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
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

Z Sport ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Auto Oil & Lube
Address: 3532 Smith Ave, Mukilteo
Phone: (425) 259-4691

Woodinville Auto Repair ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Brake Repair
Address: 15632 NE Woodinville Duvall Pl, Woodinville
Phone: (425) 481-1927

West Hills Honda ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, New Car Dealers, Used Car Dealers
Address: 520 W Hills Blvd, Manchester
Phone: (360) 377-1100

Walther`s Garage ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service
Address: 6125 60th St SE, Marysville
Phone: (425) 334-1555

Timex Automotive ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service
Address: PO Box 28744, Fairfield
Phone: (509) 981-6994

The Pit Stop Auto Service & Detail ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Body Repairing & Painting, Automobile Detailing
Address: 638 116th Ave NE, Medina
Phone: (425) 467-3453

Auto blog

Ford Shelby GT350R, GT successor, F-150 Raptor and more rumored for Detroit debut

Mon, Dec 1 2014

According to a pair of reports from Hearst's car mags, Car and Driver and Road & Track, Ford has a whole mess of good stuff on deck for the Detroit Auto Show in January. And it all sounds awesome. First, expect to see a hotter version of the Shelby GT350 in Detroit, likely called GT350R. Think of this as the already-hot Shelby with even more track-focused bits baked in – brakes, tires, aero, etc. Everything about the GT350 sounds great, so expect this R variant to be something seriously fierce. As R&T suggests, if the GT350 is the company's new Boss 302, the R is the Laguna Seca. But that's not even close to the biggest news. Road & Track believes a proper Ford GT replacement will debut in Detroit – a road-going version of the Le Mans GTE-class car the Blue Oval is working on for 2016. We've heard about this before, but having the street-legal car debut in Detroit would be absolutely huge news. The performance story continues, though, with R&T suggesting that the next-gen Ford F-150 Raptor will bow in Detroit. Details are scarce about what, exactly, the aluminum-bodied desert stormer will hold, but we expect good things. Finally, Ford's hot hatches might make some news in the Motor City, too. Car and Driver seems to think the all-wheel-drive Focus RS will bow in The D, and that an updated version of the Fiesta ST will also show its face. Road & Track, meanwhile, believes the Focus RS showing will be saved for a European auto show – think Geneva – and our gut feeling is to agree with the R&T theory. All of these rumors point to Ford officially announcing its dedicated performance division – like Mercedes-AMG, BMW M, and so on. We've heard reports of a new, global performance brand from the company already, with the name 999 thrown out as a possibility. In any case, if these rumblings prove to be true, there's going to be a ton to drool over from Ford in January. Stay tuned.

Ford invests $682 million in Edge-producing Canadian facility

Sun, 22 Sep 2013

Ford announced that it's investing $682 million in its Oakville assembly plant in Ontario, Canada, to make it a global manufacturing plant, which the automaker also says secures 2,800 jobs there. Including this injection of cash, Ford has invested over $2 billion in Canada in the last decade, starting with nearly $1 billion for Oakville in 2004, and over $570 million for its Essex Engine Plant in 2010.
The move to make Oakville a global manufacturer of Ford vehicles means, "If consumers suddenly shift their buying habits, we can seamlessly change our production mix without having to idle a plant," says Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of the Americas.
Ford says that the latest investment will help it meet North American demand for the Oakville-produced Edge crossover, which is on track this year to beat 2007's US sales record of 130,000 Edges. The Ford Flex and Lincoln MKX and MKT are also manufactured at the plant.

Toyota tops Kelley Blue Book's Resale Value Awards

Tue, 27 Nov 2012

Kelley Blue Book announced its annual Best Resale Value Award winners, and we weren't too surprised to see the list dominated by Japanese automakers - mainly Toyota and Honda. KBB hands out the awards based on the projected residual value of mostly all 2013 model year vehicles, and Toyota skated home with a number of awards including 10 of the 22 overall categories and having five of its products in the top 10 for models with best resale value. KBB's Best Resale Value Awards were announced in the same week as the ALG Residual Value Awards, and there were many similarities between both lists, especially when it came to Toyota.
To come up with its winners, KBB measures depreciation over the first five years of ownership, and looks for the cars it expects to hold its value the best after this time; on average, the report says the 2013 model year vehicles will lose 61.8 percent of its value in five years. Of the 22 categories, 15 slots were filled by Toyota, Honda and Nissan products, while the Camaro and Porsche (Cayenne and Panamera) each took home a pair of awards. If Toyota has anything to be upset about in this list of cars, it's that categories for Hybrid/Alternative Energy Car and Electric Vehicle went to the Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Volt, respectively.
The overall top 10 models for the best resale value in 2013 are, in alphabetical order: