Here is the first episode in a new Ford Fairlane History. The first model is the ZA and we will cover all the models to the BF. Please give the episode a 👍Like👍 and be sure to Subscribe. Plus, if you haven’t already, check out the Falcon History series. There is a full playlist so you can view XK right through to FG-X. I hope you enjoy and thanks for watching. 👍

Looking at these fords mid 1960s makes you realise how excellent the aesthetics design of the ford mustang was.

My Uncle and Aunty had a new one in Melbourne when I was a kid. I asked for first options to buy it when I was able to drive but alas, it never happened. It was a most beautiful car, quiet and smooth. They used it to drive from home to band practice on mostly flat roads, it never even needed throttle, those v8 s and autos simply drove themselves, put it drive and off you go. I can remember the sumptuous interior with huge lounge chair front seats. What a car.

Fair dinkum, how good is KZfaq some days!! Thanks Mark, legend. 👍

Way back in 1983, my then girl friend shared an XY falcon with her brother. One day he had an accident and the car needed repairs. My GF being a uni student needed a car and I was at a Ford dealership when a ZA Fairlane 500 was tradedin and I bought this near perfect example for $350 and gave it to my GF. We have been married for 38 years and we still fondly remember the back seat of the FL. It was a great car but rust took its toll.

My father bought a ZA brand new in October of 67 what a great car white with black interior with the 289

And i remember as a kid...our next door neighbor was a sales manager at Stillwell Ford and always came home from work with a new model !

I particularly liked the ZH, NA and AU models because there was so much model differentiation from the Falcon donor cars.

Mark when I see you have a new Ford story on KZfaq I start to shake with excitement, cant wait to see my favorite ZD Fairlane in 3 more episodes . Keep up the great work that you put into your channel.

I had a ZA from 1990 to 2005, brilliant car and I literally cried the day I sold it.

Looking forward to this one, mate! Love your channel.

Another great episode thanks mark

My Dad had the ZA fairlane 500 maroon in color..in top condition. My Brother is looking after it now, once a classic always a classic.Thanks for the great vlog.

Thanks for the memories Mark , I miss these old cars , built for comfort, they had character and were just bloody good cruisers . It’s a real shame young people today driving soulless characterless smart phones on wheels , the vast majority will never have experienced just how good these oldies were. I’m in the outer burbs of Melbourne in a very car centric area , and you almost never see oldies like this anymore sadly .

Big hits with farmers during this period were Valiants and Fairlane, as you stated. Not a lot of safety or standard features by today's standards, but they made up for that in style, and a great engine sound. In those days, you bought a V8 mainly for the performance, and got the sound thrown in as a bonus. I never knew the early 60's Fairlanes had model codings. Well there you go!

I have had 6 Fairlanes and 1 LTD over the last 44 years, in order 1. ZD 351 V8 - 1971 2. ZC 351 V8 - 1969 3. ZH 302 V8 - 1977 4. P6 351 V8 - 1978 - wished I still had it. $17,000 traid-in for the AU 2 5. NA 3.9 S6, New - 1990 - wifes car 6 AU 2 4L Tickford, NEW - 2002 - Still driving 7 AU 1 4L Tickford - 1999 my ex-wife took it Got my first Fairlane in 1980 and have always had a Fairlane or LTD over the last 44 years. Best looking was the P6, best driving is the AU 2, .......... NA Fairlane, rusty boot lid and LCD dash with a mind of it's own that worked some times, put a NC dash in to fix it.

Two firsts for me in this episode My first falcon was an xr faimont in that dark red colour and I restored a 63 compact in the early 80s Was black with bright red interior and was from the local funeral directors in Rockingham Had 260 v8 I put XC Fairmont mags on it and it looked amazing

My uncle had a successful tile business and bought a series of fairlanes, LTDs and even a Landau starting with the ZA. As a little kid riding in the ZA was a big deal! Going anywhere on my booster seat in this giant beast was sooo exciting 😂

…. and yes, PLEASE do a series on the local Galaxy models.

G’day Mark, Always liked the ZA ever since seeing one on Skippy, those horizontal headlight arrangement just looks awesome. There is a black one parked in the back streets of Seddon near the cafe Fig & Olive between Yarraville and Footscray. Go out of my way just to check it out every now and then. Cheers Louis Kats 👍

Farmers or cattle station owners were the fairlanes popular for towing horse floats or cattle floats etc.

Awesome episode Mark👍, thanks for making these vids they mean alot to me. Hopefully future generations will appreciate the cars that were made here back in the day.

Before by time but I do appreciate era of Ford Australia. I remember the 80's era Fairlane and LTD espexjally5 the I guess NB version (which is based on EB) as one of the bosses had one and I got oondrive it every now and then they had the Fuel Injected Windsor V8 and were just so smooth and powerful for back then

Good work Mark. We liked it.

