Yahoo Autos Junkyard Gem: 1979 Ford Fairmont Station Wagon
During the heyday of the station wagon (Peak Wagon in America came in either 1964 or 1977, when car shoppers could choose between 47 different wagon models), Ford proclaimed itself to be the Wagonmaster in its marketing materials. In 1979, Americans could buy Ford-badged longroofs in three sizes (four, if you count the Econoline-based Club Wagon as a true wagon, which I don't), from the little Pinto on up to the mighty LTD Country Squire. In between those two came the midsize Fairmont wagon, which lived on the new-for-1978 Fox platform and thus was sibling to the same-year Mustang. Here's one of those Fairmont wagons, now residing in a Denver self-service wrecking yard.
The door tag tells us that this car was born at the Kansas City Assembly plant and ordered through the Denver District Sales Office. The original engine was the 200-cubic-inch (3.3-liter) straight-six (which was available in the Mustang through 1981, believe it or not).
Knowing how Fox Fords get engine swaps like some people change their socks (i.e., every few years), we can't be sure this is the original 200. If it is, then it was rated at 85 horsepower. The base engine in 1979 was the 2.3-liter straight-four from the Pinto, which made three more horses than the 200 (keep in mind that the 200 beat the 2.3 on torque, by quite a bit: 154 lb-ft versus 88 lb-ft).
An optional 302-cubic-inch (5.0-liter) small-block V8 was available as well. If you chop two cylinders off this 200, you get the Ford HSC four-cylinder, developed for transverse-mounted use in the Tempo/Topaz a few years later.
Because it was sold new a mile up (actually at 5,518 feet up, the elevation of Lakewood), the engine settings were adjusted for the thinner air.
A four-on-the-floor manual transmission was base equipment, but I've never seen a Fairmont wagon so equipped.
The Mercury-badged twin of the Fairmont was the Zephyr, and of course you could buy a wagon version.
