(first posted 7/21/2017) This is such a familiar face. During my time at CC I have plowed the 1963 full-sized Ford field quite often. In my defense it’s always been the same relatively small forty acre plot of what is arguably a several thousand acre ranch. When this Galaxie was built, cars carrying the same name were much less homogeneous than what we have currently.
So perhaps that is why I am writing this. We have seen very little about any two-door Galaxie, especially one as relevant as this example. So let’s jump in and take the old girl for a spin.
The 1963 Ford full-sized cars were another evolution of the 1960 models, a model often described as not hitting the sweet spot of the market. In one of those instances when surprises happen upon connecting the dots, the 1960 full-sized Ford handily outsold the 1963 full-sized Ford. The full-sized 1963 Ford sold just under 750,000 units, some 160,000 less than the 1960 models.
Overall Ford production, not counting the Thunderbird, was on a mild increase for 1963 to nearly 1.5 million, the best it had been since 1957. Thanks for the reduction in full-sized production can be attributed to the Falcon that came along in 1960 as it helped cannibalize sales of the “regular” Ford.
Credit for the rebound that started in 1963 can be partly attributed to the Fairlane that appeared in 1962. Just don’t give all the credit to the Fairlane as credit can also be given to the red Galaxie you see here. The Galaxie 500 and Galaxie 500 XL fastback body style would become the third best selling Ford in the entire Ford camp that year – and it wasn’t even available for the entire model year.
Model year 1963 started off like most others during that time. The chassis was the same, the body wore new clothes, and drivetrains, other than the brief appearance of the 260 cubic inch V8 (quickly succeeded by the 289) to replace the old 292, were mostly carryover.
The sales pitch of the new models was the standard fare although having a cat roam the interior is a different form of presentation.
The 1963 models did present a refreshing change from the year before. While not unattractive by any means, the 1962 Ford simply comes across as being a bit on the droopy side, a milder form of the aging body builder whose physique is just starting to succumb to gravity.
One item of note about the 1963 models is Ford finally covered the gear selector linkage on the steering columns. This was a definite new that was greatly welcomed.
Out of the box Ford had their traditional Galaxie 500 (and XL, the top level trim) two-door hardtop, also seen in the video advertisement above. To the typical buyer it presented no problem. To Ford, entering its era of “Total Performance”, this two-door hardtop was presenting a major problem in one of their costlier and higher profile efforts to attract potential buyers.
While racing is not everyone’s cup of tea, various types of auto racing have certainly been influential with the auto industry.
Does the old adage of “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday” sound familiar? Throughout the 1962 NASCAR season Ford was getting stomped. At the end of the season only six races had been won by a Ford; Plymouth had won eleven, fourteen were won by Chevrolet, and Pontiac had twenty-two victories.
The reason? Aerodynamics. These loses due to poor aerodynamics, particularly of the roof, were not working in the direction Ford wanted to go.
The Starliner roof used in 1960 and 1961 had posed far fewer aerodynamic problems in racing activities. While Ford had inadvertently hamstrung themselves with equipment flexibility due to a reporting error in 1960, the 1961 season didn’t go as poorly as it would in 1962. At the end of the 1962 NASCAR season the highest ranking Ford had placed twenty-first out of fifty-three entrants. That’s not good.
The 1962 season was so bad Ford attempted to place the roof from a ’61 Starliner on a ’62 Galaxie convertible. It ran a single race before Bill France of NASCAR called foul and it disappeared.
Part way into the 1963 model year Ford introduced the Sports Roof on the Galaxie 500 and Galaxie 500 XL. The concept was definitely borrowed from the Starliner and Ford made a big to-do about its introduction. How so?
They sent a Galaxie 500 Sports Roof to Monte Carlo for testing and advertisement production. It was about as subtle as a ball-peen hammer applied to the forehead.
In talking about the Galaxie Sports Roof, Ford would meekly state in one of its advertisements:
To top this you have to spend 5,750,000 lire…or shed 4 passengers…In road performance the all-out version of Ford’s Sports Hardtop with the 425 horsepower engine, four-speed gearbox and the standard heavy duty suspension and brakes, has no full-sized rivals in all the world…in fact, only the top echelon of the two-seaters can generate anymore go!
