Close



Results 1 to 14 of 14
  1. #1

    Default Hello from Metropolitan Detroit

    New to this board and discovered it when I was looking for ideas on what to do with the 1979 Ford Fairmont Futura I have. Lots of great info here from a vast number of folks who are extremely knowledgeable about the Fox body. I was born and raised in Detroit, with plenty of family who worked the auto factories, including my father (who was a master electrician), and I was once a gas pump jockey at a full service station back in high school way back in the day (on a pretty interesting corner in Detroit, near old Tiger Stadium, and we did it all, including motor rebuilds... back when gas was about .60/gal ;-).

    My first Fox body was a 1982 Ford Mustang GT, which I bought new right off the showroom floor that year out at the Ford dealer near Camp Pendleton, CA, where I was stationed. "The Boss is Back," right? Loved those Michelin TRX wheels and that four-speed manual with no air conditioning.

    As I've become older, and more nostalgic (and mechanically able), I've been toying with the idea of turning the Futura I picked up on a whim (and because the Fairmont/Zephyr was the first Fox made by Ford) into my ideal "FairStang" and that's what I'm now doing. So I hope to learn even more from all the vets here -- especially when it comes to swapping in a more modern restomod-type interior -- as the weeks and months go by.

    Name:  Fairmont1.jpg
Views: 88
Size:  138.6 KB

  2. #2

    Default

    Welcome! Plenty of great knowledge on here for what you want to do! Car looks great!
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  3. #3
    FEP Super Member gr79's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    SE Michigan
    Posts
    5,141

    Default

    Welcome to the site! Cool looking car. Much more enjoyable to own than new in many ways.
    They may now be starting to be recognized as part of the disc/drum braked classic car group than plain 'old' cars.
    May never be 'old tech' like pre 50's antiques as to finding parts to keep them on the road as everyday cars.
    Regular cars that still blend in with the rest. Or is it just us the way we look at them and the past?
    Maybe will see you and the car one day at a cruise or show in our area?
    The corner was always special. Friend and i worked casually at the stadium sweeping stands after games.
    Paid .16/gal once during a several hour Roseville gas war all the other stations were up there at .19.
    Last edited by gr79; 03-04-2019 at 03:47 PM.

  4. #4
    FEP Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    New Boston, MI
    Posts
    314

    Default

    Welcome. Used to have a Z7 in the same color.

    Work is not too far from where the ballpark used to stand. I’m in the neighborhood all the time.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  5. #5

    Default

    Thanks for the warm welcome, guys. Yeah, born and raised in Southwest Detroit -- and Holy Redeemer High -- before I went into the military for a quarter-century. We're Downriver denizens these days, and have been for years. She's not from Michigan (we met in the military, out in Hawaii), so the "ambiance" of this region is lost on her, poor thing. ;-)

    Hopefully, I'll be able to run my FairStang at least at this year's Downriver Cruise in late June (it's tentatively set for then, though that's been a bit up in the air, for some reason). I'll post more details on my FairStang in relevant threads as I start tapping the considerable knowledge base of all the extremely experienced Fox body folks at this site. Here's one more look, though:

    Name:  00L0L_cspQgxnsjYM_1200x900.jpg
Views: 81
Size:  96.3 KB
    Attached Images Attached Images  

  6. #6
    FEP Senior Member Dave9052's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Saint Clair MI 48079
    Posts
    641

    Default

    Welcome! Nice car! looks great!

  7. #7
    FEP Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    New Boston, MI
    Posts
    314

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by FairStangMan View Post
    Thanks for the warm welcome, guys. Yeah, born and raised in Southwest Detroit -- and Holy Redeemer High -- before I went into the military for a quarter-century. We're Downriver denizens these days, and have been for years. She's not from Michigan (we met in the military, out in Hawaii), so the "ambiance" of this region is lost on her, poor thing. ;-)

    Hopefully, I'll be able to run my FairStang at least at this year's Downriver Cruise in late June (it's tentatively set for then, though that's been a bit up in the air, for some reason). I'll post more details on my FairStang in relevant threads as I start tapping the considerable knowledge base of all the extremely experienced Fox body folks at this site. Here's one more look, though:

    Name:  00L0L_cspQgxnsjYM_1200x900.jpg
Views: 81
Size:  96.3 KB
    Cool, man. I’m downriver born and raised myself. Wife is from PI, but has settled in nicely. Hope to see your ride at the downriver cruise.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  8. #8

    Default

    I have the project timelines and goals set up around my days off and other events, so maybe I can get the whole thing done in time for the Downriver Cruise. It's completely driveable now, though, so one way or another...

