Which limited-production Ford drag car was based on the Fairlane for 1964?

The limited-production Ford drag car based on the Fairlane for 1964 was the Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt.

Ford created the Thunderbolt as a factory experimental drag-racing version of the Fairlane. It used the lighter two-door Fairlane 500 sedan body but was extensively modified to accept Ford’s high-rise 427-cubic-inch FE V8, an engine originally intended for the much larger Galaxie.

Weight reduction was central to the design. Fiberglass and aluminum components, Plexiglas windows, deleted equipment, special suspension parts, and a trunk-mounted battery helped offset the big engine. The distinctive teardrop hood and openings in place of the inner headlights supplied clearance and air to the dual four-barrel carburetors.

The cars were assembled with help from Dearborn Steel Tubing rather than built as ordinary Fairlanes on a standard production line. Approximately 100 were produced, enough to satisfy contemporary NHRA homologation requirements. Thunderbolts dominated Super Stock competition, including the 1964 NHRA championship, and became one of Ford’s most celebrated factory-built drag cars.