Saw this on eBay; brought back a lot of memories. Edsels of the same period are typically described as “rare”, but actually this Galaxie 4-door is much more rare today than ’59 Edsels, even though Ford produced about 10 times as many 1959 Galaxies than Edsels!
This is typical of the way the old car hobby distorts reality. Cars are restored and preserved based on their perceived desirability. More Edsels were saved because they were considered unique, low-production flops which “might be worth a lot of money someday.” And most ’59 Fords you see today are convertibles, “retractables”, and the occasional 2-door hardtop. So cars like this 4-door Galaxie sedan have become the true rarities!
This Galaxie 4-door sedan was Ford’s best selling model in ’59, outside of the low-priced Custom 300 series. Ford banged out 183,000 of these, and 460,000 Galaxies total. Galaxie, with its “Thunderbird” roof was a roaring sales success–Ford billed them as the “World’s Most Beautifully Proportioned Cars”, and looking at the sedan above, I think there is some validity to that claim. (However, the ungainly Retractables, which everybody seems to love so much, I find rather ill-proportioned.)
Excerpts from the 1959 Ford brochure:
If you need help with the French, say “Coh-mee-tay Frahn-say Dell-lell-eh-gahns”
Who writes this stuff . . . ?
Uh . . . sure!
. . . said no one ever. BTW, are there any girls around today named “Nancy”?
Yeah . . . in a late-night snowstorm by little old ladies who left their glasses at home!
I was drawn to this eBay listing because it not only shows a rare survivor car that I really like, but there were also many clear, detailed photos of the car listed. And then there is the fact that this car is so original, including the paint! (Nothing “stupid” has been added on to it either–making it even more rare!)
Yes, this is the way I remember them when I was a little kid in the early 1970s. I liked that bold chrome “V” combined with those bright red “Iris Eye” taillights. For some reason I saw many more Galaxies than Custom 300s (which lacked the “V”).
I liked the front too. Massive looking, with a lot of interesting details like the wide “Fashion Star Grille” made up of sparkling anodized aluminum stars.
This photo really captures what I’m talking about. It’s about 1975 or so, we’re riding our bikes and parked on the next street–“Wow, it’s a neat old car!” Let’s go check it out. “It’s a FORD . . . Galaxie!” So that’s what these cars are! Yes, this is what a typical survivor back then would look like–some scuffing on the paint, wide whitewalls replaced with narrow ones, but it’s all there and still running! Somebody’s still driving it!
After the early ’70s, I can only recall two 1959 Ford sedans. One was this Geranium and White two-toned job abandoned in the woods near me. The other was a black Custom 300 2-door, occasionally seen in my high school parking lot. I’ve seen maybe one or two more at car shows over the years, but that’s about it.
We’ve got some interior shots too. I admire the effort to repair the original upholstery with hand stitching, but things still look pretty ratty. However in 1975, this would be a typical look.
I like the instrument panel on these too. Typical “50s Modern”, but not extreme. Lots of chrome. Luckily, reproduction knobs are available to replace the broken ones. (You’d have to trade up to an Edsel or Mercury to get nice, durable chrome-plated metal knobs instead of plastic).
Technically, the Galaxie is part of the Fairlane 500 series, so you get a little gold plaque to stamp this car as unmistakably “Galaxie”.
The engine looks well cared for. It’s a 332 V-8 with automatic transmission. I don’t see power steering, so it takes some effort to hustle this big tank around!
Black is assigned as Color “A”, the first letter of the alphabet, because this is a Ford–and Henry said “You can get any color as long as it’s black.” Colors after “A” are “frivolities”.
There are many more good photos of the car, but I can’t include them all. The sellers are asking $14,959, which seems like a lot. I bought my 1958 Custom 300 4-door in 2014 for $4,500 and it was in better shape than this car. It has power steering too! So either I got a great bargain or prices have really gone up. I see this pattern all the time–eBay and Craigslist cars with really high asking prices. The cars don’t sell, and they end up getting re-listed over and over for months and months. Makes no sense to me.
