This leafy residential setting is where Eric Clem caught these two true-blue Ford sedans, built approximately twenty years apart. The lighter blue Galaxie appears to be a ’66, while the Crown Vic is harder to determine, but seems to be from between 1982 and 1987.
Both cars led their low-priced domestic competition when it came to softness and isolation and both have a strong following now. My choice would definitely be the earlier car, but there are some dogged Panther Platform devotees here at CC who would prefer the car parked in front.
If this tag is to be believed, this car hasn’t moved much over about eighteen years. Which of these would you choose?
No question I’ll take the ’66…This might be an unpopular statement, but I never liked the looks of ’80s Panthers (other than the Town Car). My grandparents drove them, and they just aren’t my thing.
It looks like that base ’66 has either the 240 six or a 289, maybe even a three-speed!
I’min the same camp about the box Panthers: bad proportions and tacky details.
The ’66 would make a nice companion to my ’66 F-100.
It’s in your general geographic area, Paul…go make a deal! 🙂
Your wife was less than thrilled at the ’72, and that was “pristine.” What makes you think this would be any better?
Maybe it was too pristine. Anyway, she’s taken over the Acura…I’m lucky to beg a drive in it. She loves it madly.
You’ll get no argument from me either. I’ve never been a huge fan of the 60s Big Fords but this comparison makes it no contest as to what I’d prefer(the 66 obviously).
The box panther is just so damn bland, it looked the same forever, which wasn’t good to begin with(basically a mix of LTD II and Granada styling cues), the proportions are all off, they’re not particularly comfortable(for me anyway) and the driving experience just plain sucks.
I like the oldster too, especially the taillights. Maybe it’s partly nostalgia for family roadtrips in the mid 60s, seeing these on I95 as we headed to Rhode Island, but mostly I think it’s because they are interesting without being melted plastic/sci-fi strange and/or covering half of the rear quarter panel.
Today is certainly a banner day at CC.
I’m not a big fan of the ’66 Ford. The ’67 is much more attractive to me.
Of the two it’s a toss-up. The newer will be somewhat easier on fuel whereas the ’66 is quieter than a Rolls. I guess it depends on what the drivetrain is in the ’66.
Could we get the ’67 with the mesmerizing ’66 tail lights? That would be awesome.
The box Panther always reminds me of the ’65 – ’67 full size Fords, but just not near as nice in most respects. At least by ’83 they had cleaned up various issues with the ’79 design enough that it was a decent car as large cars go during the ’80s.
Based on the taillight lens, the newer car is an ’83 – ’87.
The ’66 is a bottom of the line Custom.
’66 Custom with a 240 six for me, please!
As long as you’re dropping in a 300.
I like both but would take the panther. That is my favorite of the two. Best 80s car built. Big beautiful luxurious smooth reliable with decent power and gas milage. Next best thing to a Lincoln. I drove one of these 550000 miles till my bro wrecked it. Still miss that old ex police car social worker car taxi cab.
Then you never drove a Toyota or a Honda if you think that POS is the best of the 80’s. You are simply wrong and uninformed.
I’ve driven and repaired plenty of 80’s Hondas and Toyotas and I’d take a box Panther any day of the week. If the box Panther is such a POS how come I see them on the road all the time but it is extremely rare to see a similar vintage Toyota, or Honda car (or B box) and I don’t even live in the rust belt.
I’ve never really seen the appeal of the big Fords, especially the Panthers, but based on my limited knowledge, that looks like an early version. Didn’t they get flusher fitting bumpers around the time of the first face lift? I don’t recall the year, and I know they evolved a lot over their lifetimes, but I’d guess that’s a pretty early one.
I’m thinking the vic got the Reagan bumpers around 86 when the car got the olds Delta 88 looking facelift makeover. I prefer the more square design with the big wrap around shock bumpers. They will bolt right up to the later 80 s models an if not concerned with stock appearance they are a good upgrade. The flush bumpers are weaker and worse don’t protect the corners. I switched bumpers to earlier ones when I had an 88 town car.
It was 1988…
I thought it was just me that thought the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Cars started looking like GM cars…
I’ve always loved the ’66s. No contest here, even with a stripper.
This is truly a house of Ford fans. I also posted a pic on the cohort page of a white T-Bird (77-78 vintage?) that was parked on the other side of this house.
As much as I adore the ’66 Ford, I’d take the Panther. Assuming it isn’t a basket case, it would be a much better daily driver than the floaty, ill-built ’66.
After spending several weeks in the son’s 89 MGM, I am ready for a change of pace and would choose the ’66 model. Like Jim Grey, I have a soft spot for 66 Fords due to the time spent in the back of my father’s 66 Country Squire. This Custom would be the opposite end of the trim spectrum, but I also like strippos. A six and a three speed would be fun. If only that Brittany Blue paint had a little shine left.
If the 66 has not moved in so long, has the Panther moved at all in that time either? It appears to be parked-in by the 66 in the rear.
Yeah, I noticed the 96 sticker on the no-longer-used Washington base plate on the 66 too. The green on white plates went out of circulation long enough ago that if you see a car with them you know it’s been parked a while, or else is using them as year-of-manufacture plates in which case the sticker is supposed to match the model year.
No if you are using the green and white plates as the approved alternative to collector vehicle plates they need to have all stickers removed.
The 66, of course, one of the best styled big Fords. I’ve mentioned my aunt’s first LTD, a 66 two-door hardtop in Vintage Burgundy with a black top (not vinyl), a beautiful car. Loved the concave rear window. Much better roofline than the 65, even if it was copied from the Grand Prix. I’m sure the 66 was floaty but it was a well-built car. Can’t say that for the hideous new 77 LTD coupe that replaced it.
What a bummer Washington makes you get plates every seven years, the variety is something I miss when I visit the Evergreen Place. If both of these vehicles have been immobile for nearly 20 years they look in too good condition.
With the Crown Vic you can spread chaos and create shenanigans without feeling bad if you kill it, but then I realize it is 2014 and that car is now antique so I might feel bad.
The Galaxie sure has nice looks and I like the character lines on the sides. Aside from the stacked headlights which I am torn between this car and a 66 Impala sedan. I would not use this car to create shenanigans and spread chaos.
The reality is that they have cheapened the materials used on the plates significantly and they deteriorate pretty quickly. Also it is a good make work program for inmates and a source of revenue for the state.
I’d take the 66 no contest.
+1 lots more looks, character and free road tax,what’s not to like?
The 1966 with 2014 running gear and safety stuff.What a combination.
You have to ask? The 66 of course. Unless they’re airing up the tires every now and again the cars has been moved sometime in those eighteen years. Most likely recently.
I like Box Panthers well enough, but this is no contest. The ’66 is even one of my favorite colors. The body would probably clean up nice enough, so I’d leave that, get some taxi-spec dog dishes to put on and paint the steel wheels body color, find a late model EFI 300 six and 3-speed+OD column shift in a junkyard, re-do whatever had to be redone to make the interior presentable, get some decent rubber and working A/C parts and I’d have the coolest car on the block!
That’s a tough call, I too like both of them. I would guess the ’66 has the 289, as it has a pretty stout looking trailer hitch along with a right side mirror. I really like the replacement letters on the trunk lid. The later model looks like it is missing the front bumper, and I don’t see a third brake light, which means it is not an ’87. I always enjoyed that body style, and wouldn’t mind finding a good one for a driver, as long as it was fuel injected. If this apparent pattern holds up, his current driver must be a blue ’06 Crown Victoria.
I noticed those hardware store replacement letters too. I don’t know which is worse leaving them off, or putting those hardware store stick ons on there. Taking the F and D would look better than what they did. Heck I’m thinking that those letters look pretty similar to the ones used on Econolines and Pickups until the return of the Blue Oval in the 80’s so there is a good chance that you could still find replacements in the wrecking yard.
If the 80s panther Ford is such a piece of shit compared to the 80s Toyotas and Hondas Kev where are all the hondas and toyotas now? I havent seen any lately. (Except in the junk yard)All the 80s Japanese stuff has rusted away. And they were compacts and all had bizarre styling that did not age well. Japanese cars always look strange once they become around 10 years old. Why did the police and cab companies not use Hondas and Toyotas as service vehicles? No frame and fwd/? No room for passengers??. There are plenty of 80s vics marquis and town cars in daily service and they are not all rusty either. And let’s see. A big ford was more comfortable and rides better and were such beautiful cars. Automotive works of art. They also are just as reliable if not more so than the japanese cars and ford parts are much cheaper. Fords are easier to work on too. No CV axles on a big ford. No timing belt on a big ford. The big fords are safer in an accident. They also tended to be cheaper to buy than a Honda or Toyota. These fords are one of the best cars made and the remain good reliable affordable cars that still look good. Their styling is ageless.
And I have driven 80s Hondas and Toyotas. Cramped cars with thin doors and ugly dashboards with awful orange gauges. The had a jiggly ride and you felt every bump. The engines were buzzy and you couldn’t see the corners of the car. Excess road feel. And too much steering effort. Also not enough room in the car or trunk. Far from the best of the 80s. I would take any full sized ford product or Chrysler rwd car over any Japanese car from the 80s.
The 66 is cool too.
I am thinking the Panther is no newer then 1985. Looking close at that picture especially in the center of the back window, I see only the outline of the dash and no trace of a 3rd brakelight(aka the CHMSL). Federal law mandated all cars have the 3rd brake light in 1986 and all trucks by 1994.
I’ve owned three Panthers (though never a pre-’88 box model like this one) so I’d go with the ’66 as well. Clean it up, find some matching wheelcovers (or paint the steelies blue and go dog dish), and leave it alone other than that.
Yeah, the 66, no contest. This is a particularly good example of clean, honest, straightforward mid-sixties American sedan styling. It looks perfect in that light blue colour. I’ve always loved those awesome tail lights and stacked headlights.