1963 Ford Galaxie Fastback
1963 Ford Galaxie 500
Up for sale is my 1963 1/2 Ford Galaxie 500 Fastback. It has a 390 big block engine and 4 speed toploader transmission. I have owned and garage kept this car for the last 15 years. I really do enjoy driving and working on her but I must sell due to financial reason(kids college divorce new house).
This Galaxie was built in the DallasTx. Ford plant and was originally a Corinthian white fastback with a small block engine automatic transmission and air conditioning. I'm guessing it spent it's entire life in west Texas because there isn't a bit of rust anywhere and the fine talc dirt I found in the frame rails. When I say NO RUST I don't mean it has been cut out and repaired. This car is totally rust free in the body and frame. That's pretty good for 62 years old. The car was already painted turquoise with a bright white roofwhen I purchased it and I can say it is a very nice job. All the door jambs interior andinside the hood and trunk match. You would be hard pressed to find any of the original color paint. Only behind/under the back seat under the carpet and deep inside the trunk can you find any original white paint. The interior is white vinyl with a bench seat. I added seat belts as a bit of a safety feature
So here is some of the work I have done over the years mostly drivetrain related;
- The engine is an original '63 390block bored .030" over and both cylinder banks decked to true things up. The crank was turned and assembled with newClevite 77bearings. The pistons are TRW flat tops with moly rings. The connecting rods are later model Cobra Jet items. I choose a mildComp cam grind 270-H with their lifters. The heads are FE 406 high performance items C3AE-6090Cwith all new valves guides seals springs and keepers. They were both ground true on all mating surfaces. I topped of the engine with a Edelbrock Performer RPM manifold and a Holley 670 cfm vacuum secondary carburetor. All in all I have about $3K in the motor for machine work and parts. The motor starts right up(mini starter) every timeand runs great all day long.
- All the coolingissues that FE engines are know for have been worked out. The radiator was cleaned and roded out and I still use the original radiator tank mounted on the intake manifold.It has a FlowKooler water pump that is overdriven 10% of the crank speed. An original fan with new Hayden clutch fan is used. And the biggest improvement has been the addition of an original Ford steelfan shroud. These were only used on air conditioned cars and it makes all the difference(hard to find and expensive). You can sit in traffic all day long and the engine will not over heat.
- The car has a set of ceramic coated FPA(Ford Powertrain Application)headers. They ARE the very best headers made for Ford products and fit the early FE exhaust ports correctly. Downstream there is a $1K custom exhaust system consisting of 2 1/2" mandrel bentpipe and 50 series Flow Master mufflers. The 50 series do not drone like the 40 series so you can cruise all day comfortably.
- The brakes are still the original single master cylinder with drum brakes at all 4 corners. I rebuilt everything in the system and they work great and do not pull at all. I had planned to upgrade to a new duel master cylinder and front disk brakes but never got around to it. I have lots of info on the topic and there are plenty of complete kits available to make this swap if you wanted to.
- There are new 5leaf springs used for station wagons in the rear. The original 3 leaf springs always had the rear end hanging low and the 5 leaf brings the car up level.
- The transmission is a 1964 toploader that I built in wide ratio. The earlier Borg Warner T10 units were weak and had problems. This trans in wide ratio is so muchmore enjoyableto drive around town than the close ratio. The engine has a billet steel flywheel with a Zoom clutch.There is a Hurst shifter doing the duties of changing gears.
- Downstream of the trans is a rebuilt drive shaft with new slip yokeconnected to a Ford "big Bearing" 9" rear end. The 3rd member was built using a newStrange S-Series ironcase. The case houses an Auburn Gear Pro Series limited slip differential with 3.50 gears. All carrier and axle bearings and seals were replaced during the build.
I would call the exterior a9 out of 10 because the anodized trim is in onlygoodcondition but it's all there. Both bumpers are re-chromed and the grill is refurbished as well as a few trim pieces. The wheels are American Racing 15" and the tires are getting a bit worn and old(I drive it). The interior is an 8 out of 10 with new blackcarpet. The shifter hump is an original steel item with the trim ring.
I would have no hesitation driving this car anywhere anytime. The motor is very strong and will haul this 4500# car around like you can't believe. Everything works as it should and it has no bad habits. I am less than 50 miles south of Carlisle Pa. andmay be able todeliver the car to the All Ford show June 5-7 if purchased. Or if you were attending I'm an easy drive away to take a look at her. I'm sure there are plenty of things I have forgot to mentionor you have questions about. So please feel free to call me Andy at 410 207-6232with your questions or to schedule a time to see and driveher.
I hate to see her go and I'm not going to give her away but I do need to make a sale to pay some bills. Thanks for looking.
- Make: Ford
- Model: Galaxie
- SubModel: 500
- Type: Fastback
- Trim: 500
- Year: 1963
- Mileage: 99,999
- VIN: 3D66C149802
- Color: Turquoise
- Engine size: FE 390
- Number of cylinders: 8
- Transmission: Manual
- Drive type: RWD
- Interior color: White
- Vehicle Title: Clear Want to buy? Contact seller!