1962 Ford Galaxie 500 Lightweight - Muscle Car Of The Week Video Episode 331

[@BobbyOfEarth]

I was 8 yrs old In 1962 when my dad was waiting in the sales office at the Turner Ford dealership in Fremont California, picking up his new Galaxy 500 that he ordered from the Ford Factory in San Jose Ca. several months earlier. There was another guy in the office, also waiting to pickup his new Galaxy 500, and that's how dad met Ed Terry, a future factory Ford Drag team driver (several videos of ED here on YT) and they became good friends while beating the rivals at Fremont Dragstrip ..which all began in 1962. My dads Galaxy was black on black with the 390 HP engine, 4 speed and posi-track. Ed was picking up his Galaxy, a lightened factory race car from Detroit, identical to the white Galaxy in this video. Thanks for the memories..

[@francfurian8215]

Benevolent Protector you really lived it👍🏻

[@Alan-hw3jg]

Ok boomer

[@512bb]

Awesome memory, I have no doubt. Too bad we can't turn the clock back.

[@opera93]

Benevolent Protector thanks. For sharing this Early Stuff & happenings......actually quite a sight when the firstRace Fords,& 1963 & Half , 427 came thru Wolf Lake IN ( Noble COUNTY,etc.) & my Garage Buddies, etc....lot of Car talk & envy....

[@tomzinninger9371]

My first car was a 62 Galaxie 500, with a worn out 352 2bbl. I was with Dad that cold day in December of 61 when we went to a little dealer well off the beaten path where he felt he could get a deal. It was also my first engine rebuild, all at 15 years old. Took until four years ago to get my 64 which has been in the family since new. This time it got a body-off restoration. The 390 looks just like a 352 and really brought back the memories!

[@brocluno01]

We had the non-lightweight version as a used shop car in '66. 406 tri-power. Won it in a street race running my buds 49 F-1 with a big nail valve. The Ford was a tire shredder, and it went well on the street, and out at 4-Lanes on Hwy 1 at midnight :D Most of the time it was on Atlas Plycrons, but when the deal was serious it went on cheater slicks. We has a serious tune and Isky cam and valve train. It was a 12.90 car on a good day at Fremont, but more often ran low 13's. Those cast manifolds worked well with 36" 3" "collectors". We took a fair amount of weight out, but never really gutted it ...

[@kimmorrison9169]

2 tons of fun. I on the other hand used to see these old 406's & 427's getting their clock cleaned at strips in the 60's. Too damn heavy and not enough HP to run with a 413 Savoy/Dart.

[@brocluno01]

Absolutely. A lightweight 413 could best it by 2 car lengths. But it would beat up most of the stuff the kids could bring to Santa Cruz for evening "cruising" :D

[@kimmorrison9169]

Yep Bruno sounds like you had a nice one with the Isky mod. I have a big soft spot for any late 50’s or early 60’s super stockers of any brand! I have a ‘70 Nova SS now with modified L78 and L89 aluminum heads with the old M21 4 spd for my weekends in the good weather!

[@brocluno01]

Cool, enjoy !

[@johnnyhawkins43]

1962Ford with the factory built 406 one of the fastest production cars I have ever seen !

[@thefettfan3994]

That is a very well restored , nostalgic not to mention iconic early 1960's racing muscle Galaxie. It looks absolutely FAB!!! Also the artwork on this model has a very 1960's appearance. Great presentation as always!!!!!!

[@hanktorrance6855]

Thanks for featuring one of the legendary 406 Ford engines. The 406 and 390 6pk motors were in my Chilton manual but I've never seen one. I have been lucky enough to see a 427 SOHC fitted in a starliner!

[@johnjohnsn7633]

If you didn't notice, this 406 is equipped with dual four barrel Holley carbs, which means it's likely one of the late 406s which featured the cross-bolted block which became a standard feature for the 427 engines of 1963 and later.

[@FYMASMD]

Marv Tonkin the Ford man. N.E. Portland Oregon. I grew up in Portland watching his TV commercials. His brother Ron is another iconic car dealer in Portland. Great to see this. I love those early to mid sixties Fords.

[@512bb]

I attended the first Rick Cole auction right after the 87 stock market crash when a lightweight went through, if memory serves me I think it went for around a 100,000. It was the 1st time I actually saw one in person, pretty cool indeed. Thanks Kevin.

[@MoultrieGeek]

Another incredible car from an incredible collection. I never thought I'd get to see a lightweight Galaxy in action like this. Thanks Kevin.

[@plymouthduster2252]

Another great video love your channel. That's why I like watching this channel is because I get to see rare muscle cars that I don't ever see in person at the car shows I go to.

[@genefortney9133]

Another great video, special thanks to the Brother’s Collection!

[@johnp234]

Unlike most folks here, I actually owned a 1962 Galaxie (traded my 67 Cougar in 1969 to my buddy, who added $500 to the deal), with the 406 tripower motor. Not the lightweight, but believe me when I tell you that the only two times I was beaten in a street race were to an SS396 Chevelle with the L78 motor, driven by a girl named Bonnie, and a 426 Hemi Plymouth GTX. The only mods I did were a set of Hooker long tube headers, and a pair of Mickey Thompson J70 x 15's, which actually fit under the rear wheel wells with no cutting, and the same chrome reverse wheels the previous owner had put on. It turned 13.5 at the strip. In a full size 2 door hardtop that must have weighed 3,600 pounds.

[@DORPHUS]

I just bought a 62 galaxie 500 two weeks ago! A previous owner raced it, not hard though. The body is all original and it’s not in terrible shape. It’s got a 390 in it

[@opera93]

Thanks, great history & mechanics...I was just getting my Driver’s License & lots of interest in cars, drags, Mechanics in early 1960’s.....

[@salauerman7082]

That’s an uncommon car.... so is my husband’s 1967 Ford Galaxy 500 XL with about 25,000 original miles! It’s been his sheltered baby but he’s now looking for someone who will appreciate it just as much.

[@hanktorrance6855]

The mysterous 406 6pk....probably one of the rarest FE engines

[@steviedee71]

Geeez this guys brother sure does have a lot of cool muscle cars must be loaded !

[@lazyrrr2411]

Indeed - this IS a special car 👏

[@rdouglas4601]

Great job people! I love watching the history behind these great cars and ones I never heard of.

[@LS1007]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing it! 👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸

[@GamerNRetro]

I find it so funny how small the tires are on these powerful machines.

[@brob9995]

So clean underneath wow

[@jeremythompson9122]

Ford's first factory lightweight drag car. Awesome ride. Many Ford guys have told me they like the 406 better than the 427 because it's less finicky

[@petemedina8446]

Cool looking car and great story about it. My parents once owned a galaxy back in the mid 70's though it wasn't one of these models.

[@bgh70]

Great cart! I was surprised at the 3.50 gears. I love FE engines, 4 speeds and the big Galaxy.

[@ianfosbrook8406]

hell Yea .. love me some big Galaxie action.. keep em Rolling... 🤘

[@BrewBlaster]

A like button hit for you is automatic before I even watch the video.

[@MikeBMW]

Wonderful, Kevin! Heck, if we could go out to the Brother's Collection and scrape up all the rubber, we could make whole set of tires. :) Keep up the great vids, love 'em!

[@GaryVanSmith]

Ras will love this

[@brkooduh66]

I like this story of this Galaxie, it shows how the light weight formula has evolved. Nice video, nice car, I've given this Ford a thumbs up. Any chance the First Gen 1964-66 Barracudas will be getting any love on Muscle car of the Week? Even an ugly ducklings deserve a little spotlight.

[@scootosan]

The more a car is Uncommon and or Weird the better in my book.

[@gregbetts8057]

i would have thought the original steel panels would have been lighter than the glass ones ... go figure . great vid . my fav ford of that era is the 62

[@mescko]

Huh, never knew Marv sponsored any factory drag cars. I suppose I should check out the collection next time I get a chance, considering I live in the same city.

[@deefisher5157]

i love these videos. but not as much as i love my 1967 ford galaxie LTD fastback big block with a/c lol

[@HoosierDaddy_]

It's just great! 🍒

[@perryjohnson5143]

I remember my dad buying cars from good ol' Marv Tonkin.

[@danambrosio1965]

Kevin, any chance of getting a copy of this video,? I’d love to have a video of something we built. How exciting!

[@sheliaelder7917]

I own a 62 ford galaxy 500 xl its light blue 4 dr hard top! Needs a lot of money put into it

[@montemaguire4596]

Check out DOING IT CHEEP . Paw Paw bought a 1965 Ford Galaxy .

[@guitarhole]

I can definately say , I've never seen one of those . Nor have I heard of a 406 .

[@kimmorrison9169]

The 406 was a one year engine for 1962. It could not compete typically with the 409 Chevy or especially the Mopar's 413 Max Wedges of 1962. The big full size Fords also were to heavy to win vs the Mopars and Chevy's.

[@fido139]

Ford was MASSIVELY underestimated. I personally saw street races back in 60's and 70's where Fords murdered the competition. Yet the stigma was all about GM and Dodge, in spite of getting their asses kicked. Leave it to BS advertising. Just like today with Apple.

[@markfonseca4641]

Nice job.

[@wyo1446]

The one thing that hampered Ford in 62 was the lack of a sleek roofline, the Starliner went away after 61, and the "semi fastback" didn't return until midyear 63.

[@GlassTopRX7]

Very similar to the Chevy but in this case I think Chevy hit the mark a bit better this time.

[@georgeniksich1152]

11 62 Starliners will built. Won Atlanta race. Then Nascar outlawed it.

[@wyo1446]

@@georgeniksich1152 Actually they were called "Starlift", a removable top used on convertible bodies. And you're right, only a handful were made before being banned from racing. Would be interesting to know if any still exist.

[@mescko]

@@wyo1446 They were a hasty bodge to try to skirt the rules, you couldn't even roll up the back windows!

[@bertamusprime618]

Who is that guy maxing and relaxing in the chair at 4:39? Is he the driver?

[@MuscleCarOfTheWeek]

You spied him! That's Doug - he's appeared in several videos before. Good eye!

[@kimmorrison9169]

I can assure you that this car (while racing that is ) did not sport 3.50 gears in the dif. Very nice example though. Unfortunately 406's were not the ticket for racing in '62. They regularly got their hat handed to them by almost all the other Super Stocker brands of that era.

[@wyo1446]

Don't forget "Dick Brannon"

[@steven-gw9sf]

You guys gotta do some none stock day two muscle cars. I’d like to see those

[@oldtown6240]

Something to look forward to on Fridays, but at 4:53 this video is more of a teaser clip. Doesn't a car like this deserve more attention?

[@eugeneschulte4950]

This is NOT a Galaxie 500. It's 1962 GALAXIE. NOT A 500.

[@AceHardy]

🏋🏽‍♀️🔥

[@413x398]

What dork just downvoted this?

[@tomgallagher1080]

❤️

[@N9IBZED]

My dad had the standard Galaxy not the 500 and definitely not the lightweight same yearvthough

[@huskyflylangley6053]

I love the four door full size slabs with big engines and four speeds. Sleeper City! I want to build a 65 custom 500, or Biscayne 4 door post. Big, comfortable, cheap to buy, and they look like grandma's car or a detective's car. Until you open up the taps. Will install 4 wheel disc brakes for the sake of everyone else on the road though.

[@GlassTopRX7]

Love these types of video's, the cars that aren't frequently talked about. Plus three 2bbl is just so American, it's like the blue collar setup that just happens to be sexier that duel quads ever if most stumble in practice. Also read this week that Corvette Mike may have the only 67 L88 corvette in existence which still has the original block, is it true the Brothers don't have one? No shame if they don't it mean they were used as intended just thought that was odd given that there are quite a few ZL1 powered cars with original blocks. Didn't Ford use one the lightest frames to begin with on their full size cars? GM full size frames are quite robust for mid size cars as well

[@bgh70]

Looks like 2 Holley 4bbl carbs to me.

[@GlassTopRX7]

@@bgh70 The 405hp used 3 Holley 2bbls the only other option was a single Holley 4bbl rated at 385hp. I think it might look that way because the first two carbs are mounted back to front to make it work with the manifold.

[@bgh70]

@@GlassTopRX7 This car has 2 Holley 4bbl carbs. May not have been factory installed, but that's what it has.

[@GlassTopRX7]

@@bgh70 I don't think so.

[@bgh70]

@@GlassTopRX7 Look at 0:49. That is 2 Holley 4bbl carbs.

[@williamhernandez9383]

Do the 1966 Mercury Monterey S55 427 next.

[@413x398]

Do you know if they have one?

[@williamhernandez9383]

@@413x398 I think 10 were ordered from the factory so at least 1 is out there in someones collection.

[@413x398]

@@williamhernandez9383 Lots of vids about 428-equipped versions. Maybe search Jalopnik for mention of a Medium Riser.

[@mescko]

@@413x398 Late last summer I saw a '66 428 4-speed S-55 on the street in a small town not far from where I live. Red, white roof, red int. Had the optional console mounted tach. I checked when I got home, I saw a near-unicorn 1 of 26.

[@anthonyc1883]

What? No rear seat delete?? lol

[@josebarraza4576]

Claudia

[@billthompson5644]

Why didn't they use the 427 ? Plus all of that work and money why didn't they just use a lighter car like the Fairlane?

[@MoultrieGeek]

The 427 didn't come out until '63. Ford upped the ante in '64 with the legendary 427 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt.

[@GlassTopRX7]

It's an FE block and there isn't much metal there for big bores. The 427 was a 4.23 bore was pushing it, any flaw in the casting would result in cracked block so the fact that any were let loose in the wild is surprising. The block was designed for a 4" max bore originally. Arguably they FE's aren't true big blocks they are in that same range as the Pontiac V8 between most big blocks and small blocks.

[@billthompson5644]

@@GlassTopRX7 I have a 460 my F250 four-wheel drive I swear to God my 352 did better I know my 390 did better

[@GlassTopRX7]

@@billthompson5644 The 352 would surprise me assume it was torque you were enjoying but the 390 not so much as it likely had more compression than the 460 and about the same stroke. However the 352 could have been in much lighter truck to begin with.