CC Capsule: 1963 Ford Fairlane 500 – Out for a Night on the Town

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I was visiting family in my hometown of South Bend recently and went downtown to drink a little scotch with my oldest friend. As we left the little pub we came upon this great ’63 Fairlane 500, which had conveyed its owner on a night out.

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During my 1970s kidhood a neighbor boy’s dad had a ’63 Fairlane hardtop coupe in red. “Ordered it straight from the factory,” the boy was always sure to say of his dad’s car. I spent some time in it and liked its tidy dimensions (compared to Dad’s ’66 Galaxie). This Fairlane was V-8 equipped and is the first car whose engine burble ever impressed me.

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There was a discreet “look but don’t touch” sticker on the front passenger’s window. Sorry owner dude, but I touched just a little bit to bring my iPhone up to the glass for this shot. I blame the scotch.

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I think half the Fairlanes I remember seeing when they were still common were this color. (Most of the rest were red or black.) I’ve always called this color off white, but I guess Ford called it sandshell beige. I thought it was a pretty boring color back in the day, but it looks so right on this Fairlane now.

I was so captivated by this Fairlane that I failed to notice the first-gen Prius across the street until just now. D’oh!