We used to buy them rusty and cheap for our V8 early falcon conversions...Easy weekend swap at home including the use of the disc brakes ! Looking forward to this new series... CHEERS Mark .😁

Great new series, Mark!!! Looking forward to the ZB 🙂

great episode MB!

Ohh lol I’m waiting for the G8 show. Could Evan show you a nice one I’ve spent $$$$ but Mann it’s nice.👍

Mark Behr, there may be a renewed interest for these Fairlaine V8 cruisers. You certainly stirred a desire to add a ZD Fairlaine 500 to my garage. Looking forward to the next Fairlaine episode. ☺

Great stuff mark i was just watching the XF again the other night this is a huge effort on your behalf to do these videos. Much appreciated. Cheers Blue

Tremendous video Mark thanks. Fairlane by Ford were some of the few nest vehicles we ever produced.

Hi Mark, Hope tour well, Great another car series ,I liked the Falcon Story. Fairlane a nice big luxury Ford of Australia with the V8 Mustang power, If a Mustang had four doors it would look like this, I like the badge with the stars of the Australian flag. I can see how business people would prefer the Fairlane to a Jaguar at the time. I like the styling of these American styled Australian built Fords. Just a thought here was the Mustang ever produced in Australia as I have seen RHD Mustangs and watch Mustang racing on Tv at Bathurst and other race circuits. How are you getting on with your Fox body Mustang. As always a great video, Take care

The rustle of silk, the sparkle of diamonds... that guy is clearly picking up his mistress 😂

I have been patiently watching the Falcon episodes in anticipation for this series to start can’t wait for the ZD!!!!

Taxi in Newcastle NSW had these Fairlanes in black iv been in them many times. 👍🏻.

That was great Mark and very interesting for although I was around when the ZA was released I was too young to notice. I do however look forward to the rest of the series on the Fairlane and eventually the LTD.

Loved how you covered the Yank Tank at the start. 👍

Another great series Mark. I love the research and detail you provide. Looking forward to the next.

Gday Mark, love your channel mate and have watched a stack of your videos. I’ve been waiting for these cars to come up in you videos, I love checking out the similarities and differences between the Aussie cars and my US wagon. Cheers

Fabulous car and the default choice for executives for decades and incredibly popular in the bush. The word ‘Fairlane’ was written into so many senior management packages well into the 1990’s.

The Fairlane was always a great car. The basic styling of the ZA/ZB was remarkably similar to the 1965-72 Vauxhall Cresta PC / 1966-72 Vauxhall Viscount, though both these models, neither of which were sold in Australia, only had inline sixes.

Thanks Mark, couldn't wait for these! Looking forward to the rest. There's something about these long wheelbase cars. They were built at a time where they were affordable; these days, I don't think a LWB car is within reach of a lot of people.

Very interesting and informative Mark. Looking forward to the next one. 👍

What a car hey mate. You could buy one of these for $2,000 max and all the other Z series LANES. I have a personal connection to all FAIRLANES. AND THE ODD LTD. But I’ve always preferred the long wheel base FORDS. JUST THE BEST.👍👍🇦🇺❤️ cheers for the show 👍👍

Thanks for your effort, looking forward to the zb which I have

The instrument panel was based on the Lincoln Continental’s design as used for the Australian Ford Galaxies.

I’ve been waiting for the Fairlane series to begin! Great work again mate.

Legendary, Mark! These were beautiful cars. Cheers.

Thanks Mark for this. You know your stuff.

Love the video nice… 64 compact Fairlane is my favourite model along with the 63 model I remember pulling out three tank Fairlane 9 inch diffs as a kid at the wrecking yard we sold to a car club from Goldcoast Qld .. back then 1000 bucks per diff 😂

Another awesome video Mark! But I knew that before i even began watching.

Finally, the Fairlane episodes! Nice one mate. Let me know if you need some ZB images for the next one.

I always liked how the taillights of the ZA through to ZD echoed the Falcon taillights of the equivalent model. Eg: The XR Falcon had round dot indicators in the centre -- the ZA had rectangular indicators in the centre. The XT went to cross bar indicators -- so did the ZB. And so on.......

Most comfortable car ever

Very nice production Mark. If only we could go back in time and live a week in the life of a new ZA Fairlane owner. I wonder what they felt as they drove it from the dealership for the first time? My parents had a FB 1962 Compact when I was young and they used to have to roll start it sometimes. It was a 2spd Automatic. Love the class of the ZA 500

Thank you Mark. This was quite intereting amd detailed. I now understand hoiw it became a car based off the Falcon, The Australiajs are quite good ay making due with less. I appreciated the information about the car and how it created a segment. No Holden Brougham yet I see....That car has a better interior than the Amerucan Fords. I noticed the Lincoln touches as well. That was impressive to see. Thank you for sharing the dimensions. This car was big as a downsized 1980's American GM fullsized. They were 196-198 inches long when they were downsized. This car has a wide track and a long wheelbase. The close equal to this car in current times would be a Mercury Sable loaded. I have to hand it to Ford of Australia for doing this car. They started with a Falcon took American Fairlane and Lincoln parts and came up with some grand. This series going to get interesting. The reason for the delay in my response is we were hit with a hurriucane here in the United States in Texas. I just got my internet back. Thank you for the video.

Bring it on! 😃

Onya Mark, yes Galaxies please. I knew an old bloke who bought a gold ZA 289 new when he retired and owned it for 20 years.

YES we need fairlane stuff!!! Will you also do the LTD as well ? as a 27 year old. Why cant we just remake 30s to 80s cars haha. I love them stock and factory :)

Hell, I grew up on the backseat of a 1968 302 ZA 500, what an utterly lovely car! Went well, rode beautifully, looked great but had crappy brakes, as we discovered towing our Millard. =) After the ZA, as a kid I absolutely hated the next ZC, they just looked so ugly next to ours, even if they had more 'luxury'. Thanks Mark. _I'll get to the FG, just it will make me a bit sad tbh. Ah, Homebush where they assembled my Laser!_

I noticed that you said the first Galaxies offered to Australians from the Australian factory, was the 1964 model . There were RHD 1963 (and earlier ) Galaxie's in NZ , and no doubt, in Australia as well , ( not nearly as many as Impala's though , it would seem) , so, did those, prior to 1964 Galaxies come to us from Canada in RHD form ?

Great Episode, as were all the Falcon episodes. I would ask in this Fairlane series to talk about the Holden Brougham cars and how they compared and fit into the marketplace against the Fairlane. Did the Brougham come out for sale alongside the ZB? What points of differentiation for the GM and Ford would the buyer of '68 be expecting?

I've always wanted a Ford Galaxy since I first saw one as a young kid and remarked to dad what the hell is that !!!

I started as a apprentice Ford dealership mechanic in 1971 .... stupid FORD all the days till end of days in Australia.

I'm sure we'll find out later in the series but what Fairlane offered the option of power windows for the first time?

Have always had a sweet spot for the Fairlane. Ford never meant it to be a muscle car. Just a really good long distance performer. Some of you will understand how that works.

G'day Mark.....Thanks for this and Oh My God were the Fairlanes beaut cars... Is the LTD later on considered as an updated Fairlane or were they a totally different entity..Guessing the latter ...Cheers

I haven't read any of the comments below, so I'll still point out one recurring error I noticed; you refer to the red car as a Falcon. It isn't a Falcon, it's a Fairmont which is the up-market version of the Falcon. I have a Fairmont and recognize the name badge on the car. Still, a great presentation, brings back memories, many thanks and take care.

I know the ZB Fairlane had a CUSTOM model with 3 speed manual transmission column shift & drum brakes all around. These could be optioned with the V8 engine. A older workmate had a white ZB Fairlane Custom with a V8 . All factory fitted. 3 speed column manual & drum brakes all around. He traded it in on a brand new Holden Camira when the Camira's first came out.

Sitting in my friends car. Cop comes up and says"far lane". We all say "no , it's a galaxy". "Far lane!" No they look similar but this is a galaxy.. Points at sign . All six of us in unison.. "OH, FIRE Lane!". American cops all have thick southern /country accents even if they are from a big city in the North. .

I suppose the compact Fairlanes could be called small , but a number of years ago I was having a good look at a beautiful black unmolested survivor '64 Fairlane , and I thought it was actually quite a large bulky car , my AP6 is classed as a compact , but compared to the Fairlane, it's much more compact.

The copywriters layed it on thick didn't they

Fairlane By Ford reminds of How Holden used to have on the back of their cars, " Statesman by Holden" . I guess Ford and later GMH were trying to differentiate their domestic luxury vehicles from their everyday, bread & butter counterpart, like as if they were some sort of handcrafted vehicles made from better materials ….By the way I had to laugh at the initials at 14:11. B.S -Stilwell Ford…😂

Hey Mark, where ever did Ford get the "500" from ?? ie Falcon 500, Fairlane 500, Galaxie 500. What is the history & background behind the 500 ?

I wonder when power windows were first offered? Non of this generation seems to have them. Holden seems to have been first with their Brougham.

was the 3.6 221 in the fairlane a v8? we had the 221 in our xw falcon - 6cyl

Do you have very many of those left down there, Mark? Do you see any?

what's the story (if there is one) on the "500" in the model names?

Do you have an email I can send some historic pictures from Dawson street?

What color could you have for these fairlanes ?

Not an a/c in sight ?.

100% male motoring im sure.