There is also a special allure about seeing a car with such presence blasting through these streets with the white sidewalls scrubbing the pavement around turns. It’s been said here that few things are more fun than driving a slow car fast; perhaps something even more fun is making a poor to mediocre handling car dance like a ballerina.
The mid-year addition of the Sports Roof, thus the 1963 1/2 nomenclature, proved to be as successful on racetrack as in the showroom. Ford claimed the superior aerodynamics required one hundred less horsepower to maintain 160 mph than it did with the brick-ish 1962 models.
This racing ability of the Galaxie would gain attention from racing on multiple continents, not just North America.
One of the more memorable NASCAR related stories is that of DeWayne “Tiny” Lund. In a true Cinderella story, the 6’5″, 270 pound Lund had traveled to Daytona looking for a car to race. He had been watching Marvin Panch test a Ford powered Maserati when it crashed and burst into flames. Lund helped pull Panch from the wreckage; a hospitalized Panch soon asked Lund to take over wheel duty in his Ford.
Lund (top) shown with Fred Lorenzen
Working with Wood Brothers Racing, the owner of the car, Lund exercised a nervy yet successful strategy formulated by Wood Brothers. With three laps to go Lund was passed by Ned Jarrett; Jarrett immediately ran out of fuel. Continuing on, Lund ran out of fuel in the final lap and coasted across the finish line to win the race.
Lund had intentionally ran the entire race without a single stop for fuel.
A more memorable story, well known in England and likely a good portion of Europe, is that of Sir Jack Sears.
Ford had been growing their racing activities and approached English Ford dealer John Willment about racing a Galaxie. Willment, also known for having modified Ford’s 100E side valve engine to produce phenomenal power for its displacement, added this Galaxie to the Cortinas in his racing fleet. It should be noted some sources claim Willment approached Ford; either way, the Galaxie driven by Sears was prepared by Holman and Moody. HM was famous for preparing cars for NASCAR use.
The Galaxie’s first race was at Silverstone. As recalled by Sears, part of the Willment racing team, the Galaxie was delivered with street tires and no racing tires for it were to be found. Taking this yank tank for a few laps simply to get a feel for it, one of the street tires blew out. Sears simply parked in the grass and waited until the practice session was over. His being parked for not obvious reasons led to much speculation about the “brickish, overpowered” Galaxie having been greatly overhyped.
The Silverstone Course
When the race started, Sears said he took off gently since the clutch in the Galaxie as it had been prepared to NASCAR standards where rolling starts are the norm. In Hanger Straight Sears realized he could likely pass every car in front of him – which he easily did. He said he had been downshifting to third gear at Becketts Curve, but after the third lap, he saw no need and he kept the Galaxie in fourth gear for the duration of the race.
Sears’ victory against the abundance of Jaguars and other European cars was described as being accomplished with “contemptuous ease”.
Nearly all of this can be seen here. Somewhat surprisingly a number of other American Fords can be found in the background of this video, particularly a 1960 Galaxie convertible.
As an aside, the Galaxie Sears drove would later see racing duty in Australia and South Africa before going back to England for placement in Sears’ car collection.
But this Sports Roof deserves more than just discussing ancient racing accolades, no matter how entertaining. Its sales success deserves some context.
Not surprisingly, the Galaxie 500 four-door sedan, or Town Sedan in Ford speak, was the best selling Ford that year with 205,722 being built.
The second most popular Ford was the Fairlane 500 four-door sedan at 103,175. With people moving being Ford’s bread-and-butter these were fairly predictable sales champions.
Perhaps surprisingly for a mid-year introduction is the Galaxie 500 Sports Roof selling 100,500 units. Factoring in the XL model like our featured car, at an additional 33,870, this is quite the sales powerhouse Ford introduced. One can only speculate on how many would have been produced had it been available for the entire model year.
Some insight into this question came about in 1964 when the Sports Roof would sell almost 207,000 copies in the Galaxie 500 trim alone, 10,000 more than the Galaxie 500 four-door sedan; the XL, as seen here, added another 58,300 examples.
Perhaps these were early signs of the personal luxury coupe juggernaut that occurred during the 1970s.
Finding this 1963 Galaxie 500 XL for sale alongside the road (where else?) was a quite delightful experience as it’s a fabulous example to showcase. Not only is it in a highly desirable body style…
…it is in the upscale XL trim with a console, gear shift (or selector) on the floor, and no less than 289 cubic inches of V8.
Our featured car is powered by a wonderful example of the smooth and torquey FE series V8.
This 390 wasn’t the biggest engine available that year as the initial 406 was quickly supplanted by the 427. While the 427 might have done okay in everyday duty (some sedans were built with the 427), the everyday grunt and oomph was the domain of the 390.
Best of all this 390 is bolted to a four-speed manual.
Of note is the interior – Ford was keen on uniform colored interiors during this time. I’m speculating all the black comes about from use of reproduction upholstery and door panels. Having had need to investigate such things for myself, one can currently obtain these items in factory colors other than black.
This would be a truly sweet driver. It’s not perfect, but that’s fine; if my name were on the title, it would be driven often. I suspect I’m not alone in that assessment.
Found on US 63 between Rolla and Vienna, Missouri
June 2017
More bountiful reading about 1963 Ford Galaxies:
1963 Ford Galaxie sedan by Tom Klockau
1963 Galaxie 500 Drive Report by JP Cavanaugh
Are you sure about the 1960 full-sized Ford outselling the 1963….or am I having a case of dyslexia?
In my extended family, my Dad and 1 of my Mom’s brothers owned a 60 Country Sedan. In 1963, a different uncle bought 2 Country Sedans AND a 63 Fairlane wagon for his business. And 63 full-sized Fords, for awhile, seemed as ubiquitous as 1st generation Mustangs while 60 full-sized Fords were always a borderline rarity.
Of these 2 particular model years, the 60 is more dramatically styled than the 1963, yet the newer car is sort of warm and friendly while the older one is a bit angular/pointy.
As far as the 63 and 1/2 Sportsroof….it comes much closer (when covered with vinyl) to simulating a convertible than GM’s “molded to look like a convertible” steel roof. I wonder why GM didn’t go ahead with vinyl roofs until nearly 2 years later
The 65 is my favorite full-sized Ford, but the 63 runs it a very close second….IMHO.
Cool cars, theres a very patinated white Galaxie locally that is seen on the road a lot not sure which engine it has likely a 427, being a recent import nobody imports the 260 or 289.
Went and looked up the production numbers in The Encyclopedia of American Cars, and the 60 did outsell the 63, but that’s probably because the 60 full-sized Ford includes the full-sized Fairlane while the 63 model wasn’t able to add in a now mid-sized Fairlane.
My mental calculator says that if the 60 Fairlane was subtracted from the production numbers, the results would be close to the 63 numbers.
Back in January I wrote about a ’60 Fairlane and offered up production numbers, including 1963 to illustrate Ford’s rebound. Not wanting to reinvent the wheel, I looked back at that article where I break it down in more detail than what I have here.
While I didn’t do the math, I suspect you are on to something. Here’s a link to it…
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1960-ford-fairlane-upstaged-by-the-rest-of-the-cast/
Very enjoyable post. This is a real beauty – I’d prefer mine stock vs the Torquethrusts, but other than that it’s just about perfect. Rev up that big 390 and dump the clutch…
Rev it up and dump the clutch would be a blast. But hope you don’t need to ask too much of the brakes as they were terrible as they were on all cars of that era. I think it was borderline criminal to sell such powerful cars with inadequate brakes.
I’ve always considered the ’63 Galaxie the high point of Ford styling for the 1960-’64 models; much more attractive than the heavily face lifted 1964 model.
1965 was, of course, a “game changer”.
Agreed on the stylling of the 1963 vs. the 1964. The 1963 looks clean, purposeful. I have always thought they “junked up” the 1974, thus allowing Ford to claim in their advertising that “this solid, silent Super Torque Ford is new, clear through” when its newness was only skin deep.
