Doug Schultz has pulled serious...
Doug Schultz has pulled serious g's on the autocross course from the confines of this interior, but stays planted in Pontiac Fiero-sourced buckets. Custom touches go hand in hand with more traditional bolt-ins, such as a Flaming River tilt column and a Billet Specialties steering wheel. The console conceals controls for heater/defroster, wipers, door locks, and airbags.
Show car quality is evident throughout; it's most easily detected where most visible-the exterior and interior. Byers Custom and Restoration performed the awesome body and paintwork using two-stage PPG products in Salsa Red and Titanium-the latter using a flattener in the clearcoat for the desired effect. The inside is pure custom through a combination of Schultz's skilled hands and McFarland Custom Upholstery. From the supple leather and suede seats to the hand-built console and Auto Meter-laden dash, you can't help but be impressed. Yet one of the smallest items imaginable really defines the attention to detail. Like any extensive rollcage, the 10-point assembly herein, largely hidden, is prone to interfere with certain interior functions. Specifically, we're speaking of the rear quarter-window crank. Schultz surely could have gone with power-window mechanisms to alleviate the swing of the stock-style cranks, but instead chose a different route. With only a 45-degree swing available due to the 'cage, a ratcheting feature was incorporated into the stock arrangement, enabling fully functioning windows-very cool, and just part of a functional theme that separates this '66 from mere static posers.
When Schultz launched his Fairlane's build, the stated goal was to "create a hot rod that retained some of its muscle car heritage (i.e., big motor, manual trans, and period styling cues, like the 427 hood) while bringing it into the 21st century." By nature, it had to "go fast, stop fast, corner fast, and be comfortable to sit in." Schultz has surely nailed all of this and then some, proving there's no reason a Ford can't be built to compete in the top tier of any type of automotive competition-including Street Machine of the Year. While that may come as no surprise to our jaded readership demographic, we give big props to Schultz for going where few have gone before.
The Details
Doug Schultz's '66 Fairlane
Engine
- Ford Racing 460ci-based 514-inch stroker
- 4.39-inch bore
- 4.30-inch stroke cast crank
- Eagle H-beam rods
- Forged dished pistons for 9.8:1 compression ratio
- FRPP solid roller cam, 0.640-inch lift, 254/258 degrees duration at 0.050
- FRPP Super Cobra Jet heads
- Victor Jr. intake w/ACCEL throttle body and 68 lb/hr injectors
- ACCEL Gen VII DFI
- MSD 6A ignition
- MSD crank trigger
Transmission
- Richmond six-speed
- Centerforce clutch
- Lakewood bellhousing
Rearend
- Owner narrowed 9-inch
- 3.50 gears
- Auburn posi
- Dutchman 31-spline axles
Exhaust
- Owner built 2 1/8-inch headers
- Spintech mufflers
- 3-inch pipes
Suspension
- Front: Modified Heidts Super Ride II, Air Ride Technologies Shock Waves, 1 1/4-inch 0.120-inch tubular chrome-moly sway bar, Flaming River Mustang II rack-and-pinion
- Rear: Parallel four-bar, Watt's Link, Air Ride Technologies Shock Waves, 1 1/4-inch 0.120-inch tubular chrome-moly sway bar
Brakes
- Front: Baer 13-inch cross-drilled/slotted disc, two-piston caliper
- Rear: Baer 12-inch drilled/slotted disc, single-piston caliper
Wheels
- Front: Boyd Coddington, 18x7
- Rear: Boyd Coddington, 20x12
Tires
- Front: Michelin Pilot, P225/40R18
- Rear: Michelin Pilot, P335/35R20
Interior
- Full custom, with upholstery, door panels, and console by McFarland Upholstery. Auto Meter carbon-fiber gauges, Pontiac Fiero bucket seats, 10-pt. rollcage, Flaming River tilt column, and Billet Specialties steering wheel.
Exterior
- Body and paint by Byers Custom and Restoration, using two-stage PPG in Salsa Red and Titanium. Crites fiberglass 427 hood, and hand-fabricated rear spoiler.