My sporty "garage find" 65 Galaxie 500XL conv

[tom406]

A very nice lady allowed me to buy her late husband's '65 Galaxie that he bought in '67 and was his "baby" until he died in '02. It has less than 70k miles on it, and 12k of those where on it in '67. She's had it under a car cover in the garage ever since. You don't see many of these with a 4 speed-they came standard with 289/auto. So what is interesting is that while there was an upcharge to the 300hp 390cid "Thunderbird" V8, there was no charge for the 4 speed (see window sticker). Nicely optioned, though I wish it had power brakes. Looking forward to getting this one running and driving again:)

[mockingbird812]

Very nice. Love all the chrome in the interior. Keep us posted on your progress!

[Charley Lillard]

Cousins !!!!
http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2016/08/full-23-47689-img_2345.jpg

[Mr70]

Very nice.
Exactly what makes it a Safety Convenience Control panel,and what's the Visibility group?

[tom406]

Well apparently its convenient to have all of these at your fingertips between the dash and console. 1,3, and 5 (door lock, seat belts, flasher) are buttons, 2 and 4 (low fuel and door ajar) are just lights. Not sure why seat belts is a button-maybe you can defeat buzzer if you prefer to be "thrown clear" to safety in this convertible. (I guess that's where the power brake money went-Power brakes were a $43 option while that convenience control panel was $51.50. I'd prefer the "convenience" of not using both feet to stop after banging through the gears....)

I'm pretty sure Visibility Group was a package that had the remote mirror in the door, day/night rearview, and maybe multispeed wipers?

[427TJ]

Tom, shouldn't yours have an engine badge on the fenders since it's a 390? 352 cars didn't get them or?

[tom406]

Yes Bill it should have a 390 emblem on that fender - there's one on the driver's side. I think that fender was replaced early on, since it's not damaged but the long Galaxie500XL emblem has mounting issues as well.

[442w30]

Initially, I thought the standard tranny was a 3-speed. But then I saw this:

http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/ford/65ford/5.html

[tom406]

To clarify to others reading-we are talking about Galaxie 500XL's here with standard 289 V8/ automatic. Galaxie 500 convertibles were also available and had 240 6-cylinder /3-speed manual drivetrain standard.

[442w30]

Yep

[Mr70]

Charley
Does your have the Safety Convenience Control panel,and the Visibility group?

[68l30]

Almost my first car....Brings back some memories!

BIG

[SuperNovaSS]

That is a very cool car and story. Thanks for sharing. Please post updates.


Jason

[Bill Pritchard]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SuperNovaSS</div><div class="ubbcode-body">That is a very cool car and story. Thanks for sharing. Please post updates.
</div></div>

x2! Also interesting that the AM radio and rear speaker were lumped together on the window sticker, as opposed to being listed as separate options.

[tom406]

Wow, its been a little while. Spent last summer getting my house updated and sending my eldest off to college. Time to get back on the Galaxie. It's currently being worked on, obviously being prepped for the inevitable LS swap...
https://s20.postimg.cc/blwzysdul/DSC_0423.jpg (https://postimages.cc/)https://s20.postimg.cc/b95lsm3al/DSC_0428.jpg (https://postimages.cc/)https://s20.postimg.cc/9u413wx2l/DSC_0432.jpg (https://postimages.cc/)

[454_Malibu]

Wow, for Real?.. or a Teaser

[427TJ]

Tom, where is that shop?

[tom406]

No LS for the Gal, I'm just messing with y'all. Galaxie is being made road worthy and upgraded a little along the way. Fuel tank is '65 only and not reproduced, but thankfully '66-68 is and fits but is just a little bigger. (Amazon.com actually had THAT Spectra tank in stock (!) and I received in in two days with Prime). Also ordered the correct sending unit with extra low fuel sensor from Amazon as well, but through vendor Auto Krafters. The '65 Ford used integral power steering for the first time, and steering boxes were supplied by either Ford or Saginaw. Thankfully this one was Saginaw, so I had Red Head Steering Gears here in Auburn WA rebuild it as a 15:1 box. LEED brakes (formerly GPS) has a really comprehensive brake conversion catalog so I ordered up a 4 piston 11" power disc setup made specifically for a manual drum car. One thing I found was that several conversion kits out there interfere with the sway bar and require its removal, which seems like a bad tradeoff. LEED system doesn't, and I also bought an upgraded ADDCO 1-1/8" front bar. Trying to see if the low mile 390 engine will be OK with fresh fluids and the like, but had to recore radiator, new water pump, rebuild carb, replace frost plugs, etc. I just ordered new wheels and tires today, should have them next week. Bill-that's Chris Holstrom Concepts (aka CHC) down in Puyallup, the same shop that put the 480hp LS3/T56 in that black '66 GTO I had them build for my friend a couple years ago. You've probably seen them set up by the entrance to Goodguys over the last 5 years.

[Chazman]

Nice find!!

[big gear head]

Wow, I'm glad you were just joking. I love the FE engines, and just don't care for the LS in older cars. The FE will look great in that car and should be a lot of fun with the 4 speed.

[tom406]

She's a runner! Very quiet and smooth for a car that hadn't run in at least 16 years. Its actually amazingly quiet, even though half the exhaust system is rotted through and the original giant FoMoCo mufllers (with '65 date codes!) have big holes in them. I went with Legendary Wheel/Drake GT5 wheels. They're an all aluminum version of the '65 Shelby Cragar wheel, and actually look a lot like the aluminum faced Cragar G/T Plus wheel introduced a little after that as well. These are one piece, 15x7" with 4.25" backspacing. I was really impressed with the quality of the wheels with their pricing. Tires are 225/70/15 all around. Its getting a new exhaust this week and I'm hoping to pick it up next week and start cruising in XL style.
https://s20.postimg.cc/jbfkk4zh9/IMG_3554.jpg (https://postimg.cc/image/qenfzr4wp/)

[markinnaples]

That's really cool. My mom had the almost exact same Galaxie convertible in pastel yellow and white when I was a kid in the 70's.

[A12pilot]

Sweet! Tom, sent you a PM. Flying the Cowboys out to play the Seahawks and I'll be there tomorrow and all day Sunday. Maybe Sunday we can grab lunch in the old gal? See how I just invite myself to things!? I'm such a great guy! :crazy:

Cheers :beers:
Dave