This Ford Galaxie is perhaps the finest looking Ford of the early 1960s, only in 2 door hardtop or convertible guise, of course!
It proves my point that cars from that era were designed to be two doors and pillarless or topless.
Best looking of this generation of Fords.
Aways thought the 63 was a fine looking car. My father actually considered a 64 Galaxie, But stayed with Pontiac. I do have a question. The bumpers look to be lightweight aluminum, Or are they just dechromed and painted aluminum gray?
They’ve been painted. Given the eye-popping price for rechroming bumpers, I’ve been seeing this more often the last few years.
I wondered if those were steel bumpers or not. Good eye, Jason W.
I suspect the ’63 would’ve topped the ’64’s sales numbers had it been offered the full year, since in ’64 the Pontiac GTO came out and the Mustang arrived at midyear, which was the beginning of the end of the hot full-size car.
I have always loved the 63 Galaxie 500 Sports Roof. Just as Ford was first with the “Thunderbird Roof” with its wide, upright C pillars, this car predicted the faster-sloped roof with thinner pillars that would rule through the 60s. I had never looked into production figures, but you explain why we saw so many of these out on the roads.
That interior is a mystery. I have seen a lot of these Rangoon Red cars with red interiors over the years, and personally that is way, way too much red for me, so maybe the owner felt the same way.
A 390 mated to a 4 speed would be a delightful combination to drive everyday.
JPC:
that interior is a sort of mix and match of parts…if we are talking about the same picture. For starters, my father’s white with a red interior 64 Country Squire had red vinyl seats and door panels, along with a red carpet. And of course, the UNpadded dashboard was also red. I’ve never seen a car with a red dashboard and black door panels before. And that console looks close to the factory design but I’ll bet the 63 Ford console didn’t have a raised armrest.
And by the way, our Country Squire didn’t look too bad with that all red interior….but then, you could get an interior in 6 or 7 colors back then.
Whenever I read marvelous CC articles like this about 1960s full size American cars, my heart literally flutters. They are endlessly interesting, mesmerizing to look at, objects of fantasy and desire. For me, it’s impossible to like one the best. As soon as I tell myself this is the one, another tempts me over to its side. And then another. And another. That’s why CC is so great. Its contributors feel the same way. The print ads and TV commercials are car porn. Almost painful to look at. Now, which one would I take if I could have any one I wanted….
Sooooo much more attractive than the dowdy ’63 Chevys.
Agreed. The Ford has a look of lightness and motion; by contrast the Chevy looks heavy and wheel-clamped.
With this coupe, Ford finally had something with which to compete more effectively against Chevy and Pontiac, on the street and on the track.
I remember vividly when these and the Falcon Sprint came out in the early spring of ’63; quite the surprise. And it set a pattern for successful spring releases to come from Ford. I t would appear Lee thought he had found a better time to introduce new cars.
A lovely car indeed ! .
What I remember most about them when new was how BIG they were inside and out .
I’d love to get a ride in one again someday before I die .
-Nate
I remember hitchhiking late on Saturday in ’63, getting picked up on an entrance ramp to the Baltimore Beltway by a new white ’63 Galaxie 500, regular roof 2 dr. hardtop, with a 406, 4 speed and reverb radio, cranked up, all windows down. Never forget the launch down the ramp to the main lanes, he just kept it going, we must have hit 90+. It was something I’ll never forget, better than the evening’s date!
Regarding the 1963 Daytona 500, Wikipedia says “The Wood Brothers team had a winning strategy for the race – they planned to complete the race on one fuel stop less than the field” rather than on one tank of gas.
500 miles at Daytona seems long for one tank of gas in racing conditions. I do not know much about 1963 NASCAR, but stops for tires would surely have been needed, at which times gas would be added.
These early ’60s Fords were just some of the best looking Fords ever. The featured car is a beauty, but I like that green 60 four door hardtop a lot. There was a white 1962 XL coupe with 390 Thunderbird motor owned by an older lady in my neighborhood back in the late 1960s. It was her late husband’s last car, she showed it me and was so proud of that Thunderbird motor. It had a red bucket seat and console interior and was like new. I love that ad for the ’64, I guess a lot of Ford owners would get dressed up in dinner jackets, maybe a fireman on his night off?
