1967 FORD FAIRLANE

This beauty has to be my all time favorite car. I bought this car in 1978 from it's second owner. It was in need of much work. The 428 engine was about the only thing still intact...it was pretty well on it's way to the "big junkyard in the sky".

It had been run on the drag strip, and much of the wiring harness was hacked or missing. Once it was returned to the street by it's 2nd owner, things were patched and it continued to spiral down hill. I'm a real glutton for punishment, I guess, but I saw the beauty of it's body lines. Once it was home, a full year of work began.

Once I had it back in decent shape, I ran it hard on the street until about 1984.

In 1984, after several years of hard time, I decided to give it another "run through". I "freshened up" the drive train and the entire suspension, electrical, interior, and body were stripped and rebuilt from the ground up.

The 428 FE engine was rebuilt, eventually fitted with a FoMoCo 6-pack, aftermarket cam and lifters, and TRW pistons. The medium riser heads had been previously fitted with tunnel port valves, so they got a fresh grind. The Ford C-6 transmission was rebuilt, and a Detroit locker with 4.10 gears was fitted into the rear. Basic body work and a fresh paint job was applied.

The photo at the top shows the paint job, all done by my dad and I. I had some experience in painting and bodywork. My dad painted cars as a hobby for years, and he has a superb paint shop, so I had access to all the necessary tools. The vehicle was operated with no hood, allowing the beauty of the chrome and detailed engine to shine. The suspension was lowered 3 inches, and all bushings replaced with the stiffer poly units. A heavy-duty Addco anti-swaybar was installed. The passenger door handle, all body trim, and trunk latches were removed and blended. The trunk was purely electric access. The fuel pumps/filter and battery were moved to the trunk compartment.

The interior was converted to a 2 seat arrangement, and everything was replaced. A modified instrument cluster was installed, stereo system, electric defroster, etc. 2 years later, the finished product emerged.

Street economy was the pits, burning aviation fuel at about 2-4 mpg around town, and about 10+ mpg on the open road...but it would get there in a hurry. Passing cars was an exercise in traction as it was easy to break traction and spin at hiway speeds. It was a lots of fun to drive, very much an eye catcher. I loved to ride through town and watch the kids on their Mustang 5.0's, Irocs, and TransAm's chase after it...Technology is nice, but it's hard to beat cubic inches and gas-guzzling horsepower.

It's now owned by a collector in the eastern part of NC, where it has a good home in a garage...only going out for Sunday bolts down the street and run through an occasional parade or two.

You can e-mail Dave about his experiences with his Fairlane at fairlane@2vulcans.net. Please drop Dave an email if you have a Fairlane page, and he'll add you to his Fairlane links listing.