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Dead Inventory: 1964 Galaxie Warehouse find

1964 Ford Galaxy

Reader Martin M has been following the site for a while now and has wished he had an interesting story to contribute. As he put it, I’m a “long time listener, firsttime caller”. I really enjoy barnfinds, and never felt I had much in the way of interesting stories to contribute.  Then this happened…. My friend Jeff dragged this interesting old Ford out of a Chicago warehouse.  He’s gotten the car running and driving again and is looking for its next caretaker.  I think it’s a really cool time capsule car. Be sure to read the rest of Martin’s story below in his own words!

1964 Ford Galaxy Stickers

From Martin M – This 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 2dr. post, Z code 390-4V/3 speed manual was recently pulled out of a warehouse in Chicago after a very long slumber. The odometer shows just shy of 24,000 miles which is believed to be original. The car looks to have been someone’s daily driver/street racer from the south side of Chicago back in the mid-60’s. The period decals that grace the rear quarter windows and back glass tell of period performance parts, and race tracks that no longer exist, road trips to the west coast, Bonneville and even Canada.

AHRA Sticker

The car surely has seen some wins and some losses in its early years, and today is a surviving time capsule of a bygone era. The Day 2 modifications speak to the beginnings of a Saturday Night Special kind of street racer that was so prevalent in the early-mid 60’s. It’s easy to imagine this Galaxie lining up at a stop light next to a 389 powered Bonneville, racing for bragging rights, cash or other more nefarious items. At some point, a transmission problem sidelined the car. The transmission and driveshaft were removed and that’s how she was left for almost 40 years.

1964 Ford Galaxy Engine

While the car was found with no transmission, cross member or driveshaft it did include a brand new Hays lever style pressure plate, clutch disc & flywheel and all the pieces to reassemble the Hurst floor shift conversion. A correct Galaxie 3 speed top loader transmission and cross member were found and a replacement driveshaft was made. To reawaken her, the Autolite 4100 carb was cleaned out, the original gas tank was lined and the original fuel pump and rubber lines were replaced. The brake master & wheel cylinders were all replaced (but all the original pieces including the fuel pump which has the Autolite fuel filter twist on cap in good shape have been kept). Power was once again ready to flow through the 9” rear/3.50 open diff.

Ford 390 Badge

The original “Thunderbird” type engine shows correct date codes on all the castings. An inspection of the bottom end revealed that the engine does have the cross bolt bosses cast in the block, and the bottom end looks like new. The C1AE heads are mated to a set of headers (Probably Doug’s given the large decal on the passenger rear window) that have removable caps for the collectors as well as a pipe to mate with the rest of the exhaust system. An original Mallory Dual Point distributor along with a Judson magneto coil have been cleaned, checked and are in working order. A Sun tachometer drive is mounted on the firewall, along with a mount on the dash but the Tach itself is missing. It probably won’t be too difficult to find a replacement online today. Additionally there are under ride traction bars welded on and a set of front springs to lift the front end for a good launch.

Ford Galaxy Driver's Seat

Most of the original exhaust is there, but the original cans were rotted away and have been replaced. The four original 14” body color wheels with poverty caps were replaced with modern “period” wheels and tires, but are included with the car. The car runs and drives very well, and it has no issue attracting people who reminisce about the days when this car was new.

1964 Ford Galaxy Interior

The body of the Galaxie is rust free and the lines are straight. Even the original rear wheel side skirts are still with the car. Though the dust and grime from a lifetime of sitting in that Chicago warehouse has been washed away, the paint still has a telling patina. The windows all work perfectly, and the glass is all clear and crack free. The car’s interior is almost perfect, with only one cut in the headliner. The seats & upholstery have been covered in what appears to be the same plastic you remember from your grandmother’s sofa for its whole life. The driver’s seat back plastic covering was ripped so it has been removed which reveals how nice the seat stitching really is. To complete that Saturday night cruise, a Motorola vibrasonic speaker for the AM radio resides in the parcel shelf.

1964 Ford Galaxy Rear

While Galaxie XLs and Convertibles seem to be plentiful in the market today, with some commanding a hefty price, two door sedans so equipped and this period correct are an increasingly rare gem that can be had more affordably. Enquiries can be directed to jeff.j.diehl@gmail.com

Comments

  1. Avatar jimbosidecar

    Nice find!!

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  2. Avatar DENIS

    I love it….my period…

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  3. Avatar Ed P

    Great looking car. For a little bit of work, a hot car can be had.

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  4. Avatar Aaron B.

