I found a 66 Ford Fairlane in Jasper, Alabama – about a 4 hour drive from my house. It had no motor but otherwise looked to be in good shape, at least from the few pictures in the Craigslist ad. I talked with the owner who confirmed that the body was solid and there were no major issues. It sounded like a good candidate for a rebuild. It wasn’t a Cougar but it was on my short list of cars I was considering.
Dad had been helping me with the car search so I talked it over with him and we decided to make a road trip. I figured my chances of the deal falling through were lower than the chance that I would not be able to locate a car hauler at a moment’s notice so I went ahead and reserved a hauler that I could pick up on the way. This meant that if I DID decide to pass on the Fairlane, I would be out the cost of the trailer rental. What could go wrong? (hint: the title of this blog is not “66 Fairlane – From Mess to Modern”)
Inspection of the Fairlane revealed many half-truths told by the seller. Yeah, the body was solid – except where rust had eaten all the way through. See how that works? The floor pans weren’t rusty. True … they were just completely gone and the trunk was even worse. To be fair, the owner is a capable restorer with significant metalworking skill. From his perspective, this was a restorable car. Unfortunately, I was afraid it was more than I was capable of.
What do you do when you are four hours from home with a rented car hauler and no car to haul? Well, I’d been studying Craigslist for the past several months, to the point that I knew practically every car for sale in the Southeast. I told Dad, “There are two 67 Cougars for sale near here. One is in Pell City and the other in Gadsden. If you’re up for it, I’d like to try to see them.” I hadn’t considered either because they were advertised to have running V8 engines and I didn’t need another.
At 1PM on a weekday, it didn’t seem likely that we would be able to schedule a visit on a moment’s notice but it was worth a shot. Dad called the number on the Pell City ad and, surprisingly, the seller was available around the time that we would be arriving. We grabbed some lunch and drove another hour to Pell City.
This car was rusty in the expected areas and had perfect front fenders. There was a bad area in the trunk that I was not sure I could find a replacement panel for. It was flat with 90 degree bends so I figured I could make my own patch. Most of the interior was gone but the glass was good. There was no motor in the engine bay. The owner had pulled it and stored it in his garage.
I made a fair offer, cash in hand, for the car without the engine. The seller agreed with no counter. I guess I could have lowballed and gotten a better deal but I hate to haggle. It seemed like a bargain to me. The car was in a little better condition than the first Cougar I tried to buy and I got it for a better price.
It was a long day after making the 5 hour return trip with the car in tow. Any “buyer’s remorse” was curbed by a few encouraging thumbs up from other drivers we passed. Thankfully, everything went well on the way back. It was late when we unloaded at the storage unit so a thorough inspection would have to wait for later.