Ford Fairlane 1955 to 1970: The History, All the Models, & Features

Ford Fairlane was one of the best selling cars in the history of the Ford Motor Company it named after the Dearborn, Michigan estate of Henry Ford, the Henry Ford. It was introduced as the flagship of the Ford line up and 5 years later to relegated to fleet use only to reemerge as a top seller again in the 60’s. I can think of no Ford nameplate that went through such drastic and complete changes both in terms of size as well in the customer Ford was targeting as a buyer. It’s a story of riches to rags to riches and then back to rags again. See if you agree me and let’s take a look at all things Ford Fairlane.
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[@lesliearblaster2711]

My family moved from upstate NY to Miami Florida. Dad drove us from Balston to south Miami in a turquoise 1956 Ford Fairlane.....Dad , Mom, baby brother Vikki,our English setter and 2 year old me. It was some trip!

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@CJColvin]

The 66-67 Fairlanes will always be my favorite.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

I have always liked those as well. Never owned one but have been close to pulling the trigger several times.

[@richardbrimble1319]

Hi Tony I’m loving your content. As you mentioned Ford Australia continued the Fairlane with great success over here in Aus. Fairlane started manufacturing in Aus in 1966 and was a mix of US styling until we released the Australian designed versions in the early 70’s once the US ceased manufacturing. Fairlane and Falcon were Ford icons in the Australian market, Aussie made classics.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

I'm glad to hear you are enjoying it! I wish Ford U.S. would have stuck with a few of the Nameplates a bit longer especially the Falcon. One of these days I will dig into the Australian High Performance Fords. I am interested I just need to have enough data to drawn from.

[@dmandman9]

My brother had a 1962 Fairlane. He kept it until around 1977 or so. He loved it we loved it. It had AC and a 260.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

That's a great car! Thanks for watching!

[@joseantoniomartinsdovale4856]

i had a1959 that was gorgeous

[@rogerhinman5427]

I've always had a soft spot for the 1966 body style. Dad was thinking about a new car then and I was hoping he'd get one. Nope. He waited until the Maverick came out and he ordered one as soon as he could.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Same here. I have looked at several over the years. It just never was the right car for the right money. One of these days.

[@michaelwhite2823]

Love these! Now do the Galaxie and Thunderbird. Thanks.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thank you! I did one on the first gen T-bird and Galaxie will happen in the future. Th T-Bird can be found here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYWmYnZ7ZZxkqbc

[@OldDood]

I remember watching The Andy Griffith Show as a 5 & 6 year old. They had those nice looking Fords. Especially the 60-61 seasons.

[@davidmccaffery7977]

My first car was a green, 65 4dr 6cyl 3on the tree, tried junk..in need of everything...wish I still had her... thanks,great job Tony

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thank you for David!

[@thebionicbassplayer]

Well put together documentary. My Dad owned a 57 and 67 Ford Fairlane. The 67 was a copper color sedan. I'll never forget the floor mounted dimmer switch caught fire one night and he put it out by smothering it with a blanket! I was a little child and that didn't ,exactly endear me to the car, yet, he drove it another 10 years! 😮

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thank you for the kind words and for sharing your story!

[@P_RO_]

The "copper" color you allude to was named "Cinnamon Emberglo", and the color shifted based on the kind of lighting you viewed it in; almost red in sunshine, almost dark gold under sodium streetlights, and almost brown under a full moon and stars or incandescent lighting. You rarely see that exact color on anything except 66 and 67 Fairlanes. I'm not sure how they made that paint do what it did,or even if that was intentional, but it's crazy-cool in how it acts. A couple late model imports have a near-match color in the daytime but they don't shift colors nearly as much. My 66 XL was that color, but I was young and stupid so it's long gone now.

[@joemonahan2972]

We had a 67 convertible, copper with white interior. We all loved it. My GF was in a accident, not her fault where it was totaled. Love to find one for sale this color combination.

[@Craig2760]

I had a ‘67 Fairlane with a 289 v8 in high school. Loved it!

[@joemonahan2972]

Parents owned a 1967 Fairlane convertible. Copper with white interior. 289. It was beautiful. Love to find one like this for sale. In my late 60s...both parents passed but us 5 17:59 children talk about the Fairlane.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

That sounds like a nice car. They are out there and not as expensive as a Mustang but still pricey. Also replacement parts are much more expensive and harder to find for a Fairlane so spending a bit more to get the nice one sometimes makes a lot of sense. Best of luck!

[@joemonahan2972]

@@TonysFordsandMustangs Thank You! Joe

[@druballard8929]

You’re doing a great job on this channel. I like the format with the bit longer video. Gives more time for details and allows me to sit back and enjoy for a bit. Keep up the great work!

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thank you very much!

[@nathanhardin8530]

Excellent production

[@boudewynwagener7653]

Thank you very informative🤙🏻🤙🏻

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thank you for watching!

[@petertornabeni602]

This is great . . Thank you !!

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thank you for saying so and for watching! It is appreciated!

[@dmandman9]

Thanks for this video. Few people discuss the Fairlane. For some reason, the Fairlane seems to be the forgotten brand. But i remember it being fairly popular

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thank you for watching! I have alway loved Fairlanes especially the 66 & 67's. I make videos because I want to learn things and share what I learn. Most folks on KZbin are going for views and tend to make videos about cars that will get views.

[@dmandman9]

@@TonysFordsandMustangs I’m one who believes that when a person makes QUALITY content about a subject they love, they’ll generate interest by their passion. It may not generate the same interest as some content. But folk may be surprised. As for the Year models that grab my attention, it’s the 62-63 and the 66-67. Why? Because my oldest brothers shared a 1962 through their college years. And my cousin who was their same age had a 63. Of course I like looks of the 62 better because that’s what my brothers had😅. My aunt had a 66 . I liked the stacked headlight look that was common among several car lines in the mid 1960s. But the reason THIS particular car was interesting was because she kept it long enough for me to get old enough to actually do some work on it with its (well worn) 289. It would foul a spark plug every so often. And it had a main bearing knock on startup and a slight rod rattle when revved up when hot. But it kept going. My aunt drove it around town to work as well as the once weekly 20 mile each way trip to church on Sundays. Personal memories mean a lot.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

@@dmandman9 Thank you for the kind words and for sharing your story.

[@banditta4life66]

Seeing the 2 red 68 Sportsroofs really brought back memories of my first Ford a red on red 68 Sportsroof with the 302 automatic. Car took 18 year old me's abuse and still ran strong even after the transmission and the rear end gave up with close to 200,000 miles. Some guy put the 302 in his work truck and got another 5 years out of it and only quit using it because he wrapped it around a tree.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thank you for watching and sharing your story!

[@saleen367]

Those 1966/67 stacked headlight Fairlane 500's are sweet. Its a shame they didn't develop the 428CJ in time for that design. Can you imagine the engineering alone that went into each model from the late 50's thru 1970? Its staggering considering a model may go as long as 16 years now days without a noticeable exterior change (Nissan GTR).

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

I agree. I had looked at few 66/67 Fairlanes over the years but never picked one up. The 390 really wasn't a great performance engine. As to the styling changes I agree again. It's crazy to think that Ford changed body styles that many times in that short amount of time.

[@richcoleman469]

Very enjoyable. I bought a 57 Fairlane in 67 and a 79 Fairlane in Argentina in 2002 with the same body as a 69 in the USA

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thank you for sharing and for watching!

[@P_RO_]

You covered everything quite well and it's a well-produced vid. But you made one error several times throughout: When the Falcon was available it, and not the Fairlane, was Ford's entry-level car. The Falcon was considered a 'compact' with the Fairlane being an 'intermediate' size, but most Falcons could seat six people in a pinch as could a Maverick which replaced the Falcon as 'entry-level'. You can't fit six in a compact today- my how times have changed! I had a 66 Fairlane XL 289 2V auto and a 67 Fairlane 500 289 2V with a three speed converted to floor shift. Loved both and wish I still had either one. IMHO some of the best cars ever built.

[@davidallen5776]

I learned to drive on a '66 Fairlane once upon a time!

[@GarveyMustangMan]

Have yet to ever see a true 64 Fairlane Thunderbolt in my lifetime.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

I saw one in the early 80's and there was a Thunderbolt reunion at Carlisle a few years back and I'm thinking there were 10 plus there. Those cars were insane.

[@CJColvin]

You should do a video about what if Ford both Studebaker and Packard in 1954 and turn em into divisions under Ford Motor Company (like Studebaker competes with Pontiac while Packard competes with Buick so that Ford can focus on Chevrolet, Mercury can focus on Oldsmobile and Lincoln can focus on Cadillac) instead of creating the Edsel and Continental divisions in 1958?

[@TeslaRoadtrips]

I love at 16:30 the car is literally parked in the water lol.

[@tomtbi]

I have built a few model kits of Fairlanes and Victorias...

[@davidallen5776]

The 1968-71 generation was the one I became spoiled with!

[@joseantoniomartinsdovale4856]

I also had a Ford Galaxy convertible 1967 with a V8 289cid

[@stealthmode8444]

QQ, could you do a review on Centurion Classics. How they started and went about doing conversion vehicles. I can’t find any history on it and would like to learn more about it. Thanks

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

I don't see me doing a video on a specific conversion company as there were several back in the day. That said I did sell quite a few Centurion Trucks and vans back in the late 80's at the Ford dealership I worked at. If I remember correctly, they purchased plain jane vans and trucks direct from Ford through fleet sales and made conversations to order. Their salesperson used to stop by the dealership every couple of months to chat to with our sales department. These went out of favor with the rise of minivans and SUV's. They were a bit pricey and the tape lines on the paint stripes always had steps. That said people who were big into camping and tailgating loved them.

[@tomtbi]

Merry Christmas BTW!!

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thank you! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

[@CJColvin]

The Canadian version of the Ford Fairlane is the Meteor Rideau.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

One of these days I need to dig into all the Canadian and Australian Fords. Especially the high performance models. Thanks for watching!

[@CJColvin]

@@TonysFordsandMustangs You're welcome brother

[@kenmiller5954]

what about the galixy 500 line

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

That will be a separate video at some point down the road. Thanks for watching!

[@HustlehousePA1978]

Man, Id sell my pancreas for a 55 or 56 crown victoria!

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

I think you could pick one up for a bit less ;) Thanks for watching!

[@spacemissing]

My first car was a 1969 Fairlane wagon, white with red interior, 302, automatic. It was pretty good but I would have liked it better with power steering. Unfortunately it was ruined by a drunk 16-year-old girl who crashed her Dodge Colt into it.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Sorry to hear of the fate of your wagon.

[@jimgoff1170]

I personally think the thunderbolt is the best looking fairlane ever, and almost all years could look good, but what happened in 1965? The only year that was just plain ugly.

[@glenruginski4812]

Love these commercials 👍

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Glad you like them!