captain Hubert Platt and Western Captain Ed Terry, with Randy Payne and Dick Wood rounding out the lineup. But something many aren’t aware of is that the Ford Drag Team actually had a Canadian counterpart.

To learn more about the 1970 Canadian Ford Drag Team, visit Dearborn Flashback.

In 1970, the “Ford of Canada Performance Clinic” was Canada’s version of the venerable American squad, with a G/SA 429 Cobra Jet Cyclone, an H/S 428 Cobra Jet Cougar, a SS/HA 428 Cobra Jet Mustang, and a Pro Stock SOHC Mustang – all 1970 models – in their racing stable. The team traveled together on a single transporter known as the “Titanic” that is without a doubt one of the coolest car haulers of all-time.

Ford delivered the cars to Sandy Elliot Ford in Ontario where the drivetrains were stripped and the engines were replaced with new bullets courtesy of Barrie Poole. A matching paint scheme was also applied to all four cars. The three Stock/Super Stockers were owned by Ford, while the Pro Stock Mustang belonged to Mike Wood from Ford and was a ’69 Boss 429 Kar Kraft test car converted to a ’70 model.

The original driver lineup consisted of Scott Wilson driving both of the Mustangs and Vic Beleny doing likewise in the Cyclone and Cougar. Later, Louie Rivait took over the driving chores on the 428 Mustang and Bruce Fitzgibbon wheeled the Cougar. Like many factory efforts, the Canadian Drag Team was short lived, as Ford cut its racing budget by 75% in late 1970, bringing the domestic and foreign racing efforts to a screeching halt.

Today, half of the Ford of Canada Performance Clinic cars are known to remain. the Cougar was sold in 1971 and raced in Ontario until the mid’90’s when it was reportedly destroyed in a crash. The Pro Stock Mustang was scrapped and its powerplant placed in a Funny Car. Meanwhile, the Cyclone is said to be undergoing a light restoration and was spotted on eBay some years back in virtually original condition. The 428 Mustang was also sold in ’71 and raced in Super Stock for a handful of years before exchanging hands again to its current owners. The car remains as the most well-kept of the four, retaining 99% of its original ’70 Drag Team paint scheme along with the vintage decals and original Fenton wheels.