I have had a '64 Fairlane since i got out of high school back in '85, she was a low miles car, 65k or so, 260, 2 spd auto, stock stock.. Drove it this way for about 2 years, and she stated smokin up a storm. Replaced the motor with a 289/C4 combo, drove it till '98 or so, and this motor stated goin bad. Took it apart, left some parts here and there, and ended up losing my 289 parts. We were walking around the portland swap meet and my dad saw a friend of his that was selling a motor, seems his mother had a grabber maverick since new, and gave it to his son, who promptly put it into a ditch hard enough to break off the distributor. I got this motor (75k miles motor), put in a performer cam, manifold, and carb, and a mallory distributor and drove it for a year or so. Then I decided to do the suspension a bit, as she was pretty sloppy. Old pics... My son , he is now 24 All poly graphite, 3" drop coils, gas shocks, and 1 1/8 front swaybar Thats me 15 years ago So there she was, winter '99
Then came the wreck.. 1994 Firebird pulled ot in front of me, Sun got in her eyes... This was aug 2000, I was off work for 6 mo waiting for my back to recover.
So the insurance co totalled the car, I bought it back , and had a guy put it back together. I supplied him a front clip and a fender, and he did a poor job putting it back. If I knew then what I knew now it would have found another car. (This was back in 2000) Might see it in some of these pics, but he only put in a corner of the front clip (badly) and slid the drivers side fender back. notice the passenger side drops down at the front. Booger welds Still bent back by the hood hinge on the drivers side Drivers side inner fender pulled forward Just slide the fender back! Still this car was my baby, And I wanted her to live, I drove her this way for several years and tried to make the best of it.
Was having issues with my headlights shorting out, and the marker lights blinking off (This was '03) Decided to add relays, remove the load from the fusebox Got these lights Because the outer lights are hi/lo i didnt put the inner lights back on Double relay, Hi on one side, lo on the other
Decided to clean up the interior some, it was in primer since i peeled off the pad in '86 Disassembled Carved off the column shifter extras Ready for paint (my first time painting anything that was not a model car) Took apart the guages Repainted Going back together Lot better than it was
Just noticed the wheels in that pic, When the body work was done it seems the guy straightened a wheel to help me out, i ended up throwing the set into the trash and getting some take off wheels from a ford ranger in a 15x6 size
Drove it this way for a few years, Ended up getting a divorce, (non Fairlane related), got re-married, and we picked up a fresh non-remanufactured car to someday replace the white fairlane. Found this one on craigslist, body seemed to be fairly straight, has some cancer issues but lots of trim, and a rough sports coupe interior for some reason. Bringing her home So this one got to sit for a few years, as the white one was still my daily driver.
Got some '69 351w heads done up as the white car was starting to smoke a bit on startup Before Wifey getting dirty 302 heads were in sad shape All cleaned up Added roller rockers too Ready to go
Was having some vibration issues, and the car stunk of fuel, so it was time to work on the white one again.. Got her up in the air ..Driveway style. Pulling the axles Carrier out New bearings and seals.. Found a fresh 300:1 carrier at the swap meet This would explain the smell.. Replacement Installed with stainless straps At this point the white car was still my daily driver..this is around 2010
So, we moved, got a place up in the woods. The commute is now 45 min in the morning, 1 hr plus in the eve, the wipers started acting up on the white car so I let it sit. After a year or so, My wife sez, why dont you just buy a nice finished Fairlane... So .. Went and checked out this car..Mustang II front, '89 5.0, C4, 9" w4.11 and a spool, I was in love.
Sweet Fairlane. Any idea as to the manufacture of the front crossmember and other front end goodies? Thats exactly what I want to do to mine as far as getting rid of those goofy ass shock towers. Have you had any issues with the front end flexing now that the towers are gone.
Front end kit is from Rod & Custom, drives real nice. I don't know about any flexing? I do visit this a bit later in the story tho Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Hit a few more shows.. And.. Last one.. That was 9/12 then i put her away for the winter in the house garage.
So did I mention that I live in the woods? So at some point during the winter, I noticed this.... Wtf? MOUSE! Hard to see in this pic, but most of the padding from my seats was now in the headliner.
Kinda reminds me of the Tasca Ford Fairlane Thunder Bolts back in the mid 60's Those cars were scary fast and always put on a great show. Jimbo
So we were putting it into the upholstry shop to get a new headliner, the guy mentioned that in order to do so he will need to pull the windshield, and the rear glass. So I figure since the glass is out.... May as well get rid of the 2 toned dash that I do not like, weld the peice of missing dash back in so that i can run a factory dash, and a factory radio. Simple enough right? Before pics.. Went and found a junk car for the dash piece
Went to pick up the car at the upholstry shop, guy told me there are a couple issues to adress.. Loaded up on the trailer to go to get the dash painted (was the plan anyway) Once we got to paint we decided to "scuff and shoot the car" So off came the trim This is an area of concern More trim removal Seemed to be some odd shapes under the trim Gutted the doors
Started taking apart the dash Have to pull the fenders to remove the trim They saw some waves where the quarters attach so wanted a look Back to pulling apart the dash The previous owner carved it up a bit where the cluster goes too Found a rust hole near the trunk hinge Cleaning up the jams
Fitting up factory dash pieces Decided to fill the hood letters Door locks Antenna Fixing the dash Removed trunk letters