The 1959 Galaxie lineup included the Skyliner — a full steel hardtop that folded itself down into the trunk, years before anyone else dared build a retractable roof with real rear seats.
Lead trim: Galaxie 223 OHV I6 (3.65 L) · up to 300 hp
Ford GalaxieGALAXIE-1 · 1958–1959
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Ford Galaxie yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe 1959 Galaxie lineup included the Skyliner — a full steel hardtop that folded itself down into the trunk, years before anyone else dared build a retractable roof with real rear seats.
The Galaxie name, from a marketing tie-in with the excitement of the Space Race, arrived during the 1959 model year when the Galaxie was added to the Ford range as an additional trim level, assuming the top position from the Fairlane 500 (1959 Galaxies carried both Fairlane 500 and Galaxie badging). It was offered in the same sedan and hardtop bodies as the Fairlane 500 with the Sunliner and Skyliner convertibles moved across, styled with a Ford Thunderbird-style C pillar on all but the Sunliner: a chrome- and stainless-steel-bedecked late-1950s car with optional two-tone paint, somewhat tamer than its Chevrolet and Plymouth competitors. Ford advertised "safety anchorage" for the front seats; the parking brake became a pedal, seat belts, a padded dashboard and child-proof rear door locks were optional, and a deep-dished steering wheel and double-door locks standard. The Skyliner's retractable hardtop folded down into the trunk space, complicated and expensive and leaving very little trunk room. The previous year's 352 V8 still developed 300 hp (220 kW). Engines listed: 223 cu in (3.65 L) OHV I6, 272 (4.5 L), 292 (4.8 L) and 312 (5.1 L) Y-block V8s, and 332 (5.4 L) and 352 (5.8 L) FE-series V8s, with a 2-speed Cruise-O-Matic, 3-speed automatic or 3-speed manual; wheelbase 118.0 in, length 208 in, width 76.8 in. 464,100 Galaxies were built in the 1959 model year.
Collectors Spotted in the Ford Galaxie Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Ford Galaxie yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
6 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxie 223 OHV I6 (3.65 L) | 1958–1959 | 3.6 L Inline-6 | 145 hp | 206 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Galaxie 272 Y-block V8 (4.5 L) | 1958–1959 | 4.5 L V8 | 190 hp | 270 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Galaxie 292 Y-block V8 (4.8 L) | 1958–1959 | 4.8 L V8 | 200 hp | 285 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Galaxie 312 Y-block V8 (5.1 L) | 1958–1959 | 5.1 L V8 | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Galaxie 332 FE V8 (5.4 L) | 1958–1959 | 5.4 L V8 | 225 hp | 325 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Galaxie 352 FE V8 (5.8 L; 300 hp) | 1958–1959 | 5.8 L V8 | 300 hp | 395 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
An estimate, for the Galaxie 223 OHV I6 (3.65 L) trim: fuel on its EPA figure and a dated national price, upkeep on a per-mile average for the kind of car it is.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The 1969 Galaxie ditched the usual wall-to-wall dash for something unheard of on a full-size Ford: a cockpit-style instrument pod wrapped around just the driver.
Brazil kept building the Galaxie until 1983 — and kept driving two of them as the country's actual presidential cars until 1990, some running on straight ethanol with 28-gallon tanks.
The 1966 Galaxie 500 7 Litre's new 428 V8 wasn't exclusive — Ford put the same engine in the Thunderbird and the Mercury S-55 that same year.
A 1966 Galaxie once carried actual royalty: Queen Elizabeth II used one during her 1968 visit to Chile, and the Chilean government still preserves it today as a ceremonial state car.
The first 20 lightweight R-code Galaxies had actual fiberglass doors to save weight — until Ford got nervous about the safety of fiberglass doors on public roads and quietly dropped them.
Ford's 1963½ lightweight Galaxie drag specials went to extremes — even the spare tire, one of the two horns, and the dome light were pulled just to shave weight.
The 1959 Galaxie lineup included the Skyliner — a full steel hardtop that folded itself down into the trunk, years before anyone else dared build a retractable roof with real rear seats.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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