Sassy Streetcar: Bill Armstrong’s 8-Second Twin Turbo 1966 Fairlane

By Brian Wagner August 16, 2021Bill Armstrong’s 1966 Ford Fairlane is such a clean looking car, if you saw it at a car show with the hood down you’d probably walk right past it and not give it a second look. The understated look of Bill’s Fairlane is hiding its true form: a 1,300 horsepower stick-shifted animal that destroys most cars at the track with its 8-second passes.

Bill has owned his Fairlane since 1990 and he’s been slowly refining the car since the day he purchased it. The car’s current combination features a 427 cubic-inch Windsor small-block Ford mill that’s based around a stout Dart block. A pair of Garrett turbos are Bill’s power-adder of choice for this fantastic Ford. What makes this Ford so cool is the faceplated T-56 Magnum transmission and the Bangshift Billy clutch controller that make it possible to apply all 1,300 horsepower to the track’s surface. Oh, and the Fairlane is a street car, is still rocking a full exhaust, and has gone 8.70 at 165 MPH weighing in at a hefty 3,800 pounds.

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Fast street cars will never go out of style, and Bill’s Fairlane absolutely falls into that category. The Ford has competed in Multiple Rocky Mountain Race Week and Street Car Takeover races. Since Bill still has a full exhaust on the car you can’t really tell how nasty it is as he does a big burnout or makes a full pull down the track.

The crew at 1320Video caught up with Bill during the Street Car Takeover event at Bandimere Speedway where he was competing in the Stick Shift class. It’s awesome to watch Bill and his Fairlane just walk through the field of fast cars and nearly record a new personal best time at Bandimere’s high altitude.