Oh yes, the BIG Fords. I love these cars. I drove my Dad’s 64 Galaxie 500XL in high school (352 w/ Cruise-o-Matic). He still has it and is working on cutting the rot one area at a time and repairing back with steel from a donor 4 door sedan. Here it is in 1989. We had just finished repainting it in time for me to begin driving it at age 16. It came with a white vinyl roof, which had deteriorate so we painted the roof white.
AMT had a 1/24 scale model ’64 convert with working head and tail lamps. I painted mine yellow.
I remember that model! My brother bought the hardtop version and painted his “resale red.”
I had an AMT 3-1 kit of the ’63 Galaxy though I can’t remember if it was a hardtop or convertible. Our neighbor bought a new B18 Volvo 544 (we had an earlier B16 version) and took us for a ride in it. I had saved up my allowance for my monthly model build and nagged them to stop at the five-and-dime, where I bought the 1/25th scale Ford. I built it that evening and took it to school the next day to show it off. A couple of 3rd grade bullies grabbed it from me at recess and smashed it up. My older sister came and rescued me. She still remembers that story, but despite the trauma I have strong and fond memories of this model year Galaxy. Footnote: three months later we moved to England for the rest of the school year. Still some bullies on the playground, but no Galaxies on the road. But the local library had Autocar magazine, with many pictures of the racing Galaxies dueling with the Jags and Cortinas. Though I actually preferred the foreign cars, it made me proud that our Detroit iron could beat a Jaguar.
Something I always wondered about these regarding NASCAR, Chevrolet dropped their bubbletop in 63 in favor of a much more formal roof like that used on the 62 and non-sportsroof 63 Fords, so wouldn’t the playing field at the start of the 63 season been pretty aerodynamically even? The 63 Plymouths weren’t all that slippery(looking, anyway) either, so at the risk of getting my Ford card revoked, would it be fair to say that it was the other cars loss of aerodynamic advantage for 63 that put Ford’s sportsroof at an advantage, rather than leveling out the playing field?
I always favored the 64s personally, followed by the 61. The allure of the 63 certainly isn’t lost on me but the front end is both too plain and too clunky somehow. I think this example made me realize why I think that, however. Compare the headlight bezels of the red example to the pic with Jack Sears, there is supposed to be blackout paint in the recesses that to make the grille look continues to the fenders, that the red car, and I suspect many other 63s, are missing. The bezels look tinny and unsubstantial all chrome, and that may be what has tainted the 63 in my eyes for so long.
You are right about the headlight doors. They were supposed to look like the ones on the car in this photo, with a continuation of the grill texture. That restoration could still be done on the red one with a small paint brush, some flat black paint and some time and patience. Before, not after a few beers, though.
The black on the headlight bezels is an odd thing. Stepping into the garage just now, the black on my ’63 is splotchy, leading me to think the paint just sort of evaporates.
The red example had the fading in spades, and it was even more pronounced on the chrome between the tail lights where the pattern is echoed. On the featured car, that piece was shiny which is part of my statement about it being far from perfect.
Probably there was an issue with the flat black paint of the day adhering to chrome, long-term.
And we have another example of the CC Effect — this 63 XL was spotted just a month and half ago in the parking lot of a local brewery. Automatic, not a 390.
For some reason, that 63 Gal is resurrecting all kinds of Ford love I haven’t experienced in 20 years or more. I would like to crank that 390 over and let her pull hard in 2nd gear, like I used to do with my 69 Torino GT.
It’s a glorious feeling.
And here’s the interior, resplendant in matching turquoise. I also think the 63 is the best-styled of the 1960-64 generation.
In the mid-1970s I had a high school buddy who had one of these that he bought used. His was pastel “glacier blue” and featured the blue vinyl interior with bucket seats and a center console. I’m pretty sure his car had the 390 V8 and the 3-speed Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission. At the time I really didn’t appreciate the car because I was more into smaller and sportier pony cars and mid-sized muscle cars, but it really was a nice ride.