Edsels, Thunderbirds, and Retractables were more likely to be saved–while the “regular” Fords, regarded as “nothing special” were junked by the megaton. Hence they have become more rare than the production “rarities”.
Nevertheless, I’m glad I found this listing because it showcases a car I fondly remember (in the condition I typically remember them). Too bad “the hobby” shows so little interest in preserving cars like this!
See also: Cohort Outtake: 1959 Ford Galaxie–The Missing Ford CC
No question about it. Over the past 40 years I have watched countless examples of 2 door coupes and convertibles being subjected to ground up restorations with only a handful of 4 door sedans and 4 door pillarless hardtops getting similar treatment.
In many case excellent 4 door models were even broken up to restore yet another 2 door model. As a result your typical car show displays rows and rows of coupes and convertibles. It’s reached a point where the now rare 4 door body styles attract all the attention as they are such a rare item at car shows.
Because of this, I have long held the view that the few 4 door survivors at exist today will increasingly be seen as the unique and desirable cars that they are. This is particularly true of 4 door pillarless hardtops.
Increasingly, the old view that only 2 door cars are collectable is today no longer relevant, loosing ground and we have a generation who can appreciate 4 or 2 door styles in wagon, sedan or pillarless 4 models.
How much better car shows would be if a variety of body styles where displayed rather than endless rows of coupes and convertibles.
This ´59 Galaxie is a great example.
10-or-so-year-old kid at a local Cars & Coffee a number of years back, “Dad, that’s a Pontiac? It can’t be. It’s not a GTO or a Firebird.”
Even now he’d see a dozen Vibes a day, but might not recognize them as anything unusual.
The lopsided 2-door survival rate seems to particularly affect Chevelles, especially ’72 or earlier. If you looked at what’s out there today, you’d think most of them were SS 396 hardtops or convertibles. What, there was a 4 door post sedan and a station wagon too? Go ahead, do a Google image search for “Chevelle”, optionally with your favorite year. Even scroll down a bit. Nothing but 2-doors.
Nice write up Carl, i bought this Fairlane and love it.
As one who sold a four-door, full-sized Ford (albeit four years newer and in similar to somewhat better condition if lumping together the interior and exterior) that asking price of $15k is a combination of optimism and greed that has no bearing in reality.
Carl Kelsen is spot-on about four-doors. A four-door drives the same as a two-door and looks the same when peering out the windshield.
I hope this ’59 finds a good home although I suspect it’ll have the same owner for some time yet.
This might be the 7:45 am talking, but that’s an FE engine and not a 292, so the seller might be misinformed.?. Y-Blocks had two valve cover bolts.
Likely a 332 given the 2 speed Fordomatic. The 352 was the performance option that year. I don’t recall ever seeing the performance version of the 352 mated to the 2 speed. I think (not sure after all these years) that the 352 would have come with a 3 speed Cruiseomatic. Either FE would have been a much better choice for longevity than a 292.
the 430 was an option in 1959..350 HP and loads of low end torque…I remember the state police Turnpike Cruisers in Western NY back in the day..Not too much could outrun one.
The ad specifically says it has a 332 V8 (FE). Something got lost in translation. I’ve amended the text.
I have always liked the 59 Fords. It is funny that you mention 1975, because it would have been around that time that I used to cut through some yards on the way to and from school and twice a day passed one of these – a Galaxie 4 door sedan. It was an older couple who kept the good car (a turquoise 65 Galaxie 500 sedan) in the garage and the 59 sat out in the driveway. It was painted bronze with a beige roof. The paint was dull, it was rusty in the places these normally rusted, but it was licensed and occasionally driven. I would imagine offering them money to buy it, but then one day the turquoise 65 was parked in the drive and a 73 LTD was in the garage. I was sorry to see the old 59 go.
