Imagine it’s 1964. You’ve spotted the new Mustang, and you want one. The problem is that even in the earliest days, the waiting list for this iconic pony car already stretched several dozen city blocks. That was the mere starting point because sales would fire through the roof in the coming months. The Falcon Sprint was a viable option, but maybe you needed a little more space. That’s where the 1964 Ford Fairlane Sports Coupe fits into the equation. A knowledgeable person could order one from their dealership with enough performance to keep them well and truly satisfied. That’s the case with our feature car because its original owner ticked the right boxes on the Order Form. This classic has fallen on hard times and needs somebody to return it to its former glory. If you believe that you are that person, you will find the Fairlane located in Walnut Creek, California, and listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has hit $3,350, but this remains short of the reserve.

The seller purchased this Fairlane in Kansas around fifteen years ago. It had been languishing in a barn for years and had accumulated a heavy coating of dust. He intended to perform the restoration as a father/son project, but the young guy showed no interest. Therefore, this is a project that stalled before it could start. Below the dirt is a color combination of Dynasty Green and Wimbledon White. The car would have been pretty attractive in its heyday, but those days are well behind it. The paint looks tired, but that’s the least of the problems here. This Fairlane has some rust that the buyer will need to tackle, but it is not as extensive as in some classics from this era. As the seller rightly points out, most of it is confined to the edges of panels, including around the wheel arches and lower rear quarter panels. The floors are also pretty bad, and apart from some rust near the left-hand rear spring hanger, the rails are structurally sound. Most of these issues should be easy to address because replacement steel is readily available and affordable. Some trim pieces are missing, and it is hard to determine the condition of others due to the heavy coating of dust. It appears that the original owner ordered this Fairlane with tinted glass, and this looks free of obvious cracks and issues.

Some readers will find this Fairlane to be uninspiring, but maybe we can alleviate their boredom by lifting the hood. Ford offered several engine options in the 1964 Fairlane, but the original owner went straight to the top with his purchase. What is hidden in this engine bay is a numbers-matching 289ci K-Code V8 that would have produced 271hp. Those rampant ponies found their way to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual transmission. If that owner had pointed this Fairlane at a ¼ mile, it would have blitzed the journey in 15.3 seconds. While the engine and transmission are original, the owner admits that the carburetor is of 1966 vintage. The same is true of the distributor, but the original unit is sitting in the trunk. It isn’t clear when this sweet little V8 last fired a shot in anger, but it would have been well before the owner purchased the car fifteen years ago. He has not attempted to coax it back to life, but he says the motor turns freely and shows good compression figures. He believes that it wouldn’t take a lot of work to revive it, and that would be something for potential buyers to investigate further. If this is the case, this part of the restoration could prove to be very affordable.

The interior shots that the seller supplies aren’t great, but they do reveal some encouraging signs. The original owner chose to equip the car with bucket seats, a console, and a pushbutton AM radio. All of these items remain intact, although there is a dress section missing from the front of the console. The back seat looks good, but it is hard to ascertain the condition of the buckets. If they are in a similar state, the only thing that the buyer may need to purchase is a new carpet set. The painted surfaces on the dash would benefit from a refresh, but the gauge cluster and remaining dash components look pretty good. If the upholstered surfaces do prove to be in excellent condition, that leaves money in the pot to tackle other aspects of this restoration.

If this were a First Generation Mustang, it would be a bit of a no-brainer. Potential buyers would be falling over themselves to grab a Mustang built to the same specifications as this 1964 Ford Fairlane Sports Coupe. Just because it isn’t a Mustang doesn’t mean that it is a lesser car. It has rust issues that the buyer will need to address, but once fully restored, there is no reason why it couldn’t command a value of around $45,000. If the buyer achieves perfection, recent sales results would indicate that the figure could rocket over $50,000. There have only been nine bids at the time of writing, but that situation could potentially change. If a classic Mustang is out of your reach, this Fairlane might deserve a closer look.