What began as a father and son project for Mark Staton and father Greg has changed course from a street rod build to a 7.50 Index racer. Early in 2009, Mark and Greg wanted to build a car together, but they were unsure of the direction of the project. Mark was more interested racing but his father wanted more of a street rod. At first they had little luck in finding suitable car, finding several that were too expensive too cut up, and frankly, a lot of junk.
They ran across this '62 Ford Fairlane in the back of a car lot; it was clean with a stock six-cylinder, a "three-on-the-tree," and the price was right for the unique ride, so they took it home and Greg drove it various local car shows near Plant City, Florida for several months.
Gary travels through nearby Hillsborough to Pasco County for work and noticed a new shop out on 301 going up. Turns out it was
Pro-Fab Performance and one day he stopped and talked to Dave Piercy, partner of Matt LaRue in the venture. After talking with Dave and Matt about the car they scrapped the idea of swapping the original motor and transmission for a stock 302/C4 combo and decided to build something with a little more power.
I had seen the car at Pro-Fab while there for another shoot with a mock up short block installed earlier this year, eventually I met Mark at the track where I found he was also a member of Yellow Bullet, where he posted this
build thread. At this point the roll bar is finished as well as the engine but there is quite a bit of work left to do. It will be turn key when the Staton’s pick it up.
The father and son team plan to race locally and with the ORTC in the 7.50 index class at first, then down the road step up to 6.50 and beyond as funds and fun allow. I like to see new families come into the sport, it’s a good way to send quality time together, the fact they chose this unique old school car makes it all the better.
The 302 based engine was punched out to and topped with Edelbrock Performer RPM heads and matching Air Gap intake with a 750 Holley carb to mix the fuel and air. A Competition Cams hydraulic roller camshaft directs the vales. The machine work was performed at Fast Forward Race Engines and assembled in house at Pro-Fab. They expect about 400rwhp which should be plenty for the intended use.
As the new build progressed dad eventually came around to the idea of racing the car and added a 6-point roll bar, 9-inch rear swap and full manual C4 transmission build to the list.
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Father and Son Project ‘62 Fairlane Aims for 7.50 Index Class
Threaded Mode