1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL

Description

The name Galaxie was originated as a way to connect the car with the excitement of the space race. 500, and 500XL denoted higher trim levels with Ford stating that XL stood for "Xtra Lively" in their advertising. This '64 is a nice hybrid of survivor elements that are pretty cool and some nice upgrades. A fresh paint job, some new vinyl in the interior and a couple new pieces of chrome look good and make it comfortable inside.

Especially from the side you can see the rocket like shapes that connect this car to the space program. The outer headlight ring spills over onto the side of the front fender and from there looks like it has a rocket trail from a liftoff running all the way down the side. Galaxie 500 XL appears in the chrome of the front fenders and little rocket stabilizers grace the tops. Up front, a newer chrome bumper looks good leading the way with a sculpted aluminum grill that contains quad headlights trimmed in chrome above it. Aerodynamic improvements were made to help the NASCAR teams be more competitive with the car in the form of a redesigned windshield and especially in the "fastback" roofline. The car has a nice rake to it accentuated by the Weld Racing wheels with staggered tire size, and the back of the car has the round taillights that look so great on the Galaxy along with another fresh bumper that shines bright.

The interior shines bright too dressed up in fresh Red vinyl. The door panel has a pleated upper, smooth lower, and a bold polished aluminum center panel where the armrest is mounted. The pleating is continued on the seats in a pattern that meets in the center to created deep buckets surrounded by smooth panels with splashes of chrome along the bottom back. The steering wheel is wonderfully original and imperfect with an XL center button and establishes the survivor tone of the details in the interior. The dash pad itself has been replaced, but the rest of the instruments and trim panels are original unrestored. Two round gauges with a finned aluminum wing between them and the speedo just above it looks downright rocket like. An aluminum center panel holds various controls and the radio. A center console in red, chrome and aluminum houses the shifter for the automatic transmission. New carpeting as well as a new headliner tie everything together nicely.

Under the hood you will find a survivor engine bay that is polished up nicely with a 390 cubic inch engine nestled down inside it. There is a chrome air filter assembly feeding fresh air to a Holley 4-barrel carburetor and then through the stock intake and cylinder heads. The valve covers have Ford embossed into them and are painted the correct color blue. There are signs that this car received good regular maintenance with the belts and hoses being in good condition and with the plugs wires and distributor cap recently replaced. Power flows back through a 3-speed automatic transmission to a solid rear axle mounted on leaf springs. Air shocks boost things up a little bit giving the car that nice rake it has to the chassis, and it looks great with those 275/60R15 tires tucked up under the wheel well. Front tires are 245/60R15 and they are all are mounted on those polished Weld Racing wheels.

This Galaxie 500 X-tra L-ively has a nice balance between a reconditioned paint and interior with survivor elements throughout. Come on down, check it out and see what you think.