There's light at the end of the tunnel. It's been over a year since we bought our big blue Ford off eBay for $8,100 and started turning it from grandma cruiser to boulevard bruiser. The last few stories involved the biggest transformation when we dropped in the stroker 408 Twister small-block, and bolted up a MagnaFlow exhaust system. But cars aren't just a collection of big-ticket items, they're also a ton of tiny details. Many of these parts aren't as glamorous as a 550hp engine, but they are critical nonetheless. Your first track day in your raucous-sounding ride could be ended because you didn't have a $40 driveshaft safety loop. The new mill under the hood could be turned into a doorstop because you didn't have an oil pressure gauge. The carb could get jacked up for lack of a fuel filter. All these things are good at killing a budget since they're often forgotten, and when added up, things can get pricey.
But not everything needed to finish this project had to do with performance. The Fastlane Fairlane was always envisioned to be a typical street machine. The plan wasn't for a ragged bracket car or a show car that can barely make it on and off a trailer. We were shooting for middle ground. This meant we tried to keep the car nice enough to take to the local cruise night as well as fast enough for the dragstrip, so we spent a little extra on aesthetics as long as it didn't hurt performance. With these final touches in place, we should be ready for the track and a few passes to see if we can get into the 11s. Hey, if we don't make it, at least we'll look good trying.
| WHERE THE MONEY WENT |
| '70 Ford Fairlane 500: | $8,100.00 |
| 408 stroker engine: | $8,757.79 |
| Hughes Performance C4 trans/converter/flywheel: | $2,050.90 |
| Installation of 408 and C4 trans: | $2,776.99 |
| Vintage Wheel Works V60 wheels: | $1,179.00 |
| Nitto 555 tires: | $594.00 |
| Mount and balance: | $100.00 |
| Used '70 Torino GT hood: | $250.00 |
| Paint and body: | $250.00 |
| Materials to paint rear valance: | $15.00 |
| New vinyl top: | $119.95 |
| Labor for top installation: | $250.00 |
| Front spoiler: | $67.96 |
| Line lock with lines: | $96.90 |
| SSBC front disc brakes: | $999.95 |
| Rotor upgrade: | $150.00 |
| Just Suspension "The Works Kit": | $1,850.00 |
| Credit for unused KYB shocks: | -$152.00 |
| Alston double-adjustable Varishocks: | $956.00 |
| Alignment: | $69.95 |
| Strange 9-inch rearend with disc brakes: | $2,423.72 |
| Lokar e-brake cable kit: | $144.95 |
| Misc. hardware for rearend install: | $86.44 |
| Aluminum 3.5-inch driveshaft and parts: | $470.00 |
| Odyssey, Moroso, and other parts for battery relocation: | $448.35 |
| Stainless MagnaFlow 3-inch exhaust system: | $1,142.80 |
| Sold parts from Fairlane (tires, wheels, hood): | -$425.00 |
| Punch List items (gauges, seats, hood pins, etc.): | $1,902.37 |
| G-Force helmet from Summit: | $149.95 |
| Total: | $34,825.97 |
Ever since we bought the Fairlane, the dash has been covered by a blue carpet to hide the cracked and time-worn dashpad underneath. nobody makes a replacement dashpad yet, so we ordered a dash cap from Dearborn classics (Pn Dc100, $99.95) and some new kick panels to replace our broken originals (Pn KP104, $69.95/pr.). since they only came in black, we had John over at Best of show coach Works coat them in the appropriate hue.