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LOST 1967 FAIRLANE R-CODE DISCOVERED!!
It's one of those stories you hear and file under "Urban Legend", but in this case it's true! A "1 of 1" 1967 Ford Fairlane 427 R-Code found in a pasture in South Dakota, rescued and being brought back to life by Jim Walters of Plant City, FL. Sinister Kustoms is proud to have been chosen as Jim's restoration shop for this project. Keep checking this page for updates on this exciting build!
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The History:
Around 1983 , Paul Herman met a guy who knew where there was a 1967 Fairlane that he might be able to get some decent parts off of to build his race car. He found it in pretty good shape even though the drive train was missing - and it had a door, trunk lid and some trim he needed. Paul paid the farmer who owned it $200, put a bucket in it, and had a friend steer for 15 miles to get the car home to Clark, South Dakota. Once home, Paul stripped the car and used the driver's door, deck lid, grille, trim, front bumper and who knows what else to build his race car. What was left of the old Fairlane sat unnoticed next to his garage in town until Paul finally towed it to a friend's pasture, where it sat for the next 20 years.
In 2008 Paul rejoined the Fairlane Club, where he met Mark Van Cleve who taught him much about these cars, including how to decode them. Paul kept thinking about the old Fairlane in the pasture and the one thing the seller had told him...this car had been a big block V8 with a 4-speed! Paul went to the pasture where the Fairlane still sat, and when he looked at the VIN he just about fainted. He immediately removed both fenders to see if they matched - there was no question...7H40R!!
After some soul searching Paul decided to sell the car. About this time Alan Woodall of Texas was looking for parts for his Fairlane and came across Jim Walters of Plant City. In their conversation Alan told Jim he had heard about a basket case R-Code in South Dakota he might be interested in, and gave Jim Paul's number. One month later the R Code was residing comfortably in Jim's garage in Florida!
A check with Marti Auto Works shows this car is 1 of 72 built with the 427 V8 engine. Of those it was 1 of 3 built with Brittany Blue paint, and only 1 of 2 built with blue vinyl bucket seats. Of the two Brittany Blue Fairlanes built with blue bucket seats, one was built with a deluxe steering wheel......Jim's Fairlane is THAT FAIRLANE!!
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It's been a long process, but now the prep work is done and the R-Code is ready to be brought back to life!
Spot welds have been drilled out and the donors disassembled. The shock towers, radiator core support and K-Member have been carefully removed from the R-Code and replaced with items from the donors - the numbered upper radiator support remains original. Things will start happening a lot faster now - stay tuned for updates.
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Front end is on - now on to rotisserie for more work.
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