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.
Lead trim: Galaxie 223 Mileage Maker I6 (3.7 L) · up to 401 hp
Ford GalaxieGALAXIE-2 · 1959–1964
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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.
FactFord'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 1960 Galaxie introduced an all-new design with less ornamentation: a new Starliner hardtop with a huge, curving rear observation window on a pillarless bodyshell (its sloping rear roof pillar carrying three "star" emblems that served as the Galaxie signature badge for 1960–62 models) and half-moon downward taillights; the tailfins were almost gone in 1961. The 1961 Galaxie offered a new 390-cubic-inch (6.4 L) FE-series V8 with a four-barrel carburetor or, for higher performance, three two-barrel carburetors rated at 401 hp (299 kW) gross, the 352 downgraded to a 2-barrel with single exhaust. For 1962 the Galaxie name was applied to all of Ford's full-size models (Fairlane moved to a new intermediate model, Custom retired) with the top-line Galaxie 500 and the bucket-seat-and-console Galaxie 500/XL ("Xtra Lively", Ford's answer to the Impala SS): the 223 cu in "Mileage Maker" six was the base engine and the 292 V8 standard on the 500/XL, with a 406 cu in (7 L) engine available in single four-barrel or triple-carbureted "six-barrel" form, and tailfins gone. For 1963 a four-door hardtop 500/XL was added, a lower, fastback "sports hardtop" roofline arrived mid-year (the industry's first official "½ year" model, made to cut drag on NASCAR tracks and outselling the "boxtop"), the no-frills Ford 300 was offered for 1963 only (replaced by the Custom series in 1964), the 260 cu in (4.3 L) small-block V8 replaced the 292 as base V8 before being replaced midyear by the 289 (4.7 L), and the FE 352 and three versions of the 390 (regular, high performance, police) continued. 1964 was the last year of the body: the formal-roof "boxtop" style was dropped, the 289 remained base and standard on the XL, and the 1964 XL two-door hardtop was the best-selling XL of any year. Wheelbase 119.0 in, length 213.7 in (1960) and 209.9 in (1961–1964), width 81.5 in; 2-speed Ford-O-Matic, 3-speed Cruise-O-Matic, 3-speed manual (with overdrive) or 4-speed manual. The 427 lightweight Galaxies are catalogued separately.
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
8 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 Mileage Maker I6 (3.7 L) | 1960–1964 | 3.7 L Inline-6 | 135 hp | 200 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Galaxie 260 Windsor V8 (4.3 L; early 1963) | 1963–1963 | 4.3 L V8 | 164 hp | 258 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Galaxie 289 Windsor V8 (4.7 L) | 1963–1964 | 4.7 L V8 | 195 hp | 285 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Galaxie 292 Y-block V8 (4.8 L) | 1960–1962 | 4.8 L V8 | 185 hp | 292 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Galaxie 352 FE V8 (5.8 L) | 1960–1964 | 5.8 L V8 | 220 hp | 370 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Galaxie 390 FE V8 (6.4 L) | 1961–1964 | 6.4 L V8 | 300 hp | 427 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Galaxie 390 FE V8 three two-barrel (401 hp gross; 1961) | 1961–1961 | 6.4 L V8 | 401 hp | 430 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Galaxie 406 FE V8 (6.7 L) | 1962–1963 | 6.7 L V8 | 385 hp | 444 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
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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