The Shelby American (Fall 2021)

The SHELBY AMERICAN Fall 2021 123 MOSE NOWLAND August 13, 2021 There was probably no engineer at Ford who knew more about en- gines than Mose Nowland. He was an institution at Ford, working there for 57 years. He got his first job at Ford in 1955, working in engine de- velopment. He was drafted into the Army a short time later, serving a two-year enlistment before return- ing to the company where he quickly became one of Ford’s go-to persons for all things engine-related in rac- ing. In 1963 he played a leading role in developing the DOHC Indy en- gine that eventually propelled Jim Clark to victory in 1965. The follow- ing year found him immersed in the Ford GT40 program as he helped Shelby American and Ford to victory at LeMans in 1966 and 1967. In fact, if it wasn’t for the expert- ise and ingenuity of Nowland, Ford’s first win in the iconic endurance race may not have happened in 1966 and the legendary story that is Ford v. Ferrari would not have materialized the way it did. That’s because two days before the Ford GTs were to be shipped to France, an oil leak was discovered between the engine block and heads. It turned out the engine build team had run out of a special kind of twine that, in conjunction with a sealer, prevented the issue from occurring. Nowland was in- formed of the problem and quickly theorized that a specific fishing line might serve as a reliable substitute. While in Charlotte inspecting en- gines on the Holman-Moody GT40s, he went to a local fishing store and bought out the entire supply of the fishing line needed. Sure enough, his creative solution worked and for the next 48 hours, after flying cross country and personally rebuilding the engines on no sleep at Holman- Moody and Shelby American, the cars were off to the race where they finished 1-2-3. It wasn’t until halfway across the Atlantic Ocean on the way to France that Nowland realized, “ I was the last person to touch those engines. Nowland was a true genius when it came to engines and after those historic victories that still serve as a big source of pride for the company decades later, he helped fuel Ford’s return to prominence in NASCAR when the company re- turned to the sport in 1981. “ If you had a problem, there was nowhere else in the program that you went in that period of time but Mose Nowland ,” said noted engine builder Ernie Elliott, who, along with brothers Dan and Bill, took the sport by storm in the eighties and won the championship with their No. 9 Ford Thunderbird in 1988. “ No matter what the task was he was not afraid to get his hands dirty. He would listen to you and pay attention to the problems but wanted to see what the issues were himself. ” It was Nowland’s humbleness and calm demeanor that endeared him to everyone he crossed paths with and whereas he was viewed as a big deal by many of his contem- poraries, he never viewed himself that way. In fact, he was so respect- ful that he often referred to people who would be considered friends in a formal sense. It was Mr. Ford or Mr. Gurney or Mr. Foyt. He continued working long after he retired and became a fixture at the Henry Ford Museum. He was 87. I’m not sure I relaxed after that until the checkered flag flew .” As a momento of his whirlwind ex- perience, which included staying awake and being on call for the entire duration of the race, Nowland couldn’t resist climbing up on the roof and tak- ing the French flag that had been hanging over the Ford Team’s pit box as a souvenir. That turned out to be the only race souvenir he ever accu- mulated in over 50 years with the company.