On February 28, 1983, CBS aired the final episode of M*A*S*H, the long running series about a US Army hospital in the Korean War. Titled Goodbye, Farewell and Amen, it was the most watched television episode in American history to that point and sent the show into the annals of history. Some have called it the best finale ever for a television series.
Just over three years later, on December 26, 1986, a Ford Galaxie would enter my life. It, too, was a long running involvement, lasting until January 15, 2022. All in, this involvement lasted 35 years, 19 days, or thereabouts, meaning this Ford Galaxie is now in the annals of my personal history.
Whether what you are about to read is the best finale ever for car ownership remains to be determined.
It’s really hard to know where to start so perhaps we should just start at the beginning. That warm December day when my father, great-uncle Stan, and I pulled the Galaxie home behind a Ford tractor, it could best be described as inert. My father had paid my great-aunt (Stan’s sister-in-law) $200 for a car that had been sitting for several years and had not been started in an equal amount of time.
At 14, I was optimistic. My optimism proved to be well-founded as investing a few evenings over the next month or so had it running. It ran quite strong – well, it ran strong after we realized upon the initial start-up we had not, for whatever reason, reconnected two or three spark plug wires. The Ford 352 V8 can be amazingly resilient.
We installed new brake shoes and tires. That was it. I never drove the Galaxie to school but drove it enough on weekends to keep everything limber. The car was repainted during the 1989-1990 school term, having the work performed at the vocational school in nearby Cape Girardeau, Missouri. My mother taught the practical nursing program there, so she could (theoretically) keep an eye on it. My father liked the vocational school as the labor was free.
The Galaxie came back from the paint shop just in time for the summer months, prior to my beginning college that fall at Southeast Missouri State University, also in Cape Girardeau. After college got started, my time in the Galaxie dwindled.
My time in the Galaxie dwindled even further after August 1992, when I transferred to the University of Missouri – Rolla. I was four hours away and went home infrequently. This infrequency led to my father dropping insurance on the Galaxie, so it sat even more.
Upon graduation in December 1995, I moved to Jefferson City (I’ve lived here twice) to begin my career. Thus I was at my parent’s house even less frequently. In 1997, my father and I pulled the Galaxie out of his pole barn and got it running. It ran, weakly, although the most memorable moment of that endeavor was sitting in the driver’s seat and having a mother mouse run out from under the seat with several little ones still suckling as she was vacating the premises.
My father hates mice. Upon seeing the sow mouse, his typical stoicism was overridden when he started dancing around and throwing things at them, screaming “back it up, back it up! Run over them!”.
That was to be my last time in the Galaxie for over a decade. In March 1998 I moved to Cape Girardeau, bought my first house in June, and got married in July. In 2001, my wife and I moved to St. Joseph, Missouri. In late 2006, we moved east to Hannibal.
In all that time, my father never once touched the Galaxie. Its mechanical needs were really obvious by 2008. The only upshot is the car had been stored inside for all but about six months since 1986. It didn’t even get rained on for years.
Do you ever have pangs of guilt for abandoning projects? In 2008 my pangs were getting the better of me so I decided to liberate the Galaxie from its neglect. Hauling it back to my house in Hannibal revealed it to be a little worse for wear than it had been in 1986. The master cylinder was full of dry, flaky crud and the valves in the engine had stuck shut, so my attempt to start it didn’t yield success.
Did I take steps to correctly start a long dormant engine? Yes. Did I do them as well as I could have? Who knows.
Knowing the mechanical issues would have to wait, I did other needed tasks. I rebuilt the entire braking system from the pedal out. The only things reused were the brake drums although I did have them turned. The brakes, for being drums, were great. One just needed to keep in mind what they were.
In 2011, a downsizing and restructuring at by my employer dealt me an unsought relocation – back to Jefferson City. In a perverted twist of fate, my office was (and still is) in a building literally next door to where I had started my career in 1996. Thus, I had moved to three of the four corners of the state, gained immense experience, and ended up a stone’s throw from where I started. Talk about the circle of life.
But I digress.
The years of 2012 to 2014 weren’t the most enjoyable ever. I was in a new location, again, and had a house in Hannibal that took over 18 months to sell. There were other factors involved during this timeframe, but suffice it to say life was not all rainbows and unicorns.
A positive finally emerged when my wife suggested getting the Galaxie roadworthy again.
In 2013 I had the engine remanufactured. Given the Galaxie had been sitting at my house in Hannibal, and I was going to have to move it regardless, it only made sense I should drive it to its new home.
At the Battle of Shiloh National Park, Shiloh, Tennessee
After this work was done, I drove the car quite a bit. I took it on joyrides, drove it to work at times, and was simply having fun with it. I drove it to Tupelo, Mississippi, in 2015 and to Nashville, Tennessee, the following year. With its overdrive, the Galaxie was an awesome highway cruiser, netting 19 mpg at a steady 70 mph on the interstate and up to 20.5 mpg on two-lane highways.
