1966 Ford Fairlane 500 R-Code

1966 Ford Fairlane R-Code Description:

Motorsports and vehicles sold to the public have been intertwined for decades, especially between manufacturers in the united states and sanctioning bodies like NASCAR and NHRA. In fact, it's something that is still happening to this very day, take for instance, the new Dodge Demon - a street legal, supercharged HEMI, purpose built street legal race car that Dodge has promised to build only 3000 units of. Very rare by today's standards. If you take a step back in Automotive history and examine... the 1966 Ford Fairlane R-code program and you'll see how this program was being done over 50 years ago by the Ford Motor Company which produced one of the most power muscle cars of the era and one of the rarest cars of all time - Only 57 examples rolled off the assembly line. Here sitting before you is one of these rare 1966 Ford Fairlane 500's destined for the quarter mile. These vehicles were commissioned by Ford to compete with the likes of the HEMI. Ford completely redesigned the midsize Fairlane for '66, selling almost 76,000 units. One of the obvious and planned benefits of the overhaul was that the new car could accommodate the FE big block engine that would need make it nearly unstoppable on the drag strip. This example was sold new to Jim Plavney in Cleveland Ohio. According to a letter from the 2nd owner, who owned the vehicle from 1974 - 1978, Orders could only be placed on the Fairlane on Monday at the dealership. Jim would travel to his local dealership every Monday in hopes of finally placing his order one of these cars. The day finally came when Jim would purchase the vehicle for a grand total of $4512. The added race package with the 427 added $2,017 over the sticker price of a base 289 vehicle. This is all documented by the original window sticker that is still in the window today. The car is amazingly preserved and is one of the most well documented cars we've ever seen. We not only have the window sticker, original build sheet, complete ownership history which includes letters from both the second and third owners, but also includes photos of the vehicle being raced in the 60's, and ultra rare internal correspondence from the FORD Motor Company regarding the program. This correspondence includes letters that actually requested the program to increase to 70 vehicles produced, but an engine shortage kept the program to a limited Number of 57. This particular example is #52. Only changing hands 3 times, the vehicle was kept within a collection by the third owner for over 30-years. All the original panels are present, and these rare cars were only available in Wimbledon white. Plavney actually painted this car silver and black at one point, but the 3rd owner correctly restored it back to the original white. Under the original lightweight fiberglass lift-off hood you'll find a correct 425hp 427 side-oiler with the correct medium riser intake. You'll also see the extremely rare air cleaner assembly and hood seal still intact and the BK/BJ dual holley carbs and original throttle linkage. Also present is the unique FoMoCo transistorized ignition, amplifier distributor and very rare exhaust manifolds. QUICK FACTS: 1 of 57 NHRA Legal 427ci 2X4bbl V8 4-Speed Fairlanes built in 1966. Correct 4-speed Original lightweight lift off fiberglass hood One repaint in correct Wimbledon White. COMPLETE OWNERSHIP HISTORY BELOW. One of the most documented cars we have ever seen. Complete list of documents below. OWNERSHIP HISTORY: Sold new to Jim Plavney in Cleveland Ohio. Plavney sold the vehicle in 1974 after racing it for a few years with only 138 original miles on it. A Mr. Baker purchased the vehicle and kept it until November of '78 when he sold it to a Mr. Chiera. Mr. Chiera sold it a few months later in March of '79 but never titled it to a Marc Covington. Marc owned the vehicle for nearly 30 years before he sold it in 2008 to the current owner. DOCUMENTATION: Original buildsheet in near mint condition Photo of vehicle being raced in the late 60's. Letter from second owner who details how he bought the car from the original owner and what alterations were made from factory. Listing for the vehicle in April 5, '74 of National Dragster. Photo of vehicle in 1974 when sold to 2nd owner. Letter from fourth owner documenting the third owner never titled the vehicle in his name. Feature story that the fourth owner had done on the vehicle in the early 80s. Copy of the title from fourth owner. Appraisal from 1988 by Auto art that valued the vehicle at $50,000. Appraisal from 2008 by FORD Boss Exchange that valued the vehicle at $285,000. RARE Internal correspondence from FORD Motor Company that documents the entire R-code fairlane build. Starts in December of '64 and correspondence continues through the completion of the vehicles. Even documents that Ford requested to build an increase to 70 R-codes but an engine shortage stopped the program at 57.