1964 Ford Fairlane 500

Description

Pretty hard to resist the appeal of this 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 hardtop, isn't it? Great color combination, a snarky 289 under the hood, a 4-speed gearbox, and an incredible sticker price. I challenge you to find more stylish V8 fun than this for less cash-it's not as easy as you'd think.

Guys of a certain age will agree with me when I say that the Fairlane is a great car. We've outgrown our Mustang fascination, but we don't need a giant luxury-oriented Galaxie, either, so the semi-formal Fairlane is just right. Dress it in Wimbledon White like the mighty Thunderbolts and you have an iconic look that's clean, masculine, and-dare I say it?-grown up. Code M shows up on the door tag, so it was Wimbledon White when it was new, and that dashing red insert running down the flanks looks superb, particularly with the matching red interior. Other styling details that you'll appreciate include the jet-like intake vents on the quarters, traditional winged '289' badges on the front fenders, and, of course, Ford's favorite round taillights. Finish quality is decent (this isn't a show car at this price and you know it), and you'll be able to proudly drive it to local cruise nights and even to work now and then and collect a lot of appreciative nods along the way.

The vivid red interior sticks to the stock recipe, too, with pleated seat covers, some nice white piping, and lots of style. The red also matches up with the code 65 on the door tag, so this is how it came from the factory. I've always liked the industrial look of the bench seat with a 4-speed shifter, and you'll feel like a million bucks sitting behind that big, red wheel and grabbing a few gears using the cue ball. Factory instruments with pretty silver faces are matched by a set of white-faced auxiliary gauges in the center, right below the AM/FM/CD stereo head unit. It actually looks like a good amount of money went into restoring the interior, since the door panels, dash pad, and carpets look fresh and there's a decent headliner overhead that looks factory. At this price, who would have expected it to be so nice? I also like the Fairlane's massive trunk, which is coated in spatter-finish paint with no signs of trouble hiding inside.

OK, so the F-code in the VIN is for a 2-barrel 260, but the 289 that lives there now is a direct fit and was technically on the options list for 1964, and at this price, nobody's expecting a matching-numbers pedigree anyway. With an Edelbrock intake and 4-barrel carb, it's definitely a lot stronger than the stock 260, delivering a punch that's worthy of the car's reputation. Cobra valve covers and a shiny chrome air cleaner give it the requisite Ford performance look and experts will note that black is the correct color for V8s in 1964. It came with a 3-speed, but there's a 4-speed manual there now, feeding the original 9-inch with 3.00 gears inside, so it's an easy cruiser, just the way guys like me prefer. A set of Flowmasters sound great, and vintage-looking Torque Thrust wheels wear 205/70/14 blackwalls for just the right bit of performance attitude.

A nice cruiser that gets exponentially more attractive after you look at the price. Call today!