Here’s a photo from back in 1964 of reader Autrey Gilliland’s 1964 Ford Fairlane “Hi-Po” 289 V8, a rare car that produced 271 horsepower from the special high-performance engine. Gilliland explains how he made it faster and then took it to the drag races with real small tires on the back! (Photo from Gilliland collection).
Ford’s 1964 Fairlane was a popular smaller car choice of both families and hot rodders, who knew the 289 High Performance version was a potential “David versus Goliath” performer. Alabama reader Autrey Gilliland explains how he made his K-Code 289 Fairlane Hi-Po” into one of the sleepers of the year at his area drag strip. (Advertisement complements Ford Motor Company).
Hello Greg my name is Autrey Gilliland and I live in Attalla, Alabama. I love your car articles in the Gadsden Times here in Alabama, especially the “Cars We Remember” articles as I am 78 years old and can easily relate. Here’s my story.
In 1964, I bought a new Ford Fairlane with the 289 Hi-Po V8 with a four-speed. It was a blast to drive, but one of my cousins had a 1964 GTO and I could not hang with him. So I found this guy who had a used Paxton Supercharger for my 289 so I secretly put it on my car.
Needless to say, my cousins GTO along with many 409 Chevys were greatly surprised by my little 289. To make things more interesting, my cousin
I were at a used tire shop browsing tires when we found these tires that were made from butyl rubber, which is a really soft compound tire. The tires were smaller than the tires on my Fairline but were so soft I decided to try them any way.
Well on Sunday afternoons at Green Valley Drag Strip in Gadsden, Ala., you could grudge race all day against any one you chose. So my cousin Bill Dobbins and I go down to the track and when we pull into the strip the guys were laughing and pointing at my Fairlane. Then, a guy came over and trying to be helpful explained that we must be new to drag racing because the big tires always go on the back and not on the front! We politely said we understood but were going to give it a try anyway.
Well, we couldn’t believe the bite those little rear butyl rubber street tires had with low air pressure. We never raised the hood that day and we also found that if we started off in second gear the little 289 with the Paxton blower would bite just right. The rubber coming of the butyl tires looked like black saw dust piled on the strip and our car was running low 13’s on the quarter-mile strip. Many of the “big motors” went home that day with their tails between their legs thinking they had been had by a little 289.
Near the end of the day, the guys were still pointing at us but for different reason and it was a long time before they forgot about the little 289 with the big tires on the front and the little butyl tires on the back.
Just a thought that you might find it a funny but true story in 1964 Alabama. Sincerely, Autrey Gilliland.
A: Autrey, what a great story that entails so much of what the high-performance era was back then. Your little “Hi-Po” Ford Fairlane 289 was actually the precursor of the Ford Thunderbolt Fairlanes that Tasca Ford was working on as early as 1963 first with a Fairlane 406 V8 and then the 427 Ford. By 1965, the Ford Thunderbolt 427 began carving its legend that to this day attracts old and new Ford collector car and nostalgia drag racing enthusiasts.
More so than the history of the Ford Fairlanes, however, is what you did and how you went about running low 13-second quarter miles. Back then, few big engine muscle cars ran low 13’s in showroom trim, so you learned what was possible by just getting your hands dirty and doing the needed work to turn your Fairlane into the “sleeper of the day.” By adding the Paxton Supercharger to a “Hi-Po” 289 probably dropped your quarter mile times by at least 1.5 seconds.
Notable, too, is the “Hi-Po” engine that carried a K-Code nomenclature and generated 271 horsepower. It came with a special solid lifter high lift cam, bigger valve cylinder heads, ultra strong crank and rods and a special K-Code Holley four barrel to name just a bit of the engine’s top points. These engines today are rare as only 600 were produced and they are expensive to buy if you find one. (One of my friends had a Mustang with the 289 Hi-Po with dual four barrels. It was real fast!)
Also, when, you put on those little butyl tires on the rear, you found that not only did they offer the grip of a set of period correct M&H Dragmaster slicks, the small size also enhanced your rear drive ratio to the better, too. These tires probably dropped another second off your quarter-mile times.
Thanks much for your letter, and also the old photo you supplied of your hot little 289 Fairlane.
(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes reader comments and questions on old cars, auto nostalgia and old-time racing at 303 Roosevelt St., Sayre, Pa. 18840 or email at greg@gregzyla.com)
