Double The Turbos Means Double The Fun In Greg Vesely's '64 Fairlane 500.
People always seem to want just a little bit more. If two aspirin are good, three must work better; the guy with a five-speed tranny longs for a six-speed. It's just the way we're wired-more is better, and too much is rarely enough. In the case of Greg Vesely's '64 Fairlane, the choice to go with two turbos over one was a no-brainer. According to builder Brian Duffee, "A few years ago, guys would run two turbos to cut down on the lag time; however, turbo technology has helped make this less of an issue. I still feel two turbos are a bit more efficient, compared to one larger single unit, but a lot of it is about upping the car's coolness factor."
Nonetheless, before you can use any mill, you need a ride to stuff it into. Forty years ago, Greg's older brother, Curt, had a '64 Fairlane parked in the driveway. Greg spent his formative years drooling over this ride, and the desire to have one of his own was burned into his brain. Fast-forward four decades, and Greg finally found the cash and time to get one. A relatively rust free two-door post car was located in sunny California, purchased, and trailered back to sunnier Mesa, Arizona.
Like most of us, Greg works for a living, and didn't have the time or specialized skills to make his dream a reality. So Curt turned him on to Brian Duffee of Duffee Motorsports in Glendale, Arizona. Brian tells PHR, "When Greg contracted us to build a '64 Fairlane that he had recently purchased, I was excited for several reasons. First and foremost he wanted big power. OK, now he had my attention. Then he stated that the car must appear stock with vintage wheels, column shift, and a bench seat. My head was bursting with ideas as we discussed the project over lunch, and we came up with a plan." With the car in the shop and a plan of attack in hand, work started on the 43-year-old ride.
The Fairlane was stripped and acid dipped to reveal bare metal. The exterior of the car needed to keep its old-school vintage feel, but the chassis, suspension, and driveline were going to be updated to modern standards. The old rear frame was ditched, and new 2x3-inch framerails were grafted into place, from the front subframe to the rear bumper. This greatly strengthened the chassis and allowed for suitably large rollers to reside within the rear quarters. Since Greg didn't want to clutter the interior with a 'cage, a custom K-frame was incorporated to further stiffen the chassis. Jeremy Measeles of Duffee Motorsports came up with the one-off front suspension, and did most of the fabrication work on the Fairlane. "For the front suspension, we decided on '95 Mustang spindles, with D&D coilover springs and Tokico struts," Jeremy says. "Not having an upper control arm would allow more room for packaging the two turbos. We started with the wheel and tire in a desirable position, and fabricated the suspension from there. We also routed 1.75-inch tubing through the firewall and cowl areas to absorb forces from the front suspension." In the rear of the car, Jeremy fabricated a three-link suspension around a shortened Currie 9-inch rear. He also eliminated the need for a Panhard rod by making the upper link in a Y-design for lateral control. This meant there would be ample room for the planned 3-inch exhaust. Hey, turbos need plenty of room to exhale.