The mid-size Ford Fairlane was upstaged in 1968 when the Torino model arrived with a higher level of trim and a greater selection of options. After more than 15 years on the Ford payroll, the Fairlane nameplate disappeared after 1970. The seller has a 1968 Fairlane 500 in the fastback body style that Ford was calling a “Sportsroof”. This is a rough project that the seller took as payment during a barter. Needing everything, including a powertrain, this roller is in Stockbridge, Georgia, and is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $1,800 or trade. A nod goes to Moparman for crossing brand lines for this tip!
Ford’s Fairlane arrived on the scene in 1955, and the name was a nod to Henry Ford’s Michigan estate. After the Galaxie came along in the late 1950s, the Fairlane nameplate moved over to the mid-size platform Ford introduced in 1962. That product line was redesigned in 1968, and the Fairlane took a back seat to the new Torino. The Sportsroof was popular on the Torino, but you could buy a Fairlane 500 with that same set-up, though more pedestrian when it came to creature comforts.
The company built nearly 32,500 Fairlane 500 Sportsroofs in 1968, so the seller’s car isn’t exactly rare. That compares to more than 74,000 Torino GTs with the same roofline. The seller got this roughie on a barter, so he doesn’t know much about it. Its V8 engine and automatic transmission took flight long before he acquired the vehicle, which has a “million” miles on it.
Some bodywork has been done on the car, but rust still lives in the floor pans. The seller believes that most of the rest of the Ford is solid. The trunk is loaded with parts that we assume will fit this Fairlane. The aftermarket wheels and tires look smaller than what you might normally want to run. But they will enable the car to get hoisted onto and off of a flatbed trailer. Would you take a gamble on this project for $1,800 or less?
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