Barry Bloomberg of Eagle Point, Oregon, is the proud owner of this fantastic '63 Fairlane 500 sports coupe. The good-looking hardtop represents the last of the finned Ford cars. The flamboyant fins would not reappear on any Ford for the 1964 model year.
As clean as if it were on the showroom floor, the black and gold paint scheme used on the engine is correct for the '63 car. The exhaust manifolds shown here are a special casting designed especially for the K-code Fairlane.
The Fairlane nameplate was reintroduced into the Ford model lineup in 1962 and was the platform for the newest Ford V-8 engine, which became known as the Fairlane V-8. The 260ci displacement of the new engine grew to 289 for 1963. What's special about this car is that it was factory equipped with the K-code version of the 289. The "Hi-Po" K engine was the top powerplant option for the '63 Fairlane. Equipped with solid lifters to eliminate valve float, the K-code V-8 wound up like a chainsaw right to the 6,000-rpm mark. The mill was making almost 1 hp per cubic inch at 271 hp. This was right in the same league-or was better than-many of the Fairlane's high-performance contemporaries.
Finding any vintage Ford from this period is getting harder; finding one so specially equipped and in this condition is even more challenging. As you study this car, you're probably thinking what a nice restoration we have here. Could even be a rotisserie job.
The inside of Barry's Fairlane looks factory fresh and features an exacting refurbishment of the carpet and upholstery. Everything else in the interior is original equipment. The substantial floor console was a good-looking factory option available with the manual transmission.
You'd be wrong, though, because the car has never been restored. It is, in fact, a high-performance time capsule from 1963. With just 31,400 miles on the odometer, it's easy to understand why Barry doesn't drive it on the street; the Hi-Po sports coupe is seen only at car shows.
There's no interpretation here, as this car represents what you got when you ordered the Ford factory hot rod from this period. Remember that the Mustang was still over a year away, so unless you had a big-block Galaxie, the K-code version of this car was as good as it got. Barry owned this Fairlane once before and sold it at the Barrett Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. When he happened upon the car again, he purchased it for the second time. He says this time around he'll hold on tight to the cool '63 Fairlane. Barry, we wouldn't let this one go either.