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Melinda Glenn is well familiar with every aspect of her 1964 Ford Fairlane 500. She is one of seven children who grew up in LaCrosse, Wis.
As her older siblings reached driving age they acquired, with their father’s assistance, second-hand Ford Mustangs that were in need of resuscitation. Her father was of the opinion that if the young drivers invested time working on the cars they would treat them gently and safely.
As Glenn approached driving age she naturally assumed her father would find her a used Mustang. She didn’t know that in his youth her father owned a 1964 Ford Fairlane 500, so she was surprised one spring day in 2001 when he called to inform her that he had just purchased a 1964 Ford Fairlane 500. It was just like the one he had owned years before. True to form she was required to get grease under her fingernails and turn some wrenches in order to make the car roadworthy.
The Ford arrived at her parents home on a 115-inch wheelbase with a 289-cubic-inch small block engine under the hood that required rebuilding with an Edlebrock package topped with a four-barrel carburetor.
By 2002, the restoration of the ’64 Fairlane was complete, along with a few personal touches such as substituting Deep Amethyst Pearl paint for the original Burgundy. The double bench seat was reupholstered along with the beige carpeting.
Her father agreed to feed the Ford one tank of gasoline a week. Unfortunately, the teenager burned two or more tanks of fuel a week. “It gets about 12 miles per gallon on a good day,” she reports.
The Ford Fairlane came with an automatic transmission, but it now has a four-speed manual floor-mounted transmission. By the time the car was in like-new condition Glenn was a student in Chicago. To avoid harsh winter weather she kept her car under cover at her Wisconsin home.
Soon after graduation Glenn was wed and moved to Georgia where she no longer has to contend with garaging her car from harsh winter conditions. The heater in her car works but is no longer needed.
Glenn’s car now rides on 14-inch Cragar wheels wrapped in radial tires. Stopping chores are relegated to drum brakes. Six quarts of 10W30 oil keep the engine running smoothly while Glenn admits the 120-mph speedometer is overly optimistic. “I’m sure it would never get there,” she says. The 2,925-pound Fairlane 500 might come close since she tweaked the engine when it was being overhauled with Edlebrock parts.
The absence of any power-assisted options such as windows, seats, steering or brakes do not dampen her enthusiasm for her Fairlane 500. She says wing vent windows compensate for the lack of air conditioning.
During the 1964 model year production a total of 42,733 cars like hers were manufactured, each one with a base price of $2,341. The chances are that none of them is in the fantastic condition as Melinda Glenn’s Fairlane 500.
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