With all the new technology in the EFI world that’s become the norm for high horsepower buildups, we sometimes forget the roots of drag racing. Someone who wanted to try their hand at it would give it their best shot on a budget by finding a reasonably priced light car, build the best motor they can and give it a whirl. That very thought leads us to the build up of a ’63 Ford Fairlane that utilizes what was arguably one of the most efficient engine packages of the mid 60’s (and still a darn good one today). Not to forget that the Fairlane’s bigger brothers, the Galaxie and Thunderbolt’s were menaces on the drag strip back in the day.

The build started rather mild with a simple but potent 289 in mind but evolved into much more of a screamer. The original goal in mind was a mid 11 second car, but then turned into a higher RPM build and the allowance of quite a bit more compression to be run with E85 fuel and just as important – the chassis got lighter (est. 2700 or less lbs.). How quick it will go with all these changes is hard to say, but it’ll be a fun street/strip warrior.

Taking advantage of the 289’s ability to rev fairly high, the owner topped the motor off with a set of Canfield 195CC heads with a good valve job, as well as a Edelbrock Victor jr. intake with a Quickfuel 750 E85 Carb. Backing up this Fairlane’s newfound power is a C4 transmission with a 6200 stall and a Ford 9″ rear out back stuffed with a set of 4.88 gears. The car will stay a leaf spring car with a traditional set of Cal Trac bars and some subframe connectors to rid of any unwanted chassis flex.

There were plans of a possible BBF swap in the future for this badass classic, but with space constraints the owner believes that any future higher horsepower build will have to stay 8.2″ deck height (302 based). If you join up at SBFtech, you can check out my63’s build thread here. Check back for updates when this Fairlane hits the drag strip in the coming months.