I’ve always thought it would be interesting to weigh a rusty classic to see how much weight the rust has shaved off over the years. There’s no arguing that the second generation of Ford Galaxies could benefit from losing a few pounds, but I think this one might have lost a little too much weight. Rust has really taken hold of this top level Galaxie, but it seems the owner realizes it might not be worth anything more than as a parts donor and have priced it fairly low in their ad here on eBay. They are asking $2,900, but they need to sell and will hear offers!
As I stated earlier, rust is a major issue for this classic. It has the usual quarter and fender rust, which is an issue, but wouldn’t keep it off the road. Even the rust in the floors wouldn’t be a major problem, but if you take a look at the underside you will notice an issue that could be a big problem. There are some very large rust holes in the frame, which leaves me wondering what other kind of rust issues we aren’t seeing. The seller claims you can buy ’62 frames, but I wasn’t able to find any. I was however able to find a number of parts suppliers that had all the other metal you would need to replace and for reasonable prices! Maybe there is hope yet for this Ford!
Under the hood, the 292 V8 is still in place! It looks a bit rough, but the seller claims it turns over. They didn’t try starting it, as they didn’t want to pull any junk from the tank into the carb. I would be tempted to get a fuel jug out and try starting it up that way, just to make sure it works. The 292 wasn’t a powerhouse in this big Ford by any means, with just 170 horsepower. That’s not a lot of grunt for a car this size, but it would do the job. If you are going to have to replace just about everything anyways, you could always drop a something a bit more interesting into that massive engine bay!
I’m struggling to decide what I would do with this Galaxie. On the one hand, it appears to be in good shape on the inside and if the engine can be made to run without much work, it could be a tempting project. On the other, it is very rusty and could get costly to make sound enough to be safe to drive. This is one case where I might actually be tempted to find another Galaxie with a solid body, but with a worn out engine or a destroyed interior. Combine the two and you would have one sweet driver! So what do you think? Is this Galaxie a parts car or a viable project?
It’s a toss up, there are guys with frames lying around. Nice looking interior for sure.
It would depend on how much you like Galaxies. you could body off frame it, do the repairs to this frame with new metal fairly easily. The rest of the rust is also easy to do. Replacement metal is available. Refreshing the engine and other mechanicals is relatively inexpensive. I say it could be saved to a #2 driver status, after all it is a hardtop.
As early XL’s go, this is one helluva rare car and a fantastic color combo. Other than having a boat anchor for a transmission, I don’t see any great problems restoring this. I’m a sucker for original-paint cars anyway.
It would be a shame not to try and save this car, finished it would be beautiful.
How impractical an idea is it to consider swapping the body onto a more modern Ford truck frame? Imagine a classic like this with an ecoboost engine.
Now you’ve done it! Get your flame retardant suit on!
Parts car.. Sorry..
Hi if this was a 356 or 912 people would be all over it for 20,000
Yes, but this is a REAL car, and real cars are bought by real men that know the value of a car. Not by boys needing to compensate. Just funning guys, don’t get your knickers in a wad.
“The emperor has no clothes ” comes to mind.
Break out the HOLLANDER, I would almost bet real cash money that the frame was identical from 60-66, maybe even further. I said almost……
I found this 63 Galaxie 500 XL convertible years ago on the side of a house in a carport. It needed lots of work as the trunk flloor was rusted out, a common issue and 2 rustholes in the front rear quarters where the drain ran down into the panels. Hood also to rusty to save but floors were good and the car was definitely restorable. Replaced the hood, trunk floor from a donor car and here was the result.
I need a good hood for a 62 galaxie anyonegot one, thank
Does anyone have a diagram of a 1962 ford galaxy convertible body mount to frame bolt location. Thank you