The third time is often the charm. After my two prior attempts were aborted for various reasons, this time I was finally able to engulf myself in the well of Ford Galaxie. As the laws of nature would dictate, with the two past events being within 120 miles of home, I was able to attend when the convention was nearly four times further away.
In all there were 80 Galaxie’s present. While I did not capture all of them, what I have assembled here is a healthy cross-section of the attendees. There was some rarely seen iron and equipment in attendance.
Speaking of rarely seen equipment, this was nirvana for those of us three-speed with overdrive geeks. Why, you ask? The 1960 Starliner seen above has one of these wonderful, under appreciated transmissions.
Black was a popular color among the attending cars, such as this 1965 model. I spoke to the owner and his accompanying cousin at length throughout the day. They were terrific people and both had a sharp sense of humor.
They also won the long distance award for having traveled 2,200 miles to attend. The owner lives in Vancouver, Washington, and his cousin lives in Portland, Oregon. Even when visiting Dixie, the influence of the Pacific Northwest cannot be escaped! This Galaxie was powered by a 289. They were headed back by way of New Orleans and Las Vegas.
The day after the show, I saw them an hour north in Tennessee, near the Shiloh National Military Park.
Since I’ve started with black cars, here’s another black 1960, this one a two-door hardtop. It was powered by a 352 cubic inch (5.8 liter) engine.
And this black 1960 in Fairlane trim. I really like the 1960 full-sized Ford and black is my favorite automotive color – this was a terrific pairing.
This particular ’60 two-door sedan is powered by a 4.6 liter V8 from a 1990s era Crown Victoria.
Enough black. This red 1962 has had a grand total of one owner since new. The owners purchased the car shortly after they were married in 1962 and they have restored it.
I love their choice of transmission. The overdrive actuator is one of the knobs to the right of the steering column. The car is motivated by the 292 cubic inch V8.
How about a darker red 1962? This convertible had a manual transmission, but it was a four-speed. I seem to remember there being a 390 under the hood.
Another red convertible was this 1965.
It, too, was a three-speed but did not have an overdrive.
The owner of the red ’65 was speaking at length with the owner of this black ’66 hardtop. There was a commonality.
That’s right, this black ’66 has a conventional three-speed hooked to its 289.
I also talked to the owner of this ’66. He has owned this car since 1974 and has driven it extensively in that time. As he said, if he owns a car with good tires and a good engine, he’s going to work it.
The wheel covers on these makes me cringe. When I was five, for some unknown reason I tried to get a hubcap off the wall of my grandfather’s shed, it being a duplicate of this one. It came crashing down and the metal clip that holds it onto the wheel sliced open the skin adjacent to my left eye. Thankfully I didn’t lose my eye and the advent of laugh lines has helped camouflage the scar.
Another person I spoke to was the owner of this ’63. While there is a palpable difference in the luster, the lower half of his Galaxie is the same paint code as mine. He had never seen another Galaxie with the same color paint, a color Ford called “Champagne”.
I was in awe of a perfect backseat in the same color combination as mine,
As well as a front seat that isn’t torn up and requires a seat cover – like mine.
Not surprisingly, the 1963 models are quite popular among the club members. I suppose it only makes sense as these are the epitome of attractive full-sized sedans from a more innocent time and, in my humble and biased opinion, they look infinitely better than that year’s competition from Chevrolet.
Don’t like a steel roof? There was this red convertible.
The colors found at the show were quite varied, such as this terrific blue.
Black remains popular such as this fastback that was rumored to have only 22,000 miles on the odometer, and
This two-door “box-top”.
White was also prevalent with the 1963 contingent, such as this 390 powered convertible and
This fender-skirted two-door on very narrow bias-ply tires. It was one of the most original appearing cars among the ’63s.
Just don’t let those fender skirts lure you into thinking this is some frumpy grocery getter as a 427 cubic inch (7.0 liter) V8 nestled under the hood.
Frumpy might be a better adjective for the sole sedan present from that model year.
That sedan is quite the contrast to another white ’63 that had this engine planted under the hood.
