1963 Ford Galaxie: Reader Ride

By: Steve Boots

Date: 10.09.2016

Steve Boots' rare manual hardtop Ford Galaxie is an eye-catching combo

Steve Boots' 1963 Ford Galaxie

Finding a good sixty-three-and-a-half Galaxie, or XL500, is getting tougher and I was lucky to come across this one in the USA. The dollar was one-for-one with the USA in those days.

It was owned by a mechanic, which I like. He’d had it for 20 years and in the early days took it to a lot of shows and won a heap of trophies, some ridiculous number like 200. It also featured on the cover of the February 1998 edition of Mustang and Fords magazine, which is a national publication in the USA.

It’s pretty special, with a four-speed manual and Hurst shifter. It’s also got a tri-power carb set-up on the 390 V8. I always liked Galaxies and big Fords.

He updated to disc brakes, which is good – I like original cars but, with a 390, powered drums don’t really do it for me.

It’s lovely to drive, and because it weighs around two ton it holds the road well, a bit like a tank. But it’s got plenty of go.

I like them because they’re spacious, there’s plenty of room for four and if the missus kicks you out you always have somewhere to sleep!

I like the fastback roof – can you imagine seeing this going down the road in 1963? It would have been something else! Prior to that it was all Customlines and big-arsed cars, so a fastback or hardtop was something special.
(Steve runs the Coburg Classic Car Club, tel 0468 326 133.)

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