Turbowomble

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me:

Another side-on, to give you all a wide-on:

Another side-on, to give you all a wide-on:

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me:

Another side-on, to give you all a wide-on:

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me:

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me:

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me:

The owner’s son, the seller, had plans to turn it into a rat-look low rider (so I feel I’ve saved it from a certain doom) and had procured a 428 from a ‘68 Thunderbird for it. While I had notions to use this motor, as a Galaxie and a big-block are natural bedfellows, I’ve no idea of the engine’s provenance - or if it’s even functional - while the 347 is sitting ready to go; the fact that this car started out life as a 289 car means that the 347 will just strap right in, while the 428 would require a little massaging. Plus, I’m hoping that the smaller capacity with the longer final drive will mean less of a thirst!

YES!!!!! 
 
 
you win. Everyone else pack your bags and fuck off. 

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me:

Fucking Hell.
 
That is all.

@PhilA can you tell him what an excellent idea hes having?
who has the 4 door galaxie on here? 

Now where have I seen those rear lights before..?

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me:

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me:

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me:

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me:

The owner’s son, the seller, had plans to turn it into a rat-look low rider (so I feel I’ve saved it from a certain doom) and had procured a 428 from a ‘68 Thunderbird for it. While I had notions to use this motor, as a Galaxie and a big-block are natural bedfellows, I’ve no idea of the engine’s provenance - or if it’s even functional - while the 347 is sitting ready to go; the fact that this car started out life as a 289 car means that the 347 will just strap right in, while the 428 would require a little massaging. Plus, I’m hoping that the smaller capacity with the longer final drive will mean less of a thirst!

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me:

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me:

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me:

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me:

I’ve had a bit of a crisis upon turning 30 (I’m loathe to refer to it as ‘mid-life’, as that seems a pessimistic guess of my life expectancy, however the amount of sausage rolls and Guinness I go through on a weekly basis is helping that dream become a reality), and so decided that I needed one last automotive hurrah, preferably one with a big lumpy V8 and was old enough to be tax- and MOT-exempt and low enough insurance to justify the eye-watering fuel consumption.
Enter: this clapped-out ol’ hog:

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, held together by its own corrosion and some misplaced hopes and dreams.
Found on FB for the princely sum of $1,500 (so about £10k at the exchange rates I paid) this has been owned by the same chap since 1974, when it was parked in his cattle shed about 30 years ago and then moved out into the paddock about a decade later when the cattle needed more room. A North Carolina car its whole life, it will live there in my father’s workshop until I get over and am able to spend a couple of weeks getting it into shape and stuffed into a container, destined for the UK and eventually NI.
The plans for it include:
- a 347ci stroker motor with some go-faster bits like an Edelbrock inlet manifold, Holley 650ci carb, GT40 heads and other odds and sods; hoping that this combo will be good for 350hp or so.
- an AOD 4-speed slush-o-matic with some 3.55 rear gears, which should hopefully* make it sprightly enough in its first 3 gears while making for a decent cruiser in its 4th.
- painted black (I’m currently undecided between gloss and satin; this will be dependent on the standard of the bodywork, as satin will hide the multitude of sins better than gloss but I feel gloss will look less ‘thuggy’ than a matte satin finish), set off with some painted steel wheels and white-line tyres
- some other creature comforts in the form of a Bluetooth stereo, maybe cruise control and a ‘knee-cooler’ A/C unit.
I don’t have much else to add right now - I’ll mainly just be making a list of what’s needed and getting all the parts delivered (while also trying not to get completely fleeced by the exchange rate). But I’m excited by this and just wanted to share with the rest of the parish.
One final pick for how it sits now - these won’t be the final wheels for it, however they’re definitely growing on me: