Allow us to introduce our '64 Ford Fairlane two-door sedan. It's a 500 as well as a scarce "post" version of the car. This pre-Mustang road warrior was destined for great things in the form of the Thunderbolt and was Ford's first line of defense during the horsepower wars in a pre-Mustang world. We love the hurly-burly aesthetic of the car. It has a sort of sturdy, masculine aura, and the car reminds us of the English bulldog with its lovable ugliness.
We invite you to follow along in Mustang & Fords with the old Fairlane as it undergoes the transformation from corn cob to prom queen. To find each of the stories on this car as we post them, simply click on "Search" on the home page, then select How To, and finally choose Ford/Fairlane/1964 from the dropdown menu. Hit Submit, and the system will pull up the full list of '64 Fairlane stories.
The first step was to replace the leaky tires and steel rims of various sizes. We chose to go with the timeless American Racing Torq Thrust "D" wheels. They're beautiful and make just the right classic musclecar statement.
BFGoodrich 225/60-15 Comp T/A ZR-4s complement the Torq Thrust wheels perfectly. Look at the improvement with nothing else but Torq Thrust "D" wheels and BFGoodrich T/As. It's amazing, changing our whole perception of the car. On a car with as much power potential as this V-8 Fairlane, we had to wonder, what could we do to upgrade the ancient drum brakes originally furnished on the car? New drums and metallic shoes would be one way to improve the system, but this would still leave us with the problems of fade, overheating, pulling to one side when wet, and high pedal effort. In truth, there is only one way to go for optimum braking performance--a conversion to front disc brakes.
In years past, this would have been a difficult undertaking. You would've had to improvise, gathering parts from all over to engineer a conversion. On a '64 Fairlane, disc brakes were not available, so there are no direct Fairlane disc brake parts to order from Ford.
We know of one chap who scours the boneyards looking for all the stuff he needs to complete a conversion. He has most of what's needed, but he is stalled because the lower ball joint stud size on his '64 Fairlane is different from that of the Lincoln Versailles whose parts he's been scavenging.
When we talked about our quandary with Auto Krafters of Broadway, Virginia, the staff assured us that help was on the way. Compared to a Mustang, a '64 Fairlane is pretty obscure. However, Auto Krafters is a Ford component resource that has nearly everything to help you with many postwar-model Fords. Its list of catalogs is a long one. Not only does Auto Krafters offer a large selection of Ford components, its technical assistance and customer support are excellent. Auto Krafters furnished a front disc brake kit made by Stainless Steel Brakes to fit the Fairlane and provide sure, safe stops every time. All the guesswork is eliminated, and the installation is straightforward.
The kit is a direct transplant of the '65-'66 Mustang kit, so there's nothing untested about it. It has the four-piston calipers and all of the Ford-type hardware found on the '65 disc-brake Mustang. It's a super-sanitary setup that represents a quantum leap forward in braking improvement. Everything is included in the kit, so let's get started.