1964 Ford Fairlane - The Scarlet Letter

During the height of the rice mobile era, an ambiguous red "R" adorned the body panels of many a torqueless import. Rumor has it that these badges were meant to warn onlookers of a car's on-track racing prowess. Notwithstanding, considering their steadfast aversion to acceleration, a more likely explanation is that these red Rs were merely a product of ESL students expressing their enthusiasm for the Roman alphabet they'd just learned about in school. It seems rather peculiar, then, that this relic of a bygone period has recently resurfaced on grilles of some of the finest muscle cars ever assembled. Ringbrothers (www.Ringbrothers.com) is the responsible party, and this Wisconsin-based shop is transforming a scarlet letter that was once mired in ignominy into a red badge of courage.

Look a little bit closer and you'll notice a "B" growing out the side of that big red "R." In recent years, muscle cars affixed with the official Ringbrothers logo have racked up an impressive list of accolades. Brothers Jim and Mike Ring's first foray into the spotlight was with a '67 Mustang fastback called Reactor. Powered by a Roush 427 small-block, it took home the 2007 Goodguys Street Machine of the Year award, and both the Ford Design award and the Mothers Shine award at the 2006 SEMA show. Proving that the first go-round wasn't a fluke, Jim and Mike earned a second Street Machine of the Year award in 2008 with their 454-powered '69 Camaro named Razor. The Camaro wasn't just a looker, either; it laid down some impressive lap times on the autocross course before nabbing the Goodguys trophy.

The duo's next project turned out to be the most challenging to date, however, when customer Ken Smith commissioned the Ring boys to build a 1964 Ford Fairlane. While first-gen Camaros and fastback Mustangs are as mainstream as they get, Fairlanes never earned much street cred and many hot rodders don't even think of them as muscle cars. "To be honest, this car scared the hell out of us. We asked ourselves, 'What the hell are we going to do with a Fairlane?' " Jim says. "Not many people like them, and they're either built as stock restorations or as Thunderbolt clones. Trying to do something unique with a car like this really put our creative ability to the test."

It's been said that great craftsman do their best work in the wake of adversity, and the Ringbrothers' Fairlane is a testament to the shop's creativefortitude. Its skin is a harmonious blend of custom sheetmetal, carbon fiber, and machined billet aluminum trim pieces. Crisp, angular body lines effectively modernize the bulbous contours of FoMoCo's original design. It's an unmistakably aggressive yet minimalist look that very few shops can emulate, and it defines the very essence of every Ringbrothers creation. "I've always thought that the OEM prototypes that you see at car shows are the pinnacle of automotive design. They're the product of designers and engineers going crazy with their ideas before some bean counter gets the chance to mess everything up," Jim says. "That's the kind of unrestrained design philosophy that we try to integrate into each of our projects. We want them to look more like OEM prototypes than the typical hot rod. Sometimes this means you have to think outside the box and take a gamble by seeking out inspiration from unlikely places, and testing out new materials. In fact, I get a lot of ideas on what types of shapes and textures to use by walking through the aisles of Home Depot. A lot of high-end European cars, like Porsches and Lamborghinis, make industrial materials like machined aluminum and carbon fiber look really cool, so we try to incorporate these elements into our cars as well."

Indeed, the prodigious use of CNC-machined aluminum bits is one of the Fairlane's most dramatic design features. Aluminum trim rings outline the headlights, taillights, and exhaust outlets. Underhood, an elaborate network of interwoven aluminum encompasses the Windsor-based 560hp Roush small-block, with details so intricate that it looks like a robotic spider went nuts spinning a liquid metal web. Billet braces tie the shock towers to the firewall, and are hinged on Heim joints. The lattice work continues up front, where a billet skeleton fills in the dead space between the front of the motor and the fan shroud. This seamlessly hides the accessory drive, and attenuates the inherent ugliness of the front-mounted Ford distributor. The cumulative effect of it all yields so much visual impact that it's easy to overlook the machined hood hinges, valve covers, and radiator cap. As eminent as the brightwork may be, it's not the least bit tacky, and that's not a coincidence. "We don't like billet junk or shiny parts that look two-dimensional. Instead of using bling-bling parts that shine in your face, our goal is to make three-dimensional parts in interesting mechanical shapes that grab your attention, but then blend away into the background," Jim says. "With our ability to machine just about anything in-house, we aren't limited to building things out of fiberglass and sheetmetal. We can design parts using CAD software, and tweak them to perfection before actually cutting them out of aluminum, which dramatically speeds up the R&D process. The purpose of many of these machined parts is to improve the overall look of areas of the car that we don't like, such as the shock towers. Mediablasting and anodizing the aluminum parts result in a nice, subdued finish."

Deft integration of machined aluminum, however, is merely one of the many design elements contributing to the Fairlane's overall aggressivedemeanor. The car's custom bodywork is equally impressive, and the transformation started at the quarter-panels. Jim wanted to retain the side vents of the stock Fairlane while making them more pronounced. To that end, the factory vent openings were cut out, reshaped, then filled with carbon fiber and aluminum inserts. In addition to looking cool, the vents are fully functional and direct air to the rear brakes. To complement the dropped stance, the roof was chopped an inch, and a rocker panel lip extends all the way around the car. One of Jim's biggest pet peeves was how droopy the Fairlane's posterior looked, so countless hours were invested to bulk it up. "If you look at a stock Fairlane from the rear profile, the way the quarter-panels drop off makes it look like the car is frowning at you. We hated that, so we ended up stretching the quarter-panels and installing a custom spoiler to square up the car's shoulders," Jim says. "Our approach to building cars isn't about simply welding a spoiler onto the trunk, but instead we custom build parts to match the body lines on a car. We actually recessed the trunk and sunk the spoiler into the decklid to create a unique effect that hasn't been done before. Two small side spoilers on each end of the center spoiler help square everything up. As the car was nearing completion, the owner thought the taillights looked like jet engines, so he named the car 'Afterburner.' "

Not to be outdone by its back end, the front of the Fairlane packs plenty of trick pieces as well. The entire unibody from the front of the firewall forward is completely custom. The result is flat inner fenders that seamlessly blend into the radiator core support and fan shroud. Likewise, the custom carbon-fiber hood is a story in and of itself. Inspired by the GT40 race car, it features a pair of inverted scoops that expel hot air from the fan shroud. It was first cut and welded from steel, primed, and ready for paint. Next, molds were pulled from the top and bottom of the hood, and they were sent off to Gemini Racing in East Troy to complete the carbon-fiber transformation. The front and rear bumpers are also carbon fiber, and were built using a similar production process.

Nearly lost in all the custom ingenuity is a powertrain, suspension, and chassis that ensures that Afterburner has the chops to back up its pleasing aesthetics. Scoot comes from a Roush-built 427 crate motor that uses a Dart 4.125-inch bore block, a forged rotating assembly with 10.25:1 compression, CNC-ported aluminum heads, and a hydraulic roller camshaft. Adding some serious eye candy is a Roush eight-stack intake manifold featuring individual throttle stacks for each intake port. The combo produces 560 hp and a stout 551 lb-ft of torque. It's backed by a paddle-shifted Bowler AOD-E transmission, and a 9-inch rearend. Custom tubular control arms and Penske coilovers take care of ride and handling duties at each corner. Out back, the stock leaf-spring setup was ditched in favor of a custom rear suspension design similar to what's found on third- and fourth-generation Camaros. Custom lower control arms attach the rearend to what used to be the front spring pockets, and a Panhard bar locates the rearend laterally. Forgeline 18-inch EV3 wheels wrapped in Goodyear rubber provide the stick, while Wilwood disc brakes bring everything to a halt.

As no surprise, Afterburner commanded plenty of attention when it debuted at last year's SEMA show. Not only did it win the Ford Design award, an enamored Dearborn executive commented that the Fairlane was the easiest pick for the award since its inception. Furthermore, it's quite possible that Ringbrothers might take home another Street Machine of the Year award with their latest piece of mechanical genius. While the Ring boys appreciate the recognition, they find the building process much more gratifying. "Awards are nice, but that's not why we build these cars. Our goal is to express our passion for the hobby by building cars that push the envelope of design," Jim says. Regardless of why they're built, any car worthy of the big red "R" will be doing its part to elevate high-end street machines to the next level.

For many years, the bulk of Ringbrothers' business was stock restorations, however, when the opportunity arose to exercise their creativity, they pounced. "Whenever you do a stock restoration, someone's always telling you what you can and can't do. We went to Catholic school with ruler-wielding nuns, so we don't like following rules," Jim says. "One of the first cars we built was a '68 Camaro that we cut up quite a bit. That made some people mad, but more and more builders started doing it so it became more of the norm. Building a car is like walking a tightrope, and if you put too much stuff on the car it just won't work. Some of our early cars were over the top, but our approach has definitely evolved over the years. In the early days we'd have to build a car three or four times to get it done right, but not anymore. We have a much better idea of what we want to accomplish, and we've learned that you can build a very aggressive-looking car without going too extreme and throwing on too many parts."

Maybe it has something to do with the laid-back Midwest culture, but Jim and Mike make a dedicated effort to remain humble even as their recognition grows. "Not to take anything away from any of the awards we've won, because we're very proud of them, but when you get back home from these shows life is still the same, and you're no different from the next person. You have to stay true to your roots, and build cars because you're passionate about them, not for awards. We've developed a reputation for doing high-end builds, but that's not entirely true. We still do tons of midrange builds and regular paintjobs too." -Stephen Kim