There were a number of such modified cars. While I usually don’t find modified cars as being my cup of tea, my opinion is rapidly softening toward some of them. This next one I found quite intriguing – perhaps due to the relative practicality of it.
This 1967 was found in a salvage yard. Not wanting to let the car go to waste, the owner set about making a number of modifications that enhanced both the drivability and efficiency of his Galaxie.
What did he do?
He installed the 32 valve 4.6 liter V8 from a Lincoln and mated it to the five-speed transmission from a 1998 Mustang. The back axle is from a Ford van, the master cylinder from an F-150, and the disc brakes are from both a van and Crown Victoria. I would love to take it for a spin.
Some have opined the future of the car hobby is not looking very rosy, given the seeming lack of interest from the younger generation. The owner of this Galaxie quickly sets that notion aside. The owner is in his 20s and finished the restoration of this 1964 within the last two years. In addition to restoring it, he has documented the cars entire history through its previous eleven owners.
He told me that during its life, the car has been shuffled among a family, stolen and recovered stripped of parts, ran hard, and kept going. A picture he had, taken in 1972, shows this car looking a bit frayed and with a canoe strapped to its roof.
This car is painted “Samoan Coral” and is powered by a 390 hooked to a four-speed. The owner has determined this limited color example is one of only twenty-two left in existence with this particular hue and the only one with a four-speed manual transmission. His passion for his car is contagious.
While the two-door hardtop was the best-selling Galaxie for 1964, there was still the two-door sedan as seen here.
The 1964 models are nice, but I have never found them as captivating as some of the other model years. However, the color on this one does give it a quiet air of sophistication.
When compared to a 1974 Galaxie, the differences in a decade are profound. As the owner of this ’74 told me, the Galaxie went from top-dog down to basic, low-trim transportation. The ’74 models were quite prone to rust but that has eluded this one completely.
Before I disclose what would ultimately be the center of the show, I must present this 1968 LTD. It was amazing as this is the original paint and this highly optioned 390 powered four-door hardtop was a delight to behold.
Whoever doesn’t like four-doors should reconsider. Packing an awesome sounding 428, this 1967 Custom would likely induce amnesia about such trivial matters as the number of access points into the cabin.
If you are keeping track, I haven’t shown any 1961 models. They were delightfully abundant, such as this two-door hardtop.
Wouldn’t you know it? It’s a three-speed with overdrive!
Ford made the Starliner for only two years, in 1960 and 1961. The 1961 Starliner was the most represented 1961 model present. I’m going to let the pictures speak for themselves.
I counted eight of these Sunliner’s in all. For me, there isn’t a bad line on them anywhere.
Since we started off with a black 1960, it only makes sense to go full-circle. For anyone who even admires Ford’s Galaxie, it was quite the show.
Wow 80 Galaxies in one place. Have to agree on the ’63 being more attractive than the Chevy of that year. Feel the same way about the ’69, hope you got to see a nice one at the show.
Awesome story! Sounds like a fun event. My favourite Galaxies are the 1964, the 1965 and 66, and the 1968.
Beautiful, I’d love to see them in person. Funny though, when I was a young gearhead, I thought the ’65 and up Galaxies were the real lookers, and found the older ones kind of ugly. Now I appreciate how attractive the pre ’65’s are; especially the gorgeous 63-64. I see the fender-skirt disease, isn’t limited to old Chevies! Definitely not my taste, I think they ruin the lines of these works of art. When I clicked on this article, I really expected to see a bunch of Andy Griffith tribute police cars. You know what they say about “assume”…
I felt the same way about the 65 and ups being sleek and attractive and the earlier cars kinda stodgy. As I got older I started to appreciate the pre-65s more. That said the ’67 and ’69 were pretty incredible.
The pre-65’s are riding on 1957 engineering though. The 1965 is the beginning of the modern era. I’m not sure that there is a clean break ever again right up to the end of the Crown Vic and Town Car.
I love Sixties Fords, and this event just looks incredible. My favorite model years are ’62 and 1965-67, but that ’61 Starliner is gorgeous.