Therein lies part of the problem with this Galaxie, as equipped. Things were such most of my driving was in-town. That Galaxie had no power steering, no power brakes, and a three-speed on the column. It could be a handful, especially at low speeds, but it made me a better driver. Yet the figurative luster was starting to fade.
For the many of you who have never been here, Jefferson City, Missouri, is where several different terrains converge. It is a convergence of rolling prairie to the west, the Ozark mountains to the south, river bottoms to the north, and hill country to the east. In other words, nothing is flat. The Galaxie likes to roll and it often does a little when taking off uphill. Local drivers, as seems to be the case elsewhere, forget to be aware of manual transmission cars. So whenever I took off up a hill (which was, like, always) it was a tense situation as someone was invariably on my rear bumper.
Part of my desire to get the Galaxie going again was to have a fun car my wife, daughter, and I could have for family outings. That never happened. I was the only person in the car the vast majority of the time. That led to more of the luster going away.
After much thought and introspection, I decided to sell the car – several years ago. My first initial foray into selling it was futile and really indicated how much of a niche car this particular Galaxie is. Few people want a four-door sedan; even fewer want one with a manual transmission. Inquiries then revolved around it being a two-door (despite the pictures and description saying otherwise) or probing if I wanted to trade, generally for something utterly useless to me.
Price was never a topic of discussion, question, or mention at that time.
In early 2020, I decided to make a go of selling it again. On March 14 or 15 I had a person who wanted to see it. I mention this date as it was shortly after the pandemic was announced and I was sent home to work. Not knowing what is now collectively known about said viral illness, I suggested we wait a few weeks until things calmed down.
Silly me. I never heard from him again. Such is life.
So fast forward to the end of 2021. I figured judicious behavior could minimize concern regarding communicable illness. So I listed the Galaxie for sale again.
There were more inquiries than ever before, which was refreshing. Some were from the optimistic, such as asking how reliable the air conditioning is (would no air conditioning be considered as reliable?). Several wanted to know my bottom dollar before asking anything else; it did not come across well.
The gentleman who bought the Galaxie had inquired about it early on. About two weeks later we met at the state capital building. He drove the Galaxie, liked what he saw, and that was that. I called my wife to come get me as he was driving it away.
The old Galaxie is now in the Kansas City metro area. That’s the furthest west the car has ever been. While I have driven it in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it appears he will likely add a few more to its list. He mentioned taking it to a car festival in Dubuque, Iowa, this coming summer.
Goodbye old Galaxie. Farewell to you and Amen on your new adventures. You’ve gone to a good home.
And I have zero regrets.
Well Jason, now that it’s all said and done I’d opine that you done the old Galaxie right. All those years of semi-interested dormancy, you got it running again and found it a good home.
I’m taking a different tack (or maybe just a few years behind you on the same curve) and just ordered a remanufactured front end beam for the VW. I’m going to try one more time to get it on the road and driving pleasantly.
I’m still a little sad that I never got to drive or ride in the Galaxie, and that we never had a 1963 car meetup in Muncie Indiana (which would have been halfway)
Thanks for sharing your full story of the Galaxie, it sure has been a long and interesting ride.
You and your VW came to mind a few times while putting this together. It always stinks when the cogs of life’s wheels don’t line up the way we want – it would have been a great meetup.
The Galaxie Chapter of life had closed, it just needed to find a home. In the big scheme of things, I am happy to have resuscitated a car that could have easily had a far less memorable outcome had I not come along.
A great final salute to the old girl. I get it, as every time I have had a “toy car” it gets driven less and less as time goes on. That was even true when the toy car was a Miata, which made a great daily driver and was air conditioned. I have always been sad to see them go, but there was always a newfound simplicity to life that was something to savor.
Having driven the car, I can understand what you say. It is not really amenable to modern city driving, especially in hilly country where you live. I also think that modern radial tires with the large contact patch between rubber and road has made those old big, heavy manual steering cars far more difficult to live with. I had the same experience with my 1963 F-100 of many years ago.
It is funny how this car has started looking to my eyes that have become used to modern shapes. I suppose that is natural, as the car is almost sixty years old. It is jarring to think back to when I bought my first car in 1977 – a 1963 car was old but still moderately common on roads. A 60 year old car back then would have been from around WWI. Time has a way of moving on.
It’s really weird how cars have changed since the Galaxie was built. Sometime ago I had the Galaxie in the garage next to our VW Passat. The Galaxie was noticeably shorter. Also, having become accustomed to newer vehicles, it was quite the drop to get into the driver’s seat.
Time has a vicious way of moving on. The Galaxie was twenty-three model years old when my dad bought it. The Ford Econoline out in the garage is only one year younger by that gauge. Scary.
That’s the best possible ending for the Galaxie, I see plenty where people try and then (are forced to?) give up and, well, you know the rest. And the best possible ending for you too, a few extra shekels in one’s pocket are always welcome.
Although I dare say that Saunders fella up in Alberta could have turned it into a two-door over a period of less than eight days if my math is correct. And then, Barrett-Jackson, here we come!
