TAKE IT or LEAVE IT: 1966 Ford Fairlane 500 XL Convertible - $15,000

The 90's was certainly an interesting era to be alive in, and in my opinion, the best. We had the best cartoons, Baywatch was at the height of its popularity, Michael Jordan was at the peak of his career on the Bulls, and everyone wore something that featured the ever-popular purple and teal "Jazz" design, which, in it of itself, was sort of an icon of the decade.

You know what else was an icon during the 90s? Fast BMWs. And apparently, no matter what the popular opinion was, last week's E39 M3 gained popularity among you all, earning it a strong "Take it" win. Honestly, though, when you look at the big picture, nothing screamed 90's more than a mid-decade M3 hauling ass down the highway. All this one needed was to be a shade of bright 90's yellow and you would have had the picture perfect 90s scene. But there was another decade that really out-shines all other previous decades, and that is the 60's.

If there's one thing that the show "Mad Men" taught me, it was that the 60's were definitely a time to be alive. The 60s saw the introduction of post-modern architecture, and it was the peak of the renaissance that was the "Jet Age". The 60's also saw the birth of some of America's most notable muscle cars such as the Chevelle, GTO, Mustang, and in this instance, the lesser-known but still pretty awesome Ford Fairlane.

The Ford Fairlane came into existence at the end of 1959. up until 1966, its body shape and styling had evolved immensely, and though Ford changed the name of the car to the Torino toward the end of the decade, the lower trim level cars still retained the Farilane nameplate. To add to this, the Fairlane came in a seemingly endless amount of trim options, ranging from a basic sedan up to convertible and fastback coupe variants. There was also a variety of engine and transmission combinations, which essentially meant that the Fairlane was sort of an "every man's" car. This also means that as project cars, parts for a Ford Fairlane usually aren't that hard to come by, making them perfect restoration projects.

In this particular case, though, most, if not all of the restoration has already been done to this Fairlane 500 XL convertible. The seller advertises that the body is "99.9% rust-free" and that the 289 motor has been re-buit, along with the C4 transmission and the Holley Carburetor. The ad basically lays out a fairly long list of other work that has been done to it, including the shiny new "Y-code" paint job that the car originally came with from the factory. The body has 118,000 miles on it, though the re-built engine has less than 50 miles on it according to the seller.

The pictures also show that the car is in extremely good shape. The seats show no real signs of ware. The dash looks solid, and the instrument cluster has been "professionally re-chromed" for that ultra-new shimmer. The seller finishes off the ad by saying that "This is a car that you can drive everyday or spent a few dollars more and take to the next level." The car even comes with new tires, so you can make the drive back up from Texas since you won't need a trailer to haul it. 

So, all in all, it's a pretty solid car, and it's sitting at a price that might not keep it on the market for long. What's your opinion on this 1966 Ford Fairlane 500 XL Convertible? TAKE it or LEAVE it? you be the judge! Vote below! 

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