Click on pictures to see larger view
Click
on pictures to see larger view
I guess it's time to tell my very long
story about a 32 year love affair
with a 1964 Galaxie 500XL convertible. Wow, can't believe
it's been that long since first seeing it!!
Pics from 1974 (it had a top then!)
I first layed eyes on my car at the end of
September 1974 as I was walking out of the Highschool after
school on my way
home. It was parked right out front and
was love at first sight. The passenger in the car waved me
over and I discovered
it was a cousin of mine and his friend who
owned the car.
1975
We began going out later on and I spent hours
cleaning the car with toothpicks wrapped in paper towels,
cleanser and bleach on the seats. They say that is bad for
your seats but mine in the last few years are just beginning to
desinigrate.
Back to the story.
John the owner at the time, taught me how
to drive in this car also and then to my disappointment, traded
it for another car around the end of summer 1975. He hated
the car and think also he felt I cared more for the car.
Young love and craziness, we've all been there. Maybe he
had a point since now I have the car and he has been gone many
years now. He can't believe I still have it actually. Not
only did I learn to drive in this car but it is also my very
first car. Every time I hear the song "16 Candles"
by the Crests, I remember sitting in this car listening to this
song playing on an 8-track tape on my 16th birthday. I remember
it like it was yesterday. Too bad it wasn't!
I spotted the car a couple months later in a parking lot and
left my name and phone number on a note under the wiper and
thinking they would never call. To my surprise I got a
call from the owners but they didn't want to sell. I
kept in touch with the owners and would see the car from time to
time. About 2 yrs later, June 1977 that they were finally
going to sell me the car! They were moving and selling a
lot of thier stuff. They even owned a horse a friend of
mine had to sell even before they ended up with "my" car.
The oddest thing of it all is during all this time I had the
boot cover for the top in my closet not willing to give it to
the new owner when it was first traded off.
Around 1979 I parked the car in my dad's
garage and was off traveling, married to the Army at that time
(now married to Air Force). My dad rebuilt a 390
then my parents split and the engine sat on the floor until
around 1983 when I was home a while and put the engine back in
the car, drove it for about a month and then I was gone again.
1990
In 1990 I was home again for a month. My sister and brother inlaw drug the Galaxie out and dusted her off before I got home so I'd have my car to drive. The transmission was bad and it gave out 2 days before I was leaving again so it was great timing.
2001
It sat another 11 yrs before it was moved
again. In April 2001 I was living at Andrews AFB in MD and
some relatives were driving out from Oregon to visit. They
agreed to drag my car behind them and finally I was reunited
with my car again. As messed up looking as it was it was
still beautiful to me and I still had that "there's my car"
feeling. You would think I'd just gotten a brand new car
fresh off
the assembly line. Far from it in reality but car lovers
aren't always realistic
anyway are they?
In May 2001 I started to work cleaning years of dirt and oxidation off. Bird droppings always turned the paint purple, the hood and trunklid were almost completely covered. After hours of rubbing compound and waxes I had it where it used to be or as close as I could get. I stripped out the interior, replaced the heater core and installed "new" carpet my mom had bought in '79 for it. It beat what was in there by a long shot! Then it was time to work on the brakes, get another transmission and change the oil. The oil change started a lot of problems and they say changing oil is a good thing!
In 2002 we packed up and moved to Edwards AFB, CA
I guess during the time it sat on the shop
floor the mice got into the engine through the pcv hole in the
valve cover and built a nest under the intake. When I
changed the oil for the first time since putting the engine in
in 1983, it washed all the mouse nest into everything. In
the end, by the time we figured out the problem we replaced the
oil pump, rod bearings, lifters and pushrods in the parking lot.
I still had a knock but didn't know what it was til about 2 yrs
later when I sold the engine and he found there had been a ball
bearing or something in the one cylinder. How it got there
I have no idea unless it was the neighbor kids who loved
sticking things in holes. I know this because our dryer
vent was full of all kinds of goodies!