Of course now there is an extra garage spot! Whatever shall we fill it with?
A stack of cash certainly helps salve any regret one may have about a vehicle sale. Plus it is going to a good home; that is a bonus.
Yes, Saunders could easily have made this into a business coupe with little more than a cheap Harbor Freight saws-all. Or perhaps it could be a trucklet – that Galaxie certainly has a stout enough drivetrain to pull nearly anything.
I’m down to three vehicles and have three garage bays. The Passat is now in the downstairs garage where the Galaxie had been with the van and the recently promoted pickup in the upstairs garage. I’m rather liking this 1:1 arrangement so far, especially with the 10″ snow we had last week.
Aha – well this clears up a mystery. A few weeks ago, my in-laws saw you at the Capitol “standing around an old car.” They waved, but said you looked preoccupied. I guess that was the Fateful Day.
Well, congratulations… I know you’ve been looking to move on from the Galaxie for a while now, and it looks like it found some good new pastures indeed. I know all about formerly grand automotive ideas losing their luster in a similar manner. Like the MG that I bought to restore when I was 14. Luster faded off of that one pretty quickly. Or my former Mazda that at one point I’d intended to keep forever. Or for that matter, our ’95 Thunderbird, which sees increasingly minimal use. Such is life.
But now you’ve got a big empty space in your garage…
That was the day. Your brother-in-law drove by pulling their camper. Taking a moment to comprehend, due to wading through my immediate thoughts, I waved at the guy behind him.
In regard to old cars, one either needs to be overwhelmingly committed or should plan to simply rotate them out every two years. That’s long enough to enjoy them and not long enough for the luster to go away.
The two-year plan is basically how my Cosworth Vega ownership went, and in hindsight, was about perfect. The initial luster had worn off by that point, even though I still enjoyed the car.
I still have the two Type I projects, and still have every intent of getting them road-going. I’ve owned the ’62 sunroof pushing 25 years, and the ’63 sedan about 12.
Quite the sunroof, that, it looks like every panel comes off. Very fresh air.
You learn something new every day.
I never thought about it that way, but a Two Year Plan of old-car ownership has a lot of merit.
Of course, with your Galaxie, just the act of selling it took two years!
Congratulations on success at the end of a long farewell. I’ve enjoyed reading about your journey with the car.
Time may also have come to be in your favor. It seems like there is growing interest in old four door cars, a new generation is coming along that knows almost nothing about mass market two door cars and hardtop body styles. Not to mention those styles tend to be in the hands of old rich men at this point, and difficult to attain on a budget.
Thank you.
Your thinking about time being in my favor had briefly crossed my mind, also. The new owner is younger than me, and the popularity of two-door cars was diminishing annually during my formative years. I think you hit the nail on the head.
Congratulations on completing the Galaxie’s final mission, in finding it a good new home. Old cars deserve to be in the hands of those that really want them.
I’m glad I got to spend some time in the old girl; my memories of that drive are vivid, and left me with a sense of connection to it.
I will keep my truck as I still have good use of it. But if it were a sedan, it would have been long gone. And a beater truck with a totally bare interior and no headliner somehow is more socially acceptable than a sedan in similar condition.
There are definitely new adventures awaiting the old Galaxie.
For all the options Ford didn’t see fit to put on the car, I still found it fun to drive. It truly tapped into, and sharpened, all of one’s senses.
No kidding! You’re not gonna absentmindedly blunder your way through town in something with manual *everything* that’s also 80` long like you can a Honda Accord automatic, haha!
Was not up to Ford to put options on the car: that was up to the original purchaser to open up the wallet and check the correct boxes on the order form.
Perhaps, however, upon researching the car it was a unit built for Ford’s sales bank. Thus, from what I’ve read, it was built the way Ford wanted to build it, figuring somebody would buy it. It wasn’t exactly equipped for a quick sale in either 1963 or 2022.
»Applause« Your description of fading lustres, literal and figurative, ring loudly for me. Well done keeping, refurbishing, and enjoying the car, and shepherding it along to its next loving owner.
Somebody once said one doesn’t own an old car so much as one is its caretaker. For that, I feel I did my part. The new owner will be an awesome caretaker.
I’ve been hoping for a writeup from you, Jason—thanks a bunch. I wouldn’t have guessed at the many, lengthy “dormant” interludes in the car’s Shafer years, but it all makes sense now.
My Ford-guy leanings, plus the ’63 Galaxie my own family once owned, left me especially interested in your car and its story—I’m very happy there was good news in the last chapter!
There’s been a tremendous number of life events in the past year or so, thus free time for writing anything has been a challenge.
However, I’ve written enough about that Galaxie on these pages it deserved a send-off. Other than some minor tweaks, this entire piece was a stream of consciousness that took about an hour to type out. It was oddly cathartic.
Congrats on your new chapter in life & getting a good home for the Galaxie. Just a few minutes ago I had to move my Willys CJ2A out of the way in the shed here in TN, I look back when I bought it in 1977, I’ve been fortunate to have a place to keep it under cover. It’s been a few years since she’s roamed the roads, but now in semi retirement, time to rehab & get back on the road…best of luck on your future endevours…
Thank you.