You are right – these are never seen as 4 doors. And really rarely seen an any body style, for that matter. I also agree that this price is pretty out-there. I just looked on EBay and Country Classic Cars is listing another one, a black 4 door hardtop with red interior, a 292, 3spd/OD for $12,500. That’s high too, but the far-rarer hardtop body and the OD transmission make that one at least somewhat closer to the ballpark than the black sedan you feature.
Actually, make mine a Country Sedan wagon with a 352, power steering and a 3 spd/OD.
Nothing “stupid” has been added on to it either–making it even more rare!
Why can’t used car buyers just pee on the tires like a normal cat? I’ve done it myself–the urge to add or modify something is overwhelming.
“Stupid” I assume means all those dealer installed bolt-on gewgaws (fake second antennas, fake exhaust ports, fender skirts, etc.) available in the big showroom catalog. Yes, thank God they’re not here, because they didn’t really sell all that well.
Looking at that interior, especially the instrument cluster shot, reminds me of the biggest drawbacks of Fords (compared to Chevrolets) back then. The interior was a Robert McNamara dream. Cheap as hell, where a penny could be cut it was cut, nay, slashed.
“You’d have to trade up to an Edsel or Mercury to get nice, durable chrome-plated metal knobs instead of plastic.”
Yep, that was Ford’s way of doing it. And especially their propensity of keeping the shift linkage visible, just like it was done in the late 40’s. Just how much would it have cost to put a shroud over the steering column, hiding the shift linkage? Like Chevrolet was doing going back to at least 1955. Somehow, GM could cost cut interiors and still have them look much richer than Ford.
Let’s give credit where credit is due. 1959 was the last time, until Detroit’s implosion, that Ford outsold Chevrolet. I can never remember if this was the calendar year or model year victory (1957 was one, 1959 was the other), but it did kinda hint that the ’59 Chevies were a step too far.
Like the author, I’m happy as hell to see a survivor of what actually sold back in the day, as opposed to what we prefer to remember nowadays.
Ford solidly beat Chevy in the 1959 model year.
Yes, they did, although that has an awful lot to do with the, ahem, “questionable” styling of the 1959 Chevrolet. The 1959 Ford was a handsome and solid design, especially when compared to the ’59 Chevy.
I agree with you on Ford’s interiors. I would go so far as to argue that their interiors didn’t really start lead the class until maybe 1969 or 1971. Some years offered pretty good seats, door panels and consoles, but Ford dashboards were always plain, even on the nicest models going back to at least 1957 or maybe even 1952 or 49. I actually think the 59 is one of the better ones.
And did I just notice a vacuum wiper motor fastened to the cowl under the hood? Egads!
So “chromed” outside, soo spartan inside.. Looks like a “Ford Custom”, interior. Could be the “bigness” of the car but the tires seem a tad narrow.
Would be a fun cruiser just the same though.
That is one cool car. If I bought it, I would use fabric glue to reattach the loose piece on the driver seat back then cover the seats with a clear plastic seat cover like they used to use. Keep this thing original. It’s like a time capsule. Hope it goes to a good home who will not chop it up or part it out for another 2 door restoration project.
To answer your name question, in 2021 (the latest year for which such data are available), there were 278 baby girls named Nancy born in the US.
The name really surged in popularity from the 1930s through the 1950s. In 1959 when the featured brochure was made, there were over 23,000 Nancys born, though for babies, the name was already declining in popularity. Nancy’s most popular year was 1947, when 32,000 were born (just short of 1% of all baby girls).
Definitely a name that has cycled out of popularity.
Haha, my daughter-in-law’s Mom’s name is Nancy – and yup, she is in that older boomer demographic.
Name trends like these are interesting, and I would be willing to bet that this one had a celebrity connection. Frank Sinatra’s first wife was named Nancy and so was their first child (born in 1940). Sinatra and his young family (3 kids by 1948) were hugely popular in the early to mid 1940s. If that weren’t enough, Sinatra had a big hit with the song “Nancy With The Laughing Face” in 1946.
No 1959 Ford story is complete without Dennis Farina and crew doing a brief burnout in a lovingly filmed rear-to-side Custom 300 (probably not with the Mileage Maker Six) to the tune of Del Shannon’s “Runaway”
Del Shannon re-recorded the song specifically for the show. His original 1961 hit version is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3Ud9eaMHik
One of my all-time favorite opening shots of a tv series! Normally-I think the 1959 Ford was one of the uglier cars ever made, but I’ll make an exception for the black Custom 300 as used by Lt. Torello’s MCU Squad……it means business!
My first car was a 1959 Ford I got for $100 back around 1969. I’ll spare you the details but it was the worst car I ever owned. It was forced on me by Grandfather who was to approve my purchase, and he got tired of all my hot rod choices. Any way it’s long gone and used my uncle who took me to LA for his mechanic brother in law sold me a 1963 Chevy Biscayne for $400. A much better car. After that I bought my own car without supervision and ended up with a 1959 AH Sprite for $450 and so the adventure started.
I see the ignition is on the left – just like a Porsche!
Given that I’ve shot three ’59 Edsels in Eugene and have never seen or encountered a ’59 Ford, there’s definitely something to your headline.
I have mixed feelings about these; the styling was advanced in some regards, with the kind of boxiness that became prevalent in the ’60s. One can see quite a bit of upcoming Ford cars in it, including the ’60 Comet and ’62 Fairlane.
Ford made a big mistake with their impulsive decision on the new ’60 big Ford. They should have just cleaned this up some more and might have had another good year or two.
Now that I have read your take on the 1959 Edsel, I see the direction being taken by Ford in 1959 more clearly. Yet, that crazy looking rocket fender ending in a back up light is ugly. Mercury did it a better, even though it is even crazier. The Mercury front end is also better looking than the Ford. As to body styles I have seen, I cannot recall ever seeing a four door full sized 1959 Ford. My neighbor had the Skyliner, I’ve seen convertibles, but rarely a family sedan.
That 1959 Ford sedan was more lucky than that one shown in the Get Smart episode “Don’t look back” aired during season 3.
https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_357289-Ford-Fairlane-500-63A-1959.html
1. I last saw a 4 door in the garage of a lawyer friend in 1993 that was blue and an old family car, from Detroit, handed down. Unfortunately he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and the car was sold in the early oughts.
2. I wonder what Ford’s idea of a sports car was and so which one the Galaxie would remind one of?
3. Car overpriced by a factor of 3X. As usual rare doesn’t mean rare in the monetary sense but in the undesirable sense here. I, personally like four doors more than 2, but the crowd still bets on 2 doors and prices still continue to reflect that. Oh, and this is a sedan the lowest of the low.
The answer to 2 is in the text, Ford’s idea of a sports car was still the Thunderbird, which as we know the 59s were squarebirds. Definitely some family DNA being shared in spots, especially the roofline
It’s frequently said that cars from an era all look alike, but 1959 may have been an exception to that.
In the early ’70s, my first awareness of “old” cars was the ’59 Ford, and the ’59 Chevrolet. Both very unique when sitting behind them in in traffic. I guess you could say I was vaguely aware of old Mopars when equipped with the toilet seat.
Seeing it today, it’s hard to imagine a time when this Ford was a conservative counterpoint to its major competitors.
One of these had a recent star turn in Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
I’d take a first generation Valiant over this. This style is just too over the top without any compensating weirdness. Sorry, never liked these.
Same. The 59 Ford is just as goofy looking as anything Exner did, only I find Exner’s out there designs at least interesting. This is just a hodge podge of weird shapes on a box.
This really is the typical Fifties car, complete with fins and dollar grin. It’s nice to see an old sedan in original shape, with just appropriate wear. Unfortunately many will be modified into primer painted, lowered customs, with a rattle can flame job and Mexican blankets on the seats. Maybe a few skulls stuck on.
