YouTuber and journalist Steve Magnante takes a look at a 1978 Ford Fairmont, a car that is every bit the classic muscle wagon.
If you want to know anything interesting about cars in junkyards, then look no further than Steve Magnante. The automotive journalist and YouTuber has a knack for finding some truly fascinating cars sat around in various junkyards. Be they Japanese classics like the Honda Prelude or even the weird and wonderful car that is the Pontiac Aztek. Magnante knows a thing or two about so many different cars. And that is clearly on show in one of his latest videos.
Magnante in his latest video is in Auburn, Massachusetts and has come across quite the interesting machine. It is a 1978 Ford Fairmont station wagon, and while that might seem somewhat unremarkable, this one has quite a big V8 engine under the hood. In fact, this particular Fairmont has the biggest V8 available in its line. Making it quite the fascinating example of the Fairmont. The Fairmont was a result of the 1973 oil crisis and was the first Ford engineered from the ground up to be as economical as possible. And it has an interesting story to tell.
Ford’s First True Attempt At An Economical Car
As Magnante says at the start of his video, this was the first car Ford made that was light, tight, and economical and designed as such from scratch. This is a fascinating contrast, being a Wagon and a Fairmont as well. The Fairmont was the beginning of the Fox platform as well, heralding in the Fox Mustang that first appeared in 1979. Under the skin, both are actually the same cars, although the Mustang is actually shorter and a little taller as well. Under the hood of this Fairmont is of course a V8 engine.
Magnante can’t quite open the hood, but points out the basic two-headlight grille on the front and the aluminum bumpers. By this point, aluminum bumpers were standard across every Fairmont to help save weight on the cars. Magnante shows us an old copy of Car and Driver, in which Don Sherman praises the Fairmont sedan and how it was very much like a Volvo. The Fairmont really was a big deal for Ford, and this one also has optional shades on the door too. We have a look at the VIN on the door to find out what engine this car has.
A Mighty V8 Lies Under The Hood Of This 1978 Fairmont
The fifth spot of the VIN reveals an F. This means it is a 302 ci V8 engine, a $319 option as well. This Magnante says it is as wild as it gets, and this Fairmont also has a C4 automatic transmission. So this Fairmont is quite a punchy one, as punch as it gets Magnante says making this Fairmont quite a special machine. What makes the Fairmont so good is that it has a nice, big and comfy interior for the whole family to get around in.
Although this Fairmont now has quite a few tires inside it! Magnate points out too that when the Fairmont came out, minivans were still some 10 years away, so this really was the perfect car for families. No doubt this one was once used to go to events like soccer games or take the kids to school. You could have had a Bronco, but they were so much thirstier at a time when gas was super expensive. Simplified Ford Fairmont hubcaps now adorn this particular example, the originals clearly replaced at some point. These hubcaps are certainly rusted!
A Ford That Is Apparently Immune To Rust
Speaking of rust, we see a sticker inside the door that says that the vehicle is “rustproofed by Zierbart.” The idea of this was that holes were actually drilled through the car that would be then filled with wax that then melted and congealed. It would protect the inner surface from corrosion, although most rust happens from the outside in. And it clearly did not work too much on this Fairmont! One cool thing about these V8 Fairmonts though as Magnante says is that the rear coil springs are the stiffest and tallest of the bunch. Perfect for if you need them for a 5.0-liter Mustang.
The Original Muscle Wagon And One Very Cool Ford
This one even has the optional roof rack on top of it, Magnante manages to give us a little look in the trunk of the Fairmont. It’s now full of junk but back in the day, it would absolutely have plenty of space inside it. There were a lot of positives to this Fairmont, and as Magnante says they had various variations as well and were very easy to modify and become street racers and drag racers. The Fairmont is a proper muscle wagon in this big V8 form, and it’s fascinating to dive deep into its past.
