Pro-Touring '65 Galaxie: Project MyGal

[dontlifttoshift]

You know the saying, "you can't fix it, if it ain't broke"?

You can not formulate a plan with out a clear view of what you are trying to fix.

What do you want to do with the car? Be honest and realistic about what is important here.

What do you want the car to do for you? Pick up chicks? Pick up your kids? Make old dudes jealous at the cruise night? Do burnouts in front of the bar? Drive to the other side of the country? Go racing? I didn't make any of these up, these were all reasons given to me for various builds/upgrades? Be honest and realistic about what is important here.

Answering these questions should lead to more questions......that's good. It will help you define what you are trying to accomplish and that will help you make your decisions.



Just to emphasize, be honest and realistic about what is important.

Everybody talks about budget in terms of dollars, budget your time. Time is way harder to come by than money unless you are unemployed. Even if you can afford all the go fast and the tools to build it, do you have the time? Be honest and realistic.

I know exactly what I would do with the car, partly because it's what I do, mostly because I have a 65 LTD. My skillset and equipment availability is different than yours, not better or worse, different.

[cheapthrillz]

I like the Crown Vic idea. I was watching TV the other day (can't remember the show) but in the show they said around the late 60's Nascar teams designed they front suspensions based on the '65 Full Size Ford Galaxie and of course are still very similar today. That being said you could look at used race car parts or search the interweb for Circle Track components. The information is available and that at a min will point you to or in the right direction, so you can better plan things out.

http://www.ridetech.com/files_AR/tec...laxy_front.pdf

https://books.google.com/books?id=rY...design&f=false

Also the library has some books too.

Good luck.

My only question here is, since when is a nascar setup desireable on a pro-touring street car? Or am I missing something? The ridetech article you posted is good info but in 65 they completely re designed the entire suspension so as far as i know, they still dont offer anything for the 65's....

[cheapthrillz]

You know the saying, "you can't fix it, if it ain't broke"?

You can not formulate a plan with out a clear view of what you are trying to fix.

What do you want to do with the car? Be honest and realistic about what is important here.

What do you want the car to do for you? Pick up chicks? Pick up your kids? Make old dudes jealous at the cruise night? Do burnouts in front of the bar? Drive to the other side of the country? Go racing? I didn't make any of these up, these were all reasons given to me for various builds/upgrades? Be honest and realistic about what is important here.

Answering these questions should lead to more questions......that's good. It will help you define what you are trying to accomplish and that will help you make your decisions.

Just to emphasize, be honest and realistic about what is important.

Everybody talks about budget in terms of dollars, budget your time. Time is way harder to come by than money unless you are unemployed. Even if you can afford all the go fast and the tools to build it, do you have the time? Be honest and realistic.

I know exactly what I would do with the car, partly because it's what I do, mostly because I have a 65 LTD. My skillset and equipment availability is different than yours, not better or worse, different.

End goal is to have modern tech reliability in a faimly heirloom that performs similarly to a modern sports car. I'm also a minimalist when it comes to vehicles. I like performance, not creature comforts.

Have you done anything to your LTD?

Thanks Donny. You make good points and have thought over these questions for several years lol. It''s just hard to figure out exactly which direction to head...

[dontlifttoshift]

End goal is to have modern tech reliability in a faimly heirloom that performs similarly to a modern sports car. I'm also a minimalist when it comes to vehicles. I like performance, not creature comforts.

In your shoes, I would look hard at not changing much.

I would reuse the 3 link in the rear, (DSE swivel links FTW!) remount the panhard with some adjustability and make it as long as possible. Dropped springs all around and the best shocks you can afford. Not sure what to do about the steering box, haven't researched the options. Stock rebuild on the front stuff. How deep are the rear wheel wells? I don't have access to mine. The new mustang ships on 275s in the rear, I have one, it's fine. This is minimal effort, high reward, relatively low cost. Concentrate on things that give you more bang for the buck/time invested.

The more you touch, the more you have to touch.

Have you done anything to your LTD?

Nope, its way down the list. The sentiment is strong with that car, though.

[cheapthrillz]

In your shoes, I would look hard at not changing much.

I would reuse the 3 link in the rear, (DSE swivel links FTW!) remount the panhard with some adjustability and make it as long as possible. Dropped springs all around and the best shocks you can afford. Not sure what to do about the steering box, haven't researched the options. Stock rebuild on the front stuff. How deep are the rear wheel wells? I don't have access to mine. The new mustang ships on 275s in the rear, I have one, it's fine. This is minimal effort, high reward, relatively low cost. Concentrate on things that give you more bang for the buck/time invested.

The more you touch, the more you have to touch.





Nope, its way down the list. The sentiment is strong with that car, though.

