Taking your hot Ford for a spin is one of life's great pleasures. But there's another pleasure that involves Ford and spinning that even dedicated Ford enthusiasts have never heard of-spinning Ford's vintage records, the audio kind that you play on a record player.
Ford memorabilia is a hot collectible. Lots of people enjoy collecting showroom displays, signs, literature, and, of course, rare car parts. But Ford's records have somehow escaped the notice of the mainstream hobby. So we're here to shine some light on this seldom seen yet interesting corner of Ford collectibles.
As an overview, Ford offered records for the public, records for training dealer sales and service personnel, and a few for internal and commercial use. The latter are among the more rare. We'll show you a cross-section of the more common, the rare, and some of the very rare.
If you have an interest in finding any of these records for your personal collection, you can spend decades looking in traditional places such as thrift stores and swap meets, but you'll never find the quantity of stuff that consistently surfaces on the internet auction site eBay. If you're serious about scoring great pieces, there's no substitute for eBay. Because so many records can be found there, prices have come down for many items. There are still 11th-hour shootouts for some rarities in outstanding condition, but there are lots of hot deals to be had too.
There are also a couple record-collector magazines-listed in the source box at the end of this article-that publish the dates and locations of record shows where car records have been known to turn up.
Here are some records you might want to look for.
Should You Start Buying Ford Records?If the subject interests you, this is a good time to build a collection. The eBay site has brought so much stuff out of the woodwork that there are a lot of good items from which to choose. It may require some regular searching, but time spent combing the Internet will probably yield a lot more results than the same time searching elsewhere. Shows can have a good long-term payoff too, as you network with sellers to find what you're looking for. You can discover what they collect and pick up stuff on your searches to trade them.
Records are a lot easier to store in quantity than, say, engine blocks, and there aren't a lot of guys chasing them yet. Records give a glimpse into history, and you get a lot of fun for a fairly modest investment. Of course, you're going to need to replace your old turntable. Heck, as long as you're on eBay...
Inspiration inspires inspiration. The Mustang phenomenon sparked this release of Mustang music from Liberty Records. Available in mono and stereo, this one is usually in the $40-$75 range. With the advent of The Beach Boys, the car-music and car-sounds category exploded. By 1966, the car-record genre was over, but today they remain a hot collectible. | 
Many records that show up for sale started out as soundtracks for filmstrip presentations. They were shipped in kits, such as this, that contained filmstrips, printed flyers and handouts, and the record. There are many more records in circulation than complete kits, and prices usually reflect that. While a record by itself can often be found for $10 or less, complete kits usually start at around $25 and can reach into the hundreds, depending on subject matter and condition. These presentations were usually aimed at educating sales staffs about new models and selling techniques, or teaching service managers how to increase sales. This one is titled "Total Performance Demands Superior Quality" and focuses on improving the service operation. |
 | 
As drag racing exploded in popularity in the early '60s, recording the sounds of major racing events was a big thing. This stereo release from Audio Fidelity has all the big races of the '64 Winternationals, including Gas Ronda winning Super Stock Eliminator, and Ronnie Sox winning A/FX in the Brinsfield Mercury Comet. You can hear the banter of announcer Bernie Partridge, the sounds of the pits and the crowd, and, of course, the legendary High Riser 427s at full song. It's music to the mechanical aficionado's ears. |
It was established practice for manufacturers to stage elaborate theater shows to introduce new models. Top national entertainers were hired to sing specially commissioned music performed by full orchestras. Known as Industrial Theater, this was a big and expensive extravaganza. The music was often recorded and released, but with titles such as "It's Fun to Drive a Ford," "We're the Station Wagon Set," "Tilt-Cab Song," and "The Most Successful Salesman in the World," even complementary distribution of these '57 records didn't exactly set the world on fire. Budgets eventually forced the discontinuation of this lavish practice. | 
"How do you launch a line of exciting, fresh, and contemporary cars such as the '69 Fords? With a ... brand-new singing group THE GOING THING." So says the liner notes from "The Going Thing," an August 1968 release kicking off the new model year. Side A opens with "The Going Thing" theme song, used in radio and TV advertising, followed by some bland covers of pop hits. The "Warranty Song" sets the text of the warranty statement to music, an interesting twist. Side B, marked "Confidential for Ford Personnel Only," is a talk from Ford Advertising Manager John Morrissey, introducing the Performance Corner for showroom displays, and spelling out the marketing and advertising strategy for 1969, which doubled TV buys on such hit shows as Laugh-In, The F.B.I., and the summer Olympics. |
The '70 version (top right) has a new female member, updated theme-song lyrics, and a revised wardrobe that is nothing short of groovy. It contains only covers of contemporary pop and rock hits. Both are fairly scarce, with the '69 release being more difficult to find. prices on these two are all over the board on EBay,ranging from $8 to more than $80. | 
One of the most ambitious FoMoCo records was this '63 two-record set of golf instruction by Arnold Palmer, with Chris Schenkel doing the narrating. It includes a 24-page booklet and a pitch for the Mercury S-55 and its 390 and 406 engines. Price range: $20 or less. |
Interviews with famous personalities such as Carroll Shelby and Dan Gurney are among the most sought-after records. The Shelby interview was recorded in 1956 and released in 1957, years before his affiliation with Ford. Liner notes peg Shelby as "...a man to watch...." Roger that. Its inventory number is Riverside 5006. Prices begin at $50 and can go much higher. Riverside Records probably had the largest catalog of car sounds and driver interviews. Dan Gurney's '65 album, MP-101 on the prestigious Mobile Fidelity label, blends Gurney's comments with sounds of his world-beating race cars like his '65 427-powered Galaxie breaking the track record at Riverside, California, the Ford-Lotus Indy car, and a pair of GT-40s roaring down Riverside's straightaway. Typically, these records were recorded with great effort, using what is now considered classic equipment, such as Ampex recorders and Neumann microphones. The record jackets usually had a box where the recording and pressing process were described in detail. |  |
Cobra fans will get a kick out of Bill Cosby's unique description of driving his ultimate supercar-a twin-supercharged, dual-quad 427 roadster. Cosby, a top stand-up comedian before he was a TV star, devotes the entire B side-22 minutes and 30 seconds-to the fantastic tale. Only two such Cobras were built. Cosby got one and Los Angeles songwriter Jim Webb got the other. One car survives in the United States; the other was badly crashed and shipped to England, where it was rebuilt with a different engine. This record, Warner Brothers No. 1757, is titled "200 M. P. H." and is commonly found for less than $10. | |