(Lame thread title, I know, but it's late. Gimme a break. 
)
This is a 1963 Ford Fairlane 500 2 Door Hardtop that was prit' near totalled almost three years ago:
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All the detail bits and cool stuff are still there; the finned, cast aluminum rocker covers, the 347 inch stroker, the FRPP Motorsport T5 trans, the 3.80 TracLoc differential, the four-wheel disc brakes, the American Racing Trans Am 15 x 7 aluminum wheels, the guages, the steering wheel, the shifter...
I built this car; it's final iteration, the one you see here, was completed and driven daily for three years (and for 12 years before that) before 'The Accident': some moron in a full-sized Merc with a lapful of fast food who wasn't watching the road and slammed into this car with me in it.
I needed a car, was going to try to somehow keep this as wrecked and fix it whenever I could... but I had been out of work for over 5 weeks since the accident, had already bought the Focus and had a car payment to worry about for the first time in many years, so -
I sold it, wrecked, to a local streetrod shop that fixed it and sold it to a customer in northern California.
The current owner had just come down here to L.A. today, he and the streetrod shop owner stopped by another friend of mine's BMW shop and THAT guy gave me a call and said I should drop by... that there was something there that I might want to look at... so I saw the Fairlane today for the first time in over 2.5 years.
These are the pics from today; it's a little worse for the wear. Still fast, though (I drove it), with 385 HP and 420 lb/ft torque. With the quicker steering ratio, better brakes, stiffer springs and a marginally improved front suspension geometry, I used to hustle this thing around the Streets of Willow Springs during open track events with the L.A. Shelby Club.
I drove this car daily for over 12 years (before the 347 inch tune up) with a 325 HP 302 inch smallblock Ford. I also drove many, many miles in this car all over the western United States on some really fun road trips.
)This is a 1963 Ford Fairlane 500 2 Door Hardtop that was prit' near totalled almost three years ago:
All the detail bits and cool stuff are still there; the finned, cast aluminum rocker covers, the 347 inch stroker, the FRPP Motorsport T5 trans, the 3.80 TracLoc differential, the four-wheel disc brakes, the American Racing Trans Am 15 x 7 aluminum wheels, the guages, the steering wheel, the shifter...
I built this car; it's final iteration, the one you see here, was completed and driven daily for three years (and for 12 years before that) before 'The Accident': some moron in a full-sized Merc with a lapful of fast food who wasn't watching the road and slammed into this car with me in it.
I needed a car, was going to try to somehow keep this as wrecked and fix it whenever I could... but I had been out of work for over 5 weeks since the accident, had already bought the Focus and had a car payment to worry about for the first time in many years, so -
I sold it, wrecked, to a local streetrod shop that fixed it and sold it to a customer in northern California.
The current owner had just come down here to L.A. today, he and the streetrod shop owner stopped by another friend of mine's BMW shop and THAT guy gave me a call and said I should drop by... that there was something there that I might want to look at... so I saw the Fairlane today for the first time in over 2.5 years.
These are the pics from today; it's a little worse for the wear.
Still fast, though (I drove it), with 385 HP and 420 lb/ft torque. With the quicker steering ratio, better brakes, stiffer springs and a marginally improved front suspension geometry, I used to hustle this thing around the Streets of Willow Springs during open track events with the L.A. Shelby Club. I drove this car daily for over 12 years (before the 347 inch tune up) with a 325 HP 302 inch smallblock Ford. I also drove many, many miles in this car all over the western United States on some really fun road trips.
