This 1957 Ford Fairlane Pro-Touring Monster with 500+ N/A HP
There's something gloriously rebellious about sliding a 4,400-pound, steel-bodied '57 Fairlane through an autocross corner—especially when it's driven to and from the event like it's no big deal. Lars Ekberg isn't out here trying to win a points championship; he's addicted to driving, building, and toasting tires.
We first spotted Lars and his heavy-hitting Ford at Holley's Ford Fest. The car's wide hips, factory hardtop lines, and raw rumble stood out in a sea of late-model Mustangs and Fox bodies.
Today, a full-sized late-50s Ford doesn't seem like the ideal racecar, but it's arguably one of the era's most stylish and beautiful American cars. Classic car debate aside, full-bodied 1957 Fairlane racecars are a thing, making runs at Pikes Peak and competing in the NASCAR Grand National series with drivers like "Fireball" Roberts. Far from yesteryear's rough and dirty stock cars, Lars is just as comfortable at the car show, autocross track, or fast-food drive-through.
"I wanted something different," Lars says. "This was an eBay find. It had manual steering, four-wheel drum brakes, and all the original 1957 running gear." He bought it to cruise around Mooresville, North Carolina, but over the years, it evolved—slowly and then all at once—into the autocross-capable, street-driven, small-block-Ford-powered beast you see here.
Underneath the Fairlane's show-quality paint is a chassis thoroughly reengineered by his friends at ACME Hi-Performance in Statesville, NC. They merged a Detroit Speed Gen-X front clip and fabbed the custom four-link rear suspension. "This was one of their first big full-car builds," Lars explains. "They went all-in on it."
The ACME team shoved the engine back nine inches. The result? Lars says it's within three-tenths of a percent of perfect 50/50 weight distribution—insane for a full-size car that still has sound deadening, carpet, A/C, and street manners.
The 468ci stroker is built around an aluminum Genesis 427 side-oiler block, with old-school Blue Thunder heads ported by Keith Craft. A Comp hydraulic roller cam, Victor intake, and a rotation of Holley XP carbs help tune the setup for whatever event Lars is headed to. The carb is mounted sideways to clear the firewall. "I'm a little more old-school," Lars says. "I'm not a computer guy—I'm more comfortable tuning a carb."
The Fairlane made 560 rear-wheel horsepower on pump gas. Power hits a TKO 600 five-speed and spins through a 9-inch rear end with a lightweight H-case center section—a leftover NASCAR piece he picked up locally. Lars recently swapped the Detroit Locker for a TrueTrac to help with stability in autocross, saying the locker would unload the rear mid-corner.
As serious as it is under the skin, Lars refuses to treat the Fairlane like a show queen. He's put more than 120,000 miles on the car since building it, including a dozen Hot Rod Power Tours. He even drove it to our shoot location—the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC—where he volunteers.
The road dents and dings, the swapped-in parts, and the miles on the odometer all point to the same conclusion: Lars built this car to drive. And whether it's carving cones, cruising through Mooresville, or laying a smoky burnout for the crowd at Ford Fest, the Fairlane does just that—with style, balance, and just the right amount of chaos.