Project Fastlane Fairlane
 

Time to put some power into my '70 Ford Fairlane.

The original engine wasn't too bad, except is was SLOW (17.64 at 77 mph.. lol)

And the oil leaks kept getting worse and worse. At idle the oil light would come on. Is that bad?

I can't stand oil leaks so it was time for action..

9am
http://picsorban.com/upload/fair1.jpg

1pm
http://picsorban.com/upload/fair2.jpg

Anyone in SoCal need a 302 and C4 trans core?

Best Of Show then spent 4 days scraping the engine bay, degreesing it and then we sprayed it low gloss black. The underside of the whole car was scraped clean (we found zero rust) then coated in black undercoat. With the new rear, alum driveshaft and new tranny it should look very sanitary when done.

The car is a driver, not a show car but it will still be pretty nice with an old school vibe.

After I run 11.80s a couple of times I might put in a TKO600 and AC system. Maybe a trip to Chris Alson for some Total Control stuff.

Then I will sell her and start the next project, trying to figure out what that might be. 70 Monte Carlo? :shrug:

Anyways, I post progress pics as I go. The full story will be covered in PHR.

http://picsorban.com/upload/fair11.jpg

So where's the freshly painted engine bay and underside pics?:D

What motor you putting in?

John

Will have them early next week.. I was closing out the Dec issue so I wasn't there when AAA moved the car from BOS to Don Lee Auto where Tim and I will drop in the new engine.

The new engine is the 408 I just built. It put out 550/530 on the engine dyno.

http://www.lifeinwidescreen.com/siihp/408.jpg

WOW!!!

That thing is SWEEEEETT!!! What do yo think your 1/4 times will be?

John

Hoping for 11.80s... "should" be capable of 11.50.

Looks good!! So that's what you do in your spare time...and here I thought getting Penny reasy for SEMA would be enough to keep you busy! ;)

Technically this is what I do on my on time. The Fairlane is my "work" car, Penny is my "off time" car.

Yea, I'm swampped. Working on two cars, both with deadlines and I had all my writing to do. Add in that my wife wants to go on vacation for a week (Yellowstone) and I haven't a moment to spare.

Maybe that's why I'm working at 5:40 AM on a Sunday morning.. :(

sounds nice what all are you going to do to the car.

Lookin' good!

Steve that is going to wake her up ALOT! I wish we were closer I'd take that 302/C4 off your hands...:cool:

Yea, it's sorta messy and hard to ship. lol

New engine in place.. now for the hard part.

http://www.lifeinwidescreen.com/siihp/engin.jpg

Man that's as clean as a Firetruck. Sweet.

Still need to tidy up some wiring and such but the engine bay is very roomy. The only "bad spot" in the bay is under where the battery used to be. I need to make a patch panel for it.

Should be a fun cruiser. Gonna hate to sell her eventually.

Today we installed the March pully system. I would just like to say that the kit lined up perfectly and fit like a glove. Not an easy task on a Ford engine. Nice to have serpentine belts.

http://picsorban.com/upload/march1.jpg

We also installed the Hughes trans and a few other things. Just need to install the cooling system, wire up the engine and install the ratchet TCI shifter. Learning a LOT about Fords...

Once you clean up the wires under the hood it gonna look pretty good.

Yea, I've ditched a lot of them, going to neaten up what's left and just make it sanitary. Was never built to be a "show car" just a very clean and fun street car.

One problem.. my Vr. Jr doesn't have ANY spots to draw vacuum from... couldn't they have put ONE bung??? dammit!

Did the cooling system today.

The Holley throttle bracket was $95 and worth every single penny.. the part is PERFECT.

Need to finish wiring, route stuff, install shifter and a bunch of little stuff.

http://picsorban.com/upload/fair3.jpg

Holley buys that bracket and we are now a dealer for that company. Could have saved ya $20. Always timing isn't it? However they have some other sic stuff I will be putting up for sale very shortly. :thumbsup:

Well, you could have saved someone.. lol

I highly reccomend the bracket for any Holley carb deal, it works like a charm.

The engine is in and running.. damn this thing is loud open header.. lol

It's at Magnaflow right now getting a system designed. That place has some SERIOUS equipment. Like a machine that can mandrel bend 4-inch pipe..

Thank god I have the GT hood, the air cleaner should JUST clear. (fingers crossed)

Almost time to go open a can of whup-ass on a certain Chevelle ;)

http://picsorban.com/upload/4082.jpg

http://picsorban.com/upload/magna.jpg

looks great! The picture quality is amazing too.

wow is all i can say. You've really cleaned her up in short period of time.

keep the pics coming

Damn that looks nice.
Have you fired her up yet? Those windsor motors sure sound mean and purty. :thumbsup:

Yea, we drove her into Magnaflow. Everyone came into the shop to see what was making all the noise. Sounded killer.

I, like an idiot, forgot my vid camera.. but Magnaflow is going to do before and after vid of what she sounds like.

Car sounded... angry.. :)

Great pics:thumbsup:

Steve,
The engine compartment looks clean :thumbsup:

Did you take the Camaro floor mats out of that ford?

Yeah, looks pretty clean........for a Ford. :lol:

Man, the guys at Magnaflow KNOW how to build an exhaust.. the fitment was amazing.

three-inch stainless... I thought they were going to do coated steel but when I got there they had this ready to go on.

The Ford sounds killer, I need to do some tuning now that the exhaust is on and clean up a few things. Oh, and put on the hood. Then I can install a few gauges and widgets.

http://picsorban.com/upload/muffle.jpg

Damn nice job! I can only wish we had shops around here capable of doing that. :thumbsup:

Steve I love you.

This picture has finally helped me figure out how I am going to paint my Garage.

ps- your car looks awesome

http://picsorban.com/upload/magna.jpg

Chassis dyno results...

448 rwhp
404 rwtq

:woot:

The car looks great Steve, I recall when it was on auction on eBay and I was waffling whether or not to bid $12k, as the last second, I decided not to. My mistake LOL, if you ever contemplate selling her, put me first in line. :cheers:

Looking sharp Steve, maybe you'll learn enough about Fords to change your mind about selling it :D Ever thought about fabbing up a shock tower brace? That firewall could present a challenge though.

She will be for sale in a few months.. I will need the $$$ to fund the next build. But I will miss the car, a very nice cruiser.

Yea, it really helped me relearn all I had forgotten since my last Ford project. If I was super wealthy I could keep all my cars. Time to go buy that lotto ticket. lol

What are you building next?

Not sure.. depends what "brand" I'm approved for.. Mopar.. Maybe a nice 70s Nova.

My vote
 

My vote:

'Would love to see you do a 70-73 Firebird/Formula/Trans Am Steve!

Stroker 400/462 Poncho, 6-speed, Hotchkis TVS or Air Ride, etc.

V/R,
Ty

yes!!!! i would love to watch a 70's nova build!!!! now what will your next project attempt to accomplish? will it be pro-touring or something else?