1967 ford fairlane 500

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Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 6:35 pm

have original 289 and three on the tree. curently a rust bucket, but that is slowley changing. thinking about building the engin to somthing a bit more, but not sure what to do with it. sugestions?

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 6:40 pm

Midnite you have come to the right place. let me introduce myself... Packman, engine builder to the stars. Tell me what your looking to do.
I will asist you any way I can.

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 6:43 pm

I know those, we had one Exclamation

I always liked it, but I think it's the wrong forum for it, there is a Ford club online somewhere that will be happy to suggest anything, from new spark plugs to mechanical compressor and nitro injection. Wouldn't mind seeing some pictures of it in my PM Wink

I'll see if I have some old pictures of ours somewhere that I can scan.

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 6:52 pm

Just googled it, sweet set of wheels!
How about a Hemi 426 under the hood Very Happy

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 6:59 pm

i keep hearing that you can put a 302 crankshaft, and heads on this block, and im not sure what that will do. will it just turn it into a 302? if so then no thats not what i want, as the 289 was the reason i bought it to begin with. compared to the rice burners, (civics, and acords) running around atlanta, i wana shock and suprise them with this big old antique battleship. and as i dont have tofool with emissions on it due to its age, was thinking of boaring it, and putting bigger camshaft in it.but the 302 heads and crank keep poping up in all discussion boards that i have visited. so what will that do?

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 8:35 pm

Fairlane 500 is a fairly heavy car.Nothing wrong with the 289,but it really isnt much in a car that size.I'm not really that up on older Fords,but I think A 351 Windsor will bolt up with little modification.Gives you a larger engine,with plenty of performance parts available for it.

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 8:41 pm

I would have a lot of suggestions if it were a Chevy. Very Happy

Good luck! Wink

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 8:55 pm

Keep the 289 crank, go with close chamber 302 heads (64 CC) up the cam into the 465 lift 232 @.050 duration 110 degree lobe seperation it will give you great giddyup and keep very good street manners. duel plane intake IE. Edilbrock proformer, Wein street domimator no bigger than a 600- 650 CFM carb. I would recamend a holley street avenger 570. dump the points dist. and get a MSD Billet ready to run.
This combo with give even a fairline very repectful quickness I know, I have used this combo before. in a falcon wagon 300 Lbs. heavyer than the 500 it turned 13.3 @ 104 in the quarter.

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 9:16 pm

ok sounds like a winner, may take a while to get the parts together, but thats why they call them project cars. besides i have a lot of body work and interior work to do as well, and that all takes time. :>

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 11:38 pm

Damn-staying away from the NSFW avatar thread,way too hot!Packmans advise is sound-I just have always been a believer in there is no substiute for cubic inches.If you aren't doing a whole frame off restoration,do the motor and the driveline first.There is nothing worse than painting a car,only to trash it while dropping the motor in it.Figure out what transmission you want to use,and allow for the shifter when doing the interior.Given the shape of the fuel tank I pulled out of my 67 Coronet,you may wish to just get a new one.I was amazed at how bad it was.I think Corona has a problem with the one in her hubbys Camaro when full.
Fuel tanks do not fare well with age,no matter how the car is maitained.The Fairlane is popular enough,that a good repro shouldn't be out of the question.

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 1:23 am

You are right on in doing things in that order.

We did the carpet, only had to put covers on the front seats and it was all hard to do if you never done it before. The inside door panels was taken off, chrome removed and I cleaned with vinyl cleaner. He painted them with the vinyl paint, it was expensive, but they look like new. Very Happy

She get 6 miles to the gallon. Shocked

It's hard to go on an hour trip, have to get gas on the way there and on the way home. First time in my life that I have watched the gas gauge drop as we drove. Lovey said, "Honey, you are going to have to stop watching the gas gauge." Some guys have told him things to do to get better gas mileage, but it involves money.

