The latest burden - 1964 Ford Galaxie 500

[Turbowomble]

2 hours ago, Pieman said:

Oh my god!

Strapping in and following the ride on this thread.  And yes, please give it a beautiful paint job!

I hope that patience is one of your virtues, for the updates on this will likely be slow and not very steady - my father has told me that he can ‘lend’ me his staff at a knockdown rate (I just have to cover their gross wage and stamp) to do sheet metal work, but any real progress won’t be for a month’s time when I’m actually in NC to get my hands properly dirty with it. Hoping there’ll be some progress pics in the meantime, at least!

2 hours ago, morrisoxide said:

That's brilliant.

Someone on a forum gave me these years ago for my 64 Mercury.  

64 Ford & Mercury Workshop manual might come in handy. You don't have to sign in to look or download them.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8qa27ku783u0x6n/1964ford-mercuryshopmanual.pdf?dl=0

A link to a forum with other manuals etc.

https://www.fordmuscleforums.com/threads/using-dropbox-to-share-manuals.518657/page-3

Oh and have a pic of my Mercury Pretty much the same car only with a nose job and trim, oh and no spire down the side .

P.S. Rock auto is your friend.

You’re as generous as you are classically handsome - appreciate the help! I’ll be leaning quite heavily on the knowledge of the learned collective here, so this is a great start. An e-pint for you my friend! (Also, your ride is bitchin’ - I can only hope my own turns out even half as well)

1 hour ago, PhilA said:

Should slush around quite well in a sloppy dive/pitch sort of way.

Does not look as rotten as I would expect from a NC car either- lots of pine around there which drop needles and make the road wash acidic.

That’s what I was wanting out of this - a big bargey cruiser, for fair weather burbly wafting around (with the odd squirt off the traffic lights). Originally, I was looking for a Coupe de Ville of a similar vintage, but examples of similar condition were multiples more in price. Same story with Lincoln Continentals, although I had very nearly agreed a deal with a fella for a ‘69 Mark III until he decided ‘cash only’ at the last minute, even though he knew from the very start where I was based. Twat. It was Facebook marketplace though, so I don’t know what I expected.

As for your other point regarding its level of rot - most of the body is fine, bar some areas on the front clip, while the frame is solid bar some surface fuzz as well. However, its floorpans have bit the dust, driver’s side in particular being very Flintstone-y, so they’ll need replaced. I’m not a terribly good weldist, so that one will need doing by the professionals, but I’ll turn my hand to getting the oily bits right and beating the body into shape.

[PhilA]

C2C have floor pans for it if you get stuck.

https://www.c2cfabrication.com/collections/all/ford+galaxie+1964+floor-pan

[JMotor]

On 10/2/2022 at 8:03 PM, Turbowomble said:

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

That's cool as fuck!

1+ for Dinnae paint it and keep the wheels.  

[Datsuncog]

Oh, nice. Very, very nice.

This could be the start of an Epic Thread...

[5speedracer]

On 10/4/2022 at 10:10 AM, JMotor said:

That's cool as fuck!

1+ for Dinnae paint it and keep the wheels.  

+1 again (almost) for dinnae paint. Keep that original colour, it looks class and the wheels in matt contrast so well.

[djim]

Wow, what a project. Welcome to bonersville, population you! 

[Turbowomble]

On 10/4/2022 at 2:32 AM, PhilA said:

C2C have floor pans for it if you get stuck.

https://www.c2cfabrication.com/collections/all/ford+galaxie+1964+floor-pan

Evidently, I need to brush up on my Google-fu, for I was having a proper mare trying to find floorpans at prices that weren’t ripping the arse out of it - much obliged friend!

 

On 10/5/2022 at 3:15 PM, Datsuncog said:

Oh, nice. Very, very nice.

This could be the start of an Epic Thread...

A far cry from when I first stumbled on these pages a couple of years ago on the hunt for a not-completely-shagged-out phase 1 Safrane…

[tooSavvy]

Cool as Penguins Naddgers.....

Thecraig909 is/has chopped & refurbed his.

