Although I thought I'd never build another street rod it seems that the itch always returns. But, this time it returned from a different direction. When my older son wanted to buy his first car I suggested an older 60's vintage car and helped him locate a 1963 Fairlane 500 2DR hardtop. Then when my younger son needed a car the hunt produced the 1964 Ranch Wagon on the right. We had been working on both of these cars for a couple of years when the itch hit. I love wagons and when a wagon became available I jumped at the chance.
Well, It's going to be a long time before my wagon matches my son's. I found this car through a friend I met on the internet. It was his parts car, but it was so straight he didn't want to part it out. We made a deal and I picked it up December of 2003. The first stop was to the car wash to remove several years of dirt and grime. Since this is my second street rod I knew what I was in for. I wanted to approach this rebuild with an eye on upgrading the engine, trans and suspension with late model parts. During the winter of the first year I spent most of my time acquiring parts and the rest on a leisurely teardown.
This is where the wagon is after 2 1/2 years. Follow the story of the restoration on the following pages.
INDEX
Page 1 - History
Page 2 - Suspension Rebuild
Page 3 - Body Restoration
Page 4 - Body Restoration (cont.)
Page 5 - Body Restoration (cont.)
Page 6 - Body Restoration (cont.)
Page 7 - First photos outside ...!!!!
Page 8 - Body Restoration (cont.)
Page 9 - Vent window removal
Page 10 - Dash and Gauge Cluster
Page 11 - Paint
Page 12 - Slammed - Wheels and AirRide Suspension
Page 13 - Floor Pan Replacement
Page 14 - Door Repair
Page 15 - Wheel Well "Mini-Tubs"
Page 16 - "AirRide" installation
Page 17 - "Bad Chrome"
Page 18 - "Shaving the Handles"
Page 19 – Body Restoration/Steering Column Install Page 20 - "Bagged and in the Weeds" Page 21-23 - Final fit and finish Page 24 - 2006 Fairlane Nationals Reno,Nev Page 25 - Future Engine Page 26 - Shock Tower Braces Page 27 - Engine Installation
