1962 Ford Fairlane 500 (the ordinary man's luxury vehicle)

I picked this sled up in 2006 to take a little of the wear and tear off my other car at the time. I needed a cheap and stylish runabout to get groceries and run mundane errands. This car had a smooth V8 engine (221ci), smooth shifting two-speed automatic, four headlights, round tail lights, and tail fins. It checked all the boxes.  Cons: The carburetor was leaking gas, the drive shaft was about to fall out due to shot U-joints, the tires were cracking, the interior was shabby, the drivers fender was smashed, and both bumpers were hammered. But there was something nice about the way it drove, so I struck a deal and bought it for $1400. I think I over paid.

                                     
After work, a trip to Lake Natoma in Folsom for some evening Kayaking. Trusty, versatile, and luxurious Ford Fairlane "500". (2013)


I immediately made a few repairs and pressed it into regular service. I discovered that it was a very comfy, fun and easy car to drive. The main drawbacks were the overall cosmetic condition and it really didn't seem to do well at speeds over 65 MPH owing to the two speed transmission. After several months I was going to sell it on and I tried for a week, but then as luck would have it, I found a replacement 1962-only fender on ebay.

I bought the fender. That was a game changer. I reasoned that if I could make it look nice again, I should also make it run better at high speeds. So I hatched a plan to get more MPH on the freeway...I needed overdrive, specifically I needed a Borg-Warner T5. I figured the easiest way to attain said transmission and related parts was to buy a complete donor vehicle. That's what I did. I picked up an unloved 1984 Mustang  convertible complete with a 5.0 H.O. engine and slick shifting 5 speed T5 tranny. Whoo Hoo!

The engine received a Summit racing cam and some freshening up.  I added a new clutch. Before I pulled the original drive train from the Fairlane I advertised it on CL and had a buyer immediately. He drove the car and liked how it all performed. That evening the Fairlane engine and trans were out and the next day they were gone to a new home. In went the good stuff. With 3.50 gears, she really gets it! She'll melt the tires down all day and rip 'em loose in second gear too. And 70+ MPH is a piece of cake.

Over the years she's slowly been getting nicer and nicer. I found one bumper locally for $20 and the other I bought off ebay for $65. I try not to spend too much money on her, but sometimes it becomes necessary. I gave this car to my brother a few years ago. He had a nice dual flow-master exhaust put in and he had new seat upholstery and carpet put in. He gave it back to me a year or two later and I added a sway bar and replaced the rear springs. I also added the Summit Legend rims and new tires. I recently drove this car 350 miles straight up I-5 to Oregon where I gave it back to my brother (at his request). He's enjoying it in Grants Pass,  along with his Ferrari. I'll get it back again some day in a year or a few. I'm looking forward to it.

 I was the proud owner of this "500." The 500 stood for top of the line- Extra chrome trim, padded dash, two speed wipers, AM radio, 4 speed heater, two-tone exterior and interior,...and the list of luxurious appointments go on and on...Note the munched rear bumper. The front was just as bad. (2006)
                                     

                                      
This was the big ugly. The fender mangled beyond reasonable repair, and the 62-only trim was destroyed too.

The dash was clean and interesting to look at. The seat upholstery was torn pretty good, and a few springs were broken. 

 

This is Fords rare and unknown first small block V8- the 221 cubic inch. They made this engine for about 6 months in 1962 then punched it to 260ci, then in 1965 it went to 289ci and sometime around 1968 it went to 302ci.

Here's my ebay fender. It came complete with the "500" trim. Score!!! I painted it red oxide primer and it was a close-enough match at a quick glance.

This is the engine, transmission and clutch mechanism donor car. Is it weird that a person would rather have the tired old Fairlane than this cool little convertible?

Crusty Mustang 5.0 H.O. complete with aluminum valve covers and intake manifold.

The 84 and 85 Mustangs have a really nice factory Aluminum Ford 4 barrel intake manifold. I have one on this Fairlane and I also found one for my '65 Falcon. This engine cleaned up nicely!

Mustang engine installed and looking tough. Sadly I scrapped the original H.O. Mustang dual snorkel air cleaner, it would have been way cooler  and functionally better here than the open element unit.

Ridiculously long Hurst shifter and knob attached to the installed T5 transmission. I used the clutch pedal and cable mechanism from the Mustang and just grafted it on to the Fairlane's brake pedal bracket.

I cut the shifter down a bit for a more reasonable throw and appearance.

After I received the Fairlane back from my brother. (He was living in the state of Louisiana at the time so the Fairlane was delivered on a transport truck. (2009)

Cleaned up once again and enjoying California weather. Note that the rear end sags. I liked the look, but it turns out the springs were broken inside the rubber insulators, which had been trapping moisture for decades. They rotted through several leaves!!!

Fresh upholstery was installed during my brother's good stewardship.The door panels and dash are still the clean originals.

Nice, original pattern and colors. Good choice. you work with what you've got sometimes. Sometime in 2012 I found another drivers fender for the Fairlane, this one was in the correct paint color. On it went.

Fairlane in 2014 at my house, just before driving the 350 miles to Oregon for delivery back to my brother. I had to lose the stock rims and caps after the monkeys at an America's Tire Company zipped my lug nuts on with an impact and ripped them through the original rims, thus destroying them. Bummer!!

Squirrel !