    Mechanically, I have the major stuff completed ('88 5.0 HO engine, '88 K-member, five-lug front disc/rear drum set-up from American Muscle, AOD trans with a Ford floor shifter that needs to be fitted to the trans hump and then permanently fastened, 8.8/3.08 rear, '91 rear coils, true -- and cat-less -- dual exhaust, etc.). It needs SFCs on the undercarriage, however. And it'll be the interior and doing minor bumping out and cleaning and painting the exterior that'll take the next few months more than anything else.

    Thinking on things, I probably will do a restomod of the interior, though that's not set in stone as yet. I like the '86 GT dash and other parts for sure, but I also like the '89 dash if I can get proper fitment out of it (that 140 mph speedo is attractive, no doubt about it). And if everything works out, I'll just donate those extra plaid seats I have to someone that can use them more than I would. My plaid period (and platform shoe period) was the mid-to-late 70s. No need to remind myself daily about that sort of stuff.

    Eh, my wife is pushing for Royal Plum Pearl Metallic, the color found on her old '94 Probe GT, for the exterior ;-). I'm old enough that I go back to when that color was called "Plum Crazy Purple" by the Dodge folks way back in the day. And it's true that I've never, ever seen an F/Z type in that color, so it would definitely stand out (but be too derivative, IMHO), but that's probably for a very good reason, so I dunno... heh.

  9. #9
    FEP Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    New Boston, MI
    Posts
    314

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by FairStangMan View Post
    I have the project timelines and goals set up around my days off and other events, so maybe I can get the whole thing done in time for the Downriver Cruise. It's completely driveable now, though, so one way or another...

    Mechanically, I have the major stuff completed ('88 5.0 HO engine, '88 K-member, five-lug front disc/rear drum set-up from American Muscle, AOD trans with a Ford floor shifter that needs to be fitted to the trans hump and then permanently fastened, 8.8/3.08 rear, '91 rear coils, true -- and cat-less -- dual exhaust, etc.). It needs SFCs on the undercarriage, however. And it'll be the interior and doing minor bumping out and cleaning and painting the exterior that'll take the next few months more than anything else.

    Thinking on things, I probably will do a restomod of the interior, though that's not set in stone as yet. I like the '86 GT dash and other parts for sure, but I also like the '89 dash if I can get proper fitment out of it (that 140 mph speedo is attractive, no doubt about it). And if everything works out, I'll just donate those extra plaid seats I have to someone that can use them more than I would. My plaid period (and platform shoe period) was the mid-to-late 70s. No need to remind myself daily about that sort of stuff.

    Eh, my wife is pushing for Royal Plum Pearl Metallic, the color found on her old '94 Probe GT, for the exterior ;-). I'm old enough that I go back to when that color was called "Plum Crazy Purple" by the Dodge folks way back in the day. And it's true that I've never, ever seen an F/Z type in that color, so it would definitely stand out (but be too derivative, IMHO), but that's probably for a very good reason, so I dunno... heh.
    I dig the purple and think it would look sharp.

    I would lean towards an 86 style dash. My old Z7 had the mustang gage cluster swapped in, but we kept the wood grain.

    I’d have to go through all my parts, but I might have a spare cluster and bezel lying around.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  10. #10

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by 86lx View Post
    I dig the purple and think it would look sharp.

    I would lean towards an 86 style dash. My old Z7 had the mustang gage cluster swapped in, but we kept the wood grain.

    I’d have to go through all my parts, but I might have a spare cluster and bezel lying around.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Thanks, sir! I have to say, I was impressed with the friendliness of this enthusiast site, that's for sure. :-)

    We're down to either that Royal Plum Pearl Metallic from the 1994 Ford GT (and the Ford/Mazda plant it came out of is only a couple miles from the homestead ;-) or one of the '79 Fairmont dark blue metallic colors -- which I think it was paint code 3L and was a DuPont product. I have to admit I've never seen a Fairmont or FuturaStang or FairStang in that purple color, so it would definitely get some looks, heh.

