Hot Rod Bio: 1966 Ford Fairlane Great Race Tribute Build Featuring CVF Racing

At SEMA we caught up with Riley from Riley’s Rebuilds and Audrey, one of the high school builders in their shop, to talk about their 1966 Ford Fairlane. On the surface it’s a cool old Ford. Once you hear the backstory, it becomes a whole lot more than that.

This car has already been through the Great Race, blown up an engine five days before the event, been replaced with another Fairlane on the fly, and still finished the rally.

And that’s just the short version.

It Started with Carburetors

Riley’s shop began with carburetor rebuilding. What started as one girl rebuilding an Edelbrock to fund her own projects turned into a growing shop that now includes several high school students learning hands on automotive skills. Audrey is one of them and specializes in Quadrajets.

The Fairlane became the next step. Not just something to own, but something to build together and actually use.

Five Days Before the Great Race

Originally, they had a different 1966 Fairlane prepped for the Great Race. After a year of work and a heavy thrash leading up to the event, they lost oil pressure during testing and the engine destroyed itself.

Five days before the race.

Instead of backing out, they bought another 1966 Fairlane on the way to the event. The car was painted in a Home Depot parking lot. Parts were swapped on the road. It wasn’t running the first day of the rally.

They still finished.

With multiple breakdowns and constant wrenching, they pushed through the full 2,800 mile event and earned the Never Say Die award.

Road to SEMA

After that experience, they wanted to clean the car up properly and bring it to SEMA the right way. About seven women came back into the shop, redid major parts of the car, and then drove it from Colorado to Las Vegas over four days.

It wasn’t about making it flashy. It was about making it right and enjoying the drive with the people who helped build it.

The Drivetrain and Suspension

The current setup runs a small block Ford paired with a TCI prototype transmission. It’s a 4L60 based unit adapted to the Ford platform, which meant some fabrication and exhaust rework to make it all fit.

That’s part of the fun. Making combinations work that were never meant to.

Out back, it keeps a classic hot rod feel with air shocks and larger rear tires for that slightly higher pro street stance. The adjustability also helps when you’ve got multiple people riding in the car during road trips.

At one point during the Great Race, they were burning intake gaskets within minutes due to the original single carb setup. In the middle of a thrash, they swapped to a dual intake setup just to keep the car alive for the rest of the rally.

Clean Engine Bay with CVF

Under the hood, the CVF accessory drive system keeps things tight and simple. When you’re doing repairs in parking lots or along the side of the road, clean belt routing and easy access matter.

The pulleys fit clean, the brackets don’t fight you, and it keeps the engine bay looking intentional instead of pieced together.

Why a 66 Fairlane?

Riley has always been a Ford person. The Fairlane offered a solid platform with room to grow and enough aftermarket support to keep building on it.

It has the right mix of classic muscle and room to experiment.

And it’s not going anywhere.

More Than Just One Car

This project also represents what Riley’s Rebuilds is about. High school students in the shop weekly. Learning real skills. Building real cars. Traveling. Breaking. Fixing. Finishing.

The Fairlane is just one chapter. There are already plans for future Great Race entries and other long distance events.

Watch the full video on our YouTube Channel.