I am finnally Back!!

I really have no idea how my car survived. I know it was originally owned by an older guy who traded it in for a Hyundai of all things. It had some considerable miles on it, 60,000, but not a spot of rust! He must've hibernated in the winter.

Wowzer. That’s pretty low mileage, but the guy probably wanted a reliable car!
People over here put a lot of milage on, a car with 100k is still a puppy for some people, which is strange as when i was a kid, 40k was getting time to make decisions….oil burners, carbs crapping out, rust etc.
Look at cars now, 100k for a plug change, more efficient, starts in cold or damp weather, disc brakes, frt wheel drive, radial tires, rack and pinion, better engine oils, no points and those dreaded carbs are gone forever, more room in the glove box now that the can of WD-40 doesn’t take up space .
It looks like when the Fairmont came out; there were a lot of things going on, not to mention the oil crunch when gasoline prices went up, I’m thinking it went up to around a dollar a gallon in 79 or 80. More plastic was being used, lightweight materials, uni-body was catching on, ford made the best boat anchor ever; it was called the 4.2 liter!!
It’s great to look back on the older cars with fond memories, however if a reality check was properly conducted, there would be some shocking results. Old mustang/new mustang…Hmm. Old challenger, new challenger Hmm, we had a Philco AM radio in our 62 Ford, it sounded great, yeah it took time to warm-up, but don’t all radios take a while to come on? We didn’t listen much at night as it crackled and faded.
When i was a boy, the older kids would work and work, then scour the junk yard for their favorite body style cars, and SOUP”EM UP, or make a hot rod. They could be any combination of many cars, you made it, and you drove it, mainly made from junk, loud exhaust loud radio and a leather jacket….. and the old folks and cops hated them!
Well today things are much the same for some “older” kids’ however some buy kit cars, some buy ready made turn key nostalgic cars, and truly have no idea how to fix them if they break, but the guys and gals enjoy them all the same….
I waited too long to start this game over, i made some bad decisions in the past, got rid of some really cool cars, 67 mustang with a 390, camaro’s , nova, gto, grand prix, fairlane, they were just junk to me, and like my buddies cars, they were recycled by other kids…..my favorite 2 cars of all time times always eluded my persuits..69 camaro, and 67 cougar, but that’s ok….i have a Fairmont!!! Yeah, it’s a piece of junk to some people, but i made it (several times) and i drive the hell out of it and I have fun.
The group i run with all have different cars, thankfully no clones…some have wild combos, some more sedate or refined than others, some guys are body workers/painters, engine builders, suspension freaks, etc, but it’s a sort of family.
So…would i snap up another Fairmont if it came in for a trade at the right price, YES, would i like to have a 55 Chevy with a 327 and a 30/30 cam and a 4spd….well yeah…..am i happy with the Fairmont, yeah, i like the body lines, i like the cabin area of the car where the windshield meets the hood, it reminds me of a B-17 bomber, the interchangeability of parts with so many different cars, there’s a lot of pro’s and some cons also, but the overall satisfaction level is about a 9.
would i buy a Hyundai…..no, but maybe a Toyota, Ford or kia.
For a mass produced turd car, Fairmont’s in any configuration ROCK……it’s kinda like an addiction without the needle called Fairmontitus or Farmontia.
Would i like to have another new one to use as my sole daily driver……….nope!

I've always wondered. A 255 is a de-stroked 302, right? I assume it does not have a lower deck height like the 260, or else, why wouldn't they have just used the 260? Anyway, so if you put a 302 crank into a 255 would you get a 302?

It's funny, I have to sort of keep some of my opinions to myself on FEP. I see all these guys talking about keeping their early '80s Mustang, Capri, Fairmont, whatever all original. I saw an ad for a Fairmont wagon that actually contained the words "numbers matching". Are you kidding me?! Sorry folks, no early '80s car of ANY sort is ever going to be a sought after classic. Never. I can hear them now "well, people didn't think that about '60s and '70s cars either!" Yeah, but those cars aren't TOTAL turds to drive. You get in just about any late '60s car with a V8 and it gets itself around just fine. You get in a early '80s car? Not so much! I drove mine with the 6 and 3 speed auto for a while, and I had to beat the hell out of it everywhere I went because it had NO acceleration! That's just not safe! '80s cars are only good for one thing: a blank canvas. Tear it apart and make something acceptable out of it!

I was talking to a guy that has 2 '69 Mach 1s and he said he really can't enjoy them because he's afraid every time he drives one something bad is going to happen. Those cars are worth so much money, you can really lose your a$$! Of course, if I had one, I would never intend to sell it... but that's another story, haha. He said he envied me a bit because I don't have to worry about that with a Zephyr. I can have a cool car and have fun with it without worrying. True enough, I guess. I'd still rather have the Mach 1 though, haha.

no the 355 is a smaller bored 302, the cranks interchange, for 28 oz or 50 oz. you cant bore them out to anything useful. even the heads were almost blocked.....
if somebody told me "I don't have to worry about that with a Zephyr" I would have went postal. why have something you cant or wont use???? like what's the point of having it.
all the numbers on my car match...just the different cars!
80's cars; gas crunch, emissions laws, lower speeds limits , higher rear end gears, horse power insurance, bad news for these cars. funny thing, you don't see many newer 80+ cars being restored. numbers matching doesn't mean anything to me; except it probably needs a rebuild! does it move, does it drop oil, are the tires safe, is it fun to drive??? that's what matters.