The most unusual thing that I recall about his car was that it came with a 4-track tape player. I had thought for years that it was a factory option, but it must have been aftermarket. My friend was never able to find any new 4-track tapes for the car, but it came with 3 when he bought it and they still worked in the 1970s. One of them was Johnny Cash but I can’t remember what the other ones were.
Anyone recall the opening sequence of the “Hazel” tv show with the entire Baxter family, with Hazel driving, sitting down in and getting comfortable in a red ’63 Galaxie 500 XL convertible, ending with the Galaxie pulling out of the driveway?
Ah yes, the retentiveness of a 7 year old’s Car Crazy boy’s mind…..
Yep…I have Hazel on DVD and they had loads of Fords…reason being Ford sponsored the show. I’ve seen Galaxies, Falcons, Econolines, a couple of Ford trucks, and even a Ford tractor so far.
I like those 1960 on up Fords, especially the 60-61 Starliners. They’re not the greatest driving machines but they’re sure neat looking.
One friend of mine owned a ’63 1\2 and at the same time another owned a ’62 in the early ’70’s. The ’63 1\2 was a 2dr hardtop which definitely looked better than the ’62, a 4dr hardtop. I drove both of them many times and the ’63 1\2 definitely handled better. They both had 3spd auto, PS, PB & R&H so they were comparably equipped except in the power department. The 63 1\2 had a 352 2bbl, the ’62 had a 406 4bbl. the difference between the cars performance was the difference between night and day. Too bad the 406 was not in the ’63 1\2 as it was the better looking and handling car. The thing it lacked was the power of the 406 in the ’62. I often wondered what the ’63 1\2 would have been like with the 406. Another friend owned a ’60 4dr sedan with a 292 and 2spd auto which was a complete dog in looks, handling and performance. Almost as bad as another friend of mines ’50 Pontiac straight 8. It had a 3spd manual and it might have been a hair faster than the ’60 Galaxie.
As a newly-minted 2nd lieutenant in the U. S. Air Force stationed at Chanute AFB, I bought a 1963 Galaxie 500XL convertible in Rangoon Red with a white top and black vinyl bucket seats. I traded a 1955 Ford Sunliner for the 63.
I drove that sweet 63 until 1968, when I traded it for a 1969 Toyota Corona 2-door hardtop!
Oh, those tail lights. . .
It was nice to read a substantiation on the change and reason for it on the roof line on the 1963.5 model Galaxie.
I had many years and miles in a ‘63.5 Galaxie. That was my father’s first new car purchase. We did a coast to coast and back family vacation for more than month in it in 1964. I became the owner 7 or 8 years later at a friends and family price. That was a Galaxie 500 XL with exactly the trim package as the red car featured. Body color was Ford “Ming Green” with a white top. Early appearance of the 289 engine and an alternator. Sadly, no A/C.
I’ve always considered the ‘63.5 Galaxie to be especially beautiful.
63.5 Best Galaxie ever, its the number 1 Galaxie I would buy. I’d put either a 427 or 428 in it and either a 5-6 spd manual or a modern automatic. My first car was a 63 Ford 2dr sedan. It was originally a 406 4 speed car. When I got it it had a 352 in it with the heads, intake, cam and carb off the holed 406. It ran good but burned oil like no tomorrow. I dropped a 390 4bbl out of a T-Bird in it. The 390 ran fine but it couldn’t rev like the 352. The 390 would start floating valves around 4800 rpm.
I later donated the 352 to a friend who was in trade school. He tore the engine down to do a thorough overhaul. I kept in touch with him as I was curious to see what they would find, particularly what the probable cause of the oil burning. Turns out the engine was in very good condition internally except for the piston rings, many of the rings were broken. The bores were straight, it had been bored oversize at some point. The broken rings had scored the bores. The best guess is either poor installation or not enough end gap on the rings. The fix was bore it to std 390 bore, drop in a 390 crank, valve job and put it back together. Ran great and no longer burning oil.
In my opinion a much better looking and driving car than the same year Chevy.
Unlike most people I prefer this 1963 body over the heavily face-lifted and more bulbous 1964 model.