This ’66 was supposed to have been built decades ago.

A partial definition of a “period piece” is something, especially a work of art, that dates from or evokes a historical period.

Car people would just call it “old school”. In other words, it’s been done like it used to be “back in the day”.

Mike Slowikowski’s 1966 Fairlane GT is all of the above with just a bit of artistic license thrown in for the sake of safety and aesthetics.

The inspiration for the car came from Mike’s uncle who owned a ’66 Fairlane “back in the day”. His ran the standard 289 but he always had wanted to install one of Ford’s 427 tunnel port engines. If you’ve ever seen the intake ports in the heads of one of these then you understand the term.

Well that never happened but over the years his uncle did collect a complete 427 with the correct date codes for a ’66 model year. So now jump ahead some decades and the uncle is finally building the Fairlane with the 427 but he’s now in his 70’s and has way too many other projects in the works so Mike ends up with the Fairlane.

The uncle had gotten some of the resto work done and even had the 427 in the car but it still needed paint and body work as well as underside and chassis work. This is where MCR entered the picture. The original intention was to scuff it and paint it but as is common once the paint was removed there were issues that needed to be dealt with so the entire body was hand sanded down to bare metal. Surprisingly, outside of a few minor rust spots the entire body was very solid and it’s believed that all the panels are original. That is except for the period fiberglass hood and deck lid that MCR massaged a bit so they fit perfectly and look completely factory until you look underneath them.

Because this car will be driven, hopefully a lot, MCR prepped the underside and suspension components for durability more than factory correctness. The interior was brought back to a stock look although this is where some of the artistic license came into play. That is except for the seats themselves. Mike’s uncle recovered those years ago in their original red.

The result is a Fairlane with a decidedly old school look and feel with just enough modern to keep it safe and keep the “experts” commenting on “correctness”. Everyone else will just admire it and hope for quick, perhaps very quick, ride.

It’s a rare car that doesn’t need any body panels replaced. After the car was hand sanded down to bare metal there were only a few small rust spots that needed to be patched.
Drop spindles up front along with matching rear shackle adjustments in the rear really help the 17 inch wheels properly fill up the wheel openings.
Front wheels are 7 x 17 inch American Racing Shelby Cobra’s. You almost have to get up close to see that they aren’t true knock-off’s. They are covered in 215-50-17 Redlines.
Rear wheels are 8 x 17 in the rear with 245-45-17 Redlines.
Fiberglass hoods were a big deal back in the ‘70s. Anything to remove weight of the front of the car you know. However, most of them fit less than great but MCR worked it just like they do the rest of the car to insure that the panel gaps are perfect.
A fiberglass trunk lid was less common but nevertheless it is a period correct piece. This one took a bit more “massaging” to achieve a perfect fit.
Mike’s uncle included fiberglass bumpers with the car but Mike elected to go with the factory chromed steel versions instead.
Yes, this is an original GT option car.
Another big chuck of artistic license went into making this stainless steel Ford emblem for inside the trunk. The panel hides the battery.
This is a period correct 427 with the proper date codes for a 1966 model year Fairlane. 1966 was the first year a Fairland could have been ordered with a 427 but they were extremely rare. This is essentially what Mike’s uncle’s dream car would have looked like had he built it “back in the day”. There are a few concessions to modern tech like the dual electric fans. Can you spot some others?
The interior was done to appear stock. It was originally red on red on red but to add some color contrast the dash, carpet and tops of the doors were painted satin black.
The odometer reads 65322 and is also believed to be original. The steering wheel is the factory one. The radio looks vintage but is a modern unit with blue tooth and is backed up by modern retro speakers. The tach is a vintage Rotunda literally from 1969. Mike has the original box it came it.

Mailing List & Sharing

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.