The unrealistic pricing is all too common, you’ll find many on CL with a pie in the sky price that has no relationship to reality. While the seller is free to ask whatever they wish, it keeps a buyer that is genuinely interested in the car from inquiring about it. Most buyers would be hesitant to offer ten thousand dollars under the asking price! The seller would be insulted, because, “he knows what he’s got!”
This is true. I’ve seen countless cars where the seller thinks they have a grade 2 car but really is a grade 4 car yet sports the grade 2 price. Pointless to educate them for one. Pointless to even look at the car and then offer a realistic price that they consider an insulting low ball so why bother for two.
Dad bought close to JP’s dream car in Spring of 1960, a left-over ’59 Country Squire with a 352 with Cruise-o-Matic, in Surf Blue metallic (the color below, I couldn’t find a Squire in that color.) That combo looked so elegant with the requisite fake 2 tone wood paneling. At the time they were kind of a prestige car in the postwar suburbs, wagons were a necessity for many families, what with all us Boomer kids around. You could drive up to the Club and not feel ashamed to not be in a Cadillac when you had one of those. It was the prettiest Ford wagon of the 5 we had between 1957 and 1972.
Surf Blue ’59 Ranch Wagon
I know it’s all a matter of taste, but I have simply never understood the appeal of 2 door cars over 4 door cars, when the body style is essential the same just minus a pair of doors. But it is definitely so. In the Volvo world, 244s are always lower priced than 242s. Same car, fewer doors, but the 242 commands a much higher price.
I do like the grill on this Galaxie. As Dave Bowman says in 2001 A Space Odyssey, “My God…It’s full of stars!” A theme that’s carried through to the rocket booster rear lights/V. In between though…meh. So very boxy and heavy looking.
Oh, and Nancy and her friend? They remind me so very much of Laura Petrie (aka Mary Tyler Moore) on the Dick Van Dyke Show in 1961. For a person my age, that would be how our moms looked back then. Amazing. Well, at least Dick is still with us. (Although thank goodness he’s not driving any longer as of a few months ago. https://nypost.com/2023/03/28/dick-van-dyke-97-has-his-car-keys-taken-away-by-wife-after-crash-report/ )
Yes, vintage 4-doors are just as cool if not cooler than the same model in a 2-door because they are seen less frequently. I’m so tired of seeing the same old boring 2-doors that I’m gonna start saying “too bad it’s only got two doors”. I love driving my 4-door ’65 Biscayne and get thumbs-up everywhere because it reminds people of the good old days. Here’s a cool 4-door ’64 Bel Air and a ’60 Biscayne I saw in Vancouver recently.
the ’64 Bel Air …..4-DOOR!
These, especially in this color, remind me of of those large tin toys, usually police cars,
I remember from the 60s. kind of cheap looking.
The 59 Fairlanes , as 4 door sedans were the first cars assembled at Ford’s brand new assembly plant in Broadmeadows on the outskirts of Melbourne. so there maybe a few left over here.
Though I don’t think these cars are attractive at all, I believe they were tough cars, an example was used in the 1971 film “Wake in Fright” and took a lot of abuse. I can really recommend this film, they don’t make films like this anymore, but if you are sensitive to animal cruelty, as I am, take care or don’t watch the night time kangaroo hunting scenes.
Only the low rent version came here the 300 but some including a friends had the 352 engine, it did go rather well for a big car stop and steer not so much.
I agree to liking many 4 door cars, however, ’59 Cadillac 6 window 4 door is ungainly at the top. Its top and windshield are 2″ higher than the coupe or 4-window flat top 4 door. That 2″ makes a huge difference.
I’ve owned quite a few ’59 Fords, it all started with an all-original 12,000 mile turquoise and white Galaxie retract I found in the late 1970s. Bought it from the original owner as an “always garaged” car.
