Looking like she just drove out of a Saturday night ice cream cruise, this 1966 Ford Fairlane 500 rolled into Bandimere Speedway as a serious contender in the Stick Shift Class. The vintage Ford winds up in the Finals against a 9-second EVO. Drag racing does make strange bedfellows.

Car owner Bill tells us that the Fairlane 500 is equipped with a 427 cubic-inch Windsor platform Dart Racing engine (all-aluminum). It is force fed by a pair of Garrett turbochargers. The manual transmission is a face-plated Tremec T-56 Magnum with a twin centered iron diaphragm clutch. The whole package is good for more than 1,300hp at the wheels – and a fastest ever pass of 8.70-seconds at 165 mph.

In the high elevation of Colorado, the heavy Ford struggles during the heat of the day. Bill lays down some consistent 9-second passes but not the eights that haunt his dreams.

As darkness falls, the racing surface cools down. Consequently, elapsed times begin to shrink.

Running against a late model Corvette, Bill posts an 8.78 @ 164.95 mph and takes the Semi-Final win.

The Finals pair the big Galaxy against a DSM EVO sedan with a massive turbo. Relying on his drag racing experience and stick shift moxy, Bill takes the hole shot on the import and gaps him handily through the trap. Bill finishes with an 8.84 @ 163.57 mph and the $1,500 prize in his pocket.

Related posts:

1967 Ford Fairlane Twin Turbo Coyote 1500HP Stick Shift GTO Stick Shift Struggles – RMRW – Day 4 Stick Shift Shootout – Fastest Manual Trans Cars in the World 60 MPH Roll Racing – 2018 Stick Shift Mustang vs. 2020 Supra and More Rowing Gears – 8-Second Stick Shift Camaros at Street Car Takeover Atlanta RWD Stick Shift Quarter-Mile World Record Comeback Kid – 1800HP Stick Shift Camaro