..... Monetising [via YooToob..] + sponsors, seems to make very expensive things appear in the build and he just .... 'wears RayBans, drinks beer, improves his tan' 🙄

*Not The A$ Way...... ☔🔨

[2flags]

This looks amazing. As for the rat look, I'm afraid I'm not a fan. Get it tided up and a new coat of paint. It will look fantastic!

[motorpunk]

Awesome! I’ve so got the horn for these after admiring them at Goodwood. This one was on my eBay watch for a while. 😍

 

[goosey]

5 hours ago, motorpunk said:

Awesome! I’ve so got the horn for these after admiring them at Goodwood. This one was on my eBay watch for a while. 😍

 

That’s my Brothers car, well it was, he’s recently just sold it 

[motorpunk]

7 minutes ago, goosey said:

That’s my Brothers car, well it was, he’s recently just sold it 

It seemed way too cheap to me! What puts me off is that it won't fit in my garage and it's too nice to leave out to the elements. I'd love a go - if he or the new owner wants to swap for an Elise (my Elise) for a weekend, it might be fun to compare.

[goosey]

Just now, motorpunk said:

It seemed way too cheap to me! What puts me off is that it won't fit in my garage and it's too nice to leave out to the elements. I'd love a go - if he or the new owner wants to swap for an Elise (my Elise) for a weekend, it might be fun to compare.

It actually sold for quite a bit under the asking price, I’m not sure who the buyer was though.

was a really nice car to drive (the steering conversion helped massively) and I believe he had converted it to EFI.

The rust on the roof was actually painted on and the car was really solid considering it had spent a few years parked in a field 

[motorpunk]

32 minutes ago, goosey said:

It actually sold for quite a bit under the asking price, I’m not sure who the buyer was though.

was a really nice car to drive (the steering conversion helped massively) and I believe he had converted it to EFI.

The rust on the roof was actually painted on and the car was really solid considering it had spent a few years parked in a field 

Aaaah, bugger. I want it now. 

[Turbowomble]

5 hours ago, goosey said:

was a really nice car to drive (the steering conversion helped massively)

How was the steering converted? Do you mean to RHD or some sort of power steering kit?

[goosey]

Ford Mustang power steering conversion, the original power steering was a leaky vague mess

[Turbowomble]

Evening all,

I’m blown away by the positive reception this has gotten, and don’t know whether to be grateful for the support or curse you all for acting as enablers…

Nothing has changed physically since the original post, only that my credit card is wheezing from all the purchases I’ve made of parts and go-faster bits - these include, but are not limited to:

- the 428 and C6 auto the car was delivered with being swapped for a 347 stoker short block, which I believe started out life as a 5.0 from a Fox-body of some description. Also procured for this are an Edelbrock F4B inlet manifold, some NOS ‘Powered By Ford’ valve covers, a fancy new sump pan and oil pump, and a Brawler 650cfm carb, replete with electric choke. Turns out that Holleys are a king’s ransom, and that Brawler is Holley’s ‘economy’ sub-brand, so it’s basically a Holley…right? All that’s left are GT40 cylinder heads, which I’m told can be got fairly easily, some short-tube headers and a slightly lift-y camshaft, as I want that nice lumpy idle.

- an AOD transmission, out of a different Fox-body car

- all new weatherstripping for the doors and windows, and a full headliner

- a full set of floorpans, as the current ones are Swiss cheese

Next on the shopping list, requiring immediate attention:

- a front disc conversion kit, given that reports of the standard brakes are less than glowing and that there’ll be 150+ hp more to contend with than it originally came with. There’s a Wilwood conversion kit that looks mighty tempting, however lll have to write Ms. Truss a letter asking her to pull the pound up by a few points in order for the man-maths to work on that one…

- a shorter final drive, probably 3.73; I’ve spent quite a few work hours this week dicking around with the Tremec ratio calculator and have determined that this appears to be the sweet spot between a moderate level of motorway RPM (2500rpm = 75mph, based on current tyre sizes) and also not turning the transmission into muesli, as AODs have quite a low pain threshold it seems and the 347 would be right at that limit of ~350hp/350lb/ft. If I can get a limited slip as well that’d be a bonus 