I remember a funny story about the 1960 Fords, a car with polarizing styling. My father and I went to look at the new ’61s when they arrived at Richmond Ford. The salesman told us about his demonstrator, “My wife likes this one a lot better than the 1960 model. She made me park that car out in the alley.” Today the ’60 looks pretty good.
Wow, what a great selection. Some random thoughts:
The 1960 Ford had the oddest steering wheel of any postwar car. There is something completely wrong about it. The dash isn’t much better. As much as I like the outside of the 60. it is a big disappointment inside.
Ford always seemed to have a really high proportion of 3 speed cars in the 60s, often with OD. I don’t think anyone but maybe Studebaker might have had a higher proportion of 3 speed cars from 1960-64 than Ford.
That light green 68 Galaxie is the same color combo as both my 67 Galaxie 500 convertible and my 68 Mustang, that were my 1st and 3rd cars. I hated it then, like it better now.
It is sad that your sedan was the only one there. Sad because it makes me think of all of the other sedans that have been parted out to bring these more sexy cars back to life. What a great show, thanks for bringing it to us.
The steering wheel in the 1960 Ford looks like it was installed upside-down. The center “tip” looks as though it should be on top of the hub, instead on the bottom of it. Even though the two side “spokes” are placed in the normal position, this makes them look higher than normal.
Regarding the number of Fords equipped with overdrive – Ford offered it before Chevrolet or Plymouth did. The source I’ve found says that Ford began offering it in 1949, while Chevrolet didn’t offer it until 1955, and Plymouth didn’t offer it until 1952. By the time Chevrolet and Plymouth began offering overdrive, the swing to automatic transmissions was in…high gear. The earlier adoption of overdrive by Ford may have allowed it to develop a larger base of customers who liked overdrive, and therefore ordered it.
As a kid I was always fascinated by the 51 Ford steering wheel – here is a beauty from the Crestliner. if you turned the 60’s upside down, there is some resemblance.
As for the OD, I have always assumed that it was because Ford had such a conservative customer base. I can’t speak to the Chevys, but finding an OD equipped Plymouth after 1956 is difficult – even a Plymouth stick shift is relatively rare. Ford cars always had a sort of traditional feel about them, certainly up until the 65 models. And as for up-level models with a 3 on the tree, those were rare as could be in an Impala or a Fury, but not quite so rare on a Galaxie 500.
It may have helped that Lincoln offered factory overdrive and two-speed axles before the war. (Overdrive is really a great benefit on a prewar Zephyr or Continental, allowing the engine to cruise along nicely at 65 or 70 mph.)
Overdrive or two-speed rear axles were popular aftermarket accessories for prewar Fords as well, something of which I assume the postwar Ford administration was aware. If you know buyers are interested, why let the aftermarket (and dealers, I assume) get all the benefit?
C’mon now, 1960 Plymouth steering wheel is not exactly mainstream! I agree it looks upside down tho.
The ’63 has always been my favorite, but that ’67 Custom with the 428 is calling to me. “you talking to me? are you punk?”
Yeah, those are awesome. I wouldn’t mind a CC article just about steering wheels or maybe plus dashboards!
Whenever I see a photo of something like an Audi with the flattened bottom steering wheel I want to point out that Chrysler did a number of versions of that idea fifty plus years ago. Sometimes with clear sections with silver flakes in them.
Great Galaxies! There was an older lady in my neighborhood back in the early 70s who had a beautiful 1962 XL hardtop. It was white with a red bucket seat interior. This was her late husband’s car. She must have been around 70 years old, but she told me how proud her husband had been that it had the Thunderbird engine (390). Just goes to show you how strong the Thunderbird mystique was. How could Ford let that go? My favorite Galaxy is the black 1960 convertible.
Agree on the appeal and mystique of the Thunderbird.
My Father waited 7 weeks for our special order ’66 Country Sedan station wagon; as he insisted on the 390 4-BBL “Thunderbird Special” engine, among other options.
Despite my Mother’s pleas to take a lesser wagon in stock, he held firm.
Mom eventually learned to enjoy the T-bird engine as much as Dad did.
Although I have generally leant towards GM products, I have always loved these Galaxies, especially the 60-62 models. That green 63 sedan actually rather appeals to me, a little different to all the two doors, and I wouldnt mind one at all.
