K Code 1964 Fairlane "BabyBolt"

Sweet looking car,

oooh, I like this car.

I seen this car and the shock towers were cut back,alot of wrong color painted parts as well as wrong parts,alot of items added that wasn't original and was alot of repainted areas that were not original and underneath wasn't nice.Alot of wrong stuff on car that was made out to be a low mileage original car.Alot of the dealers take all these cars around to different auctions looking for one sucker who isn't that sharp to unload them on.The bid was strong and I would have sold that car if it had been mine.

A blue engine in 1964?

Jim

The first thing that jumped out at me was the later style air cleaner and it looks like it has a radio and heater still intact.

i am not up on the fairlanes, but if it is a factory comp car wouldn't the heater and radio be deleted?

It is a neat looking car though.

That "Baby Bolt" thing was a headline back in the 90's for a 64 Fairlane that one of the Hot Rod writers did and it's been widely used.Ford had NO such thing and it was used for the sucker effect.You stated some other items like motor color etc. which I didn't as most could see but again good point.Most of those car dealers were crazy and just shows what takes place at those auctions when noone really knows these cars.I'll be back again next year as there was some really nice cars there.Money wasn't in short supply on some of the upper end resto's.

It's a neat car, but basically looks like a hipo sedan. If it were a factory racing car you'd think there would be more goodies and obvious signs. Perhaps Bob Mannel can contribute

As stated earlier race cars had no heater or radio as well as other deletes and that one had all the stock features.Just some stated bull to boost the price and of coarse it didn't sell.Maybe the dealer can find that sucker to believe his story for gain.

Ford produced K-codes with the standard option list if customers wanted them some other way to what was sent out to the dealers. But, Ford did not modify them with the sole exception of the Thunderbolts. The Thunderbolts were in essentially two groups -- the first 11 were fully built K-codes, then modified by Dearborn Steel Tubing (DST). The DSO was 89 (Transportation Services within Ford Motor Company). Next was a pilot car, then the remaining were partial K-code cars without a drivetrain. Even these were not completed by a Ford assembly plant, but a Ford contractor. They all carried the 89 DSO and either a 0004 or 0024 special order number. In 1963 there were reported to be 13 Lightning Bolts built by Carroll Shelby with Paxton Superchargers. I have heard a rumor about 37 similarly built in 1964, but none has ever surfaced that I am aware of, nor do I have any firm documentation of Carroll Shelby modifying these cars. These again left the factory as standard K-codes and were modified elsewhere. They did not carry special order numbers or anything other than standard district sales office numbers. The first I heard of "Baby Bolts" is from people who wanted to make a connection with the Thunderbolts, but had small-block V8 motors. The name stuck, but I have not seen any evidence to support the use of the term in 1964. As for the name itself, I think it sounds rather wimpy. The Fairlane is either a K-code because it came from the factory with the high performance 289, or a 1964 Thunderbolt (with 427). All other configurations are modifieds outside of Ford.

K-codes have risen to the level where cars are being rebodied to assume a K-code serial number from a scrapped car. Done with meticulous care, it can be hard to detect, but I don't know of any so far that have been done to that level of care. If you know where and what to look for, you can get a pretty good idea of whether the real car is still there.

The car in question is unknown by me. I do have 9 Burgundy 64 Fairlane hardtops in my Fairlane K-code registry. If I had a serial number on this car, I could say more if it is in my list.

Do K Fairlanes have the tapered axle tubes?

This car was listed locally, Grand Rapids Michigan, for $85,000. That's a whole lotta moola for a car that lacks totally originality (engine bay), heck that's a lot for one that's perfect!!

these are very cool cars

too bad it's not more original.

i like the mustangs much better.

iowa

the K code fairlanes for 64 had black painted blocks, gold valve covers and gold air cleaners and no fan shrouds , a classic car place owns the car and they have been trying to sell it for $85,000 for a long time

Babybolt was a Hot Rod magazine article car done by Scott Sullivan back in the late 80's or early 90's. It was light metallic blue with an injected 5.0L AOD and bench seat custom grey interior. Some exterior mods done but not too much. I saw this car in person at Canfield Ohio way back then. "Babybolt" has come to generically mean a Thunderbolt style clone or tribute 64 Fairlane with a Ford small block rather than an FE.

I would have liked to see the above car, it doesn't look too bad. But at $35K the seller should have taken the money and run.

I actually had a car I think was as nice as the one above, a California post car with an injected 5.0L T5, white with a red interior that a dealer in Grand Rapids bought 10 years ago from me for less than half of the above car. And mine had front disc brakes also.

Currently there's a 63 K code Fairlane for sale on the FCA website for 40K. It is probably the nicest, most documented, authentic, 63 K code on the planet. If the above car didn't sell at 35K, someone missed a big payday.