My next ’59 was a Galazie just like the one featured here, same colors & options, and perhaps slightly better condition. I actually bought it for $100 in 1980, intending to use it as a parts car. As I drove it home I realized there was no way I was parting out such a clean, great driving car. Problem was I simply couldn’t sell it, no one wanted a 21 year old Ford sedan, not even a Galaxie. Finally traded it for a 1950 Studebaker Champion Regal Deluxe Starlight Coupe.
A few years later I found a 1959 Galaxie 2-door hardtop I could use as a parts car, it had been totalled when a pickup ran into it from behind. Within a year I was glad I found this car, because I lent my Galaxie retractable to a friend so he could impress a new girlfriend. He sure did impress her. Well, he impressed her forehead into the metal dashboard when he ran into another car, totaling my retract. So the front end of the parts car was required.
I completely agree on 4-door sedans. Once they were ubiquitous, today they’re as rare as the proverbial hen’s teeth, even in their native land, not to mention here in Germany. It’s a shame.
I’m so glad I was able to save my 1964 Bel Air 4-door, the only one I’ve ever seen anywhere. For good measure, here’s a photograph:
Oops, wrong picture. Well, it’s my Bel Air’s engine bay. Yes, it’s a six, one of 137,800 Bel Airs that rolled off the assembly line with the 230 (out of a total of 318,00 Bel Airs produced).
Here’s the pic I wanted to post in the first place: The Bel Air parked on my suburban German street.
I’m not a Ford person by any means but I used to own a ’59 Fairlane in the late 80s. I don’t remember the mileage it had but I remember it being a very big car. One could use the trunk for a 3rd row seat or have a party in it. I absolutely loved the styling of this model. Mine I bought was very used & wore out. It didn’t have the original motor & the interior needed help. I ended up selling it 4 years after I bought it cuz I really couldn’t afford to restore a beauty like that with job I had back then. I really wish I coulda kept it cuz I’ve always admired the TV series back in 1986 called Crime Story & I always wanted a black ’59 Ford Fairlane just like what they used. Very fond memories of the one I had that I miss dearly.
Just a tangent–but I can’t find a better place on CC to drop it off.
“Ford Times” was the little magazine that dealers (at some cost, surely) mailed to car-purchasers—to encourage service visits and future sales, I figure. The July 1959 issue profiles the NYC taxi trade: There 3400 Fords (not all ’59s, of course) on the streets, compared to 2400 for the next-largest competitor (the Plymouth?). Ford singles out its “Big Six” (223 c.i.), reliably rolling up perhaps 6000 miles a month; the V8s had been getting 9+ mpg in the stop-go traffic, but the six’s 12 mpg adds up to significant gas savings.
I loved the 1959 Ford Galaxie the moment in 1958 when I first saw it — especially the four door hardtop. I had likewise loved the 1957 Fairlane 500 also. But the 1958 was an ugly nightmare: that “facelift” uglified what had been a lovely car — that heavy front, dual headlights that looked “tacked-on” (and tacky), those awful ovalised tail-lamps — and even modifying the side-spear to suddenly disagree with the rest of the car! But then 1959 came — and what a beauty!!! Yes, in a sense, it predicted the “boxy” look that rode right through the 1980s; only, with the ’59 Ford, you did not have to CLIMB DOWN INTO IT, and duck your head under the top of the door-frame! And I am not tall. The proportions were about perfect: sadly, the Edsel and Mercury versions were NOT attractive. The attempt to graft the Edsel styling-cues onto this new framework was an awkward disaster. The 1960 Edsel, on the other hand, was pretty (if you ever got to see one). That quickie modification of the 1960 Fairlane rear section was unfortunate — but the front and side of the ’60 Edsel were lovely. 66 years later, I still love the look of the 1959 Ford: if I were younger, and if I could find a low mileage unmolested four door hardtop Galaxie, I would be tempted!