1962 Ford Fairlane

The Ford Fairlane was introduced as a replacement for the Crestline and offered in a variety of body styles, including a convertible Sunliner, Victoria hardtop coupe, and the Crown Victoria Skyliner with a tinted, transparent plastic roof. In 1957, the Fairlane became longer, lower, and wider with modern styling with low tailfins and a new top-level trim called the Fairlane 500. Introduced with the Fairlane 500 was the Skyliner body style with a power-retractable solid hardtop that folded down into the trunk space with the touch of a button. The lower-level Custom line, for the first time, rested on a shorter wheelbase than the Fairlane. The 1958 model year brought quad headlights and a grille sourced from the Thunderbird. New big-block FE 332 and 352 cubic-inch V8s became the largest engines available along with an improved three-speed automatic transmission. In 1959 the Galaxie became the new top-level full-sized Ford model that wore both 'Fairlane 500' and 'Galaxie' badging.

The full-size Fairlane received its third major styling revision in 1960 and revisions followed a year later. The top-of-the-line full-sized Ford continued to be the Galaxie, with the Fairlane 500 positioned mid-level in the lineup, with both the 'base' and Fairlane 500 available as pillared sedans. The most potent engine for 1961 was the big-block 'Thunderbird' 390 CID V8 with horsepower that ranged from 300 to 401 hp depending on the setup.

1962 Ford Fairlane
The full-sized Fords, including the Galaxie and the now-intermediate Fairlane, were restyled for 1962 with slab-sided bodies with a horizontal feature line at the beltline. The Galaxie had a 119-inch wheelbase and a length of 209.3-inches while the Fairlaine's wheelbase measured 115.5-inches and its length of 197.6-inches. It was nearly a foot shorter than the Galaxie and approximately eight-inches longer than the Falcon. The length and width of the Fairlane were similar to the Fords of the late 1940s and 1950, but its chassis configuration, suspension, and 13-inch tires allowed it to sit much lower to the ground. Fairlane's with six-cylinder engines had 6.50x13 tires, the Fairlane's with V8s had 7.00x14 tires, and the Fairlane '260' V8's rode on 7.00x13 tires.

All 1962 Fords received round taillights, with the Galaxies being visually distinguished by a stamped aluminum escutcheon panel. The Fairlanes had 'high canted' fenders, a full-width grille similar to the Galaxie with a horizontal grid pattern and dual round headlights.

The resized Fairlanes received a new, lightweight 'base' 221 Windsor cubic-inch V8 with a thin-wall casting design and the same displacement as the first Ford flathead V8. It had overhead valves, five main bearings, a Holley two-barrel carburetor, a cast-iron block, an 8.7:1 compression ratio, and developed 145 horsepower at 4,400 RPM. The base six-cylinder engine was the 223 CID with overhead valves, a Holley one-barrel carburetor, four main bearings, 8.4:1 compression, and delivering nearly 140 horsepower at 4,200 RPM.

The 260 cubic-inch 'Challenger' engine arrived mid-year with a Holley two-barrel carburetor, five main bearings, overhead valves, 8.7:1 compression, and an advertised 164 horsepower.

Ford introduced its 406 cubic-inch V8 engine this year with horsepower rated at 405 bhp. The 'Thunderbird' 406 with a Holley four-barrel setup, 11.4:1 compression ratio, and five main bearings produced 385hp at 5,000 RPM. With the three Holley two-barrel setup and 11.3:1 compression ratio, the 'Thunderbird Special' 406 produced 405 horsepower at 4,800 RPM.

Transmission options included a three-speed manual and a two-speed Ford-O-Matic.

Trim levels included the 'base' and the Fairlane 500, with the 500 models wearing additional decorative trim including three bullets on the rear quarter panels and a wider chrome stripe down the side. They had chrome on the window moldings, the horn ring, two-piece Fairlane sweep with a ribbed aluminum insert, and simulated chrome inserts on the door upholstery. There were also two sun visors in the interior. The 'base' Fairlane had a single sun visor, armrests on all doors, and a horn button instead of a horn ring. Styling features included a single horizontal Fairlane sweep-type strip, the Ford crest on the hood, the 'Ford' name in block letters on the trunk lid, and chrome around the windshield and rear window moldings.

The styling introduced in 1962, considered the 'fourth generation,' continued through 1965 with updates along the way. The Fairlane would remain popular during that time, with 343,887 examples built in 1963 and 379,012 the following year. In its final year of '4th Gen' styling, Ford produced 170,980 examples of the Fairlane. The styling revisions that followed in 1966 brought its appearance in-line with the full-sized Ford, with vertically stacked dual headlights, a full-width grille, and wore a full-length horizontal feature line. Another redesign occurred in 1968 and a final one in 1970 before the Falcon and Fairlane 500 names were dropped for 1971, and all the intermediate models were now called the Torino.

By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2021