In 1968, Bob Mannel began his search for his first Fairlane. A friend had provided him with a 1963 Ford Buyer’s Digest, which showcased all the Fairlane models and available engine options for that year. Among the illustrations, the depiction of a High Performance 289-4V engine caught Bob’s eye and sparked a lasting fascination with this particular powerplant.
Bob wasn’t able to locate and purchase an affordable Fairlane equipped with the High Performance 289-4V back in 1968. It wasn’t until 1984 that he finally landed a Fairlane with the rare High Performance engine option. And what a Fairlane it was!
An affinity for Ford small-block V-8s
From 1968 to the early 1980s, Bob was elbow-deep working with Fords packing other small-block V-8 engines, such as the 221-cid V-8, 260-cid V-8 and the pedestrian version of the 289-cid V-8. His first car, a white-over-turquoise 1962 Fairlane, was powered by the 221-cid V-8. His wife’s chestnut 1963 Fairlane Sports Coupe also featured the 221-cid V-8, which was later upgraded to a 260-cid V-8. Another one of the couple’s Fairlanes, a 1963 Country Squire station wagon, received a 289-4V to replace its original 260-cid V-8. Additionally, a 1963 Fairlane Sports Coupe was upgraded to a 289 engine using Ford’s Muscle Parts Program components, transforming it into a hydraulic version of the High Performance 289. As Bob’s small-block collection continued to grow, it even came to include a couple Mercurys: a 1964 Comet Caliente and a 1965 Comet hardtop, both powered by small-block Ford V-8s.
With so many small-block-powered Ford Motor Co. products — especially Fairlanes — coming and going from his garage, Bob found himself networking with other Fairlane owners. One thing led to another, and in 1981, he and his wife Jane contributed to the establishment of the Fairlane Club of America. They subsequently launched a newsletter titled Fairlaner that, over time, developed into a magazine under their editorial leadership.
With a wealth of small-block Ford V-8 knowledge and hands-on experience with the engine, combined with his Fairlane connections, Bob set out to write a comprehensive book about the engines that powered his beloved Fairlanes, as well as other Ford models. The book included coverage of popular Mustang V-8s due to the high interest in Ford’s pony car, but Bob’s primary focus was on the smaller-displacement engines found in their predecessors, notably pre-1965 Fairlane models.
New Ford, new small-block V-8
For the 1962 model year, Ford repositioned the Fairlane from a full-size model to a new intermediate model, bridging the compact Falcon and the full-sized Galaxie. The Fairlane was designed to compete with Chevrolet’s new Nova and Plymouth’s new shorter models. Measuring 197 inches in length with a 115.5-inch wheelbase, it was 16 inches longer than the Falcon and 12.3 inches shorter than the Galaxie.
Fairlane styling borrowed from several FoMoCo products, and for its inaugural model year of 1962, it actually borrowed more of its styling cues from the full-size 1961 Fords rather than the restyled 1962 big Fords. The 1962 Fairlane had small canted tailfins that terminated above large, round taillamp lenses, as on a 1961 Ford. The Fairlane grille incorporated horizontal quad headlamps and appeared close to that of the 1959 Edsel grille, but without the Edsel’s central “horse collar.” The roofs of the new 1962 Fairlanes had wide C pillars, as seen on a Thunderbird.
Structurally, the new Fairlane featured unit-body construction incorporating Ford’s distinctive “torque boxes,” which improved vertical absorption of road shock. Its front suspension utilized a standard short-long arm design, complemented by a Hotchkiss drive system at the rear. For 1962, Fairlane body styles included only two-door and four-door sedans available in both the base Fairlane and top-line Fairlane 500 trim lines.
Fairlane powertrain options for 1962 began with a standard 170-cid inline six-cylinder engine, while the introduction of Ford’s lightweight small-block V-8s provided increased performance at extra cost. Initially available as a 221-cid variant generating 145 hp, mid-year saw the addition of a 260-cid “Challenger” version producing 164 hp. These new small-block V-8s packed good punch for their size — with relatively good gas mileage to boot — and fit nicely into the intermediate Fairlane’s engine bay. They were also lightweight, which helped keep the Fairlane’s overall weight down.
A Sports Coupe version of the Fairlane 500 two-door sedan debuted during the 1962 model year, adding bucket seats and a compact floor console. All top-line Fairlane 500s added wider side strip moldings and three bullet accents on the rear quarter panels not seen on base Fairlane models.
For its second model year, the midsize Fairlane/Fairlane 500 started to look more like the full-size Ford it complemented. The 1963 Fairlanes received new front fenders that were led by a concave grille very much like that of the 1963 Galaxie. However, the body shell from the cowl back remained the same as in 1962, so the 1961 big Ford’s tailfins appeared on Fairlanes for another year. The Fairlane line also increased for 1963 by adding station wagon and two-door hardtop models.