    Also, you're absolutely right about the dash. 1986 all the way, and with white gage faces and the 140 (or more) mph speedo. I think there's both a Cobra set or some aftermarket sets of gages out there that could handle that duty. And if you have any parts you're willing to part with, I'd of course appreciate any heads up on them. I'm going to be trolling eBay and a million other sites for the interior bits and pieces especially. Fortunately, like you point out, the '79 to '86 Mustang provides a wealth of parts. Ford corporate parts bin; gotta love it. Heh.

    Anyway, here's the current instrument cluster and part of the dash face area, all original (right down to the working AM/FM/8-Track ray-dee-oh, which is set to either WCSX or The Riff, naturally ;-). Even that "push-the-brakes-put-it-in-park sticker" Ford applied to the lower dash area, right side of steering wheel, to avoid a huge class-action liability back in the day is on the dash. And the generator light is on due to the way I wired the '88 engine. I've got a cut-off switch to ensure there's no battery drain, which I've shown in the second pic.

    Name:  FairStang Instrument Cluster Gages.jpg
Views: 50
Size:  99.5 KB

    Name:  FairStang Driver Side Lower Dash.jpg
Views: 50
Size:  92.0 KB

  11. #11

    Default

    And that column shifter doo-dad is inop. I've installed a floor shifter set-up for the AOD transmission, but I haven't permanently attached it as yet. It's fun putting this thing in drive, reverse and back into park right now, heh.

    Name:  FairStang Floor Shifter Passenger Side View.jpg
Views: 49
Size:  114.7 KB

  12. #12

    Default

    Find parts here:

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/1066226030162090/

    You should also find someone pretty easily who would be happy to get ahold of those cloth buckets!
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  13. #13
    FEP Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    New Boston, MI
    Posts
    314

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by FairStangMan View Post
    Thanks, sir! I have to say, I was impressed with the friendliness of this enthusiast site, that's for sure. :-)

    We're down to either that Royal Plum Pearl Metallic from the 1994 Ford GT (and the Ford/Mazda plant it came out of is only a couple miles from the homestead ;-) or one of the '79 Fairmont dark blue metallic colors -- which I think it was paint code 3L and was a DuPont product. I have to admit I've never seen a Fairmont or FuturaStang or FairStang in that purple color, so it would definitely get some looks, heh.

    Also, you're absolutely right about the dash. 1986 all the way, and with white gage faces and the 140 (or more) mph speedo. I think there's both a Cobra set or some aftermarket sets of gages out there that could handle that duty. And if you have any parts you're willing to part with, I'd of course appreciate any heads up on them. I'm going to be trolling eBay and a million other sites for the interior bits and pieces especially. Fortunately, like you point out, the '79 to '86 Mustang provides a wealth of parts. Ford corporate parts bin; gotta love it. Heh.

    Anyway, here's the current instrument cluster and part of the dash face area, all original (right down to the working AM/FM/8-Track ray-dee-oh, which is set to either WCSX or The Riff, naturally ;-). Even that "push-the-brakes-put-it-in-park sticker" Ford applied to the lower dash area, right side of steering wheel, to avoid a huge class-action liability back in the day is on the dash. And the generator light is on due to the way I wired the '88 engine. I've got a cut-off switch to ensure there's no battery drain, which I've shown in the second pic.

    Name:  FairStang Instrument Cluster Gages.jpg
Views: 50
Size:  99.5 KB

    Name:  FairStang Driver Side Lower Dash.jpg
Views: 50
Size:  92.0 KB
    I think I would go with the purple, clean up all your trim and it would look great.

    Your interior brings back memories of my Z7.

    I’m about 10 miles from the Flat Rock plant, so if I end up having anything you need it should be easy enough. Once the weather warms up I’ll have to go through my stuff.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  14. #14

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ZephyrEFI View Post
    Find parts here:

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/1066226030162090/

    You should also find someone pretty easily who would be happy to get ahold of those cloth buckets!
    I quit FB for good a couple years ago now, but that page is quite a sight. :-)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •