Location: 15010 PA
Vin: 3P61Z184530
Miles: 67,800
1963 Galaxie 500 – Sedan “Box Top Post Car”
For your consideration is a ’63 Galaxie 500 Box Top. With a 300 HP 390 FE and a 3-speed manual (three on the tree), it exudes typical handsome sedan features with the heartbeat of a potent pony car.
Overall, the car is nice. There are some things that would need addressing before it becomes your beloved show car. However, it is a get-in and enjoy-right-now car. It runs great with an enormous amount of fun associated with every drive, it stops, steers, and handles as a ’63 Galaxie should. This is not a Pittsburgh, PA car; it was sent from the Midwest to Pittsburgh last year. It has been in climate-controlled storage its entire time here in the salt belt (never out in the salt).
Below I will go through the condition of the exterior, interior, mechanical and underside of the car.
Exterior: Rangoon Red. The paint is older and has some typical spots that are not perfect. If I had to guess, the paint is probably 15 years old. All the trim, grill and glass are in good condition. It is missing the D on the hood from the F O R D letter gang. I know I have one floating around here, once I find it, the FOR will be a FORD again. The bumpers show their age, probably not good enough for you to win a trophy, but good enough to be presentable. The trim on this car is hard to find, we are lucky it’s all on this car and presentable.
Interior: It’s red and new. The seats have been refurbished with all new correct seat upholstery. Door panels (4), carpet, mats, headliner, and dashboard paint are all new. All the dash lights, indicators & gauges work as they should. The doors open and close correctly, windows go up and down smoothly. The door gaskets and wing window gaskets need to be replaced.
Mechanical: This is the really exciting part. The 390 appears to be all original based on the date codes. It runs very strong. It starts nicely, idles smoothly, and runs very well. It has a very mean grunt from its straight dual exhaust that exits right after the rear tires. When it’s cold, there is a slight exhaust leak at the manifolds that goes away with some heat. These can be changed. If you’re familiar with the FE engines, you may note that the factory “log” exhaust manifolds do no justice for the engines power. A major upgrade is a simple set of shorty headers. If this were my car, I would opt for some reproduction cast iron 406 style shorty manifolds. These are made by Kugel Komponents. Either those or some quality shorty tube headers such as the set that are made by Sanderson. The 3 speed shifts great. The car stops nicely. It’s for sure a get in and cruise with the family type of car or jump in and do a burn out if you desire. It’s a car that can be a hot rod with some HP that doubles as a family sedan. The wheels 15” steel Ford wheels, dog dish hubcaps, fresh 235/75 R15” tires give the car a real “HIPO” look. While the block, heads, intake and distributor are original to the car, the carburetor has been changed to an Edelbrock 600 CFM w/electric choke. The Autolite 4v carburetor is in the trunk. 3.50:1 gear
Underside: The frame is really nice and so is most of the floor and trunk. There have been some repairs in the past. It’s solid now, but repairs are evident. Everything underneath is nice and true, meaning no undercoating or surprises. The floors do have some repairs that were done years ago.
Overview & Recap: This is a great looking and running car. It’s perfect for someone looking to have a family cruiser or a really nice start for a restoration. There would be no problem using the car and fixing things here and there. The only things that really should be addressed right away would be the door gaskets and wing window gaskets. Fluids are all fresh; oil is Driven high zinc oil & a Wix filter.
This car is being sold as is with no warranty. The purchaser is responsible for shipping and any associated storage fees. If purchased, the car would need to be rehomed within a business week. Storage options are available as well as contacts for shipping firms. Cash or check is acceptable for payment. Any check (even bank or money orders) needs to fully clear before the car leaves. 3rd party inspectors are welcome.