I dont think it’d be even possible to see 80 of these in one place here, not sure that there’s even 80 in NZ.
Wonderful.
As I went through, I kept picking out a favourite, only to replace it a few shots later.
Final answer – the Starliner in black or the green 74 with concealed headlights? Its a tough call, and someone’s got to make it…..
+1 on the Starliner. I still kick myself for not buying a 64 Galaxie convertible for £450 in 1982!
I always liked the Galaxies,especially the `63 “sportsroof” XL editions. Cool, clean looking cars that were just about the best looking cars of that era. Ford definately had the edge over the boxy looking Impalas, and the styling still looks great today.Gimme a black `63 XL with a white interior,air and the 390, and I`ll be a pig in s-it!
Thank you for posting these photos. I’ve always liked the full-size Fords from the 1960s. I still remember the Matchbox police and fire chief cars, which were first 1961 Ford Fairlanes, and then 1965 Ford Galaxies.
The 1961 Starliner is my favorite, although I prefer them without fender skirts or a continental kit, and with whitewall tires and the factory deluxe wheel covers.
In 1961, my parents had a year-old Sunliner in black w/red interior.
I was four…and that’s all I remember about it except they didn’t have it long. It was traded in for an aqua blue ’61 Chrysler New Yorker 4-door HT with the 413. They kept that one for nearly five years…an eternity for a kid.
Ford really had it together with the mid ’60’s Galaxie. CC effect again, the long distance winner’s black ’65 is from my town. If I was to rate the top 3 years I’d go ’64 ’63 ’67. Like the way the cars with newer drivetrains retain their stock look with period correct aftermarket wheels. I’ll bet Jason felt like a kid in a candy store at this show. Great photo’s. “Frumpy” looks like she’s really coming along.
This show was amazing and the other show was running concurrently across the parking lot with another 900 or so cars. Yes, it was a sight as well as sensory overload. I haven’t really started on the Blue Suede Cruise, but it was also awesome.
Ouch, what a memory of that 66 wheel cover. Wasn’t that style originally limited to the 7 Litre? My promotional model of the 7 Litre has them. I love the 66 coupe – in good part because of my aunt’s beautiful 66 LTD coupe and my passion for the design elements from the 63 Grand Prix, one of my all time favorites.
I think those were the wheelcovers Ford called “styled steel wheelcovers”. I think they were standard on the 7 Litre, but the brochure indicates that they are optional on other lines. They were not all that common, but stayed available in 1967 and 68. I scored a set out of a junkyard for my 67 convertible, then went to a Ford dealer to buy the individual extra-deep chrome lugnuts. It was my first purchase from a dealer parts counter in my life, and the cost (in 1977) was $1.20 per lug. That purchase of over $20 seemed like a fortune when I was in high school.
Weren’t those wheel covers copies of also available actual wheels?
I bleed Ford blue and the Galaxies are my first love. Hard to pick a favorite year but would list them in order as 1963, 1965/66, 1967 and 1964. My family of five drove cross country in a blue 64 Galaxie 500 in June 1966 moving from Catonsville to the San Fernando Valley. An 8 year old, 10 year old, me a 12 year old and a couple of my goldfish in a styrofoam container on the rear floor. Cozy! By the way those goldfish lived from 1964 through to 1974 with the last six years populating a large pond I designed in a San Diego backyard.
As to the cars I just love the champagne 63, followed by the coral 64. Gotta love all the colors which are so absent from todays menu. I guess car buyers aren’t into colors anymore. If I could find it I would post a picture of a line of colorful 1967-1973 Cougars moving through the green countryside of the Sacramento Delta in one lane and the next lane had nothing but black and white tones of newer cars.
Should note a friend of mine, who probably won’t see this, has a champagne 1966 LTD 4 door hrdtp with the 428 to go along with a 1966 Park Lane and a 428. Serious envy, even though I have a 67 Park Lane the 66 model year was sleeker looking.
Jason,
If memory serves me correctly, wasn’t a green 1974 Galaxie 500 sedan Hutch’s car of choice on the TV show Starsky & Hutch? Or was it tan/beige? It was one of those colors, I can’t remember exactly which one because it’s been so long since I’ve watched the show.