- for the paint, I’ve taken on board the collective’s opinion of Dinnae Paint It™️ and have elected that I’ll only re-do the front clip while leaving the rest as is; I’m told the wings are save-able, save for a light patch-n-fill, but that I’ll definitely require a new bonnet. I haven’t seen the car’s vehicle ID plate - only it’s VIN; it was born in Dearborn, MI, it started out life as a 289 2bbl car and was #59,356 off the line in 1964, for those who care - to determine the car’s paint code, however extensive Googling during an office comfort break* leads me to believe that this car was originally Holly Green, which is a handsome bastard colour if I do say so myself, and so I reckon I’ll re-do the front end and then clearcoat the whole thing, hopefully to the delight of all you patina-lickers.

I’ll be seeing the car in person for the first time on the 12th November, hence I’m working quickly to get as much sorted as possible so I can get stuck straight in as soon as I’m there. I figure that if I can get the oily bits and the bodywork in good order while I’m there (and have access to suitable facilities, equipment and professional help/expertise) that anything cosmetic/non-essential can come later, such as sorting the interior…

…which, as you can see, is a touch fucked. The headlining I’ve bought is black, as originally I’d planned that the car be black body/black interior/black steels, although now I’m moving a different direction with the exterior colour I’m wondering if this creamy-beige scheme inside is worth sticking with. Again, all suggestions on this welcome.

As a final side note, by pure chance I stumbled upon the thread for @sdkrc’s ‘67 4-door, and have poured myself a generous* Rusty Nail to settle in for a night’s reading…figured that was an appropriate beverage, given the community I’ve found myself in and the automotive choices I’ve made!

[Turbowomble]

Forgot to stick this in the last comment: stumbled upon this when I was researching the colour and got very wistful over the thought that this is probably very close to what the car looked like both inside and out when new, save for the white roof. 

[goosey]

On 10/7/2022 at 7:29 PM, Turbowomble said:

How was the steering converted? Do you mean to RHD or some sort of power steering kit?

Just spoke to my brother about his old Galaxie I was wrong about the steering- 

he converted his to a Borgeson power steering setup, this involves fitting an actual power steering box made by Borgeson which replaces the factory assist system which is a hyd ram and valve block.

the engine was a 390 FE big block with a Sniper EFI system 

 

[Turbowomble]

Update time, of sorts:

I have arrived state-side and will be getting stuck into the car from next weekend - I’m currently in Florida and working remotely, so won’t get up to North Carolina until the weekend.

As I’m staying with my grandparents in Florida, I’ve been given the use of their vehicles to get around whilst I’m here - originally, I was going to be let use their ‘good’ car, a very typical Floridian pensioner cliche:

A 2016 Cadillac CT6, the last full-size Caddy saloon* you could buy - this one’s a 2L turbo-4 with 260hp, which has adequate performance but a most inadequate noise under load, which the engine most often is and detracts from the overall Cadillac experience I find. It must be relatively base-spec, as I was surprised to find no adaptive cruise or other trickery, and it has heated seats (which I assume are standard, as who in their right mind would spec them in Florida?) but not cooled. Very 1st world problems, I know.

However, I remembered they had a different car, which I was surprised they still had, and so binned off the Caddy in favour of…

This. It’s a ‘93 Eddie Bauer with the 351W/5.8L, sadly not white-on-white, it’s peppered in rust blisters, it has 3 different colours of leaks, a recently replaced tailgate that hasn’t been painted yet and it gets 10mpg while offering absolutely nothing to justify its fuel consumption.

So, naturally, I was like a moth to a flame.

It’s got a hole in the exhaust so it has an absolutely biblical cold start, and the driving position is second to none in terms of that high-up ‘king of the road’ feel. If I knew my grandfather still had it, and I hadn’t just plowed a pile of money into the Galaxie, I’d’ve bought it off him and shipped this instead.

