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Plain Brown Wrapper! Ford Fairmont Survivor

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Plain brown wrapper–yes, that’s what this one is, but it’s a nice wrapper, nonetheless! This 1980 Ford Fairmont is located in Canton, Georgia and is listed for sale here on eBay, where the price is a firm $4,990. The used car dealer that has the car says it looks so nice it’s in their showroom!

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Fairmonts were always pretty nondescript little sedans and coupes, but remember, that platform is the same one as a Fox body Mustang. It’s got some basic good points. The paint on this car is really glossy and has me wondering how they kept it so nice in Minnesota!

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Naturally, the interior looks just as nice. And plain. The car shows 41,000 miles and it looks like less than that!b3

Here’s the inline six engine, a holdover from an earlier time. The car runs well, has air conditioning that blows cold and has just had $500 spent on it including cooling and exhaust system work. If you don’t mind a plain brown wrapper, this might just be your car!

Comments

  1. Avatar Dan

    I had one just like this. Believe it or not it was one of my favourite cars that I have owned. Quiet, smooth riding, reliable, cheap to run and boring. It was a great practical car for a young family.

    Like 1
  2. Avatar piper62j

    I sold a 1980 Fairmont Wagon back in the day and wish I had auctioned it off.. It was grossly underpowered with a 250 – 6cyl and the buyer constantly complained about the poor gas mileage.. I gave up trying to figure out the problem and ended up paying a Ford dealer to work on it.. They found nothing and I lost the profit on the car.. Who knew??

    Even with the 6cyl, the emission control equipment was killing the gas mileage.. The buyer ended up trading the car off..

    Like 0
  3. Avatar redwagon

    nice simple car from a simpler time. would really be the bees knees if it were a wagon. good basic transportation. not sure why anyone would buy this one and save it, i doubt it will ever be more valuable than it is right now. buy it. drive it.

    o how about a link. not hard to find on ebay but you have us spoiled with link in text!

    Like 0
  4. Avatar 68 custom

    They made one run of these that had pretty much all the Mustang GT underpinnings, maybe even a 5 speed. they were all white with red and blue accents. I remember thinking one would make a neat cruiser, but they are all gone now.
    this one look clean and would make a great driver, but doubtfully have any collector value.

    Like 0
  5. Avatar James

    I always look at cars like this that have been stored and pampered and wonder why THAT. Out of all of the other cars out there that could have been preserved in the safe, warm spot, they chose THAT!?

    Like 0
  6. Avatar Ralph Terhune

    I have four of these cars. Very easy to work on and maintain, and with Mustang 5.0 underpinnings, they handle reasonably well.

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Chebby

    This is so bad I like it. A 1960 car built in 1980.

    My uncle had them as government cars and I remember him bitching about how cheap and flimsy they were.

    This one would be interesting with something weirder from the Ford family than a 5.0, like a a supercharged Zetec engine, and keep the sleeper appearance.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar Red'sResto

    I just did a double take when I saw the first photo. Looks like it came out of the factory brochure, instead of a photo taken 36 years after the car rolled off the assembly line.

    Like 0
  9. Avatar B and A

    Why oh why do i have a soft spot for cars like this?????
    Needless to say, i like it :-]

    Like 0
    • Avatar Jamie Staff

      Thanks, folks, my bad. Link added

      Like 0
  10. HoA Howard A Member

    This car is about as exciting as a Studebaker Scotsman, and oddly enough, it targeted the same group of people. Just a basic car. For what it was, it worked well. Not a lot of interest, as no one yet asked for the ebay link, but probably provide you several years of economical driving. Cool find.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Jubjub

    My mom bought this exact car, but a ’78, sans vinyl top for my niece from a deceased relative of a neighbor for $150 back in the ’90s. It was soon simply referred to as Emmett. Emmett gave his life, one day before he was to be given away, at the mercy of a tractor trailer. His whole front left looked he’d been chewed by a giant. Fortunately, the driver, my nephew, walked away largely unscathed.

    Like 0
  12. Avatar Roselandpete

    I don’t know why but I find the plain-Jane cars to have a certain charm.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Jerry Koszut

    We used these as patrol units when I was a Deputy Sheriff. I liked so well, I bought one for myself. Just a good little car.

    Like 0
  14. Avatar 745TV8 Member

    Used to have a couple of these in the company fleet…They were great at quick handbrake 180’s…Steering wheels cracked, trim pieces cracked,misaligned column-mounted shifters,dead radios. Quality was Job One.

    Like 0
  15. Avatar RJBuick

    I would love to know where in Minnesota the Fairmont came from. It looks like the one my late in-laws owned back in the early 80’s. My wife then (now deceased) and I owned a ’78 and her parents liked it so much, they bought one for themselves. It was always garaged, rarely saw winter streets, and was always looked after. It would be neat to find out this was theirs. Good driving all around basic car.

    Like 0
  16. Avatar John b

    My granny had a light blue 80 or an 81. I remember her sometimes driving us to school when i was in the first grade. My gran parents would hook it to the RV and take to Florida in the winter.

    Like 0
  17. Avatar JC

    This is screaming for a stroked 390 and manual trans. As my wife just said, “looks like an old mans car”…ultimate sleeper.

    Like 0

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