When Ford introduced its intermediate cars in 1962, they had a strong styling resemblance with the full-size Fords. Several other manufacturers did this as well. Maybe people buying compact cars were won from Volkswagen and other imports and connected styling didn’t matter as much. But the intermediate buyer was most likely someone that would have either bought a used car or a full size, and Ford wanted to woo them. Here is a 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 4 door sedan for sale here on Craigslist in Riverside, Connecticut. Thanks go out to Barn Finds reader Fordguy1972 for finding this car and bringing to our attention.
Up front, we see a strong resemblance to the 1964 full-size Fords. The headlight placement and grille pattern are very similar, however, where the full-size Ford has three vertical peaks in the grille this one has none. This Fairlane 500 is a true survivor and has been in one family since new. The current owner is 90 years old and it belonged to his mother. Just think, he was only 35 years old when his mother bought this car.
In the rear, the resemblance of the Fairlane actually looks more like the full-size Ford of 1963 rather than 1964. There are no dents, scratches, or rust on the car. It has been garaged since new. It is believed the car was repainted over 20 years ago.
The interior looks wonderful, as it should for a car with low mileage and having been garaged. The vinyl seats have no rips or tears, and the dash top is in great condition. The original radio is in the car and the headliner appears to be in good condition. The car has automatic transmission.
The engine is a 289 Special cubic inch V8. It has recently had a new battery, brakes, belt, hoses, and voltage regulator. It has always been started and driven up and down the driveway, but now it will not start. The seller considers this a 9.9 out of 10.0 car. The major problem now is getting it to start, but also the title is missing. The car has only 28,111 miles. The seller is asking $7,500 for this Fairlane 500. Are you interested in a nice Ford Fairlane from the mid-sixties?
What a nice car. Brings back memories. One of our family cars while growing up was this model, same options, same color interior. Ours was yellow with a painted white roof (remember when one could get two-tones with painted roofs?). As far as I remember it was a solid, if unspectacular, family car.
Funny, I came here to say something very similar. My Dad bought a 4-door ’64 Fairlane (not sure if it was a “500”) in 1966. Same “Hearing Aid Beige” as this car. His was a 260 cu in (the original small block Ford V-8), and his first automatic transmission. I remember the timing chain broke some time later, and that was one of the only times I ever saw my Dad pay a mechanic to fix something. I suspect it was only because the failure happened in the dead of a Canadian winter. Thanks to BF for some great memories.
Sacrilege, I know….
But ship the car to the Wood Brothers, to be made into a Vintage racer.
Not sure how many 4-doors were raced in the wayback, but the 2-door cars currently out on tracks are stunning, and FUN.
I’m often struck how early ’60s cars were remarkably small, spare and light. I wonder if folks who liked their late 50’s behemoths considered these newer models as kind of a rip-off?
I think many owners were much happier to have a slightly smaller, better performing car. The sales numbers of the era bear this out.
A lot of younger people don’t realise that what are now considered iconic cars like the ’59 Cadillac were considered a joke by the car-buying public when they first appeared in local showrooms. I was very much around back then and saw all of this, first-hand.
The ’64 Fairlane Sportsroof is one of my favourite Fords from the 1960s.
Thanks for the insights. It was a bit before my time – not much, but a bit. And don’t get me wrong, I love the cars from this era, but they are very different from the late ’50’s cars.
The front end looks like a carbon copy of tHe Mercury Comet, while tHe back end looks so much better. Glws.
great looker , someone will get a nice maintained car.
Never been a fan of this era Fairlane, especially the 4 door (in the 80’s fixable ones were $75 all day long) but something about this color combination makes me almost want it.
Replace the solenoid and I’ll bet she’ll start! That was the weak spot on these
old fords. To test it, lay a long blade
screwdriver across both poles of the
old unit and she should crank right up.
You’ll find it mounted on the right side
fenderwell not far from the battery.
You wouldn’t believe how many young
ladies I met this way! Seems that they
all must’ve been driving Fords! If it wasn’t
the solenoid, it was vaporlock! How easy
it was to impress the young ladies and
their parents back then. Thanks FoMoCo,
I owe all my succsess to you!
@Kenneth Carney – funny, I still have one of those Ford solenoids (brand new) in my random parts box, up on a shelf in the garage. It was just something you kept in stock if you had a fondness for the Blue Oval.
Kenneth, if you grew up in Meadville PA (the home of Chanellock pliers) every Ford owner around here in the 1960’s and 1970’s carried a pair of them to jump the soleniod when it went bad. The serious Furd types carried a spare solenoid in the glove box plus a small knuckle buster to change it. The few people who didn’t have a pair usually had somebody like me to do it. The only Furd I own is a 1943 MB military Jeep, but it has a small block Chevy so I don’t have that problem. But in the 1970’s it was a normal thing with Furds.
Right after I sent this ’64 Fairlane 500 tip into Barn Finds, I contacted the seller and went to check it out with my mechanic nephew. I’ve been looking for a mid-size vintage car (a Ford of course!) and I thought this one might be it. I met up with the owner’s son and we all rolled it out of the garage.