This older man walks up to Lovey at a show this weekend and said he's been looking for one like ours since he retired. Ask if he wanted to sell and Lovey said "No!" He comes back an hour later with check book in hand and offered him $33,000.00 for it. Shocked

We have found out that we need to do a lot more detailing and the sky will be the limit. Very Happy

But for sentimental reasons, she will never be sold. Wink

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 2:01 am

yes the fuel tank is going to be an issue, i curently have a 1 gallon gas can sitting beside the radiator, and the fuel line from fuel pump ran to that for moving it around the yard. the master cylinder gets in tomorow morning, and then ill be able to stop it. am going to leave it as a collum shift, just because they are getting rare. this wil be a long term project, as money and time are always short. but this is suposed to take up spare time and be fun:>

Not quite a Newb Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 38

Hi,
I am also in the middle of a "refurbishment" of an old car, this can be a black hole......while I am here, I might as well do this...... and so on. Started to replace rubber fuel lines, now both tanks are out and the trunk completely stripped and being reupholstered, plus I had to do body work on the rear quarters under the tanks (twin tanks) The tanks are another story.
Had not planned on painting the car yet, but have some blisters on the trunk lid, decided to have that repaired.....while I am here....have a few blisters on the doors, so as I am doing the trunk, might as well do the doors......and so it goes. If it's worth doing it's worth doing properly.
Regards

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:09 am

i know what you mean about while im here. mine was missing a few parts when i got her, like a water pump pully. and one fine sunny day i went junk yarding for a replacment. twelve yards and one hundred miles later, i met this old guy who said he had just what i was looking for, and we climbed up in the loft of a barn out beside his yard. and sure enough, there it was. and a new bracket to go with it. restoring this car has brought me in contact with lots of people, and since i have tyo redo floor pans and all the interior, i imagin ill be meeting more old guys that know a lot more about cars than i ever will. but it is fun. but one step at a time i supose. brakes next, then i duno, start buying new engin parts, and when i take engin out for rebuild, ill do floor pans, and send seats off for recover.

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 10:39 am

Meant to say that we need a new gas tank. It's a pain in the butt to stop for gas and not be able to fill her up.

I pushed for this car to be restored. If I had not, it would still be sitting in the garage. About 5 years ago he told me to shut up about the car. I did not mention it for 6 months and that is when he started working on it. If I started pushing again, he would stop! I learned to shut up and only ask what I could do. Smile

It will be a challenge for you all, but worth it! Wink

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:53 pm

Right now I am in search of a 71 vega hatchback,
If anyone has a line on one please let me know, it doesn't have to have a drivetrain. its going to get a V8.

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 2:54 pm

Try here for your fuel tank.They had one for my Dodge,and price wasnt too bad.
http://www.rockauto.com/

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 3:10 pm

^^^Thanks, I will show to Lovey! Wink

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 6:53 am

havent seen a v8 vega in a long time. and ill also look there for fuel tank.
mostly work on it in spare time, and because i drive a truck for a living, there isn't verry much of that.

419Eater is my life Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 365

midnitedriver wrote:

..... but not sure what to do with it. sugestions?

Send it to me......or better yet, find me a 69-70 Ford XL so that I can work on.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 05 Sep 2008 Posts: 0

Since car 'language' is greek to me, this is a bit off topic, but can't help being amused. I just happened to watch 'My Cousin Vinny' (1992, Joe Pesci & Marisa Tomei) for about the 7th time last night.

You all could have easily won the Oscar nomination testifying on the stand as HER, about ..........years of cars, tires, transmissions, etc. No doubt it. That, or I have a warped sense of humor. What a great forum.

Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 6:39 pm

@ Corona,

One solution to the gas gauge problem is to get a larger gas tank, that way the gauge will move slower... Laughing

I found a project I r-e-a-l-l-y want for sentimental reasons. It is a 1968 Dodge Polara 4 door HT with a 440. I grew up driving one that was a former Highway Patrol car (440 Magnum). I am afraid it would just sit and rust like this project:

edited to add picture and correct spelling problems.

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:23 am

i am trying to keep it from rusting away, and slowing getting a bit done here and there. the dodge sounds neet.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 38

Hi,
I would suggest that those wanting to restore an old car, do the mechanicals last. It is the body that can soak up the money, especially if you have to pay someone to do the work.
If you do the engine, and then run out of funds, it just sits around getting damp and letting the assembly oil drain down. So then you start up a 'dry' engine.....not good.
When you do an engine/trans, you can pretty much get a fixed price for a rebuild. But when doing the body, you can run into the unexpected, more so on a uni-body car......open up a rusted area then find the unexpected....and the need to spend more money etc.
As I said, just a suggestion. Regards.

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 12:19 pm

Wile E. Coyote is right on the button on the one. cosmetics eat up the lions share on the buget. getting all that done first I the except the actual paint is job one. dont paint until shortly before your ready to put the drive train in. less chance of damage while it's sitting around waiting for the engine to done.