    Very cool!

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  5. Avatar Rick

    My older sister’s first car that she bought in 1971 was an unmolested ’64 Galaxie 500 2dr hardtop turquoise & black bench seat interior with the Z code 390 4v w/ factory cast iron headers, solid lifters and 3 on-the-tree. She drove it for a couple of years and then it sat in front of her house for several years before I finally talked her into selling it to me in 1977, and I then I got to beat the piss out of it before I flipped it. Was fast in a straight line but it handled like an old pickup truck and you only got one high speed stop before the drum brakes faded away to almost nothing. It also had a reverb/vibrasonic, think it was factory unit. I had a couple of early-mid 60s Pontiacs equipped w/ factory reverb units, always liked the way those sounded, sort of a poor man’s stereo. But you didn’t dare tell your insurance agent you had a reverb, it was an additional premium charge, go figure!

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  6. Avatar sir mike

    great find..love it in period condition..good job..

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  7. Avatar Cassidy

    only thing missing from this story is the car’s price

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  8. Avatar McQ

    Great find! I had one similar years ago but mine had the three speed with overdrive and 3.50 rear gears. That transmission was the HD Borg-Warner with R-11 OD unit. Mine was also a Z code. Sold to a friend who is still working on transforming into some kind of pro-street car with 460 built Lima Motor.
    A Galaxie 500 Two Door Sedan (post) like this is now very uncommon. I really like this car! Low miles. Old decals. Very cool.

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  9. Avatar Michael Ponsano

    yep, just like my mom’s old car. And what a hoot to drive!

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  10. Avatar Woodie Man

    As a kid I worked as a parts gopher for a local garage, The owner had a ’64 2 door Galaxie hardtop and a Sunbeam Tiger…….that I used . I remember the Tiger scared the hell out of me because just by letting out the clutch I lit up the rear tires! The Galaxie was a dark maroon and an auto. What a sled! What a great time it was to be a kid!

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  11. Avatar Paul B

    Great find. I recall lots of cars like this, of all makes, around in the early-mid ’60s. Detroit performance! And without the brakes to back it up. Quite the era.

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  12. Avatar starsailing

    One of my friends 1967-8 had a 64 2dr post ex Mn Highway Patrol car. He worked in the garage for state where they refurbished the cars before they went to auction. He put everything new in a 64 then it went to auction(wink wink) and he then owned it. Came with the special police cast iron flowing exhaust manifolds, no carpet just rubber flooring, spotlight, and speaker system with speaker under the hood. Good for mocking/teasing people out loud without them knowing the source. The ol Ford was fast but not enough with those Highway patrol gears. He took the car to local speed tuner McGinley who put in 4:11 gears, 427 short block, worked on Tranny valve body, and got a Maroon Kosmosky paint and tinted window job(Mpls).Added white rims with the dog dish and set of cheater slicks! Painted wheel wells and rear housing white..Just got it back and got his draft notice. I got to drive it once during afternoon while he worked. Instead of taking girlfriend on picnic to Cedar lake, I raced on Lake street. Beat 365 Hp Vette several times who then wanted to buy Bruce’s Ford. I gave Bruce the cash from me beating the vette and phone # of the guy….Telling him the truth. He laughed. His goal was to beat the 67 GTO tripower that used to blow him off the line racing on Lake St before the Ford was changed. He raced the Goat several times beating it soundly. Then went off to war…never getting to drive it again. Cool car made by a cool guy.R.I.P. B Ugelstad ! His brother would take the car out once a year, run it hard , turn around , put in garage, do an oil change then cover it up with blanket for another full yr. About 5-6 yrs later the crazy guy from neighborhood convinced the Mom to sell him the car. Mike went right out and slammed it into freeway bridge. RIP …all. I miss Bruce daily ever since….but not Mike.
    Ex 50-60s Highway Patrol cars…are boss !

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  13. Avatar Oakst

    I don’t know ladies and gents…..I have a few of this stickers repop and they sell em at swap meets all over……and not to really bash this cool old ford but it HAD a four speed now a three speed?? Might of well put a new 5 or 6 speed in it then! Whatever!!

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  14. Avatar Oakst

    I guess I should learn to read….it came with a 3 speed stock….oops!! Sorry for my rant

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  15. Avatar Jason Houston

    Whoever the goon who f-ed this car up sure knew what he was doing. Besides the horrible red/turquoise colors, he not only removed the VIN plate but even filled in the holes! Way to go… you’ve got a devious career ahead of you, turkey.

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