65 Fairlane pro-touring build

[Vic1947]

I'm kicking off a new build with a nice little 65 Fairlane 2dr HT as a starter. I'll be posting updates from time to time when I have something worthwhile to mention.

Currently, the plan calls for a 5.0 Coyote engine and T56 six speed manual transmission. Due to the tight engine bay, a TCI front suspension will be necessary to eliminate the shock towers. I'll probably do a Control Freak triangulated four-link or something similar out back. Big brakes, lowered stance, custom interior. digital instrument cluster, a/c and very few exterior mods other than stripping paint and changing color round out my wish list.

Stick around if you find this sort of thing interesting. And I'm always open to suggestions as the build progresses.

Here's a video link to a walk around.

Vic

[62c30]

Sounds cool. I have a 64 Fairlane I would like to do something similar to.

[mongocanfly]

Looks like a really solid car.. can't wait to see how this goes

[Ol Blue K20]

I'm in to watch

[Vic1947]

Thanks guys. I'm deep into teardown at the moment. What I'm finding is a bit curious. It almost appears as if the car sat in a foot of water at one time or another. The floor pans from the inside appear relatively rust free, but from the underside look very rotted. Bolts that are above this level come out fairly easily and usually don't require penetrating oil. But the ones below have to be cut with a grinding disc or Sawsall. When I sent Cowboy Bob a couple of pictures of the rot, he was SHOCKED, SHOCKED to see the extent of the damage. But that's what happens when you buy a car in 8-degree weather that's sitting on a dirt floor. When it looks okay from the top side, you can be forgiven for thinking the rest is probably okay too.

I'll be replacing much of what's ailing it anyway, so I'm not going to worry about what's ahead. Right now, I'm focused on prepping the body for the trip to Pro Strip Indy for chemical stripping. However, I have started the search for parts. As I suspected, there's not a lot out there for this model. A few parts like some of the trim pieces carry over from the 62-64 models including the Mercury Meteor. Pretty sure the stuff is out there; I just need to get better at entering search criteria for the Google. But the challenge is what makes all this fun.

[62c30]

My 64 is similar that from the top side doesn't look bad but was rough underneath. I had to replace the rear frame rails and it needs all the floor replaced. I used the trunk dropoffs from c2 fabrication and they were a perfect fit. I think crites is about one of the only places that specialize in this era of Fairlane.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by 62c30

My 64 is similar that from the top side doesn't look bad but was rough underneath. I had to replace the rear frame rails and it needs all the floor replaced. I used the trunk dropoffs from c2 fabrication and they were a perfect fit. I think crites is about one of the only places that specialize in this era of Fairlane.

The PO had already purchased the trunk extensions, so I didn't have to source them. I got a pair of rear subframes from Blue Oval Classics in Canada. They look great, but I have no idea how they will actually fit. I imagine when the car comes back from being chemically stripped, I'll have a much better idea of what I'm dealing with.

[NONHOG]

Love that model. I was close to buying one near Phoenix but it was just a bit too rough. Nowhere near as nice as yours. Wanted 10K he talked himself down to 8K. I passed. Now my chances are close to zero of getting one because I bought a Corvair and later a Cougar. My plate is pretty full!
Thanks for doing a thread I'll be watching.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by NONHOG

Love that model. I was close to buying one near Phoenix, but it was just a bit too rough. Nowhere near as nice as yours. Wanted 10K he talked himself down to 8K. I passed. Now my chances are close to zero of getting one because I bought a Corvair and later a Cougar. My plate is pretty full!
Thanks for doing a thread I'll be watching.

Thanks! Now that I've disassembled the Fairlane, I'm seeing a lot of stuff I missed when I bought it. In all fairness though, it was 8 degrees and the car was sitting on a dirt floor. So, I wasn't too keen on crawling around under it.

Time for a project update. I've been keeping at it pretty steady in order to get a slot at Pro-Strip Indy. They said they could accept it the first week of November, so I need to finish removing everything that doesn't go in the stripping tank. The gas tank, some brake lines and brackets are all that are left to remove. Plus I have to weld up a cart to transport it on. I have a reservation with an outfit that will haul it to and from Indy in an enclosed trailer.

The big news, though, is that the Coyote & six speed has arrived. Took a couple of weeks from California, but everything made it safe and sound. I paid a few bucks extra to get the headers and cats. The ECU and pedal assemblies were included with the auction. The engine came out of a 2017 Mustang GT with a bit over 10K miles. It's a MASSIVE engine! Even with the shock towers removed, it will fill up the available space completely.

[mongocanfly]

That oughta maker go...!!!!

[Ol Blue K20]

It's gonna be wild!!

[Russell Ashley]

I'm definitely going to be following this one.

[Vic1947]

Thanks, guys - hope you find it interesting. I ordered a factory service manual for the Mustang GT today, but I was mainly interested in the engine and transmission sections. As usual, this late model stuff will require some research. I plan to do away with the factory harness/ECU and go with the Holley setup. However, there's a crap ton of gizmos attached to the engine I'm going to need help to identify.

[62c30]

A friend of mine has a coyote swap in a 1990 mustang with a t56. His has the Ford performance swap harness and it worked pretty good just a few minor issues. The engine is all stock but has headers and a cold air intake. Occasionally it will die when pulling up to a light but will fire right back up. I guess they are real sensitive to any mods and will require a tune. The crazy thing is the car sounds like a stock 1990 mustang 5.0 with flowmasters and idles smooth, but has twice the power. Now I want to swap one or an Ecoboost into my 64 Fairlane.

[sduckworth13]

Nice score on the engine Vic. Hotrod Express should be a good source of information to help you with any problems you run across with that engine. I remember going there about 7 yrs ago and seeing a 60s era Mustang they swapped a coyote engine in to.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by 62c30

A friend of mine has a coyote swap in a 1990 mustang with a t56. His has the Ford performance swap harness and it worked pretty good just a few minor issues. The engine is all stock but has headers and a cold air intake. Occasionally it will die when pulling up to a light but will fire right back up. I guess they are real sensitive to any mods and will require a tune. The crazy thing is the car sounds like a stock 1990 mustang 5.0 with flowmasters and idles smooth but has twice the power. Now I want to swap one or an Ecoboost into my 64 Fairlane.

I'll probably be using the Holley Terminator X setup for Gen2 Coyotes. I have a friend locally that's an expert on those ECU's. Before I decided on the Coyote, though, I seriously considered an Ecoboost. From what I could tell, there wasn't a lot of aftermarket support for the 10-speed automatic most of them came with. Plus, they're a lot bigger than you'd think. I looked an early Mustang swap on YouTube and it barely fit. I'll be removing the shock towers to make room, so space wouldn't have been a big issue, but I figured if you're going to go that route, why not get the stouter drivetrain.

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

Nice score on the engine Vic. Hotrod Express should be a good source of information to help you with any problems you run across with that engine. I remember going there about 7 yrs ago and seeing a 60s era Mustang they swapped a coyote engine in to.

Thanks, Scott. It's good to know Rick and his crew have done a swap like that. I haven't been by their shop for a few months, but I need to take the GN down there for them to see before the weather turns to crap.

I've been busy framing up a cart to transport the Fairlane to Indy for chemical stripping. As you can see, there's a lot of tin worm that needs to be dissolved - as well as undercoat, bondo, seam sealer and paint.

[jaros44sr]

Good thing you're talented, those frame rails look a little rusty, got to the party late on your last 2 builds, wanted to get in early on this one

Hope the stripper gives you something back to work with
Thanks for posting up

[62c30]

My rear frame rails looked about the same, maybe worse. I made new frame rails to replace the last 20" or so on each side. The panel below the tail light panel that the trunk floor is spot welded to was also rusted out. I couldn't find a replacement so I had a shop here in town bend up a new one. It's kinda sucks going from Chevy trucks and mustangs where you can build one out of a catalog to cars that hardly have any aftermarket support.