The Challenger 221-cid and 260-cid V-8s returned as options for 1963, so the real news was the debut of the High Performance 289-4V engine (aka Hi-Po 289). This engine was based up on the small-block V-8s that had debuted in the Fairlane line in 1962, but besides being punched out to a larger displacement, it also had cast-iron headers, solid lifters, a nodular iron crankshaft, high-performance connecting rods, a wider harmonic dampener, a dual-point ignition system, Autolite 4100 series four-barrel carburetor, a hot camshaft and screw-in rocker-arm studs, among other performance goodies. These tricks brought the Hi-Po 289-cid V-8’s performance potential to 271 hp — not too far from one horsepower per cubic inch. Fairlanes equipped with the High Performance 289-4V engine received front fender-mounted “V” badges labeled “289 High Performance” to indicate the upgrade to John Q. Public, and a “K” as the fifth character in their VIN to identify the hot engine to Ford personnel. As a result of the “K” in their VIN, High Performance 289-4V cars are often called “K codes.” It’s worth noting the Hi-Po 289 was the same engine supplied to Carroll Shelby for use in Cobras — it’s a true high-performance, no-compromise engine designed for full-throttle operation, capable of generating its 271 hp at 6,000 rpm. Ford offered the engine through 1967, replacing it with the 302-cid V-8 in 1968.
Fairlanes for 1964 received a minor refresh to mark the new model year, notably receiving a new forward-raked grille that mimicked the grilles of that year’s full-size Galaxies. The tailfins were finally clipped from the Fairlane, but the large, round jet exhaust-inspired taillamps remained, as did the wide Thunderbird-type C pillars. Since the 1962-1964 Fairlanes have a clear resemblance to one another, it’s logical that Bob Mannel would concentrate his small-block engine research efforts to Fairlanes of these model years.
Landing a Hi-Po 289 four-door
Locating and documenting early-1960s examples of the 221-, 260- and standard 289-cid V-8 engines for his book was relatively easy in the large junkyards around Bob’s Los Angeles home. However, the Hi-Po 289 was much rarer and highly sought after by Mustang enthusiasts, making it difficult to find examples.
After relocating to the Northwest, Bob placed a want ad in the Seattle Times seeking early Ford small-block V-8 engines to document. This led him to a neglected 1963 Fairlane 500 four-door in the Seattle area equipped with the 289 Hi-Po engine he had been searching for. The seller would only sell the car as a complete unit, refusing to separate the engine from the car.
Bob struck a deal and brought the whole Fairlane 500 home. He removed the engine for documentation, but chose to keep the rest of the car since he had never heard of a High Performance 289-4V being factory installed in a four-door sedan. Through further research, Bob discovered that only one other four-door sedan with this engine had been produced in 1963, but it had been scrapped before it could be saved — likely for its valuable engine and drivetrain. This left Bob’s Hi-Po 289 Fairlane 500 as the sole surviving K-code four-door.
When Ford Motor Co. installed the High Performance 289-4V engine in Bob’s Fairlane 500 four-door sedan, it paired it with a column-shifted manual three-speed transmission — specifically, a modified heavy-duty Galaxie unit usually paired with a 390 V-8 — rather than the typical Fairlane unit. It’s believed this transmission was installed to better handle the increased horsepower of the High Performance 289-4V engine. Like other 1963 Hi-Po 289s, the exhaust system was comprised of a single 2-3/4-inch pipe and a special muffler. Both the engine assembly and scheduled build date of Bob’s car occurred on April 9, 1963.
The white 1963 Fairlane four-door sedan had passed through seven owners before Bob acquired it. He learned it was originally ordered by Westside Ford, Inc. in Seattle, potentially for use as a showroom display as it was outfitted with chrome valve covers, likely for aesthetic enhancement. Apparently having a performance engine in its four-door body didn’t help sell the Fairlane 500, and it took five months into the following model year to find a buyer. When the Hi-Po 289 Fairlane 500 did finally sell, it was sold as a leftover model at a heavily discounted price of $1,950 (the base price of a 1963 Fairlane 500 sedan, before any options, was $2,407). Each owner used the car as a daily driver and modified it to suit their needs. These included changes to the rear gear ratio, the vacuum advance distributor and the installation of hydraulic lifters. After 12 years and 94,000 miles of use, the rare Fairlane 500 was parked in a field for four years. Bob saved it from the field in 1984, then stored it another four years, although in better conditions.
Restoration journey
In addition to removing the engine and transmission for documentation, Bob also removed the seats, carpet, door panels and any other items that might attract mold and mildew. He then treated the car’s metal surfaces with primer and undercoating to prevent rust. The car remained mobile and was stored in three different states over the course of Bob’s career as a U.S. Navy pilot.
In 2016, Bob finally had the opportunity to begin restoring his K-Code Fairlane 500. The car spent six months with a professional restorer to repair the chassis and receive a fresh coat of white paint. Bob then undertook the meticulous task of overhauling and reassembling all components. The restored Hi-Po 1963 Fairlane 500 four-door sedan made its debut appearance at the 2022 Fairlane Club of America National Meet in Kingsport, Tenn. It was the only Hi-Po 1963 Fairlane four-door sedan at the meet, and as the lone survivor, it always will be.
Bob not only finished restoring the unique Fairlane four-door, he finished his book on Ford small-block V-8s. His book, titled “Mustang & Ford Small Block V8 1962-1969,” was finally self-published in 1998. It sold out in December 2024, but since 2015, he’s been updating its contents with a complementing PDF that was included with the printed books. Now that the book is sold out, he offers his PDF as a stand-alone, digital book at a nominal fee to cover his expenses. He continues his small-block Ford V-8 research, and updates his PDF of valuable information at http://www.fordsmallblock.com.
Looking for more information on Fairlanes or just want to meet fellow Fairlane lovers? Check out the Fairlane Club of America.
Fairlane Club of America
7177 County Road 1135
Leonard, TX 75452-6083
610-750-4703
https://fca.clubexpress.com
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