01 Mar Spanner Works: Donnie Tarentaal
A regular feature by senior workshop technician JP du Plessis outlining the activities of FMM’s workshop personnel who are responsible for repairing, renovating, refurbishing and restoring the museum’s large and varied collection of vehicles. This month, JP reports on the revival of a Fairlane 500 carried out by Donnie Tarentaal…
The Ford Fairlane model started life in 1955 and was named after Henry Ford’s estate in Dearborn, Michigan. Initially, the Fairlane was the flagship model of the long-running Ford models, but was later regarded as a mid-size vehicle after the introduction of the humungous Galaxie. Of course, in modern terms, the Fairlane is still a rather large sedan – measuring just over five metres long and 1,8 metres wide. The museum’s example is a 1964 Fairlane 500 with the rare 260 ci (4 260cc) Windsor V8 that was claimed to deliver 164 hp (122 kW). Donnie Tarentaal was tasked with getting the car up and running after years in storage…
Once the car was in the workshop, Donnie started by checking if the engine turned freely by hand, which it did. Encouraged by this, he cleaned the carburettor and spark plugs before connecting a gravity-feed can of petrol to see if the car would turn over and start on its own power. After some trying, the Fairlane fired up and idled long enough to warm up the engine oil a little so it could be drained properly, and also to check what systems, if any, needed attention. The water pump was immediately identified as needing a replacement and a new one was ordered along with a new petrol pump, spark plugs, coolant hoses, air and oil filters. Donnie then removed the carburettor again to clean and fit a brand new carb kit. While waiting for the parts on order, Donnie removed the brake system components and sent them away for overhauling and a set of brand new flexible hoses to be made up.
When all the new parts had arrived, Donnie started from the bottom, refitting the brake system components and bleeding it through with Castrol DOT 4 brake fluid. The clutch was adjusted, the indicator flasher unit was replaced and the fuel pump, water pump and new hoses were fitted. He then finished by servicing the engine, fitting new spark plugs, air filter and, finally, adding new coolant and lubricants all round.
After a good test drive around the estate, the car made its way to Paarl for a new exhaust. Donnie returned to the workshop all smiles, with the rumble of the V8 sounding nice and crisp.
