Vroom, Vroom! Are you sorry that you never got to be a drag strip terror like Dick Brannan or Phil Bonner? Well, here’s your chance with this 1962 Ford Galaxie boxtop that’s done up like an early ’60s Super Stock dragster. It’s advertised as a clone but looks like a mostly faithful reproduction. Pat L. found the listing for this wanna-be race car here on craigslist. It’s located in Greenville, South Carolina and is available for $47,000.
The seller tells us that this Galaxie was originally equipped with the short-lived 406 CI V8 engine (’62 & ’63) so it would seem to have the right bones for such modifications. It’s also advertised as a lightweight, which from Ford’s perspective, according to Street Muscle Magazine meant, “a special lightweight frame, deleted sound deadener and sealing, thinner window glass, a fiberglass hood, front fenders, and trunk lid, an aluminum inner fender panels, front bumper, and bumper brackets, deleted armrest and carpet, lightweight bucket seats, battery relocated to trunk“. Whether all of those changes have been incorporated here is not said but some are plainly obvious.
Two big alterations to authenticity are the engine and transmission. The powerplant is a 427 CI V8 side-oiler, not introduced until ’63, and its attached C-6 three-speed automatic transmission which has swapped space with a four-speed manual gearbox. Curiously, there is no mention of this Galaxie’s operating characteristics but I have to imagine it’s a very stout performer. The listing does mention the use of Sunoco 118 octane leaded racing fuel (currently available for about $21 per gallon!) to salve the side-oiler’s 12.5:1 compression ratio but you could probably make do with something less intensive.
The interior is, in fact, missing its armrests – score for accuracy! It’s a stripped-down affair with buckets (I guess you could ditch the passenger one) and a roll bar, but no rear seat. The dash and instrument panel look stock with the exception of a huge tachometer, with its redline set at 7,500 RPM, and positioned front and center, along with engine gauges attached to the bottom edge of the dash. The blue vinyl upholstery appears as lightly used, and, as expected, a rubber mat adorns the floor. The fire extinguisher is a smart move!
A serious professional racer this car isn’t, but the aesthetics are fantastic and I’m sure that it’s fast enough in a straight line to generate either smiles or an expression of “we’re not gonna make it” terror. I’m torn over the decals, lettering, etc. perhaps a stealthier version, sans all the advertising, would make this car more serious but I guess less authentic looking – it’s a matter of preference. So, how about that $47K price, just right or not quite?
This would be a fun weekend driver/racer…Nice 62
Man, about 5yrs ago I saw a black 63′ parked on the street near my work. Then I took a second look at the 406 on the fenders. Had to knock on the door to find out more. Turns out a young women bought the night before off of c-list. For $3500!!!!!! Well, it had a 289 in it at the time. After talking to the new owners mom about it. She said there was another guy offering several thousand more for it when her daughter went to buy it. The nice seller said she was first and took the lower amount. Nice!
Well, after talking to the mom and getting a good look at it. I never saw it again. Still wonder what she ended up reselling for. Cool car!
This car had much more success on the oval than the drag strip. Ford literally dominated stock car racing in the early 60s, mostly because of the motors. Even with lightening, like the Super Duty Poncho, these were just too heavy for any drag racing, and some big names drove ’62 Fords in NASCAR, and the lesser known, USAC. I’m not sure what you should do with this.
Rare to see one of these. One of my favorite Fords!
Very nice car. Unless you live near a drag strip, and that’s becoming more difficult to find these days. The 12.5 compression and very high octane needed will limit you. You could street/show drive it, but that would entail a couple head gaskets and hopefully would run on 91-93. Then there is the rear end and maybe a stall converter that may not work well on the street. Perfect for a racer…..still like it.
I would like to see some dyno figures taken at rear wheel and some dragstrip times for this price