1965 Ford Fairlane

By 1965 it was safe to consider the Fairlane a true muscle car.  The popular GT model featured a serious 390CID producing 335hp.  Half way through this model year, Ford decided to offer enthusiasts a serious drag strip contender through its “R” coded 427CID 425hp beast.  Although only 60 were produced, this machine proved that Ford was capable of some big numbers in big bodied cars.  The true reasoning behind this offering was in fact the NHRA and IHRA standards (NASCAR racing) which required manufacturers to build a certain number of road worthy variants of their racing entrants.  Its muscle car status was confirmed with the Thunderbolt edition of the Fairlane.  Retaining the 427 but adding two 4-barrel carbs, a ram air hood, equal length headers and a wack of fiber glass body components to reduce weight.  This powerhouse broke Super Stock class records in 1964 posting quarter mile times of 11.6 seconds at 124mph.  Like most muscle cars we talk about in this blog, the Fairlane nameplate came to an end during the ‘70’s, marking the death era for the muscle car...