Hello!

This is my first post here, so forgive me if I mess anything up.

I need some advice concerning my car. I have a 1963 Fairlane 500 sedan. This is my first car, and I've had it for about a year now. It has a 221 V8 and a 2-speed ford-o-matic transmission. I got the car for $3500, and for that price, it's in great condition. However, I'm looking to do some things to it...

For starters, I would like a 3-speed automatic transmission. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not one of these stupid kids that wants to put a gigantic engine & high-performance gear on my car. It's an old 4-door car with the smallest V8 available (in 1963) and I typically drive it as such. However, whenever I hit the gas, I expect it to move. Its performance is anemic, at best. Unfortunately, I have a pretty low budget. If someone could point me in the right direction on this matter, I would greatly appreciate it.


When I first got the car, it started and drove just fine. Sometimes it would stall if you didn't let it run for long enough, but those times were few & far between. However, I went to SC (I live in NC) one time & while there, it started acting up; when I would start it, it would run fine for a moment, then the engine would gradually start sputtering, almost like it wasn't getting enough gas. However, if I let it sit for a few minutes, it would quit that & start running fine. I promptly took the car in to the local repair shop, where they pointed out the carburetor was leaking & needed rebuilt, which I had them do. However, the engine still has that problem to this day. I'll also add that sometimes the engine will sound fine in park/when I first put it in drive, but if I try to drive it, I can't get it to go above 30 mph.

It was pretty cold outside back when I first got the car, and I know these old cars can be cold-natured, but it only started doing this a few months ago. I don't have a whole lot of knowledge of the mechanics of cars, but this sounds to me like some problem with the fuel system. Any thoughts?

Okay, last thing. I'm looking to install a new radio under the dash. I have the radio & the under-dash mounting kit/box. My initial plan was to mount it below where the original radio sits, but when looking at that area, I realized that the radio interferes with not only the ash tray, but also the heater vent. Does anybody have any suggestions as to where to mount the radio & how?

-also, on a side note, I've entertained the thought of getting some kind of green lighting to put in the original radio (it doesn't work, so I see no harm in messing with it) and wiring it so it will come on when the dashboard lights are turned on. If anyone knows of where I could acquire some kind of green LED lights, or knows how I could wire them to my dash lights, please let me know.


Thanks a lot!