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Out of Retirement: 1964 Ford Galaxie

1964 Ford Galaxie Dragster

Plenty of professional athletes have retired, only to leave retirement and start competing again. If some athletes can do it multiple times and still be successful, why can’t an old drag car? This 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 has spent most of its life either ripping up the quarter mile or parked in a barn. After a long retirement, it has been pulled out, freshened up, given a new motor, and is about ready to hit the drag strip! If you’re interested with getting this Galaxie out of retirement, be sure to take a look at it here on eBay or find it in Gainesville, Florida.

1964 Galaxie Interior

The Galaxie was at one time a popular car amongst the drag racing crowd. They were cheap, plentiful, offered with a wide range of motors, and could handle a lot of power. The fact that Ford was highly involved in developing the Galaxie for NHRA and NASCAR events probably helped. As a result of their own racing motives, Ford went out of its way to cater to the performance minded Galaxie buyer. They offered motors ranging from fuel efficient 6 cylinders all the way up to a high performance 427. Even with a 425 hp V8, Ford knew the car was too heavy to be a serious competitor, so they developed the holy grail of Galaxies, the Lightweight edition.

Retired Galaxie Dragster

The seller claims that at one time this Galaxie had a 427 in it and that it was doing high 10 second passes. It currently has an upgraded 390, but the VIN indicates that it originally had a 352 in it. Looking at this car, I see many elements pulled from the Lightweight. The Blister hood is the most prominent of Lightweight parts, but the removal of the high beam headlights for air flow, the angle of the stance, and even the painted to match rims give it a similar appearance to the coveted special. Now if only the engine was the high performance 427. With a little work and a few pieces, this could make for a pretty convincing Lightweight clone!

Galaxie 390 V8

While the engine might not be the big 427, this 390 has been upgraded and should be putting out some serious power. The seller has gone through the motor, installed new heads, and a high performance cam. It also has the hard to find long run exhaust headers. It still needs some tuning and the brakes need attention, but after those things are addressed, this Galaxie should be ready to hit the tarmac again!

Galaxie Drag Car

The story the seller gives is mostly second hand from the previous owner’s son, so it’s hard to know whether it is fact or fiction. The car looks to be in nice shape, especially on the inside, which would support the low mileage and originality claims. Of course mileage is irrelevant with drag cars, as they experience more abuse in just a single quarter mile run than most cars ever see on the road. Overall, it looks to be a solid car with much of it being original. If everything works as it should and it really is solid, it would be a fun cruiser and weekend dragster. I wouldn’t mind taking a run in it! What about you?

Comments

  1. Avatar Car Guy

    Really nice Galaxie…but NOT a Lightweight. Or at least missing a TON of Lightweight-specific features. And I believe all ’64 Lightweights were R-Code cars.
    Light Front Bucket Seats
    Rubber Front Mat
    Grille Slots for Ram Air (NOT deleted headlights – Thunderbolt)
    All-vinyl Interior (I believe)

    Like 1
  2. Avatar jim s

    this is a nice looking car, but would need a very close inspection to see how the body changes were done. also would need paperwork to support the racing history. might be a fun car to drive, and more fun if it were manual. if interested you could always make an offer. nice find

    Like 0
  3. Avatar Dolphin Member

    Yes, a car with ‘stories’, but the seller doesn’t actually say this is a Lightweight or use the word Lightweight in his description. And he doesn’t say that it came from the factory with a 427, only that “it use to have a 427 in it”. The drag racer former owner might have tried turning a regular Galaxie 500 that came with a 352 V8 into a competitive racer by installing a 427, which is OK by me. And since it’s a ‘stories’ car it might as well have the current 390 V8 with 408 heads and the good headers. The underside looks like there’s been some good work done. Biggest problem is the brakes need going over and maybe a new fuel tank for the street.

    Looks to me like an OK car with minimal rust and a decent price considering all the recent work done on it by the seller. There have been more than 50 people viewing the auction per hour and there’s 2 offers on it already, so people are interested. Looks like an inexpensive way to get a cool looking ex-racer for local shows and runs to the Dairy Queen on hot summer nights.

    Like 0
  4. Avatar geomechs Member

    This wouldn’t be a bad car to have as a driver. The fact that is was used for racing doesn’t do much for me anyways. Keep the 390 in it and drive it.

    Like 0
  5. Avatar dj

    I would say a “Lightweight Look a Like”

    Like 0
  6. Avatar Graham Llloyd

    Interesting car, but not rare or particularly desirable. Fastback 64 Galaxies are relatively easy to come by. This isn’t a 500XL which is the coveted model. A nice older restored one will run you less than 10 grand, so as a restoration project with an asking price of over 16, it won’t find a buyer in the resto market.

    I know squat about race cars, but given what I have read, the 390 isn’t a competitive engine for the strip. Let alone in a big car. Again, a 460 or whatever is popular with the race crowd would probably a more viable option. Buy a worn out Galaxie and build it. Again, I don’t think 16 grand for a car that needs more money dumped into it will command 16 grand.

    I guess the drag history, if it was a storied one, would be what would make this car worth this kind of money. Sounds like a “someone out there just having fun” history, which isn’t going to do it.

    One last comment. These white lightweight clones have been done to death. As far as appearances go, this is “just another ho hum clone”

    Sorry to be so negative. I love Galaxies. I have a 64 XL myself. True barn find that had been sitting since 1965 on jack stands. I just can’t see anything close to 16 grand in value in this car.

    Like 0
  7. Avatar justbob

    don’t think there were many automatic drag cars in that day. the dodge push button’s were pretty strong though.

    Like 1
  8. Avatar TED

    Ive always wanted one of these 64 Galaxie like in the photos here When I was in hIgh school I could have bought one but wasn’t working at the time.Now when I go out of town t I see one for sale and still wish for one..to own Maybe one day Ill own one??

    Like 0
  9. Avatar Chuck F

    Speaking of Thunderbolts there’s Smitty’s Speed Shop here in my town of Milton Florida, its an old shop that’s still open, was featured in a national magazine, the owner has an original Thunderbolt, as well as quite a collection of Fords.

    Make Plans for September’s 14th Annual Old Drag Racer’s Reunion Set for the 26th & 27th of the Month. Holiday Inn Select in Panama City, Florida is the Host & the Old Drag Racers Reunion Race Car Show will be at the Panama City Marina Downtown Panama City. The Race Car Show will Feature a Special Tribute to the Golden Anniversary of the 1964 Fairlane Thunderbolt. http://www.stillrunnin.com/events/view/fl-old-drag-racer-s-reunion

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Mike_B_SVT

    Huh… $16.5k buy now doesn’t sound that bad to me. For that money you get a great looking car with a great story – plus you won’t see yourself coming and going at the car shows (or daily commute, or going to the mall, or…).

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Jesse Staff

    A best offer was accepted. We don’t know how much it went for, but it had to have been under $15k.

    Like 0

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