1966-1967 Ford FairlaneFifth-Gen Fairlane (GT/GTA era)

Platform and Body

The 1966-1967 Fairlane rides a 116 inch wheelbase unibody (113 inches for station wagons), stretched and widened from the 1962-1965 car. The important change is under the hood. The earlier Fairlane needed reworked shock towers to take an FE engine, which is why the 1964 Thunderbolts were special builds. The 1966 redesign moved the spring towers outboard enough that a 390 or 427 dropped in at the factory. Styling followed the full size Ford of the period, with stacked vertical headlights both years. Body styles included two door sedans, hardtops, convertibles, four door sedans, and wagons; the GT and GTA came only as hardtops and convertibles.

Engine Lineup

• 200 cid inline six, 120 hp gross, the base engine.
• 289 cid V8, 2 barrel, 200 hp gross, the volume V8. A 4 barrel 289 rated 225 hp gross was also on the sheet.
• 390 cid FE V8, 2 barrel, in the 265-275 hp gross range depending on year and application.
• 390 cid FE V8, 4 barrel (S code), the GT/GTA engine: 335 hp gross in 1966 whether the car was a manual GT or an automatic GTA (the Holley carburetor calibration differed by transmission, the rating did not), dropping to 320 hp gross for 1967 after Ford added the Thermactor emissions pump.
• 427 cid FE side oiler: for 1966 a mid year run of 57 cars, every one an R code dual quad rated 425 hp gross, all two door hardtops in Wimbledon White with black interiors and a lift-off fiberglass hood with a functional scoop, built at Atlanta until the supply of manifolds ran out. For 1967 the catalog listed both the W code 4 barrel at 410 hp gross and the R code dual quad at 425, but actual installations stayed a small batch and published counts vary by source.

All horsepower figures here are gross ratings, standard practice before the 1972 switch to net.

Drivetrain and Transmissions

All 1966-1967 Fairlanes are front engine, rear drive, with a leaf spring live axle out back and coil spring short/long arm suspension up front. Transmission choices were a column or floor shift 3 speed manual, the Toploader 4 speed manual, and the Cruise-O-Matic automatic. The GTA designation means a GT with the automatic, and on the 390 that automatic was the 3 speed C6 with Sport Shift manual gear selection. 427 cars came only with the Toploader 4 speed. The 9 inch rear axle backed the big block cars, with a range of gear sets and optional limited slip.

Year by Year

• 1966: Complete redesign. GT and GTA introduced at the top of the Fairlane 500XL family, with the 335 hp 390 standard, bucket seats, console, badging, stripes, heavier suspension, and power front disc brakes as part of the GT equipment. The R code 427 appeared mid year: 57 stripped two door hardtops built for drag racing homologation.
• 1967: Facelift year: revised grille, taillights, and trim. The GT and GTA names both continued, but the standard GT engine dropped to the 289 V8, with the 390 2 barrel a $74 option and the 390 4 barrel, now 320 hp, a $150 option. Federal safety equipment arrived, including the energy absorbing steering column. The Ranchero moved onto the Fairlane body this year (covered on its own pages). This was also the last year before the 1968 restyle that brought the Torino name above the Fairlane.

Trims and Variants

The lineup ran Fairlane, Fairlane 500, Fairlane 500XL, and the GT/GTA at the top, plus wagon lines including the Squire. The GT package brought GT identification, wider tires, and firmer springs and shocks, with the 390 4V standard in 1966 and optional in 1967. The 427 cars sit apart from all of this: stripped, radio and heater delete common, built in small numbers to legalize the engine for NHRA Super Stock. A real R code 1966-1967 Fairlane is one of the rarest production Fords of the decade, and clones vastly outnumber originals, so documentation matters more than anything else on those cars.