[LS short box]

We have a 2014 Mustang GT 5.0/6 speed combo vert. It's a great car and I'm a big time LS guy.
No big mods to the car except the exhaust. The stock GT mufflers were so quiet. Locally there was a guy modding a GT 500 and sold me his stock mufflers. What a difference. Good sound but zero drone.
That 5.0 sounds great as it gets near its 7K redline.
Good luck with your project.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

Good thing you're talented, those frame rails look a little rusty, got to the party late on your last 2 builds, wanted to get in early on this one

Hope the stripper gives you something back to work with
Thanks for posting up

You and me both. It's rusted in an odd way - almost like it sat in tall wet grass which attacked the underside but without ruining the floor pans and the body. Looks like someone decided to shoot a heavy layer of undercoat to try to halt the process. All of that will be gone when it returns, so we'll know the rest of the story then.

Originally Posted by 62c30

My rear frame rails looked about the same, maybe worse. I made new frame rails to replace the last 20" or so on each side. The panel below the tail light panel that the trunk floor is spot welded to was also rusted out. I couldn't find a replacement so I had a shop here in town bend up a new one. It's kinda sucks going from Chevy trucks and mustangs where you can build one out of a catalog to cars that hardly have any aftermarket support.

Amen to that. I found the replacement rear subframe pieces, but I know I'm in for a hammer welding party.

Originally Posted by LS short box

We have a 2014 Mustang GT 5.0/6 speed combo vert. It's a great car and I'm a big time LS guy.
No big mods to the car except the exhaust. The stock GT mufflers were so quiet. Locally there was a guy modding a GT 500 and sold me his stock mufflers. What a difference. Good sound but zero drone.
That 5.0 sounds great as it gets near its 7K redline.
Good luck with your project.

Thanks!!

I finished the body cart so the car could be transported to Pro-Strip Indy. It left here a few days ago and should return around the 22nd of this month stripped all the way down to bare metal everywhere and minus the tin worm. Then the serious work starts. Probably over 75% of the rot has no commercially available replacement panels.

While the car is out of the shop, I took the opportunity to strip the Coyote of the factory harness and lines. I also removed the shifter as I plan to install a direct fit shifter from FormaCars. That will move the shifter forward about 12 inches and make it more accessible not to mention a big improvement in shift performance. From what I've read, the main gripe about the MT82 tranny in the Mustang GT is that the shifter feels like mush and is unreliable. Mostly I've been searching the interweb for any kind of info on the technical details of the engine and trans. I downloaded a service manual for a 2017 Mustang GT in .pdf format. It has around 9500 pages. Whew! I haven't found an index and it appears to have very few part numbers. It does have some nice detail drawings though.

[62c30]

Did it make it back yet?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by 62c30

Did it make it back yet?

Yes, made it back Wednesday evening late. It was dark and in the upper 20's but we rolled it off the trailer and into the shop with no problems. I had plenty of help which I greatly appreciated. I'd had cataract surgery the day before so I'm on light duty for a week. Looks like Pro-Strip Indy did a really nice job. I haven't found anything they missed. But then again, I can't see diddly without glasses yet.

I was surprised to see a lot less rot than I expected. I'm sure when I get to welding patches it will seem like a lot more.

[Southcity]

What a great project and vehicle! I applaud the work you have done to date and look forward to updates as they become available. Thank you for posting and sharing. Was curious if you have had anything drawn up on your vision for how this beast will look?

[62c30]

It looks pretty good

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Southcity

What a great project and vehicle! I applaud the work you have done to date and look forward to updates as they become available. Thank you for posting and sharing. Was curious if you have had anything drawn up on your vision for how this beast will look?

Thanks for the encouragement - helps keep me going! I have a few ideas, but I've discovered that often times, my initial plans change over the duration of the build. As of this moment, I've ordered a TCI front suspension to go with a R&C Motorsports triangulated four link rear. That should lower the car several inches. I'll do mini tubs in the rear to allow for a wider tire/wheel package. I'll swap out the front bench seat for buckets since I'll need room for the floor shifter that will operate the manual 6-speed that came with the Coyote engine. I've found a nice conversion that moves the Mustang shifter forward about a foot and gets rid of the sloppy OEM linkage. I've got an Intellitronix six-gauge panel ordered and will build a custom enclosure for it. On the outside, I'm leaning toward murdering it out. Body panels gloss black with black powder coated trim, bumpers, and molding. I'll also do some matte black graphics on the hood and fenders. The exterior stuff is not set in stone at all and may change depending on which way the wind blows