1960–1961 Ford Fairlane 500 sedan (facelift)
1960-61 Australian built Ford Fairlane 500 Sedan. Ford Australia built the 1959 US Fairlane from 1959 until replaced by the 1962 US Fairlane in early 1962. The example shown is a facelifted model, introduced in late 1960, which utilised the radiator grille from the 1959 Canadian Meteor.
Full-size Fairlane (1959–1962)
In September 1959, Ford Australia released three new locally-assembled models, the Fairlane 500, the lower specification Custom 300, and the Ranch Wagon.[4] They were sourced from Ford of Canada,[5] but were essentially the same as their 1959 US Ford counterparts.[4] Tooling for local manufacture had taken nearly two years and had been completed at a cost of almost £1.5 million Australian.[6]
The sedans were 9½ inches longer and 5 inches lower than the Ford Customline models which they replaced[6] and all three models featured a 204 hp (152 kW) 332-cubic-inch (5.44 L) V8 engine.[4] The Custom 300 and Ranch Wagon was fitted with a three-speed manual transmission as standard equipment and the Fairlane 500 used a fully automatic transmission.[6][7] Wheelbase was 118″.
For 1960, the range was updated with the grille and trim from the 1959 Canadian Meteor[8] and engine power was increased to 220 hp (164 kW).[4]
