Ford’s 427 had a rocky relationship with the car-buying public in the 1960s. While the 1963-64 full-size cars were made in good numbers, those numbers trailed off drastically starting in 1965. Ford made many promises to introduce the 427 for intermediates for several years, but the manufacturer never was able to build them in great numbers, if at all. In the case of this 1967 Fairlane GT, Ford only built one.
According to Adrian Clements’ Yours in old FoMoCo iron… channel on YouTube, Ford introduced the 427 for the 1967 Fairlane Club Coupe (two-door sedan), Fairlane 500 Club Coupe, Fairlane 500 Hardtop, and Fairlane 500/XL Hardtop after producing 57 Fairlane 500 Hardtops in 1966. Why Ford didn’t allow the 427 to be available in the 1967 Fairlane GT is anyone’s guess.
Ford produced two 427s for 1967. The 410-horsepower version with a four-barrel is often known as the W-code due to the letter in the fifth character of the VIN. If you wanted the 425-horse version, known as the R-code, you had to tolerate the complexity of dual-quads. Of the two, R-codes were produced in much larger quantities, but both are extremely rare (209 versus 21).
Adrian elaborates using the Ford Car Facts book, published for dealers for the introduction of the new model year. The book specifies several times that the 427 was not available on the GT or that it was available on the other trim levels. Even with a mid-year price update insert, all indications were that the 427 was available in trim levels other than the GT.
In the above video, Adrian uses fine deductive reasoning to prove the 427 was not available in the 1967 Fairlane GT, then he goes over several production records to show how this unusual Fairlane GT was built, including recent photos of this Springtime Yellow unicorn.
If you enjoy this, visit the the Yours in old FoMoCo iron… YouTube channel to view more videos.
The 1967 Fairlane GT had to be a Ford executives car. They were able to build their own.
Did you watch the video?
In 1964 the 409 435 hp (solid lifter cam) dual quad was not available with AC. They felt the higher RPM available would destroy the compressor. The Southern Region district manager had to have it special ordered for his executive car.
It was rated at 425 horsepower.