Garrett & his grandfather's 1959 ford fairlane 500 galaxie
Imagine the car that got away. Now, imagine learning how to drive a manual in your dreams...from your grandfather.
A 1957 Fairlane was that car that got away for Garrett's grandfather. He sold it when he was young, joined the military and vowed that one day he would have another Fairlane. Today, a 1957 Fairlne is both rare and very expensive; a decent one will cost you $40,000. So when Garrett's grandfather set out for the restoration, he bought two, one to restore and one for parts. He waited until Garrett's dad graduated high school before beginning to restore it. He worked on almost everything himself, from the drivetrain, body, and engine, and the family still has many of the parts leftover back in Virginia.
Unfortunately, Garrett never got to know his grandfather and ride around in the Fairlane together. In 2001, shortly after completing the restoration, his grandfather attended a Ford show in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He had not been feeling well and wanted to go and rest in the camper, but after his friends were concerned he was sleeping too long, they came back to find him having passed away in his sleep from a heart attack.
"I'll sell the house before I'll sell this car. It's the biggest thing I have from him"
Garrett prayed that someday he would meet his grandfather, even if only in a dream. Around 2016 or 2017, while visiting Virginia, he dreamed he was driving this Fairlane, through the country roads, stopped on a hillside by a field with the setting Sun. Remarkably, he was driving a manual, which he had not even learned how to do yet.
The next morning, he woke up feeling like something was different. Garrett and his dad took the car to church. Garrett asked his dad if he could start the car and drive it a bit. His dad tossed him the keys, they hopped in. Garrett drove that car around for a good thirty minutes without stalling it once. Amazed, his dad asked how he knew how to drive a manual; no one taught him before and he thought his son had not paid enough attention to learn. Garrett replied,
"Grandfather taught me in a dream."
Years later, they brought the Fairlane to Martinsville Speedway. The very first gentleman to approach them was asking questions about the car and listened as they shared the story of his grandfather that passed away the the show. The man's face changed to shock.
"I was there."
He remembered hearing the announcements over the loudspeaker that someone had passed away in their camper and that the show held a moment of silence in his grandfather's honor. Garrett's grandmother never knew that happened, that the whole Ford show community paused to remember her husband.
Riding along in the trunk is a 1960 Murray pedal car, almost as old as the Fairlane itself. Garrett restored us as a school project and painted it the exact same Colonial White as his grandfather's Fairlane, a small but incredible tribute to the legacy he left behind.
I captured Garrett and his grandfather's Fairlane, and the matching pedal car, on black glass using a large format 8x10 camera. Some stories deserve more than what a digital photograph can provide. Check out the hostorical process here on Instagram and the plate on the right.
- Dry Plate Number: 20260718-A-01
- Subject: Garrett Robertson and his grandfather’s 1959 Ford Fairlane 500 Galaxie
- Location: Cars & Coffee at the Charlotte Motor Speedway
- Date: July 18th, 2026
- Information: Handmade gelatin silver dry plate photograph on black glass created one plate at a time on a large-format 8x10 camera.
