'65 Pro-touring Galaxie!!!

[cheapthrillz]

Thinking of starting a PT project on my '65 Galaxie. The car is my father's and a one family car which my grandfather bought new in 65. It is a 2 door coupe with a 352 bb and three on the tree. I was thinking of doing a good ART system and replacing the stock 4 wheel drums with cobra brakes or maybe a baer system. I have heard that the 352's can put out some serious horsepower if built right because it is such a low ci big block. Also thinking about moving the shifter to the floor. Not sure about which tranny to go with, maybe a TKO or possibly a M22 if I can find one. Also a full roll cage would be nice to stiffen the chassis since the car weighs a damn ton. Power rack and pinnion would be nice, but might have to do a lot of fab on that.

Anybody with some good ideas, done a project similarly, or know where to get some good parts from, let me know. Parts for this car are very hard to find. Thanks alot...

[cheapthrillz]

Here is a fairly recent pic. The car has only a tiny bit of rust. The paint is worn out, but will remain dark blue....

[trapin]

Sounds like a neat project. Hopefully someone with knowledge of these cars will chime in.

[jaybee]

Very cool, that'll look great lowered with wide, wide rubber underneath. My parents had a 65 4 door.

[6'9"Witha69]

Very nice. I like seeing these old heavy cars set up nice!

[cheapthrillz]

Yea, I'm not really a Ford person, but i love the old NASCAR galaxies and fairlanes. If someone would like to try their hand at photoshoping some cool ideas, I can attach a better photo. I'm not sure what to do about the weight of the car and how to reduce some of that. I'd like to keep the body as stock looking as possible on the outside without deleting the bumpers and what-not, but it is going to be hard to pull of a 5500 lb pro-tourer....

[mosconiac]

I have no idea who owns it, but this should be some inspiriation.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2007/08/Good20Guys20200720647-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2007/08/Good20Guys20200720642-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2007/08/Good20Guys20200720646-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2007/08/Good20Guys20200720644-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2007/08/Good20Guys20200720645-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2007/08/Good20Guys20200720652-1.jpg

[rob07002]

That car is sexy!

[Tony@AirRideTech]

The bitchin Fairlane belongs to Doug..... Formerly of StreetWorks out of Washington. He has had his hand in building some pretty bitchin stuff including a Chevy II that won Street Machine of the year several years ago.

Regarding your Fairlane... I would bet that car is a lot lighter than you think it is if you think it weights 5500 lbs...... I actually dig that body style of the fairlanes the best and I just about bought one at one point.

[cheapthrillz]

Regarding your Fairlane... I would bet that car is a lot lighter than you think it is if you think it weights 5500 lbs......

yea, that is one bad ass car!

My car is actually a '65 galaxie, so it is much bigger and much heavier....

Tony, is there any way you guys can help me set up a good system for my car? I looked on your website, and there were no galaxie setups. Im sure that there are similar cars that I could get away with using their setups....

[cheapthrillz]

nobody else knows anything about galaxies????

[cheapthrillz]

Anybody want to take a stab at photoshoping a '65 galaxie.....

just make sure it is blue......


JC

[PleaseNoSteve]

sweet rig brother

[MonzaRacer]

Who told you a Galaxie weighed in at 5500 pounds lied.
A 65 and a 66 and a 67 7 Liter loaded barely broke 4000.
My uncle owned a 67 427 2x4 4 speed Galaxies 500 XL and it covered the scales at 4100 and change with baby and wife on board as he got weigh ticket.
We have a place they used to race, its an up hill grade called Gyp hill as it is the entrance/exit from one of the gypsom plants here in southern indiana.
Local Chevy mechanic/closet tuner "Punkin' " Ziegler had a new SS396 Chevelle and the only reason he could ever beat my uncle in a street race was because my uncle couldnt afford new tires and was conserveing his stockers and Punkin' had new Firestone Wide Ovals(a few sizes larger I would say to and most likely he had already swapped in 64 to 67 A body rear axle housing and some Corvette Ralleys.
I would say that you could knock off at least 500 to 800 pounds by replacing steel bumpers/hood/trunk with fiberglass and fab up some aluminum mounts.
Also if you thinkabout it I would rat hole the block as ifI remember the block is a small bore unit, find ayt least a 390 or even a 428 and swipe a set of Edelbrock aluminum heads. I would use 2 comander 950 throttle bodies and set it up with megasquirt fuel injection.
Now as for any of the FE engines the Muncie M22 would explode if faced in one with plenty of torque and besides you should look at a Jerico trans, based off of a Ford Toploader and pretty much bullet proof. Then I would look for a Gear Vendors and figure 8 to 12 speeds your car would be tough.
As for brakes I would look at Baer all the way, figure 18s and 20s and tada you got a sweet ride.
Air Ride Technologies suspension with Shockave double adjustable all the way around and Ride ProE2 and Level Pro it would run smooth, stay cool and you can drop it as you park it.
I could see a console from dash to rear seat, sweet buckets and I thought of some things the other day for a friends car, a lift out rear section of the cosle opening up a 5th seat(he is building a 79 wrap around rearwindow Impalla) and he loved it.
Just some ideas. Food for thought.

[Tony@AirRideTech]

Cheap..... sorry I missed your response way back there... I am sure we can get some nice stuff under there. Give me a shout sometinme and we can go over your chassis plans.

