1960-1961 Ford FairlaneThird-Gen Fairlane (Full-Size)

Platform and body

For 1960 Ford threw out the 1957-1959 shell and built an all-new full-size body. Wheelbase grew to 119 inches and overall width came in at 81.5 inches, wide enough that it brushed up against the 80 inch vehicle width limits then on the books in some states. The 1960 cars are long, low, and flat, with horizontal fins and a wide grille. The 1961 restyle pulled the width back to 79.9 inches, brought back round taillights, and generally reads as a cleaner car, though it shares its basic structure with the 1960.

Construction is body on frame with coil springs up front and leaf springs on a live rear axle. The base Fairlane came as a two door sedan, a four door sedan, and, in 1960 only, a two door business coupe; the Fairlane 500 came as two and four door sedans both years. The hardtops, the Starliner, and the Sunliner convertible belonged to the Galaxie line above them (in 1960 the Starliner and Sunliner were catalogued as the Galaxie Special series).

Engine lineup

• 223 cu in Mileage Maker six: the base engine, rated 145 hp gross in 1960 and 135 hp in 1961. Slow in a car this size but simple and durable.
• 292 cu in Y-block V8: the entry V8, rated 185 hp gross in 1960 and 175 hp in 1961. The last hurrah of the Y-block in a full-size Ford.
• 352 cu in FE V8: for 1960, a 235 hp two-barrel, a 300 hp four-barrel, and the one-year 360 hp 352 Special (solid lifters, four-barrel, header-style exhaust manifolds), Ford's first real high-performance FE. For 1961 the 352 was cut back to a single 220 hp two-barrel version.
• 390 cu in FE V8 (1961): new for 1961 across the full-size line. The mainstream version was a 300 hp four-barrel, and a 330 hp Police Interceptor arrived late in the year. The high-performance solid-lifter four-barrel was rated 375 hp, and a dealer-installed triple two-barrel setup on the same engine raised the rating to 401 hp partway through the model year. The hot 390s mostly went into Galaxies and Starliners, but they were full-size line options, and documented factory hi-po base Fairlane sedans exist.

All ratings are gross horsepower, as was standard before 1972.

Drivetrain and transmissions

Rear-wheel drive only, with a Ford 9 inch rear axle behind the stronger V8s. The base gearbox was a column-shifted three-speed manual, with Borg-Warner overdrive optional. Automatics were the two-speed Ford-O-Matic on the smaller engines and the three-speed Cruise-O-Matic behind the FE V8s. The 375 and 401 hp 390s were manual only. Their standard box was Ford's own heavy-duty three-speed; cars ordered with overdrive got the Borg-Warner T-85 instead. From spring 1961 a Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed became available, shipped in the trunk for the dealer to install, and only around 100 four-speed cars were sold.

Year by year

• 1960: All-new body. Fairlane is now the base full-size series, Fairlane 500 the step up, Galaxie on top. The 360 hp 352 Special debuts as the performance option.
• 1961: Full restyle on the same platform, narrower body, round taillights return. The 390 FE replaces the 352 as the performance engine, in 300, 330 (police), 375, and eventually 401 hp tune. This is the final year for a full-size Fairlane; for 1962 the name moves to the new midsize car and the full-size line continues as the Galaxie and Galaxie 500.

Trims and variants

The structure to know: Fairlane was the stripped series, fleet-grade trim, minimal brightwork. Fairlane 500 added exterior trim and nicer interiors and was the volume family car. Both sat below the Galaxie, which got the hardtops and convertibles. Because the plain Fairlane two-door sedan was the lightest and cheapest body, it is the one drag racers ordered with the big engines, and genuine high-performance Fairlane sedans from these years are rare and heavily cloned. Verify engine codes and body data plates before paying big-block money.