1980 Ford Fairmont from North America - Comments

Transmission completely died, body terribly rusty. Alternator went one time.

Well, this was my first car. I bought it from a friend of a relative for 100 bucks. It had been sitting in some grass for a while, so of course it was pretty rotten. The body was very rusty, but the rest of the car seemed to be OK. When I went to have it inspected, I was told the torque box on the frame needed to be welded back together. I knew this had been bad because when I was driving it, when I stepped on the gas, I could feel the car twist sideways. The bottoms of the doors were flaky with rust. Inspections back then were pretty lenient, they've gotten much tougher over the last 10 years. The car was pretty basic, It has power steering, power brakes, a one speaker AM radio, and a rear window defroster. I believe these were all options at the time the car was built, with the exception of the radio, which could have been deleted for dealer credit. My Fairmont had the small 255 V8, it wasn't very powerful, but it ran pretty smoothly. I had the 3 speed automatic, but when I bought it, third gear only worked occasionally so it was kind of anoying to drive on the highway, I only drove it 80 km/h when third wasn't working. One time though, I was in a big hurry, so I drove it at 120 km/h, I didn't have a tach, but I'm willing to bet the engine was turning over pretty fast. I only drove it like that for maybe 20 minutes, but in that short time I burned a lot of gas. In the times that the transmission actually worked, I easily cruised along at 75-80 mph. This car actually handled quite well for having a cheap suspension and smallish 14 inch tired, it rode pretty comfortably. I loved how roomy the car was, 6 people would fit without a problem on the front and rear bench seats. These cars were so easy and cheap to fix, I had to replace an alternator once, at the time I hardly knew anything about fixing cars and all I had were a few wrenches, but I got it done quickly. The transmission was bad when I bought it, I didn't know what the problem was at the time. I was told that it may have been a modulator valve. Now, since this was my first car, I knew nothing about adding fluids and maintaining proper levels, so I think I may have killed the transmission. Not knowing exactly how to check transmission fluid, I did anyway and decided it was low. I added a whole quart if my memory recalls when it probably needed lass than half a quart. I assume I overfilled it, because it slowly deteriorated. After a while, it would alternately slip and stick, so I was unable to get up over a hill a few times, then later on it refused to shift, so I had to do it manually, putting it in first, then shifting to second. Not long afterwards, I lost reverse. Not too long after I lost reverse, I got rid of it. I miss the hell out of that Fairmont. You know what they say about your first car, that you never forget it. I know I sure won't. Between myself, my father and my grandfather, we've had probably 6 Fairmonts, for parts or to be driven. If there were any good Fairmonts left around here, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

I agree, I am 24 years old and still have my 1978 Fairmont, 2 door, 4 cylinder, since 1996 (when I turned 16, it was my first car too!) I have sold it twice and re-purchased it. Now I need a paint job, the body has no rot, can you believe that? I live in Michigan and trust me, its seen lots and lots of salty winter roads. If you want to talk about it, e-mail me and Chriznat20@sbcglobal.net.

What is it about Fairmont that captivate some people and repel others? My friends make fun of my 82 Fairmont Futura, but I don't see why. It's a beautiful 2 door, midnight blue, classic looking beast with all the trim and chrome intact. The interior is very clean, despite the headliner falling and subsequently being removed. Amenities, however, are few and far between. It boasts a broken rear window defogger, bench vinyl seats, a tape player I installed in the 90s...and that's about it. There's no rust, however, despite the car living in snowy Chicago followed by snowier South Bend, IN. It runs great for a 22 year old car. Unfortunately, the timing chain recently broke along with the rear-wheel differential. The second one was, needless to say, very expensive to fix and probably a result of spirited driving. Of course, the car only has 75,500 miles on it, so I'm sure I can expect trouble at some point. Nonetheless, I think it will be great for miles to come. Fairmonts are superb cars when when treated as such.

Hey my name is Daniel and I live in Chicago. My ex-girlfriend's dad has a 80 Fairmont sitting in his garage and he asked me if I want it, but I know I need to put a lot of work into it and I need at least 800 dollars to start off. Is it worth it?

My name is Keith, and I love any car with American Spirit and personality. My problem, as with a little old lady collecting cats, I have the same problem with cars accumulating. One of these cars is a flashy, split vinyl and chrome roofed, faded blue, rust free 1980 Fairmont Futura from Oregon, with a 200C.I.D. bullet proof cast iron straight six with a one barrel and C4 automatic transmission with 96,000 miles. Amazingly it gets 23 mpg.It has the factory sunroof, bucket seats with terrycloth inserts, rear window defogger, power windows, cruise, super factory undercoat. Although I much prefer my classic cars of the 50's and 60's One thing that I have noticed about this car is it feels similar to driving my old 65 mustang convertible. Also, even though some yuppie with a cell phone may think it's not dependable enough for them, if something does break, it's very quick, easy, and cheap to fix (on the road if necessary) and it is a sweet driver with a very attractive roof line. I believe that although few 80's cars will be very collectible, I cannot see the 80 Futura being anything, but. I have seen 2 restored with show paint jobs in Minnesota car shows, and they have been gorgeous. Most of the remaining ones, just need this opportunity.

Oh yes, it is soooooooo collectable! NOT!

In response to last comment, as the saying goes, one mans junk is another mans treasure. All it takes for harmony, is for the person that thinks that another's treasure is junk, to have respect for the insight of the individual that can see treasure in whatever it is. My insight is limited in understanding why anyone would want to increase Americas national debt by buying a new foreign car, and sending that money to foreign economies, that are now taking over our shut down American factories for pennies on the dollar, and now have Americans working for foreign interests, on American soil. But if that is their choice, so be it.