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Drop Top Barn Find: 1964 Ford Galaxie 500

Convertibles from the 1960s were always cool cars. Big, sleek, and powerful. You could grab the family or your friends and go for a cruise on a Saturday night at 25 cents per gallon for gas! We’re told this 1964 Galaxie 500 was stored in a barn for 30 years and has recently rejoined the living. It’s going to need a new top and carpeting but the rest looks good from what we can see. Atlanta, Georgia is where this drop top currently calls home and it’s available here on Facebook Marketplace for $12,500.

The second generation of the Ford Galaxie ran between 1960-64 (after starting out as an option on the Fairlane in 1959). A little-known fact about the 1960 Ford is that it was slightly wider than roadway limits at the time and they had to get a temporary pass from multiple states in order for it to be street legal. We’re guessing that was a miscue in the Engineering Department that was corrected for the 1961 models. As would be more common back then, cars often got new sheet metal from the greenhouse down every year or two. The ’64 Galaxie would be different from the ’63 to help Ford head off the sales onslaught from Chevrolet who was selling three cars to Ford’s two. That changed in mid-1964 when the Mustang hit the market by storm.

The seller’s convertible appears to be a Sunliner rather than an XL, so it would be one of 37,300 built for 1964. It has a clean look with a shiny white paint job and contrasting blue interior. We’re told it spent three decades in a barn that the seller actually shows a complete photo of. It’s said to be largely original with no rust-through on any of the panels. At one time, this ragtop was owned by a Naval officer and the base sticker is still on the bumper. The title is dated 1973, so that may be the last time the car changed hands until the seller acquired it.

Some work looks to have been done in bringing it back to life. We get before and after photos of the Galaxie with 30 years of dirt on it and then shiny clean. One of the after photos shows the Ford wearing wire wheel covers and others with aftermarket wheels. We’d going to assume this was a change the seller made and hope both sets of wheels and covers come with the car. There are two things that will need changing by the buyer: the convertible top and the carpeting, the latter of which there is none on the floorboards that have some surface rust. The blue interior looks good except for some cracks in the dashboard.

At 72,000 miles, we’re told the car runs and drives great but doesn’t mention what it took to get it back there. Surely it didn’t just fire right up. It has an automatic transmission with a V8 engine, although which one is not specified. A betting man would go with the 390 cubic inch option good for 300 hp with a 4-barrel carb. Plenty of power for that Saturday night cruise!

Hopefully, this Ford doesn’t need more than what the seller says or we can see as Hagerty pegs $14,000 as top dollar, but that would be for a sedan and convertibles run higher. NADA is far more optimistic at $42,000 for a top line drop top. But when everything that needs work gets finished, this could be a swell car to take to Cars & Coffee.

Comments

  1. Avatar Fahrvergnugen Member

    What a great looking start – nothing scary looking here though the underside needs a peek or three – and thanks to a seller who washed their car!

    Like 17
    • Avatar Steve Clinton

      I have my doubts that the ‘washed car’ is the same as the one up for sale.

      Like 6
  2. Avatar Paul Z

    Most likely a 352, doesn’t look like it has been painted judging from the right rocker cover. 352’s were blue and 390’s were gold.

    Like 25
  3. Avatar Joseph

    Looks like a decent fun car at a fair price.

    Like 4
  4. Avatar Steve Clinton

    Why post photos of 2 other ’64 Fords, they just make the car being sold just look that much worse.

    Like 6
    • Avatar John Taylor

      I wonder which is the real car for sale here with 3 different vehicles.

      Like 2
  5. Avatar Steve Clinton

    And what’s with the old shed with the dish cable outside? Does it come with the car?

    Like 6
  6. Avatar Mike Adams

    The dirty car in the barn has a radio antenna. The washed card does not.

    Like 6
    • Avatar Paul Draver

      If you copy the image and zoom in on it, t doesn’t look like a radio antenna anymore.

      Like 2
  7. Avatar 8banger Member

    Don’t see an antenna on the shedded/playpalace one. At any rate, it’s not an XL (no big deal) and yes, it’s most likely a 352 with the Cruise-O-Matic tranny.

    Like 1
  8. Avatar EPO3

    Steve you know once that dish goes on your roof its yours

    Like 0
    • Avatar Bill McCoskey Member

      EPO3,

      We all know that cars don’t watch TV, so perhaps that little building isn’t the garage, but is the owner’s home!

      Like 4
  9. Avatar Rick

    It is amazing what a bath does.

    Like 1
  10. Avatar Billy

    When the top goes down the price goes up

    Like 2
  11. Avatar Roger

    Love to see some of these old cars be found and bring back to life

    Like 2
  12. Avatar Stilbo

    I probably wouldn’t buy a car that only has a driver’s side.
    Being a convertible, passengers would just blow out of that non-existing passenger side.
    And yes…. it’s a 352.
    And it was a good idea to pull the body plugs out of the floor being a convertible bucket in a leaky old tin shed.
    Too bad though that all of that water running out of the floor rotted a hole in the frame directly below the hole for the body plug.

    Like 1
  13. Avatar Jeff B Member

    352 is painted blue and 390 is painted black with gold rocker covers. Cool drop top!

    Like 2
  14. Avatar ricky Whiting Member

    Might have been repainted at some point. Fender badges are missing, All V8 cars had them.

    Like 2
  15. Avatar Ken

    Yes it is a 352. Blue valve covers with Ford on them.
    390 had Gold valve covers with Thunderbird on them.
    First 390’s (1961 cars) were silver with Thunderbird on
    valve covers. I think Mercury 390’s were red with Mercury
    on valve covers.

    Like 2
  16. Avatar Kenn

    Neat idea by the seller to show the tin shed where the car was stored. The T.V. dish was placed there to have clear shot at the sky. Cable then ran to the house. Not all that unusual.

    Like 3
  17. Avatar Galaxie owner

    Personally I prefer non XL Galaxies. The different door panels and other options just don’t appeal to me. I do however like the buckets and center console that they came with.

    Like 0

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