My personal favorite year for Ford’s Galaxie series: the 1965 models were new, modern, and crisp, and they had stacked headlights and an upright grille. This 1965 Ford Galaxie 500 XL two-door hardtop has a mystery V8 engine, and it can be found here on craigslist in Kent, Washington, and the seller is asking $6,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Curvette for the tip!
I love this clean front-end design. The third-generation Galaxie was made from 1964 for the 1965 model year until the end of 1968. Either a two-door or four-door configuration would work for me; I’m not fussy. The Galaxie 500 XL was one of the top trim levels, but I’m surprised not to see a power brake booster under the hood of this one. It was a $43 option, $457 in 2026 dollars. It was more of a sport trim level and was only available with two doors, in either a hardtop or a convertible. This isn’t a brochure, but this website is fantastic for facts and figures.
Most ads show the Galaxie 500 XL with a black vinyl top, and I admit to being a fan of vinyl tops in this era. As with pool or pond, anything would be good, to misquote Carl Spackler (Bill Murray) from Caddyshack. Vinyl top or a smooth, sleek, painted steel top as shown here, there is no bad answer in my world. This Rangood Red car looks almost too good for the asking price, doesn’t it? You have to realize that it isn’t 1988 anymore, and you can’t get a perfect Galaxie 500 XL for $1,500, so dump those memories out the window and think about 2026 pricing for vintage vehicles. Here’s what it looks like inside the trunk compartment. There is visible rust under the trunk gasket and obvious paint here and there. Plan on putting some time into this car when it shows up on the trailer.
The sporty 500 XL came with front bucket seats, a console, and the transmission control/shifter right where it should be. In this case, that’s a three-speed automatic. I can’t quite tell if the steering wheel appears to be a bit different from a factory steering wheel on a Galaxie 500 XL or not. Dave, you’re the steering wheel guy; what do you think? The interior looks great for the most part, with a split in the driver’s seat, and the rear seat looks like new. Unfortunately, the seller’s description says the rear window has been blown out, but we aren’t sure what that means, and there are no photos of it without a rear window. If it’s been parked outside without a rear window, that puts a big dent in the asking price for me.
The mystery engine is another… uhh… mystery. The seller says they’re listing this car for their nephew, who bought this car 22 years ago, right after the engine had been rebuilt, and he put a ton of money into it, and then let it sit for the next 20 years. They list “blue aluminum headers,” but I’m assuming that means Blue Thunder aluminum heads? I thought they were only for small-block V8s, which would have been the 289-cu.in. OHV V8 with 200 hp in this case, but other sources list big-block engines as well. Whatever engine it is, I’m assuming that 90% of Barn Finds readers could have this engine humming again in no time. They say it has “new struts,” which I’m assuming means shocks, along with the “blue aluminum headers,” and also new electrical, new brakes, and more. Depending on the rear window situation (I’d sure want to see an updated photo if it’s really missing now), this could be a great deal. Hagerty is at $13,200 for a 289-equipped 500 XL hardtop. What are your thoughts on this Galaxie 500 XL?
An XL would (usually) have a 390 and in a rarer sense a 427. And since this one sure looks like a big-block (FE) it probably is. I can’t see the engine call-out badge on the lower front fenders, but…its probably a 390.
That makes sense; excellent deduction, sir. It doesn’t look like a 289 to me, so I’d bet you’re right.
The info on that great website link in the second paragraph says that the 289 was the base engine in the 500 XL series.
Yes and Happy Sunday to you Scotty!
I believe it could have had a 289 but one might have to perhaps checked a special box, as again, most of them were 390s. But all I know is You Never Know…
Looking at the valve covers, 1965 289s had 6 bolts and the 352/390s had 5 bolts. This engine has 5 bolts in the valve covers.
Looks like a 352 to me but could be wrong. Nice looking car though!
It’s definitely a Y block – AKA big block. And the 352 and the 390 look strikingly similar as they basically had the same (external) architecture but what’s inside is what counted. And even a 390 will have 352 casting marks on the block and even the intake manifold but don’t be confused…
but really, is it a European Sparrow or an Africian Sparrow…
Such a great ’60’s executive’ looking car. Really nice.