That's the thing, I think. These people that have cars like Mach 1s I'm sure have no objection to how much more they are worth now than 20 years ago. But at the same time, I imagine for some it makes it harder for them to enjoy their cars. They're not cars anymore, they're appreciating assets. It's sad considering those cars were originally intended to appeal to the everyman, but now they're demographic is anything but.

I ran across this remote power lock kit you can buy on eBay from hong kong. It's WAY cheap, $28 shipped, and comes with enough actuators to do 4 doors. You can't even buy ONE Ford actuator for that. You could find one at a boneyard, MAYBE, and who knows if it even works. Think i'll have to get myself one. The guy who told me about it had nothing but good things to say about it.

I've collected some tools to drill and tap the sensor holes in the Explorer intake. I think I've got everything I need now. That should be a fun project, if I don't screw it up. I also got myself a 65mm straight EGR spacer for it (rather than the elbow style Explorers had from the factory), so all I have to do now is finish cleaning up the intake, and swap parts between my HO throttle body and the Explorer one.

do yourself a favor and install heli-coils, tapping and threading aluminum is not easy as the metal is so soft and chips easily.
after you fit the heli-coils you can use studs or bolts, and they never wear out, so you can take it apart as many times as you like. most auto parts stores sell them now pretty cheap, not like the old days.
I suppose if i had a mach1 mustang in good condition, I would unload it, let somebody else enjoy it, and use the money for something else. there are still loads of parts for them available.....I'm not one who considers value/worth, however I have spun a few bearings in the past!

Well, these holes are for a ACT sensor and a coolant fitting. I don't think I'll have much reason to be taking them out and putting them back in.

Y'know, even before I knew they were outrageously expensive now, I didn't really want a real 428/4-speed Mach 1. A guy wouldn't really want to tinker with or change a car like that. I'd much rather have a plain sportsroof, maybe with a 351W and an auto, so I could do what I want with it. The auto would drive the value down some so I could get it for cheaper, but then I could yank it in short order and put a 5 or 6-speed manual in it. And the 351W has all the factory and aftermarket support the 302 has gotten all the way to 2001. And I do like the look of the Mach 1 package, so I could make it a "tribute" car or whatever you'd want to call it. People could ask "is it a real one?" and I could answer, "Nope, but it IS exactly what I want".

well; you should have what you want, I don't mean 30 different cars, but you should have what you want. I like to see people happy with their cars, however I feel even though I'd really like that cougar, I'll probably get far more satisfaction and thrills from the Fairmont, why, possibly because I'd be reluctant to alter the cougar TOO much.
I understand your feelings for the Mach1, so if the deal comes along again, you'll just have to snap it up. it's hard to raise a family, keep the heat and lights on and go to sleep with a full belly, so the toy cars have to wait till the gray stuff starts appearing on the temples. even so, if you were to purchase it now, there is no reason to register it, license it and put it on the road today, you can always store it.

No way I'm buying one anytime soon. It'll probably be after the kids are grown, like you say. I can keep my hopes up prices may come down from the ridiculous levels they're at now. Even buying a basket case sportsroof now would break my budget. I'd have nothing left to fix it up. And the only way I'd have a budget other than ZERO would be to sell my Zeph. That ain't gonna happen. I'd never find another one like it.

I love my Zeph though. Once I get the suspension sorted out, it will give me even more joy than it does now. Hopefully less headaches. I see it as a very special car. If you smash up a red Mach 1, there are plenty more where that came from. A silver Zephyr ES? Nope! I also like the fact that it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Family First, always.......looks like I may be parking mine soon, the wife did not get good results from the PET scan at the oncologist, I thought she was out of the woods......the car is meaningless with out her moaning about it.....

I'm so sorry to hear that! Your family will be in my prayers.

thanks bud...

I know when I bought my car, i had many people tell me I am crazy to tear into the car and drop a v8 in and repaint it.
Yes, my car had 68k miles, solid car with no rust, every bolt turns like a new car,and the paint was nearly flawless. But I told them this car will never have value or popularity of like Mustang's or Camaro's. So building this car I own into a car I would want and have no thoughts of selling it.....hell I have owned this car for about 14 years already.
One thing I have noticed, our cars have gone up in value. I see many guys paying a lot more then when I bought mine......they are not a $200.00 car anymore. They are getting a lot more popular!

True! Bet you never thought you'd see the day there would be ads for Fairmonts with the phrase "numbers matching" in them. I know I didn't.   

There's an article in one of the car magazines, I think it was last month, about how the baby boomers started the current classic car movement. But now they are retiring without the income to maintain them (and dying too, I suppose), so in the next few years there may be a flood of classic cars for sale, bringing values down. It also talks about how the classic car market of the future may be very different. "numbers matching" and concours (sp?) restorations may not be what matters to people anymore. Nicely modded cars like ours might be the ones that are sought after!

Cool, thats what I like to hear and hope to see!