MORE than 1000 Fords thundered into Willowbank Raceway in South East Queensland on July 18, giving crowds a chance to ogle some of the state’s finest, as well as providing some much-needed aural action out on the strip.

There were old and new, factory original through to fully built, so here are our top 12 Fords from across the day. Catch the full story in the mag, but these beauties should tide you over until then!

The procession bumping in early summed up the sheer variety of makes and models we’d get to gawk at From AUs, to 1930s window Coupes, to XRs, late-model ’Stangs and FGs – plus everything in between.

Crowds followed the noise to the Torque Time Dyno Shootout, with some big numbers posted across the morning. Mark Johnstone’s naturally aspirated 615ci Capri turned heads as it threw down a best of 1165hp at the treads, setting the benchmark before the boosted Barras took to the rollers.

Ian Page with his freshly completed ’66 F100, a decade in the making and worth every minute. Ian built the 460ci donk himself, a perfect reason to use the Benny Gatt Super Flow Heads he says he stashed under the bed for 30 years. A C6 auto and 9-inch up back complete the tidy F100, along with some noteworthy signatures on the dash.

Recent Rockynats grand champion Paul Hart’s immaculate ’67 XR Fairmont waiting in line, ready to put its Tremaniac Racing-built 427ci V8 and all 630hp to use on the strip. He broke into the 10s, to the tune of 10.87-seconds at 122.8mph

This immaculate race replica was a crowd pleaser that offered up nostalgia in spades. The GTHO1D tribute to Allan Moffat’s Bathurst ’72 Vermilion Fire GTHO looked the part parked up with its XY GT brethren.

Will Taylor’s tough street-driven ZC Fairlane has been in the family for 33 years. OUT2WIN rocks a forged 351 Windsor-fed 14 pounds of boost by a 78/75 turbo, running EFI and sipping e85. A two-speed ’Glide and 9-inch diff sends power to the pro-radials up back. “We wound it up to 16 pounds for the last run, but it didn’t do anything for us,” Will says. “That engine is coming out and I’ve bought a Dart block, big AFR Renegade race heads and a massive 88/103 VS Racing turbo.” The current setup makes just shy of 600 at the rears, but this Fairlane is still on family duties. “It’s mod-plated for six seats and it runs my wife and the four kids around comfortably.”

Rahim Tarr and his 434ci XD Falcon ute are Drag Challenge regulars, and he put on a wicked wheels-up display for onlookers at All Ford Day. One of only a few to run into the 9s on the day, with a 9.7@135mph once the front wheels touched down.

Dan Bertham’s mint XR has just undergone a bare metal resto. The BADXR packs a 392 stroked Windsor, C4 trans and nine-inch, putting out 450HP. It ran 11.3@118mph on its first outing at All Ford Day, but a later run saw the rear window fly out. A clear sign the well-sorted XR wasn’t hanging about!

Tony Sciberras’s gorgeous 1939 Lincoln Zephyr packs a 5.4-litre V8from an FG Falcon with six-speed and nine-inch up back. This Zephyr gets driven weekly, an impressive feat for killer sled with visibility akin to that of a Centurion tank

A ’55 Ford Prefect running down the quarter? Hell yes. This little weapon won plenty of applause as it ripped an almighty skid on one of its early runs.

Aaron Schubert’s angry XR wagon set a PB of 10.9@123mph, after being off the road since Drag Challenge 2019. It’s been back in action since Easter Friday, but All Ford Day was its first major outing. The Mule, has a 607hp Pavtek Performance-built 393ci Cleveland with CHI heads and manifold, C4 trans and Gazzard goodies in the rear. Aaron was the first through the gate and first onto the track on Sunday, showing real determination since he did it all himself on bugger-all sleep – a well-deserved PB!

A cursory glance at the engine bay of Sketch Coleman’s tough XY wagon may leave you scratching your head about the PSI071 plates, but never fear. A Hi-Torque Performance-built Dart block 408ci V8 with AllFast-built T400 and converter gets the wagon up and boogying, although the magic lies in a discreet but potent rear-mount Pulsar G42-1450 turbo setup, good for 700hp on 15 pounds. Sketch’s best run for the day was 10.3@139mph but his plan is to turn the boost right up, once grip permits

Darren McClure’s purple Cortina is lucky 13, he tells us, having tinkered with Cortys since he was a teenager. “I’ve owned this one since 2004 and it started life as a four-cylinder that I got for $400 because it wasn’t running,” he says. After Darren got the Corty home on a tow truck, he promptly fitted a 250 Crossflow and four-speed manual and used it as a daily driver for the next five years. Many moons later and in its current state, OTD08 has a 347ci V8 making 410hp, C4 trans and BorgWarner diff. It ran a best of 11.1@122mph at All Ford Day, all while looking the part!

Tav Whan’s TE Cortina set a PB of 11.96@114mph on the day, getting off the line with anger. The Corty has a 347ci stroker with Victor Jr. heads, C4 trans with 3600rpm stall, original diff with 3.5 gears, all good for 330hp at the rears. Tav tells us it’s still a work in progress, but driving it and taking the kids out on weekends is what it’s all about. “The kids just love it!” he says

‘Most Entertaining’ award for the day went to Paul Clark’s 1923 Ford T-bucket, after Paul threw the front wheels in the air with a huge send off the line, on his way to 10.7@119mph. His T-bucket runs an Edelbrock 347ci Windsor crate motor good for 440hp, hooked up to a C4 ’box. Paul tells us the whole car weighs just over a tonne with him in it

It’s fair to say Mark Arnold’s XW wagon went hard out on track, with the 700hp 417ci V8 roaring its way to a best of 10.77@124mph in street trim. “I’ve owned lots of Fords over the years, from XYs to XDs, but none as tough as this one,” Mark says

There were a few GT40s kicking around All Ford Day, but Andrew Hall’s black example summoned a curious crowd as it lined up for the drags. The custom-built GT has a standard Boss V8 with Audi transaxle six-speed manual and a “little blower, but I’m not completely sure what type,” Andrew tells us. The package is good for 400hp at the treads, which is plenty in a car this light (and, according to Andrew, about as much as the Audi transaxle boxes can handle). “I’d have to put a Porsche gearbox in it if I wanted to make much more power,” he says