1963 Ford Galaxie V500 £19,950
Imported two years ago, this Ford is a vast amount of car for the money. it’s great to drive too, says ross alkureishi
This ex-florida Ford Galaxie was imported and registered with the dvla in late 2014. There’s little documentation from its time in the states and even less from its time in this country, other than evidence that the previous owner lived in scotland.
The acres of bodywork are in good condition overall. There is some bubbling on the nearside rear wing and otherwise solid doors but Ghost Motors will tidy these up before sale. The gold paint finish still presents very well, the long flanks are dentfree and the door swages line up perfectly. There are no signs of rot underneath and it all looks remarkably straight. Gleaming hubcaps set off Goodyear 205/75 r14 Viva 2 narrow whitewall tyres, all of which have plenty of tread left on them.
This is an early sixties american car so there’s a lot of chrome. The front and rear bumpers look smart but each has a couple of small isolated rust spots, with a couple more visible on the chrome exhaust tailpipes. The window and headlight surrounds and convertible hood bracket are reasonable but would benefit from a good polish. The front and rear grilles comprise a black background inlaid with aluminium; the front presents perfectly but many of the black areas on the rear have been buffed out over the years.
The cabin is fairly basic but the front seats are well sprung and tilt forward with a hint of medial movement to facilitate access to the rear bench. The two-tone platinum and cream vinyl seat covers and door cards look relatively new, and the hood looks like a recent replacement so the black headlining is also good.
There’s a badge missing from the glovebox lid and, as is common with cars of this age, the Mazak window winders, door pulls and steering wheel spokes have degraded. You could replace them with reproduction parts but the originals rather suit the car. The engine bay has a smart matt-black finish and Ghost Motors has recently replaced the exhaust manifolds and rebuilt the Quadrajet carburettor. The radiator has been recored and painted; all pipes and clips look fresh.
Undo a couple of clips and a dashboard toggle switch lowers the hood smoothly. The big V8 benefits from five minutes to warm through, then pulls strongly with a soothing gurgle and ticks over smoothly with the temperature gauge in the normal zone. shifts from the Cruise-o-matic gearbox are barely discernible and the steering’s relative lack of vagueness is a pleasant surprise. The suspension bounces over bumps and wallows through corners but without any undue noises.
This Galaxie could be driven while you tidy up details; and the fact that it’s not concours is reflected in the asking price. COMPREHENSIVE,COMPREHENSIVE 3000 MILES PER YEAR, GARAGED CALL: 0333 3231138