Meet the Car

So I went to see the car on Friday. The deal was that I wanted to hear and see the engine running and would then hand over a huge amount of my hard earned money. Sadly the guy who was selling the car decided to go out instead, such is the way of doing business in the south. In fairness we were a tad late in arriving, like an hour, and he had to take kids to a ball game or something. Nevertheless I had a good look at the car and there was no way that it was ready to fire up so it was going to be a waste of my time and frankly Friday nights are made for beer. On the bright side I got to see the car and I pretty much made up my mind that I was going to have it no matter what. She looks in awful condition now but much of the point of this will be the restore this wreck into the proud and haughty beauty that she once was. To be honest
these picture do not really show how bad this old classic is but as I say that is part of the fun. Just to prove my point and reassure myself that this is not all going to end in tears here is a quote from a respected car revue source ;

The 1963 Galaxie was a classic from the first day it rolled off the showroom floor. This car's distinctive lines and styling are timeless and are now among the most collected Fords of any era. These Galaxies offered many choices for the car buyer. The line offered a large choice of models starting with the Galaxie Sedan. These Galaxie were the base model cars with very simple trim and

ornamentation, usually equipped with the smaller engine configuration; However, these cars could be special ordered with just about any engine. The Galaxie 500 Sedans, Hardtop, and Convertible were a step up from the base model Galaxie and featured an attractive full length upper and lower body side molding and attractive cloth and vinyl interior trim package. The Galaxie 500XL models were available in the Hardtop both four door and two door, the Convertible and the 1963 ½ Galaxie Fastback which featured a new sporty roof line with no post and Starliner type looks. The standard equipment on these cars was a deluxe offering with standard bucket seats and console, full wheel covers, wall to wall carpeting, courtesy lights, contoured deluxe seat upholstery among other luxury features. The 1963 was offered with several engine choices. The Mileage Maker Six Cylinder (All models except 500XL), 260 V-8 at 164 horsepower, the 352 Thunderbird V-8 at 220 horsepower, the Thunderbird 390-4V engine at 300 horsepower, the 406 Thunderbird High Performance with tri-power carburetion at 405 horsepower. Ford later introduced the 427 high performance engine in both a single four barrel version at 410 horsepower and a dual four barrel carburetor at an astounding 425 horsepower. This engine option was offered in a very limited number of 1963 Galaxies. Transmission types were the Synchro Smooth manual column shift, the 4 speed manual on the floor, Fordomatic Drive automatic, and Cruise-O-Matic three speed automatic. Some of the available options for 1963 are as follows: Swing Away Steering Wheel, Power Front Seat, Power Windows, Power Steering, Power Brakes, Padded Dash and Visors, Backup Lights, Deluxe Wheel Covers, Spotlight Mirrors and Select Aire Conditioner. Words fail to describe the beauty and design of this legendary Galaxie. The 1963 will always be of great interest to the car collector and Ford enthusiast.


So there you have it. The new plan is that the seller will get it fired up this week and I will see it running on Saturday. If all goes well it will be mine by Saturday afternoon.

Watch this space.