ROBERT KNIGHTS 1969 FORD FAIRLANE ZB
working for Ford’s advertising agency back in 2000 and we were launching the new AU Fairlane. So I became interested in Fairlanes. We were shooting them for the magazine, we looked at it, fell in love and bought it straight away. This one runs a 302 Windsor with C4 auto plus an eight-and-three-quarter diff. It’s a restoration job with very few concessions to modernity. It has inertia reel seatbelts in the front, electronic ignition for reliability and that’s about it. It had been resprayed when I bought it 20 years ago but the clear coat started going and it was redone 10 years ago. It had another respray about three years ago. As far as we know the bottom end of the motor hasn’t been touched. However the top-end needed to be freshened up to deal with unleaded fuel. Otherwise it has been left alone. It’s a big lazy cruiser. The cornering technique in a Fairlane is come to a corner, almost stop, go around, then accelerate away. It ain’t a handler. But that’s what it’s for – cars are horses for courses and this is just a big lazy cruise car. The best thing about it is long-distance driving. You just get in and point it in the right direction and you’re away. Was it a good decision as a car? Yes, absolutely. That’s why I’ve kept it for 20 years. As soon as I bought it and drove it away, it felt like my car.