[Turbowomble]

In the meantime, there has been some progress Galaxie-wise:

- the bonnet has had some of its rust holes treated. The worst areas were ground down and then filled with body lead. Don’t have a picture of the finished article, but here’s some in-progress pics:

I knew the bonnet was fairly scabby, so I wasn’t surprised to see just how bad it was. New stock-looking bonnets are like hen’s teeth, so I was keen to get this one saved; the main alternative seems to be the ‘Thunderbolt’-style teardrop-scooped hood, which I’m not that keen on in this instance (plus the Thunderbolt was based on the Fairlane, so the teardrop scoop would be an anachronism to have on this car).

- the floors have been cut out and new floorpans have gone in. Galaxie-specific floorpans are a king’s ransom, so I’ve taken a more cost-effective option and have chosen to slot in a floorpan set from a same-year Mustang - the floorpan style is effectively* the same between the two cars, but the Galaxie’s are extended due to the wheelbase. Again, I’ve no pictures of the finished article, but here’s another in-progress shot:

That’s all I have to date on the Galaxie - there should be a great deal more progress within the next 2 weeks, so keep your peepers peeled.

[Surface Rust]

I've clearly been watching way too much Vice Grip Garage, but sadly disappointed you're not just getting the Galaxie running and then driving 4000 miles home with no brakes...

Having driven a '68 Mustang with the standard non-servo drum brakes I would agree that a disk conversion is essential. 

Regarding your colour options - dark green paintwork with a tan interior is one of the best.

Best of luck!

[Turbowomble]

Update time, finally.

I saw the car in person for the first time on Monday. I was momentarily given a lump in my throat by the fact that the thing I’ve been obsessing over these last couple of months, receiving pictures and spending modest* sums of money on parts and bits was now sitting in front of me, very tangible and very real. Pics of the car as I first saw it:

New floors all sealed up and looking sharp:

 

 

To say it’s “shagged oot” is probably the understatement of the century: this is a project and a half. However, the potential to be something magnificent(ly shit) is great, so with that in mind there’s been some solid graft done this week. I’ll have to split it across a couple of posts, as I’ve hit the upload limit fairly easily.

[Turbowomble]

(Part 2 of close-up pics)

Rear bumper is completely shat:

 

[Turbowomble]

Front-end clean up:
Before the new engine gets dropped in, the front chassis rails and all the steering/suspension bits were absolutely caked in rust and decades-old mud and crud. Exhibit A:

 

So, I set about it with a wire wheel (ended up tanning 4 of them through the process) to get all this shit ground down to a point where it can be treated with OSPHO to flash off the excess and then it’ll get resealed and repainted with truck bed liner for a bit of weather proofing.

First pass with the wire wheels ended up as below:

EDIT: and then a second go, once the wire wheel stock had been replenished:

A bit more Protestant-looking than before.

The car has drums all round, and the plan is to recondition the rears while binning the fronts for discs. They’re some of the biggest drums I’ve ever seen, and also some of the worst:

2nd pic shows all the caked-up shit I couldn’t get at before, which got cleaned off when the drums were removed.

The front discs are off of a ‘73 Torino, because the spindles to hold them are a bolt-on item for these full-size body-on-frame Fords across a 15ish year span, so it’s a very easy swap. They got cleaned off with the wire wheel and sprayed black, so are now very shiny and ill-fitting with the condition of the rest of the front end.

In the process of removing the old spindles and refitting the new ones, one of the holding bolts on the lower ball joint on the passenger side cross-threaded itself, and also they’re not in the best of shape being nearly 60 years old, so we’ve popped on a new set of of these as well.

EDIT: with the new ball joints ready to go on with the spindles, today we gave it a blast with the OSPHO and then sprayed the whole thing black:

 

And finally, a close-up of the new ball-joints and spindles (the spindle bolts are only hand-tightened for now, that’s a Tuesday job along with getting the calipers on):

Edited November 22, 2022 by Turbowomble
Additional pictures

[Turbowomble]

Engine & Drivetrain

This car originally had a 289ci from the factory, so the decision was made to pop another SBF in as it would be a straight swap, instead of having to source the bits for a big block.