Yes, get your Willys rehabilitated. It’ll thank you for it.
Jason, thank you for sharing the final chapter of the story of your Galaxie’s time with your family. I have occasionally thought about the status of your car’s sale, but I was also aware it was the type of care that would take some time to find the next caretaker. It seems from what you have shared the new owner is a good fit for the car. Let’s hope he gets as much enjoyment from it as you and your family did.
As you are aware, I have two cars that have been in my family for decades, so I understand the strong bond one can form with a car. They can truly be time machines filled with memories. That said, I know that sometimes one’s life dictates that it’s time to move on from a car. It happened with my Dad which is how I ended up with my cars. I am nowhere near ready to move on from my old cars but I am also aware that day could come. For now, they both still bring me for more enjoyment than burden.
There is an inverse relationship between the degree of luster and the degree of burden. This is likely due to ignoring the burden when the luster is high.
Keeping a car for a long time is a serious commitment, likely even tougher than being married. Those who can make such a car commitment, such as you, are to be admired as it is a tough thing to do.
Jason: Congratulations on ending/beginning a new automotive chapter in your life. IIRC, the old girl looked good at the CC meet up in Nashville, a few years ago, and if you have no regrets after so long a tenure, then that’s a good thing!! 🙂
Agreed! There was no point in denying someone else having adventures and fun with my keeping it. Things have a way of working out for the best.
Very glad to hear that you’ve found a new home for the old Galaxie. Which reminds me, I have a COAL update of my own that I need to get to work on.
You need to do your COAL update! I’ve been toying with the idea of doing my own COAL series (I even have them titled already) but it’s just a matter of doing it. Life is getting in the way these days.
At least on your pickup truck replacement!
Jason, thank you for sharing that story. I did not realize the long history you’ve had with your Galaxie. I too am glad it’s off to a good home with an owner that will enjoy it. Looking forward to hearing what’s next.
Thanks. The car had been in the family since around 1964, but it was time. The two cousins of mine, for whom it had been the family car, both wanted it but either had no time or space for it. So I found somebody who did, which is a great thing.
Ive had two ling term classics that Ive kept sometimes unused and eventually sold my 63 Holden was rebuilt as a daily driver in the 90s after 15 years dormant it sat again for 2 years when we lived in Tasmania but got revived when we moved house then got a real roadworthy, reregistered, and driven often untill we moved back to NZ I couldnt justify exporting it so it sold to a young couple who had visions of restoring it, rehomed well I feel.
The next was the 59 3A Hillman I bought for something to do it got stripped to a shell new panels made by me fitted then sandblasted and reassembled and modified to cope with modern traffic all done as cheaply as possible by wrecking other cars for upgrade parts, then I moved and left it on a friends lawn till I found somewhere to keep it, the engine locked up while being driven to inspection and was never revived it sold to someone keen to rebuild it so again rehomed well,
Now I have a 66 Hillman Superminx estate that runs drives and really has little wrong with it it too lives outside as a lawn ornament at a friends house but is quite useable as a daily drive and may just get kept for when not if my Citroen finally dies from over use, every time I post a pic of the estate the comments are how much you want, I’d rather keep it traffic here hasnt yet evolved beyond its capabilities and I can blast along the motorways at over the speed limit in it very easily, Rootes were still using the same powertrain in 1979 when they finally folded their tent and shipped the tooling to Iran.
Photos, bryce, photos, of the Superminx. And even a short COAL, perhaps.
’66 Super Minx – now you’re talking.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/curbside-classic-1966-hillman-super-minx-rooting-for-rootes/
Very nice story, glad it ended up with someone who will love it and, most importantly, drive it!
I daily drive a long bed ’74 C10 with manual brakes/steering and of course, a manual 3 on the column mated to its 250 Inline 6. I love the truck, but it can definitely be tiresome in town. This truck was driven very sparingly until the original owner parked it in 1995/6. It sat until sometime around 2016. I bought it in February of 2020. Sold my other daily because I couldnt stay out of the truck and the money was too good to pass up on a car I wasn’t really into anyway.
I would’ve gladly given that Galaxie a new home had I been aware and able to do so. Far and above my favorite bodystyle Ford sedan for many years in both directions.
Here’s a picture of my work-in-progress. 51k miles as of this writing.
Thank you.
That’s a nice old square body. Even better, the body is still in darn good condition. Guessing you are in southern Mississippi based upon your plates and the palm tree, you won’t have to worry about the possibility of corrosion nearly as much, so she should stay in good condition for a very long time.
Thanks Jason, I’m really enjoying this old truck. And yes, it’s been in Mississippi its entire life (as a native Mississippian myself, I thought the plate appropriate for both of us).
It’s very solid all around, just some surface rust. Unfortunately, with high scrap prices, finding old vehicles down here is nearly impossible. I was very lucky to score this truck before it got crushed or chopped up to make a never-ending “race truck” project.
