Although part of the line-up since 1955, the Fairlane became Ford’s intermediate-sized car in 1962. A couple of restyles later, the all-new 1968 models came out, looking a lot like the full-size Galaxie, just proportionately smaller. The Fairlane 500 would be the middle trim level, with the new Torino series now being top dog. This 500 drop-top in a true barn find and it appears as though nothing has been done to the car in a long time other than to give it a bath. Located in Washougal, Washington, you can find this Ford here on Facebook Marketplace for $6,500 OBO.

The 1968 Fairlanes went back to horizontally mounted quad headlights after a couple of years of being stacked. The sides of the body were smoothed with a single horizontal feature line running the entire length of the car. Taillights were now vertical and rectangular in shape. While the Fairlane model was reserved for those on a budget, the Fairlane 500 had more creature comforts and was the lowest trim level to feature a convertible. While Ford built 372,327 mid-size cars in 1968, just 3,821 were the 500 convertibles.

We don’t know the background of this car as few details are provided. It appears the seller found it in a barn, bought it, put it on a tow truck, took it off a tow truck, and then washed it down. From the amount of dust and dirt first on the car, it likely was in storage for a few years and unfortunately with the top down. So, there is no telling what the interior looks like now, and no photos are provided of the passenger compartment.

The red paint looks good when wet but probably loses its luster when things dry off. There is no immediate indication of rust or body damage, although the trim running along the bottom of the hood is gone. We don’t get a good look at the convertible top itself, but we will assume it’s not in good shape since it wasn’t put up in the barn.

There is also no indication of what sort of power is under the hood, but we are told it’s numbers-matching. A safe bet is Ford’s 302 cubic inch V8 paired with an automatic transmission as that was a popular combination in those days. With a 2-barrel carburetor, the horsepower output should have been 210. We’re not told if the car runs or if any attempt has been made to start it, so you again must assume it doesn’t run or move on its own, and cleaning out the entire fuel system is a likely place to start besides dropping in a new battery. This could be a nice candidate for a restoration, but more information is needed to know if it’s a good buy.