This is almost exactly one train of thought that i have had. The other is almost completely at the other end of the spectrum lol (thinking like full art morrison chassis). I want to build the car once so that it (hopefully) lasts for another 50 years. I have been trying to think of something in between the two trains of thought that may be a good compromise like maybe DSE x-gen front clip grafted in or something. It would be nice if i could find a way to measure the suspension travel so that it can be evaluated and compared to say a c6 corvette as a baseline since that is what most tend to imitate...

[Jetfixr320]

Some new rear links here. http://www.spohn.net/shop/1965-1974-...d-Galaxie.html

[cheapthrillz]

Some new rear links here. http://www.spohn.net/shop/1965-1974-...d-Galaxie.html

Yea, I think I posted the Spohn stuff somewhere in this thread previously. Definitely an option I am considering to help keep costs down on the rear. I'm hoping to measure and evaluate the rear suspension at some point to see if I need to change control arm lengths to maximize performance. It's all up in the air right now lol.

[MichaelUser]

My only question here is, since when is a nascar setup desireable on a pro-touring street car? Or am I missing something? The ridetech article you posted is good info but in 65 they completely re designed the entire suspension so as far as i know, they still dont offer anything for the 65's....

To my point using the Nascar was more reference of what you have works very well in both stock and modified versions. The Nascar step up is not very street friendly nor very pro touring, but neither is a huge sloppy suspended car for that matter, but that doesn't mean you cant make it work. My point was to show you that you really don't need the big bucks to make it handle and ride fairly well.

dontlifttoshift said it best: what is your purpose? You have a big car that will take some serious torque and proper engineering to make this thing toss around. It can be done, and it can be done at home with some basic tools and good ole' hard work and perseverance.

If it were me I would make some changes to the springs, sway-bars, steering box and shocks then start driving it around and get a feel of where you want to go. You will be surprised how much fun it will be just getting on the road with a few basic upgrades.

Trust me, no car is as fun as the one you can drive.

[Eurostang]

Talk to the old Nascar guys that are still around Mooresville. The Petty's might talk to you about old fords!! If you install longer upper ball joints(QA1) you can adjust the swing on the upper A arm. On mustangs we lower the inner mount for the upper arm. You might also find a Coleman or other circle track arm that has the right dimensions. Coleman will make custom arms by the way! Having the Susp arms boxed can offer a serious improvement as well. Find a used set to rework so you can collect all the pieces and do it all at once.

Keep up the great work!

[cheapthrillz]

For my info and ocd

http://oldcarmanualproject.com/manua...ual/index.html

[cheapthrillz]

I know I haven't posted in quite a while. Kids really take over your life when you start having them haha. Anyways, Late last year I ordered a Hotchkis TVS stage 2 kit for the car. Took them about 6 months to fulfill the order, but it finally shipped in July. I've been meaning to post pictures and updates as I progress, but life has been hectic. More to come later

[cheapthrillz]

[Bossed]

HELL YES !!!!!!!! Happy for you, seeing your Galaxie project moving forward. These projects don't always happen in the timely fashion we envision, marriage, kids, career, life happens. Congrats on your progress, thanks for sharing, and can't wait to see more.

Bossed

[cheapthrillz]

HELL YES !!!!!!!! Happy for you, seeing your Galaxie project moving forward. These projects don't always happen in the timely fashion we envision, marriage, kids, career, life happens. Congrats on your progress, thanks for sharing, and can't wait to see more.

Bossed

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement Bossed!

[cheapthrillz]

[cheapthrillz]

So I've basically gotten all of the suspension installed except for the sway bars, shocks, and steering. Getting prepared to set the body back onto the chassis temporarily. I had a line on a Coyote, but it fell through, so I'm still on the hunt. At this point in time, the plan is Coyote and T56 Magnum. Transmission may change if I can source a good deal on something else. I've learned that Coyote swaps are very expensive, but if I can offset the cost by sourcing a used engine, I think I will be satisfied. Rebuilding the FE engine is still not off the table, but a high quality rebuild/stroker and fuel injection is north of $10K.

[cheapthrillz]

So I put the body back on the frame the other day

[cheapthrillz]

But it looks like I'm going to be taking it back off very soon to mock up the mounts for the new power base. I purchased a '14 Roush supercharged coyote and '04 Cobra T56 transmission. I wasn't planning on running a supercharger, but I found what I thought to be a good deal on the combo already setup for a fastback mustang build. I guess there's no turning back now haha.

[Peanut1959]

Looking great! Just be sure you have money out aside for extra sets of rear tires!

[Project Bike Truck]

But it looks like I'm going to be taking it back off very soon to mock up the mounts for the new power base. I purchased a '14 Roush supercharged coyote and '04 Cobra T56 transmission. I wasn't planning on running a supercharger, but I found what I thought to be a good deal on the combo already setup for a fastback mustang build. I guess there's no turning back now haha.

Thats going to be a fun swap for sure! it will sound awesome, look awesome and make plenty of power! Great score.