I met my friend Shannon at the first Goodguy's show in Columbus. He and his dad have 3 '63 Fairlane 2 door sedans. Bought for a song, and in very good condition, Shannon's car was transformed from an old lady's grocery getter to a really cool car. Since the car was in pretty decent shape he was able to concentrate on cleanup and changing everything over to the new stuff.
Talk about a wolf in sheep's clothing. The only thing that might warn you about it's true identity is the set of reproduction "Rader" wheels and the teardrop hood when it's on. Originally a 221/2 speed auto car, Shannon has built up a mean 289. Consisting of polished rods, balanced assembly, steel flywheel, virgin '63 HiPo heads (smaller combustion chamber), 302 pistons, '66 Shelby solid lifter cam. The wildest part is one from his dad's collection: a 3x2 intake! The carbs are from a 406 tri power Galaxie. We're talking 1050 cfm! Headers are the same Hooker 6134s that I am going to use. They have been coated and look great in the engine compartment.
Speaking of the engine compartment, they don't look that way just by beating on the car. He stripped most of the paint and re-sprayed the shock towers, fender aprons, and firewall to make a nice glossy background for the little 289.
If both of us remember, I can scan Shannon's dynojet sheet and post it here. That little Fairlane laid waste to my 'stang on the dyno! And for some reason it caused quite a stir with the crowd when they asked him if it was okay to spin 'er up to 7 thousand!!
The rear end is a narrowed (just a tad) 9 inch with 4.56 gears and a traction-loc. A Toploader four speed with a sixties Hurst Shifter now grace the interior. (Too bad we couldn't take pictures of him crying while he cut a hole in the original carpet!) The tach is a Faria 8000 rpm unit identical to the Thunderbolt's Rotunda tachs. And I have to mention this: only 40k miles adorn the odometer!
The inside is just as nice as the outside. Buying a car from a little old lady sure is the way to go! Note the original seat covers, carpet, and 8,000 rpm tach on the steering column. Nicely hidden away behind a false ash tray is a stereo which is remote controlled.
Also residing in Ford heaven is another '63 Fairlane sedan. Shannon's "beater" is a 6 cylinder 3 speed car that is almost as clean as the chestnut car. It will need a little bit of work to become a gem like the chestnut car, but it still turns some heads at the Ford meets.
Shannon's dad has a '63 Fairlane that he bought in the fall/winter of '62. Not wanting to wait for the High Performance Engine option, he grabbed the beautiful black 2 door sedan in a hurry. He's pretty much been through it all with that car. It's even been stolen and recovered with little damage.
The (present) engine is a 289 with HiPo heads, similar cam to Shannon's, Shelby 2x4 barrel intake, and headers similar to those for Mustangs. This engine has developed a knock, so he's trying to figure out what to do with it - rebuild or start from scratch.
UPDATE: 01/26/01:
Shannon told me today that his dad has started to work on his engine. Maybe now we'll have the black car out to terrorize Zanesville again soon! I'll be calling Shannon soon to see what's up and will post new info when I can.
Update: 3/14/02
Okay, Shannon's dad retired soon so we have to really get on him to finish the car for the 2002 season. Seeing 2 beautiful 63 Fairlane sedans cruising around will sure be a sight!!
I'll keep you posted on the Davis boy's antics from now on!
Details on Tim's car will be posted shortly.
Gotta love us FORD guys, huh?!!
Tom is from up north, and races a cool '64 Fairlane. (I hate to call it a clone, it's a 427 Fairlane no matter who built it) The engine is a 454" stroker FE, and Tom slams gears via a Jerico transmission. The Detroit Locker equipped rearend has 4.57 gears, propelling Tom to a best ET of 10.54 at 130 MPH.
Dan from Texas sent me a photo of a mystery T-Bolt, but I happened to find out about his awesome '63 Galaxie too. I have a photo of him racing it, and as soon as I find it I can put it here.
Hey Dan, if you see this, shoot me an email. Thanks.
