After a side-swipe setback, Scott Sheppard’s Fairlane 500 was rebuilt at home over several years with the help of some mates. Here’s his brief story on the build, which includes some custom interior updates and a four-point rollcage.

First published in the July 2025 issue of Street Machine

“I got my 1967 Fairlane 500 in 2005, after it had been built up in Victoria and the owner moved to Queensland.

“At the time, the car had a stock body and interior and was running a solid-cammed 351 Cleveland and the stock auto and diff. A few years later, I chucked on my Cragar Pro Stars off my old XA GT, but in 2011, the Fairlane was side-swiped by an 80-year-old.

“I worked on fixing it over several years, and in 2022, it was finally painted in Pearl Blue Metallic two-pack. It now runs the full interior from a 1989 NA Fairlane, including the front and rear seats, centre console and carpet, but it also has a custom dash, touchscreen head unit and a four-point rollcage.

“I swapped the auto for a T5 five-speed manual and added an XY ute LSD with 3.5:1 gears. The engine has been rebuilt and de-stroked to 333 cubes; the mechanic who built it for me did all the old Ford tow trucks, and he suggested I de-stroke it to give it a lot more torque to help get the heavy Fairlane out of the hole better, and I can tell you this is 100 per cent true!

“My XA GT had a pretty hot 351 in it before it came off the road for a rebuild, and the ZA’s engine has a lot more low-down grunt than it ever did.

“It isn’t the prettiest car out there and there are flaws, but everything except the engine was done at home with mates, so I’m pretty happy with what we’ve done.”

Got a sweet ride that’s currently in the build and want to share it with our readers? Email photos of it (2MB+ each) along with some details on the build to [email protected].