“Hutch” [Ken Hutchinson] had a ’73 Custom 500, an ex cop car. When it was wrecked one episode, “Starsky” [Dave Starsky] bought him another Custom. Both were plain tan.
I’m kind of thinking Hutch’s car was light blue metallic, but I could be wrong. Too many years have passed… 😀
Wonderful article and great photos indeed. So there was never a Shooting Brake or Station Wagon Galaxies? Would have been eye opening to see a limo Galaxie, a lowrider Galaxie, and a whole manner of customized Galaxies. I hope the Pacific Northwest folk have air conditioning as they traverse the southern routes. Washington just repealed their 7 year rolling replate so I do not know if their T-series plate is a remake or not since you are allowed to keep your number.
While chasing my Bluetick Coonhound as a little kid I ran into a Barbed Wire fence that was the same color as the ground, leaves, trees, and fence posts putting a hole in my face between an eye and my nose. Mama sure was shaken and I guess I thought all of the Barbed Wire fence had fallen down by then.
A station wagon Galaxie would be called a Country Sedan. If it was the top model with an interior like the top Galaxie line, it would have fake wood on the outside and be called a Country Sedan. I think all full sized Fords were Galaxies at that point so this event must have been non-wagons only.
The Country Sedan and Country Squire wagons were welcome, there simply weren’t any there.
Glad to hear about the replate requirement being repealed. It was stupid being forced to buy new plates to replace ones in perfect condition. You had to pay even more $ to keep your existing numbers.
Great to see some of the generally reviled 1960 models. Even my Uncle Sonny, who would get into heated Ford vs Chevy arguments with my dad passed on the 1960 Galaxie, waiting instead for the much more attractive and Ford-like 1961 model. That being said, my dad, the Chevy man, also passed on the 59 and 60 Impalas and bought a very pretty 1961 bubble top. They both loved their new ’61s and the argument never ceased.
I have a soft spot in my heart for sixties Fords. My father owned a 1960 Fairlane 500 when I started driving; about two months after I got my driver’s license I managed to total it out on the way to work one evening. To replace it I bought a ’61 Fairlane 500, also a two door sedan like its predecessor. The ’61 was barely mobile so the 223 CID six and Fordomatic were swapped into it from the 1960. Neither of these two cars looked as good then (ca 1969) as any of the ones pictured above do now.
I started working on a COAL series about my cars through the years, perhaps I should revisit that.
Wow! Some how I missed this and I only live 60 miles south of Tupelo. Now that I think about it, I think it was on the same weekend that we have a festival here in Columbus and it usually has a classic car display which was rather small this year, maybe 20 cars. I think I remember someone saying something about the big show in Tupelo. Would have loved to have seen this collection and the other show you have yet to cover. Oh well I missed out. I would have also have loved to have met you. Always enjoy reading your posts. Sounds like you had a great trip in your Galaxie. Can’t wait to read about the rest of your adventures.
The show was May 2. You did miss a mighty nice show.
I’ll put the adventures this way….Part 2 is scheduled for next Friday, but as I suspicion there may be a few open slots prior to that, I’m thinking of moving it up. And I’ve been working on Part 3 today.
Thank you for the kind words.
Yes that was the weekend, Columbus had its Market Street Festival then and I usually go to just check out the car display, to think I could have driven an hour to have hit the jackpot on classic cars. Your coverage of the Galaxie show had my mouth watering. Also enjoyed your coverage of the Buford Pusser Museum. I have a place at Pickwick but in 30 years still have not checked it out. It is now on my to do list. Thanks again for your post and the excellent coverage! Look forward to the next!
Somehow, I’m biased in favor of the 64. The 63 looks a little leaner, and the 68 XL looks more upmarket, but I gravitate to the 64….XL trim…in Rangoon Red, with a black interior
Some seriously cool Fords there. Thank you Jason, Thank you. Nothing better, in my humble opinion, than an FE with three Holley 2BBL’s on top. Internal combustion porn to me.
I wish I’d known about this being relatively close to me. I would have taken my dad. He has the 1966 Galaxie 2 door hardtop that his father bought new.
Oh, come on. “Frumpy?” I bet the Shafer Family Ford got its share of attention, even at an all-Galaxie get-together. It’s the kind of car that people seem to gravitate toward at a show. It has character, an absolute trunkful of character. However… I’ll have to say that I’m really intrigued by that red convertible with the dog-dish hubcaps and the oval aircleaner that indicates multiple carburation. I wouldn’t mind taking a turn behind the wheel of that red beauty.
I’m joking when I call it that. It did receive a fair amount of attention. One guy who came over from the Blue Suede Cruise show, was moping around as he has a similar Galaxie in white. He was realizing what he could do upon getting it going again and I think it helped nudge him along.
Great selection of cars; when I was a kid these Galaxies were all over the place.
Back about 1980, I had a neighbor whose Mom had a ’64 white over Samoan Coral Galaxie XL, with a 390, a 4-speed, and a white interior. What a sharp car.
Love those 1960’s. The Starliner is my favorite but one the two with the swapped in mod motor would be nice too, probably just the simple 2v but a 4v with a 5sp would be fun.
Is that just the early morning sun making the Marauder’s pass side headlight look funky or has it been full of water and is discolored? They are getting hard to find though the last I checked there were one or two new OE passenger side ones left.
+1 on the 60 Starliner. Man that is beeyootiful.
If you like this check out the last Edsel Ranger,even more beautiful
Some nice looking iron there. But no wagon love? The ’63 was a good looking wagon too. We had one in Corinthian white/wood sides with red interior.
Thank you for the very generous supply of pictures, Jason, and great writeup. If that show was within an hour or two of me, I’d be there in a heartbeat.
Being from a Ford household (though extended family skewed GM), I feel as though our family either owned one of each of these eventually—or I’d built its AMT kit (I can smell the cement and Testors paint now!).
Very nice assortment.
My Grandparents had a ’61 or ’62 Galaxie. It must have been nice, as it was the only non-Buick they owned between the 1956 and 1991.
I didn’t think the Starliner roof went past 1960 so I learned something new. A more Thunderbirdy roof was also a choice in 1961 like the white one and there probably weren’t many Starliners made.
The station wagon roof was unique to the 1960 though. It had a liftgate that was all window that wrapped around instead of the kind that goes down into the tailgate, with the side windows wrapping around instead which started in 1961.
GM cars, and even the 1960 Falcon, had the lowering window kind so the liftgate was out of fashion. Chrysler started the idea in 1957 and GM picked it up in 1959. Then later Ford came up with the tailgate that could open downward or to the side for access to the rear facing third row seat.
Well done, Jason. You’ve admirably supplied my “Galaxie 3-speed w/overdrive fix.”
The ’65 convertibles pictured reminded me of comedian Godfrey Cambridge’s joke about the stereotypical practices by rental car companies of the day, who would put him in a “red, 1965 Ford convertible with Alabama license plates.”
What a handsome family of cars. I’ve liked the ’60 Starliner ever since I saw one in person for the first time. I hadn’t realized they were so polarizing, especially compared to the jukeboxes that preceded them.
Pretty much every dashboard here is great as well.
My father owned a black 1960 Starliner with a black interior. It had power steering, ac, padded dash, cruseomatic and a small v8 . I also had additional chrome along the rocker panel. I know the 1960 Fords are not popular, but ours was decent reliable car. That 1960 Fairlane, FWIW, has a lot of Galaxie trim added.
Thank you so much for posting this. Nice pictures. Sure wish I could have brought one of my Galaxies to the show!
Mark I would have enjoyed seeing them. Thanks for putting on a great show.
Thanks for helping it be great by being there. And thanks to Alan Hutcheson for helping out as much as he did. This one is in pieces ..for now. Because what is about to happen is going to be a story to tell!
Nice article , terrific photos Jason .
I like those early 1960’s Fords , I still miss my $150 ’62 Wagon (289 Fordomatic slushbox) and free ’62 Galaxie Coupe 223 i6 and three speed over drive Arizona car .
-Nate