[jeff s]

Cool.
I'm doing a 67 Custom 500. It weighed 3420 with a all iron 289, iron, bell housing, iron 3 speed, steel wheels. The older big cars don't weigh as much as you think. I can help you with handling stuff as the 65 had the same chassis.
Thanks

[MonzaRacer]

Yeah the customs and lesser models dropped 300 to 500 pounds. Never understood it but saw it on scales.
We scaled an orginal 66 Galaxie 500 XL 7 Liter 4 speed (I sold him the dual quad replacement as his was long gone) and it was coming in right below 4k and it had all the orginal sealers and deadeners.
Never understood why all the carp was tacked on but then I never cared for the Cadillac type feeling and make a car slower.
Lucky for us nowdays we can use lighter more efficient insualtion products.
Helped a budy strip a car completely, h ehad asmall soda blaster and we went through 500 lbs of soda but it was spotless.
He then had it treated by Rustbusters process out west and then sealed inside and out with DP series epoxy primer.
We then lined the inside with Dynamat and spray liner and the car barely gained 300 lbs and actually towing it over to the paint booth it was so much quieter and ,,well solid sounding.
Very wierd but cool too.
As for the Galaxie chassis they were very good road holders and since you can buy a fab 9 rear end for cheap and still use existing center if you want you can place the axle hub directly in the middle of the rear wheel package. This is an old Nascar trick. Now in front I would go for a completely fresh chassis design if possible, dont try to crutch it if possible. Get the specs done right.
You would be very surprized just how good they will hold the road and with Air Ride for the spring/shock action and its golden.

[cheapthrillz]

Hey guys! Thanks for all of the posts. I am really sorry for all of the confusion and talk about the 5500 lbs. I was just exagerating on the weight of the car because it is a good bit heavier than pony cars and most other pro-touring racers. I didn't mean that the car literally weighed 5500 lbs.

I hope I haven't gotten anybody's hopes up on this build, because I won't start it for another year or two. I am a college student and my dad drives the car to work everyday. When my dad got out of college in 1979, my grandpa sold him the car for $1. And when I graduate next year, he will sell it to me for $1. I am just trying to get an idea of some options for the car. This car is a family heirloom and I want to plan it out well. I am just trying to get an idea on what I want to do to the car when I get it next year.

I think this car would look great with 18's on the front and wide 19's on the back. When I start this car, I want to do it right. I will never sell the car because it has been in my life for.... well, my whole life. There are not many pictures of this bodystyle of galaxie on the net, so it is hard to get an idea of what would look good.

So PLEASE KEEP THE IDEAS COMING! So far they have been great. Anybody with a good deal of knowledge on these motors and cars please chime in! I know that these cars can be great hot rods, but being a unibody chevrolet man (since thats what I grew up on), I'm cluless when it comes to these big body, full frame Fords.

Thanks to everyone who has posted so far!

JC

[novanutcase]

You should talk to Steve Rupp! He's doing a Badass Fairlane so I'm sure he can help you with your build!

John

[XTRMEASURES]

that is F*&kin bada$$ i love everything about it.

[cheapthrillz]

Ok, so i got bored today and was thinking about what to do with the Galaxie.

1. Body off paint job
2. Cage
3. bagged (ART)
4. low backed bucket seats
5. 7.3 litre POWERSTROKE DIESEL!!!!
6. built C6 tranny, or whatever will hold that torque

What do you think? Think it would get like 30mpg and up to 1000 ft-lb with a banks turbo system? Just was an idea. Let me know what you think.

[GPI]

Good to see another Galaxie. I just started one about 3 months ago myself. Not an easy car with the aftermarket. Definately keep me up on your build and feel free to ask questions, we may be able to share alot of ideas since its so hard to find decent parts.

[Memphis]

I have no idea who owns it, but this should be some inspiriation.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2007/08/Good20Guys20200720647-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2007/08/Good20Guys20200720642-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2007/08/Good20Guys20200720646-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2007/08/Good20Guys20200720644-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2007/08/Good20Guys20200720645-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2007/08/Good20Guys20200720652-1.jpg
O I love that car, I was really suprised to find out in a Hot Rod a couple monthes ago that the builder is local.

[cheapthrillz]

Good to see another Galaxie. I just started one about 3 months ago myself. Not an easy car with the aftermarket. Definately keep me up on your build and feel free to ask questions, we may be able to share alot of ideas since its so hard to find decent parts.

I'm not gonna start mine for another year or two. But yea, If you can't fix something you've got, or make it yourself, you're pretty much screwed with these cars. I've been looking for a new dash pad for 5 years now and can't find one that I like.... It makes it difficult, but I also think that is what makes these cars unique. Good luck with your build, and PM me if you need me to help you try to think of ideas for it.

[BMF Machine]

The bitchin Fairlane belongs to Doug..... Formerly of StreetWorks out of Washington. He has had his hand in building some pretty bitchin stuff including a Chevy II that won Street Machine of the year several years ago.

Regarding your Fairlane... I would bet that car is a lot lighter than you think it is if you think it weights 5500 lbs...... I actually dig that body style of the fairlanes the best and I just about bought one at one point.


Dig it hell; I almost gooed on my keyboard! That red one is BaD ArsE!
:jump: