Many cars look better in 1:64 then 1:1. Early 60s Mopar full size, Chevy Nova, etc. look better as JLs than 1:1s. Here's another one, the early 80s Ford Fairmont Futura and Mercury Zephyr Z7. :dude: I think they would make knockout JL castings :thumbsup:
And think about making a custom Ranchero type pickup out of them as one company in Texas did to the 1:1s.
For some reason my friends and I hated those cars when they were new. Now they don't look quite so bad, I guess. The grille detailing looks particularly nice, if a bit plain. Still, I think that these cars may be more appropriate as Fresh Cherries than JLs.
You have to view these cars (Futura/Z7) through the period of the times. When those two came out, I thought it was a fresh twist on the standard Fairmont/Zephyr, and it played nicely with the new design of the Thunderbird/Cougar roofline.
Was it boxy? Sure. Boxy was "in" in the late 70s for the most part. But it was a unique roofline
I remember the Fairmonts & Zephyrs vividly. I worked for Hertz at Denver Stapleton at the time they were new. They replaced the Maverick/Comet in the Hertz fleet and they were a huge improvement on those cars. They were well designed. They were reasonably quick. They had big trunks. They had lots of glass with only very thin pillars in the way of the driver's view. Instruments were big and easy to read. The Fairmont/Zephyr was really a quite nice car. However it was admittedly relentlessly boring with postal service type styling. But compared to other Fords you could rent from Hertz at the time (older Mavericks, LTD IIs, LTDs, Mustang IIs) they were excellent.
By the way, the pickup conversion from the Fairmont Futura coupe was called the "Durango". I am a Ranchero fan but I have never seen a Durango. I'd like to own one.
Id buy a 1/64 of a Fairmont Futura or Z7 , but they most likely wouldnt be a real popular car . Some of Fresh Cherrys choices arent too good either . 81 Escort ? 84 Fiero ? 84 Tempo ? They would be much better if they chose later versions that were much improved in styling & quality . 86 or later versions .... To each their own ....
I'd buy them. I liked this car alot when it came out. I still do. Also consider the fact that it was also popular on the dragstrips and I think alot of people would also buy a drag version of this car if JL made it.
I always thought these were a huge improvement over the sedan version. A neighbor of mine had a Zephyr Z7 in black with gold vinyl roof and interior and pinstripes. Sort of like a goldish buckskin color. Hot Wheels actually did make a Fairmont Futura back in the days when these cars were fairly new. It was done up in a Nascar style and I think had a rear spoiler. I have one in my collection somewhere.....As for the sedans, my brother-in-law had a Fairmont 2 door sedan, in that dark brown most of them seemed to be. When he was dating my sister and picked her up, he would open the passenger door for her and ask her to step into his a BMW.....he called it that because it looked just a much like a box as those did back then.
X2
The Fairmont body was slippery enough that NASCAR would'nt let the Ford teams use it. Instead they made them use the T-bird. I think Bob Glidden's success in drag racing with the Fairmont doomed it in NASCAR.
They werent a great car but tell me one that was from the late 70's
I agree that this would make a good Fresh Cherries casting.
I also agree that the 2-doors are actually decent-looking, whereas the 4-doors are dull as dirt. Buddy of mine in high school had a 4-door... ew.
And I also agree that these things make decent street machines. Aren't the underpinnings interchangeable with Mustangs from that time period? (Or did someone already post that and I missed it?)
I would really like to see this casting. My Grandpa had a 1980 Farirmont Futura, and for my first car, I almost bought a 1979 Zephyr Z7.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Hobbyist Forums
4.3M posts
95.3K members
Since 2000
A forum community dedicated to all Hobbyists. Come join the discussion about die cast, models, slot cars, radio control vehicles, classifieds, swaps, and more!