Swingaway steering column and an addition to the console for my radio so I didn't have to mess up the dash
I got the 390 out of my brother inlaw's truck which he quit driving after going airborne 4 wheeling and messed up the front end. He had it bored over .040 and an RV cam put in.
I decided I was tired of plain ol Ford blue for engine color and went a little crazy I guess. I wanted Grabber Green and decided on a blue color for the alternate color. It was supposed to look like brushed aluminum but I didn't buy the special primer to go with it so still ended up with something close to Ford blue. The frogs came later while looking at a stamping catalog and spotting a cute frog which is the one climbing the expansion tank. I tried to make stencils for the frogs but that turned out to be a disaster so had to hand paint all the frogs.
2003
In September 2004 I decided the car was trustworthy enough to drive it to Anaheim , 120 miles, for a Club meeting. The car was but the driver wasn't as it turned out. I was tboned just a couple blocks from my destination.
Before
After
It's still like
this now until I can afford the repairs but I do have all the
parts needed for the job. I still drive it when
I can and
don't let the now non-working door (which is the worst part of
it all) stop me. I don't love the car any less
and still
love driving it always. I don't look the same as I did 40
yrs. ago either so can't expect any more out of the
car right?
:-)
We are now getting
it ready for a move to Tacoma, Washington. Because of all
my extra car parts and tools etc I will be driving the car so
that we can haul the extra stuff in a trailer behind the truck.
I finally have new leaf springs that curve the *right*
direction, air shocks, new idler arm bushings, ball joints and
stabilizer bar bushings. Wow, it's amazing what springs
will do for a ride. Especially after riding on flat air
shocks and flat leaf springs for so long. Even have a
working gas gauge which I've never had in the car. I've
only ran out twice in 30 yrs, once recently on my way to the gas
station and once in '78 when I knew I was bout out and had to go
uphill to get home. Hope I remember to even look at it
now!
The highlights of my time living here in California in the following order is:
Meeting the legendary
customizer Gene Winfield in person,
what a great person and an
asset to the hobby!
Meeting the members
of the So-Cal Galaxies Club, some who
I had talked to online for
a few years before even moving here.
What a great group of
people!!
My first ever car show.
Knott's Berry Farm's Fabulous Fords Forever in 2004 Mine,
although a big red banana, was the only 64 Galaxie convertible
at the show that year
And last but not least,
the spin around Irwindale Speedway with the Club!
My son Chris and Tom Y's wife Agar riding along.
There is one more not on the list as there is no pic here.
My story of my
first car that was published on the Ford website
for their 100th anniversary.
My Galaxie is known as Shotrod and the Red
Banana.
The drawing at the top of the page was sent to me by a friend
online. The umbrella was my top on a day when I had to
pick my son up at school and it was raining.
Specs: 390 bored .040 over
Federal Mogul Pro-3000 cam
Cruisomatic Transmission
3.00:1 rear end
Swing-away steering column
Scheduled to be built at the LA assembly plant May 5th,
'64
to be delivered to Seattle, WA
155,000 miles It had 125, 000 when I got it.
It was purchase June 8, 1964 at Del Ball Ford in Tigard, OR
One last thing I forgot. I managed to
track down the original owner who's name was on the warranty
card in the owners manual. He still lives in Beaverton,
Oregon.
He had an unusual name which made the search easier and after a
few calls and numbers from others I finally found him. I
had to convince him it was his car even, he didn't remember
owning a red '64 but had owned a maroon colored one.
Then he remembered "Ohhhh, the lipstick colored one". He
only owned the car for about 2 yrs.
As I said in the beginning, this would be a long story and I left out a lot believe it or not. So remember, if your car gets a little bent out of shape, don't park it til it's fixed which could turn into a long time sometimes, have fun with it, drive it like Henry intended it to be and enjoy it, I do!
Written by
Deb Demele