Find or Sell Used Cars, Trucks, and SUVs in USA

1966 Ford Fairlane Base Model 4 Door Sedan on 2040-cars

Year:1966 Mileage:160000 Color: Black /
 beige
Location:

Edmonds, Washington, United States

Edmonds, Washington, United States
Advertising:
Transmission:C4 automatic
Engine:289 2v
Body Type:4 door sedan
Vehicle Title:Clear
Fuel Type:Gasoline
For Sale By:Private Seller
VIN: 6K32C239555 Year: 1966
Exterior Color: Black
Make: Ford
Interior Color: beige
Model: Fairlane
Number of Cylinders: 8
Trim: base 4 door sedan
Drive Type: rear wheel
Mileage: 160,000
Sub Model: base
Condition: UsedA vehicle is considered used if it has been registered and issued a title. Used vehicles have had at least one previous owner. The condition of the exterior, interior and engine can vary depending on the vehicle's history. See the seller's listing for full details and description of any imperfections.Seller Notes:"See description below"

I am the second owner of this vehicle.  The original owner was the City of Long Beach, California and I bought it at the municipal garage auction in 1980.  It had under 59,000 miles on it when I bought it.  This was a District Special Order car for the city and the DSO number is stamped on the VIN plate.  The DSO consisted of heavy duty brakes (2.50 front x 2.00 rear), heavy duty radiator, HD battery, thick sway bar on front suspension (so it won't roll going through a corner like other base model cars), and I suppose some other stuff.  Originally it was an odd gray-green color, special order on fleet cars, but common on Ford trucks in the 40's and 50's.  The city resprayed it in green and since then, it has been resprayed black.  


This car has a 289 2v V-8 engine.  Because it was originally sold in California, it has the Thermactor emissions system on it which is still intact and still works.  Over the years, I've replaced the gulp valve and a couple of other things on the system.  The transmission is a C4 automatic.

Condition.  I've heard too many horror stories about people buying cars online only to find out that the description was inadequate to the actual condition of the car.  I'll tell everything I know about this car; after 33 years, I've had plenty of time to become familiar with it.  By the time I'm done, you'll run away screaming, "No! No! No!" but I can't be anything but honest about it.

From 1980 until about 1987, the car was in use as a work car; from 1987 until 1997 I drove it to work in Wash. state.  From 1997 until 2000, it was in dry storage in so. CA.  From about 2000 to 2008, it was stored outside in WA and driven occasionally.  From 2008 until present, it has been stored in my garage here in WA state.  These days, I drive it every few months.  It starts easily without priming after sitting for extended periods.

The body is pretty straight, no rust in the floors, rocker panels, quarter panels, etc.  The only rust I know of is a bubbled spot in one lower corner of the driver's door; and two small pots below the rear glass that show bubbles.  The car body has numerous little dings in it from use and storage (small objects got dropped on it now and then).  Circa 1988, I backed into a tree with the right rear corner and damaged it which was repaired professionally by a body shop with the insurance company paying the bill.  The clear, untinted glass is in good condition with some scratches on the driver's side window.  the windshield is intact with no cracks or hawk-eyes but has a few light pock marks.  Front bumper is so-so, with two rust-dripped areas below the hood cracks where water ran for years.  I got some "chrome paint" at the auto parts store to touch up these areas, but it doesn't look anything like the cap on the can.  It looks like silver paint.  Sigh.  The pie-pan aluminum trim is somewhat dull all around; the lacquer coating on these wasn't meant to hold up for 40 years.  

The interior is kind of a mess.  The front seat was rebuilt and recovered in original fabric in 1986, but it has splits in it again and needs work. The headliner stitching in the back has rotten and popped apart but there are holes in the C pillar areas anyway so it needs replacement.  The instrument panel pad looks like a bomb went off over it.  The instrument panel knobs have been replaced with 1961 Linc. Continental hardware, which was my handy-work because I thought that '66 Fairlane knobs were the ugliest ever.  I still do.  This car, as a base model, has rubber floor mats rather than carpet and these are still in pretty good condition.  

The car was built without a radio.  Not long after I bought it, I got the radio, antenna, and instrument panel plastic and installed what would now be called the "sound system."  I don't know if it works these days, as I never listen to AM radio anymore.  

The 289 is the original engine to the car.  It runs good, doesn't smoke but for many years hasn't had a smooth idle.  I suspect it has a burned valve but I haven't done a compression check on it for over 25 years to confirm.  I've driven it on multi-thousand mile trips in this condition and it still gets 18-19 mpg on the highway.  It's been my practice to change the engine oil and filter every 3,000 miles on the engine so can say that it doesn't use oil between changes.  I've never heard any bottom end noise in this engine, even before the oil galleries get refilled after an oil change.  It has a Motorcraft 2v replacement carb on it that the city put on in 1974.  

The C4 transmission shifts fine.  I had it out for resealing in the 1980's but that's the only work that's been done to it other than periodic changing of the ATF and filter.   The car has the removable carrier differential and it is fairly quiet.  I've replaced both axle bearings in it over the years.  The service brakes are good, no leaking cylinders, lots of lining left, good master cylinder which I replaced once.   Tires are economy radials 205-75Rx14 with about 12,000 miles on them and in good condition.   The car has power steering, it's in good condition, works fine and the hoses do not leak.  Front suspension is in good condition; I've replaced the upper control ("A") arms twice.  Second time, I had an old guy cut lube access holes in the spring towers so the second set has lasted longer with regular lubrication.  

Let's see, what have I forgotten.  Oh, the electricals are all fine on the car and everything works, but then again, when a car has so little equipment on it, how much can go wrong??

So I will end with what courtroom lawyers get a shot at, a summation.  This car isn't a glamor car like most '66 Fairlanes remaining, you know, muscle cars, convertibles, etc.  However, "remaining" is the operative word.  As a special order car, this wasn't entirely routine when made, and now, how many of these former "working" cars can there be left?  My guess, not many.

Please feel free to message me with any questions you might have.


Auto Services in Washington

Womack Auto Body Inc ★★★★★

Automobile Body Repairing & Painting, Truck Body Repair & Painting
Address: 9831 SE Powell Blvd, Vancouver
Phone: (866) 595-6470

Trusted Choice Auto Care ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Brake Repair, Automobile Inspection Stations & Services
Address: 1018 Plum St SE, Lacey
Phone: (360) 628-8290

Tire Store ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Tire Dealers
Address: 3817 E Sprague Ave, Marshall
Phone: (509) 535-9251

Thurston County Transmission ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Auto Transmission, Automobile Inspection Stations & Services
Address: 4022 Pacific Ave SE, Tumwater
Phone: (360) 529-0294

Thunderbird Vintage ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Body Repairing & Painting, Antique & Classic Cars
Address: 5236 Guide Meridian, Lummi-Island
Phone: (360) 398-2373

Taskar Garage ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service
Address: 7501 15th Ave NW, Kingston
Phone: (206) 297-6066

Auto blog

Ford F-150, Toyota Tacoma top ASG list of most eco-friendly trucks

Mon, Mar 31 2014

No one's going to confuse the massively popular Ford F-150 pickup truck with a green vehicle, but at least it performs well in an environmental sense when compared to its brethren. The Automotive Science Group (ASG) took on the odd (to us, at least) task of measuring which pickup trucks are friendliest to the environment and found that the big seller in the Blue Oval's flagship F-series came up big, while the Toyota Tacoma came up, well, slightly smaller. That's a good thing. Among the 245 light-duty trucks that ASG studied, the 3.7-liter V6-powered F-150 won ASG's award for full-size trucks for both regular and crew cabs. Meanwhile, the 2.7-liter Toyota Tacoma, with its fuel-economy rating of 23 miles per gallon combined, had smallest overall life-cycle carbon footprint and won ASG's two mid-sized categories. Finally, the Chevrolet Silverado won best all-around performance in the full-size extended-cab category. The ASG factored in eco-friendliness, price and social performance (which is measured by, "considering the rights of those charged with vehicle manufacture and assembly") to come up with its findings. Sales of Ford's F-Series trucks rose 8.4 percent last year to 74,592 units and accounted for more than a third of the total 2013 sales of Ford and its Lincoln unit. Check out the ASG's press release below. Truck Buyers Faced With "Eco" Options Galore Which 2014 full-size trucks warrant eco claims? 25 March 2014 [Santa Rosa, CA] – With a myriad of eco-branded trucks hitting the North American marketplace in 2014 – from Ford's EcoBoost and GM's EcoTec3 to Ram's latest addition, the EcoDiesel – the Automotive Science Group (ASG) was prompted to offer an objective, scientifically-based assessment to determine exactly which 2014 trucks actually earn their "eco" badge. According to ASG and the principles of ecological economics, a vehicle's eco-rating must be multi-faceted to include both environmental and economic considerations, and so the Group's proprietary rating platform – the Automotive Performance Index – does just that. Using a unique combination of vehicle data inputs that include conventional specifications as well as social, environmental and economic performance indicators, ASG's vehicle assessments empower consumers to make choices based on one's personal principles and financial requisites.

Ford recalls 1.9m cars and crossovers for defective airbags

Wed, Jun 1 2016

The Basics: Ford is recalling a total of 1,898,728 vehicles to replace defective Takata front passenger-side airbags. This includes the 2007-2010 Ford Edge, 2006-2011 Ford Fusion, 2005-2011 Ford Mustang, 2007-2011 Ford Ranger, 2007-2010 Lincoln MKX and 2006-2011 Lincoln MKZ, Zephyr and Mercury Milan vehicles built in North America. The Problem: The defective airbags have been linked to ruptures that can send metal fragments at the passenger, due to deteriorating propellant. Injuries/Deaths: Ford claims it's not aware of any injuries due to the problem, but rupturing Takata airbags have been linked to a series of serious injuries and deaths. The Fix: Dealers will replace the passenger-side frontal airbag at no charge to the customer. If you own one: Look out for a letter from the manufacturer to arrange service at your local dealer. If you'd like to check if your vehicle is affected, click on the safety recalls link on Ford.com and enter your VIN. Related Video:

Ford gets colorful with Mustang anniversary infographic

Thu, 24 Oct 2013

Preparing to celebrate its 50th birthday, the Ford Mustang has seen a lot of vehicle trends come and go, and this especially goes for paint colors. Using historical production data, Ford has managed to create an infographic dating back to 1967 that breaks down the three top Mustang colors for each year as well as calling out some of the more interesting trends and colors over the years.
Over its five generations, the Mustang has been offered in a seemingly endless rainbow - from Playboy Pink in '67 and color-changing Mystichrome on the 2004 Cobra - but the most popular has always been red, which is the color of choice for 21 percent of all Mustangs ever made. Almost every year since 1967, red has been among the top three colors for the Mustang, but other popular colors have included blue, white, brown and, most recently, black. There are even websites and registries available for people owning certain-color Mustangs.
As the all-new 2015 Mustang gets ready for its debut later this year, there's no telling what kind of exciting and/or wacky colors Ford has in store. Click on the image above to see the full infographic (choose the "large" option for optimal viewing), or check it out in a smaller size along with the press release posted below.