Congratulations on selling the Galaxie! I think it would have been harder had the car been something a flipper would descend upon, but that’s the beauty of a car like that. The person who buys it wants a neat old car to drive around, not a quick profit.
Your mouse story brought back a recent, vivid, and disturbing flashback from last fall, when I found a mouse with six or seven babies attached using my car cover as a nest at the storage barn where I keep a few cars. I just hate mice, which makes it that much worse. It’s not their fault that they’re mice, but I don’t want anything to do with them.
Thank you.
Some of the “what’s your bottom dollar?” people struck me as flippers. Invariably I would counter with an inquiry if they had questions about the car and things seemed to take care of itself. If one is truly interested, it seems like there are better starting points for conversation.
Jason, congratulations on ending your ownership on a high note. I will miss your post on your Galaxie and would rank it as the second most iconic author’s car of CC behind Paul’s F100.
I commend you on recognizing the right time to sell, that has been a challenge for me many times in the past and is getting harder as the cars that interest me are getting scarcer and more expensive in recent years.
Thank you! 1960s era Fords do have a certain quality that is hard to top.
While it’s taken some mental adjustment and recalibration, I am finding cars from the 1980s to now possess a certain desirability I had never realized previously (gasp!). Once I got over the “it’s a late model!” mindset, there are some fun options out there.
Will I buy another older car for fun? Who knows.
Funny, I find myself feeling the same about some 1970s GM cars I never liked before. I’ve always been an Oldsmobile fan, but the bloated Cutlass Supreme of the mid 70s never held any appeal for me…until lately. Same with some of the malaise Pontiacs.
I’ve always been an 80s/90s car nut. I’ve owned more Taurus and Tempos than you could imagine, mostly when I lived in the PNW. I find myself pining for a Cutlass Ciera, a later Corsica or another Tempo. (I do have my 1995 Taurus that’s staying in the “fleet”.)
I would also love an 86-90s Jetta as was discussed a few articles ago, or a 318Ti for another quirky German. Wouldn’t mind another CRX or 90s Accord (sold my ’96 LX coupe 5 speed to a buddy a year or so ago).
I’m glad the new owner intends to put the car to use, and keep it active. A sixty year old car needs to stretch its legs now and again.
Congratulations on what seems to have been a nice goodbye.
The entire sales process and transaction went incredibly smooth. Some who contacted me seemed to possess some degree of drama; not so with the final outcome.
I suspect it will be driven a fair amount.
Thanks for providing the final installment of your relationship with your Galaxie. I really felt for you as you described the difficulty in finding a buyer. A lot of people talk glibly about old car ownership and driving, but they don’t know how difficult it can be to maintain, and to just hold onto a vintage car. I’ve had a couple of modern manual transmission cars and the center pull parking brake is much easier to apply when starting on a hill, than an old ratcheting floor pedal! As was mentioned earlier, it seems that there is a lot more acceptance of four door sedans as hobby vehicles among beginning enthusiasts.That’s a good thing as more cars will be preserved. Four door sedans are still quite often found in good original condition. Glad to hear that your experience ended on a positive note.
Four-door sedans look identical to a two-door when driving them…which is the point of having a car, isn’t it?
While I can sort of understand the two-door bias, the rationale part of me doesn’t. But it takes all kinds, which does make life more interesting.
Many of us love cars that have been in our lives for an extended period of time, but some of that ‘love’ may in fact be familiarity; an echo of times gone and not returning.
In 1993 I was 19 and bought my late grandfather’s 1936 Dodge from his estate, 43 years after he bought it. The romance of owning a car that generations of my family had travelled in was strong. Although complete it needed full restoration and after storing it at my parents’ house for 6 years, I had to face the reality that the ‘love’ I felt for it was actually something of a noose, so I sold it. I semi-regret it but wouldn’t want it back.
It’s no fun owning something just for the sake of it; better to cherish the memories with a sense of relief as you’ll no doubt do. Beautifully written Jason, a fitting (and best!) finale to car ownership.
You speak immense truth. This sale also gives me the latitude (should I wish to use it) of finding something on my own, instead of something that was just there.
However, I am rather enjoying having fewer vehicles. That is the first time I have ever said that.
My folks bought a new ’63, in what else, ’63, a Galaxie 500. 289 V8 with power steering and a FordOmatic. Uhg. Learned to drive in that car. Having some motorcycle experience by then it was clear the engine tranny combo was not a good one. While I do have a soft spot for the styling of that ’63 for the era, I never liked that car much. Decades later a friend at work had a ’63 convertible. I’m not sure what transmission it had, but better than the 2 speed slushbox, but even he eventually put in a built (330? 350??) engine even though he said it ran fine.
But even with a lack of fondness for the particular car, I liked the model.
Powertrains can certainly do a lot to make or break the fun quotient of these cars. The 289/FordOMatic powertrain sounds dreadful.
I once saw a ’63 in identical colors to mine, inside and out, but equipped with a six-cylinder and the two-speed automatic. It ran great, but I cringed about how unpleasant that thing would be, especially in the hilly country where I found it.
Very nicely told, Mr Shafer, and an excellent reflection on the vagaries of old car ownership. I did guffaw at your dad and the mice – that’s me and a spider, a rational man very quickly reduced to his more elemental self.
I laughed also at the a/c quip. You should have replied that you believe it works perfectly, requiring only purchase and fitment. Why do folk not read ads?
I’ve never owned a toy car. My last oldie was still my daily, about 20 years back, and the lustre dulled after one too many drives in choked-traffic drive in high heat. No more! Zero regrets, too.
It’s funny about the four-doors thing from this part of the world. For reasons lost in time, Aussies simply wouldn’t buy 2-door anythings, and, whilst that makes the few 2-door locally-made survivors thoroughly hot property today, it’s still the case that the majority of famous or desired Oz models are four-door sedans. Perhaps you should have done a Daniel Stern, and sent the old girl off on a boat to a place at the bottom of the world where she would not be dismissed and ridiculed for her extra portes (and got a decent price to boot).
Well done to you for your persistence as a custodian, and now for your honesty in describing the ultimate regretless conclusion.
There are few things in life in which I hold anything more than momentary sentimentality. That certainly makes one’s life a bit easier, even if it comes across as cold to those with the sentimentality streak.
Interesting you mention the send off on a boat. The very last inquiry I had was from a gentleman in New Zealand. A little stalking revealed he owned a ’60s US Falcon and Fairlane, so a Galaxie could have completed his collection of Fords of assorted sizes.
For the record, although I’m in New Zealand and own a Ford Sierra, it wasn’t me inquiring! Although I do like manual transmissions, I like ABS and A/C more… 😉
My former best friend’s (Long story there as to why we don’t even talk anymore) first car was a 4 door ’60 Galaxie, the first, but not the worst, of his many bad cars. It was white and a automatic, and the transmission would be the “last straw” that put it into the boneyard in 1973, about 6 months after he got his license and bought it. It was severely rusted when he bought it, and I put my hand through the driver’s side front quarter when I accidentally leaned on it. His parents took one look at it and just shook their heads and said, “Oh jeez, you couldn’t find anything better?”. The next car wasn’t going to be even as good as the Galaxie was! His family had a get together every summer in some small town in PA, and while driving there, the trans died and the Galaxie was never, as far as we knew, on the road again. The next car was a cancer ridden Triumph TR4A, which made the Galaxie seem solid. It only ran on 2 cylinders, most of the time, but occasionally, a third would come alive. When he finally sold it to some guy for it to be a parts car, he and I had bondo’ed the rear quarters together with a lot of hardware cloth, and it actually looked pretty good painted yellow(He had the paint when he bought it). His next car wasn’t horrible in itself, a red ’72 Corvette convertible with a built 350, but an 18 year old prone to speeding in gutless cars soon found out the Vette was more expensive to own than he expected. Tickets, lots of tickets, insurance hikes, someone vandalized the car and the whole back end needed repainting…and he was done. Later not-so-great cars included a Porshe 944, and a BMW 5 series that was amazingly unreliable. I don’t know what he drives today.
Good to hear this good end story Jason .
I well remember these cars when new, not quite my cuppa tea but for those who lived out of town I felt they were great ~ sooth, comfy and quiet if very conservative looking and i didn’t like driving them anywhere in the hills / canyons but fantastic people haulers IMO .
Just recently I’ve been thinking about all those long gone 1980’s imports, smaller and more fun to drive, the fuel injected ones seemed very reliable…
Too bad you never took your family out, my adult son occasionally mentions traveling everywhere and on vacations etc. in my oldies when he was a child .
This car looks really nice and makes me wistful for my 1962 Galaxie TuDor Sedan .
-Nate
Seems like you gave it just the right amount of attention and downtime to make its survival for another 36 years quite possible. 🙂
Glad to see your car going to a good home. I always thought that big block/3speed combo was rather odd. I have looked at (and worked on) lots of early ’60s Galaxie’s in my 55 years, but I can’t recall ever seeing one with your powertrain combo. Have seen lots of that combo in F100s however. And that car is a F100 with a sedan body. 🙂
Aside from the fact that American cars of that vintage aren’t my thing, if I’d been a prospective buyer, the fact that it was a 4-door would have been a plus. The 3 on the tree would have been a strike against it. The non-power steering and brakes would have been dealbreakers.
I had a situation several years ago on my commute where I had to stop at a stop sign, then start up a steep hill. I had an Audi 4000 quattro at the time. It was tricky, and I don’t know how I would have done it with a foot-operated parking brake. I finally changed my route to avoid this intersection, and all my cars since have been automatic.
I saw the post on FB when you sold the car and I wondered when you were going to write this up. As with many others, I’m glad this ended up with someone who is interested in keeping it on the road. I can imagine many other uses for a large, old car, none of them would be good. As someone who’s been married for 35 years, I can relate to the level of commitment it takes to keep anything around for such a large part of your life. Well done and well played, you’ve engineered (heh!) the best outcome for your old car and yourself.
As a comment on the other posts about cars rolling backwards on hills… I guess I’m glad that I learned to drive stick on the hills of Northeastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. I’ve driven everything from CJ2A Jeeps to my 5.0L Mercury Capris on those hills and never had an issue with roll back. I guess finessing the brake and clutch timing is something that you learn quickly when faced with driving in the Pittsburgh hills on a regular basis…
I had entertained one of the uses you accurately describe as not being good. But that brings about an entirely new set of challenges. That, and she was still way too solid to sacrifice at the alter of convenience.
You gave the Galaxie a fitting send off, and more importantly, a good home, as others have mentioned. The car deserves that.
When I bought my ‘64 Impala in 1999, the young guy selling Betty said he wanted the car to go to someone who would respect her and give her the restoration she deserved. He was so pleased when I was moving from Arizona to Oregon in 2003 and made slight a detour to San Luis Obispo so he could see Betty restored. We’re friends on Facebook, and he likes seeing the pictures I post.
My brother-in-law once had a ‘55 Oldsmobile 88 with a Hydra-Matic, but no power steering or brakes. It wasn’t too bad once you got underway, but I got a serious workout turning it around in a friend’s driveway. The original owners were an elderly couple in San Francisco. I can’t imagine a little old lady trying to parallel park that breast in the city.
One reason I so badly wanted another ‘64 Impala is the one I grew up with and learned to drive in was so nice to drive. Betty felt exactly as I remembered, and even though she was in a little rougher condition than I had hoped, I was sold before I got out of the parking lot. Power steering was a must-have, and I added power brakes in 2002. So she’s definitely easier to wheel around town.
You and your Galaxie had a good run. Thanks for sharing the stories here.
Interesting to hear you’ve sold the Galaxie, as I sort of had it down as a keeper given the history, even if I did recall you were trying to sell it a while ago.
But, as you point out, if you’re not getting the use or activity with it that you’d like, it’s taking up space and costing money doing nothing (insurance etc) and someone else wants it for a good reason, then perhaps best to let it go to a good home.
The sale process sounds a bit like me and my MX-5 – met the buyer at a mutually convenient spot, did the deal, he transferred the funds by phone banking and I asked him for a lift home. Another car going to a good home, albeit 230 miles away.
Surprised to hear that it’s shorter than your Passat though.
What comes next? Time for a Bullet Bird?
The buyer offered me a ride home, but I had to cut the figurative cord. That and he had a long enough trip back, no point in adding to it.
What’s next? Cleaning up and selling all the various parts I have accumulated! Car wise? It’s hard to know what, when – or if.
I still have my love. My 63 Gal, 406, tri-power, 4 speed.
That sounds like a really nice Ford!
At least a CC on your pickup truck replacement?
That one is tentatively titled “One Life To Live”. Stay tuned, it’ll be coming one of these days.
Jason,
I am so far behind in trying to catch up with CC, but I wanted to thank you for all the wonderful stories you have shared over the years about your Galaxie.
This was an excellent send-off. I am so glad to see it go to a good home. Hopefully you told him about CC, and that he may drop in from time to time with stories of his own!
Rick.
Thank you. It was certainly a trip with the Galaxie. But it was time for new adventures with a new owner.
After a day like today, trying to get my Mother’s car able to pass emissions test for state inspection, I wish she had a car “that didn’t fink on her” and didn’t have to go through the shenanagans to pass the test.
I replaced the gas cap and gasket on the filler and even drove the car 150 pointless miles (OK they had a point, to try to reset the emissions logging so I can get the car inspected) but apparently that wasn’t enough. I guess I didn’t know/follow GM’s driving cycle to reset the computer…there is no light on the dash, but the evap and O2 sensor codes still show “not ready” for testing. Guess I have to strictly follow the procedure and (groan) drive another 150 miles to get the car into the “ready” state instead of “unknown”
I’m kind of contrary to many car people in that I’ve only owned 4 cars in almost 50 years of driving…only briefly owning 2 cars at once. I kind of have a minimalist attitude where I figured out what works best for me and try to keep buying it (as long as they offer it, which is nothing certain). I’ve driven older cars and like them, but kind of from afar, not really intending to own one myself. I think I got the “car variety” out of my system way back in ’77 and ’78 when I got to drive a variety of cars as a transporter working for Hertz, which in a way was at the end of an era of cars like your Galaxy…of course, they had big bumpers and emissions controls by the 70’s, but they were not really that different otherwise from your Galaxy.