The engine that’ll be going is as follows - the build spec is what I’ve been told is in it/going on it, as the bottom end was already built before I got it:

- a 302 sourced from a Fox-body Mustang, stroked out to 347ci (which I understand is achieved by both boring the cylinders by 0.030” and also with a different crankshaft). EDIT: now in a fetching shade of Ford blue (this is not the final oil pan, there’s a fancier ribbed item going on to match the valve covers)

- an Edelbrock F4B intake manifold, which was an original 60’s/70’s performance item and so should be period correct for this car. The main benefit of this intake is the higher-rising inlet and exhaust plenums, along with the actual Venturi outlets for the carburettor being 2 large open rectangles instead of 4 individual holes so the carb should flow a little easier as well.

- a Brawler 650cfm double-pumper carburettor.  Brawler is a budget* sub-brand of Holley and uses all the same designs, so the only difference between this and a genuine Holley is the nameplate (or so I’m told). The double pumper set-up combined with the big intake should make for decent throttle response and an eagerness to rev.

- GT40 cylinder heads from a late-model fuel-injected car. These came on a fair few 5.0s over the course of the 90’s, and originally it was thought that the ones for the Galaxie would’ve been sourced from an Explorer. However, in a keen twist of fate, it appears the heads actually come from a ‘93 Mustang Cobra, as they were equipped with Crane Cams rocker arms from the factory. So that’s nice. EDIT: these are now back from the machine shop with humongous valves. I also sourced a period set of valve covers, repainted them and polished the ribs:

 

- a Trick Flow TFS1 camshaft, which to be honest I know very little about but based on reading some forum posts and watching some YouTube comparison videos I’ve concluded it should give it not only a nice lumpy idle but should also encourage it to rev as well.

- Keith Black pistons; same as the camshaft, I don’t know a massive pile about these but online research suggests that these are the go-to for a 347 build.

All the gaskets have been ordered and are mostly delivered (still waiting on exhaust gaskets I think), so we should be able to complete the engine assembly and drop it into the car this week hopefully. I’ve no idea what a final power figure will be, but my dad and his machinist have built and dyno’d hundreds of engines over the decades and tell me that this combination would be estimated to have c. 400hp at the crank, which would be swell.

Also sitting awaiting installation is the transmission, an AOD sourced from a (different) Fox-body.

 

We’ve dropped the rear differential, cracked it open, cleaned it out and have these sitting ready to be popped in:

 

It’s a 4.11 final drive, which should give it some oomph off the line (not that it’ll get put to the test…much). A new driveshaft will also be needed, as the one that’s in there is rusted to buggery and is also fairly weedy looking, surprising given the size of the car and the powertrain that was in it before.

Edited November 22, 2022 by Turbowomble
Additional pics

[Turbowomble]

That’s all I’ve got for now - once the oily bits are sorted, then we’ll deal with the cosmetics. The patina-lickers among you will be discouraged to hear that the plan is a full repaint, sitting on a set of gloss black steels and keeping the original cream interior colour scheme.

Also, someone please remind me in the next day or two to go back and add more pictures.

[motorpunk]

On 07/10/2022 at 13:48, goosey said:

That’s my Brothers car, well it was, he’s recently just sold it 

He's not in Littlehampton way is he? Weirdly I stumbled over a little workshop there last weekend with a couple of friendly guys who import US stuff, he mentioned he'd sold a very similar car to this recently, it was an "autoshitey" kind of place with some lovely US metal, an Audi RS2 and other cool bits.

[motorpunk]

8 hours ago, Turbowomble said:

Also, someone please remind me in the next day or two to go back and add more pictures.

NOW! PICTURES NOW! WE HAVE THE PATIENCE OF A 6 YEAR OLD LOOKING AT THIS THING. NOW!

Also, this. 

 

[goosey]

1 minute ago, motorpunk said:

He's not in Littlehampton way is he? Weirdly I stumbled over a little workshop there last weekend with a couple of friendly guys who import US stuff, he mentioned he'd sold a very similar car to this recently, it was an "autoshitey" kind of place with some lovely US metal, an Audi RS2 and other cool bits.

No he’s from Stourbridge, West Midlands, he bought the car from a guy nr Worcester who’d had it parked up for quite a long time