First impression was ………WOW! This Fairlane is a beauty! The paint is actually original with only a hood re-paint as the result of a small carb fire but overall the original finish is really good. The underside of the car shows no rust or repairs at all as the car was under-coated years ago. The rockers and all body panels show no sign of rust or damage except for a few small bubbles on the driver’s side rear fender. The trim and chrome are in incredible condition and the panel fit overall is perfect. The aluminum door sill plates are all really good, too. The trunk is spotless with a pristine original mat. In the trunk are several extra Fairlane full wheel covers including three in their original factory boxes! There is a used distributer in the trunk, probably the original, which must have failed and was replaced.
The interior is also all original and shows hardly any flaws except for the carpet and the dash pad. The carpet will need a good cleaning or maybe replacing as apparently the heater core started leaking recently and stained the passenger side carpet. The dash pad is badly warped from age and will need to be replaced. The front and rear seats are spotless and the door panels are really nice with only some soiling to both front armrests.
As to the 195 hp 289, all the major components seem original except for battery, belts and some hoses. I don’t know if this car had hood insulation originally, there’s no sign of any being there and as a result of the small carb fire, someone had sprayed the whole underside of the hood in matt black. After some attempts to start the car, my nephew realized that the original fuel pump had failed so we couldn’t hear it run. I have no doubt that after replacing the fuel pump, it will start right up. We also discovered new shocks all around and all rubber components replaced in the rear leaf springs. The car rides on fairly recent radials and all of the full wheels covers are in exceptional condition.
Apparently, the 90 year-old owner was a mechanic in the military during the Korean war and maintained this car from day one until he was no longer able to. This Fairlane 500 is a really nice, almost completely original car needing very little. After a thorough inspection, I believe the 28,000 miles to be original. I’ve rarely seen a car this old in such outstanding original condition. With a little work, a few repairs and a few weekends of detailing and cleaning, this beautiful ’64 Fairlane 500 will really sparkle.
Well, the upshot was that I bought the car, I just had to have it. I thought the price asked was fair but the sellers son did knock off a bit because of the repairs needed. No title needed in Connecticut for a car over 25 years old, just a bill of sale. I feel I’m pretty lucky to have found a true survivor car in such wonderful, original condition. I’m going to enjoy the hell out of this vintage Ford!
Thanks, Fordguy1972 for finding this car, sharing it with us so we could share with others, and most of all congratulations on buying the car. Sounds like you got a very nice Fairlane 500. Enjoy!
Sitting here grinning, happy to see that you have found and purchased such a gem.
Good one Fordguy1972…. Very Well Done.
Thanks for sharing the details.
Thanks Bill Owens and DayDreamBeliever. I feel lucky to have found such a nice, original survivor. Best part for me is it’s a Ford! Don’t know if I’ll have it ready in time for the Ford Nationals in Carlisle but if not, I’ll take my ’72 Galaxie 500. I retired a few months ago and I feel like I finally get to live the dream. Nothing but classic car activities for me this summer!
Congratulations! My memories of my Dad’s ’64 are all good, so I am sure you will enjoy many miles. Keep us informed, if you can. We would enjoy following your journey.
@Fordguy 1972: Congratulations on your
latest buy! You sure got lucky with this
one! You said in your post that the fuel
pump was shot, are you going to replace
it with a factory unit that controls the
windshield wipers by vaccuum, or change
it out for a more modern unit? Don’t
forget the wooden clothespins for the
fuel line from the fuel pump to the carb.
This should keep the 289 from vapor
locking on a hot summer day. Good luck
with your latest find!
Thanks, Kenneth. I believe I can get a rebuilt kit for the fuel pump but I’ll probably just go new with an original style pump from Autokrafters. I’ll look into upgrading the wipers though I don’t plan on driving this gem in bad weather. I will definitely upgrade the brake master cylinder to a two chamber unit, though.
The more I go over this ’64 Fairlane the more pleased I am with it, it’s a super nice original low-mileage survivor. My young mechanic nephew is eager to work on it (for free!) and I can see he’s getting the old car bug. Now he’s talking about looking for a vintage Chevy! The youngsters will keep the old car hobby going so we need spark that interest in as many of them as we can.
I think this is the best year of the first generation mid size. The 1965s (last year ) were pretty meh.
This is a ‘one that got away’ memory for me. Had a black one in almost as good of shape that my almost mother in law sold me for just $250. This was in 1992 but even then it was still a great deal. I started getting it road ready and then life happened.
Like….and close on price…..make an offer !
55 years old, no title, not sure if it starts. Needs to be examined front to back and lower price. Now, it runs, handles and stops ok….. But, we’re not sure. BTW, listing removed by seller. Other than that, a good, practical car, IMO
You must have missed the part where @Fordguy1972 commented above about buying this car, and how nice it is. Reading the comments can be a good idea prior to posting one yourself?