I finally found a car. I picked up a 1964 Fairlane 500 four door this morning for $1250.
It has a 289 and runs great. Typical rust behind the front wheels and a bit on the drivers rear quarter, but otherwise VERY straight. The interior is very good and all of the trim including the bumpers is very straight. The drivers floor pan needs replaced but from a visual inspection the torque boxes and rear frame look good. Here are a few pics.
I plan to start by rebuilding the brakes,probably with a dual (power?) master cylinder. Then front and rear spings and front end rebuild. The rears sag and it really wallows through turns with LOTS of body roll. It can remain a sometimes driver during this stage.
Obviously rust repairs are on the agenda.
Drive train: I plan on rebuilding the 289 with a Comp XE262 cams, Windsor Jr's, RPM Air Gap and a 600 carb backed by a mild TCI Sizzler C4. It actually scoots down the road pretty good right now for an old 289 2 barrel.
I envision chrome smoothies with baby moons and maybe a two tone paint job. Maybe a silver top and Copperhead orange body???
I may end up with buckets replacing the front bench. It looks good at this point but is really saggy. Maybe a Gennie floor shifter.
A lot of the details may change a little bit during the 3 or so years I envision spending on it.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: truedog on 1/16/06 1:25am ]</font>
I told you would find the right car if you waited. Good luck with your new toy. If you decide to replace the springs, get them from JC Whitney. I got mine for my '63 from them and thet were made in this country because they had the company label still on them and they worked great.
I had American Racing Smoothies on one of my '63 Falcons. They looked good but I had clearance problems on the drivers side rear just like all Falcons and Fairlanes have due to the rear being positioned slightly to the drivers side. Ford engineering at their finest. Right up there with the cowl vent being inside the fender where it will clog and be uncleanable.
Thanks. Now I have a little question. Based on some reading I have been doing I probably have a 289 with the 5 bolt bell housing pattern. The car has the Cruise-O-Matic transmission. Is this the same as an FMX? Is it worth rebuilding? Or can I run a C-4 with the 5 bolt block? I am not near the point of doing this part of the project, but a little knowledeg never hurts.
Really? Is there something different in the valve body to enable the "dual range" as they call it in the owners manual. Where the dot next to the drive position makes the car start out in second, then shift to third automatically.
Today