My Grandfather also had a ’63, but a Fairlane rather than a Galaxy. He owned it less than a decade though, he thought the Fairlane was “too light” (I guess for highway trips) and bought a ’72 Biscayne which ended up as his final car. He passed away in 1986, but I got to drive the Biscayne one more time, on vacation (we live 1700 miles from where my Grandparents lived)…My Grandmother never learned to drive (neither Grandmother did) so we had an outing in June where we were going to visit one of her brothers (she comes from a large family) without first letting him know..of course he wasn’t there…but the weather was glorious, and I was driving my Grandfather’s car (for the last time, but didn’t know it then) with my Dad in the front seat, and almost invisible in the back seat my Mother and Grandmother (my Mom is only 4’8″ 83 lbs, and my Grandmother was pretty petite as well…almost like kids in the back seat. We stopped for lunch in the (now defunct) Effort Diner, and I just remember it kind of like the end of my early adulthood as I turned 30 that year. I know the Biscayne was almost a decade newer than your Galaxy, but for some reason that’s what I think of when I think of older cars (my Dad had several 50’s and 60’s cars too, but he never kept them long, they were certainly gone by the early 70’s when I started driving).
You were a great caretaker of the Galaxy…kind of like borrowing a book from the library, you enjoy it for awhile, maybe check it out again, but in the end, someone else is going to want to read it, so you enjoy your time with it, but kind of know it is unlikely to be forever.
Thank you. Whatever happens next in regard to old car ownership remains to be seen. I was simply a caretaker anyway; in some respects cars are more durable than are people.
Good point! The average lifespan of a car these days is probably about the same as for most dogs. On the other hand, there are probably more running 100 year old cars in the U.S. than there are people!
I wonder just how many ’63 Galaxie’s with no PS, PB and three on the tree were sold. I’m guessing not many. Would definitely make for an interesting drive.
And very economical on the highway:
352 V8…three-speed on the column…overdrive: 19 mpg at a steady 70 mph on the interstate and up to 20.5 mpg on two-lane highways.
Impressive. The new owner could install aftermarket AC and have a decent long distance commuter.
Both of our “60’s full size sdns had no power steering/brakes. Both did have “a/t”. Was the only option I believe. They even had ‘radio delete” panels..
Full-size American cars aren’t my jam. Aside from that, I’d consider the 4 doors a plus, but I’d consider the lack of AC, AT, PS, and PB a big minus.
Having said that, it’s great that you were able to keep it in the family for so many years and find a suitable buyer.
It was great reading this post again, Jason. It did have a slight element of sadness though, as the unofficial* auto mascot of Curbside Classic drove away. But we are of course happy that it found a new forever home.
Rereading this puts into perspective why you excluded it from your COAL series. I’m sure that it was because you shared its stories here over the years and likely didn’t have anything else to say, but in rereading it, it almost feels like you were doing a prequel or preview of your COAL series to come, as it summarizes you moves, career adjustments, etc. very nicely.
It does beg the question however as to why you omitted your Big Bird from your COAL series… 🤔
* this assumes that the “Official Automotive Mascot of CC” is a certain yellow 1966 Ford Pickup. 😉
Thank you. Good questions and observations.
I had not thought of this as being a preview of the COAL series, but it did ultimately become one. So, other than the Thunderbird, I’ve covered it all in 2022. With the Thunderbird, I had already written something titled as a COAL and while recycling is a great thing, that seemed to be a bit much!
Also, there is a tinge more sadness in rereading this than had ever been the intent. I was quite happy to sell the Galaxie and have not once missed it. So that tells me it was the right thing to have done.
When I sold the Galaxie I swore off old vehicles…which must be a relative term as that Ford van is now 23 and my Dodge pickup is 32. I need vehicles that aren’t old enough to vote or be elected to national office…
I’ll have to look up your COAL on your T-Bird. I do fondly remember Louis Broderick driving that car in one of your stories though… 😉
As to old cars, I truly admire you guys. Keeping something that old running takes a special kind of person. I’m trying to be that with a 2007 Mustang. 2007. Only 15 years… make that 16 model years.
I was just underneath her today trying to find a fastener that I dropped. At 62 years old, getting out from underneath a car that is up on the ramps is not getting any easier. My knees are not happy with me right now.
I’m about to drop a lot of money on a new interior for that car. I’m probably out of my mind as the old girl had 184,042 miles on the clock as of this writing. But she still puts a smile on my face every time I drive her.
At some point I may feel the same way as you, and it’ll be time to find a new caretaker for her. But as for now, I’m still holding out at least until she’s old enough for historic tags. Here in Maryland, that’s 20 years. While that’s not old enough to drink, it is old enough to vote*.
* sorry, politics aren’t allowed here!
I hope you had a wonderful holiday, and Happy New Year!!!
A nice re-read this cold morning, Jason—among forgotten details were all the car’s “downtime” years, the repaint, and mother mouse.
The entirety of your CC reports of ownership had given me a nostalgic twinge, as my family’s ’63 4-door is a vivid youthful memory. I’m both happy that you eventually found a buyer, and that I myself didn’t step in—it wouldn’t quite have been the right one for me.
I kinda hope that somehow-somehow it crosses your path again there in MO…..keep your eyes open!
Here’s my 63 2-door Galaxie.
And here’s the undercarriage view. Notice all of the advanced features of this car!