Ford Galaxie 1968 3 on the tree

[@davidgrisez]

The 1968 Ford Galaxie with a 3 on the tree. A car that is very different than anything made today. Full size six passenger American made car, body on a frame construction, rear wheel drive, large v8 engine, side vent windows, and a 3 speed column shift. Since I am 67 years old I remember cars like this. This car is a classic from an earlier era.

[@yabbadabbadoo8225]

Owned one of these in 81. White Vinyl roof and pepper red body Had a baby 390 in it and could laze about at 80 mph all day Forklift hand brake, 3 speed auto, Mk 4 aircon unit. Dual radiator pressure system, 150 psi rear adjustable shocks. Loved this wagon until it left a mountain dirt road one very wet day Funny thing is being a 2 ton car the fuel economy at 80 was brilliant

[@5610winston]

My '68 Falcon was a "three-on-the-tree". Freaked more than one of my friends out in the late '90s.

[@gwilson61]

Kids today have no idea what this is all about - it was good to watch!

[@clickr73]

Awesome sounding Alan’s designed galaxie! My grandpa had one, didn’t know how quiet they really were! The dashboard design looks more ahead of its time!

[@davedavis775]

Brings back memories of my aunt's 67 Galaxy 500. A white four door with auto trans and the 289 two barrel. It had a red interior and not many options. She kept it till 79 when she bought a LTD II two door in the same color combo. She said the 67 was a much better car.

[@thebestisyettocome4114]

6/2019 What an enjoyable video. It brings back some very fond memories when that car was in production. Thank you

[@aaronwilliams6989]

Looks and sounds bulletproof!

[@Bossrich6287]

That's rare,i remember seeing a old man driving a '64 galaxie with the 3 on the tree,i didn't know they had it as late as 1968.

[@TexasMan77]

roger b Think 1972 was the last year for manual 3 speed on ford cars.

[@Machi74005]

@@TexasMan77 Probably true. I know Ford continued them on trucks until atleast the mid to late 70's.

[@kennethsouthard6042]

I think Ford had it in the F-150 until 86 and full size vans till 87.

[@MisterMikeTexas]

When I was 2 my dad bought a new 66 candyapple red Galaxie club coupe with the "Big Six" and 3 on the tree. Much of my earliest memories involve me riding in that car. Dad traded it in the following year for a new Wimbledon White 67 4 door with the 390 and automatic. When he talked about the red Ford, he mentioned it was under-powered, and never really ran right.

[@tommynorth2391]

A dream car back in the day of a 16 year old who is now 65!

[@kathyguinto4585]

I felt like I was in the car riding with him,very soothing and relaxing.I'd love to have that car.It must be a lot of fun to drive.I've always loved standard shifts.John M Guinto

[@SPTSuperSprinter156]

I could watch this all day

[@monarch1957]

I drove a 68 Ford van years ago with a six cylinder and 3 speed transmission

[@carguy5511]

Last year for 3 speed manual in a big Ford was 1971 and only with the 240 6 cylinder engine or the 302 and 351W engines.

[@5610winston]

I worked in a service station (remember service stations?). Three-speeds were still seen, well, not frequently, but the ones I remember most were a brand-new Torino coupe and a '71 Galaxie wagon. Then there was a customer whose '70 Buick Estate Wagon was a column-shift stick. That Buick was a handful.

[@burningempire666]

I got a '68 4-door as well. Mine is an automatic 302 though. I don't think I would want to deal with a 3 on the tree

[@johnbroughton3401]

I had a couple of those back in the day. Don't remember them being that noisy inside. The XL was a rag top 390/C6 and the Galaxie was a fastback 390/3 SP.

[@Jgeneraledger23]

Its so weird seeing a car hauling ass with the shifter up in the air. Its like its on a car carrier ;)

[@discerningmind]

At 2:59 and 4:53 I hear that classic beautiful Ford sound! And of course a number of times after these. I can tell it's a tight car and drives good. For anyone who doesn't know, this is a perfect example of Ford from the sixties, and Ford at their best. Judging by the pick up on it, I'm guessing it's a 352? Thanks so much for the enjoyable ride!

[@thespeez]

The 352 was discontinued after '66.

[@RodBeauvex]

390

[@MisterMikeTexas]

​@@RodBeauvexOr does this car have the 289?

[@MisterMikeTexas]

Love that transmission whine!!

[@kathyguinto4585]

Me too,something very calming,soothing and relaxing about this video.Just listening to the whine of that transmission is enough to put me to sleep.Just getting into a car like this and listening to the whine of the transmission after a long hard day at work must be in and of itself a great way to unwind and relax,and just let the stress just melt away.John M Guinto

[@GearheadExplorer85]

+virtualudrive Is that a bullet hole in the windshield? lol Looks and sounds like a awesome car.

[@timstill152]

It's like flying on a magic couch.

[@scarbourgeoisie]

I had a buddy as a kid who's dad had a '68 white Galaxie fastback with a three on the tree. This thing seems to just glide.

[@dennisleporte2327]

bullet hole from 68' Chicago riots ! XD

[@B3burner]

Dennis LePorte >>> Hah! Yeah I noticed that too! I guess whoever was shooting missed!

[@glennredwine289]

Wow, I didn't realize they offered 3 spd manuals on a vehicle this late. Nice thing about column shifters is that you can make a narrower car and still offer 3 across seating. straight sixes are great motors too.

[@davidphelan8951]

i believe Cruise-o-Matic became standard equipment on all full-size Fords beginning with the 1972 model year

[@henrymarelli4201]

Had a 67 Custom with the 3.03, everyone wanted to put it on the floor but I stood my ground. The column shift was too fun to modify like that. Great car.

[@Texassince1836]

3 speed collumn shift manuals were last offered in the 1987 Half ton Chevy truck.

[@boggy7665]

While looking for a used car, came across a 1969 Bel Air with, iirc, a 350, and column shift.

[@charlescrisp2814]

that is a beautiful ford love the engine sound too

[@RitzyTrailerII]

i don't know what's cooler - seeing that ol' 3-on-the-tree Ford, or when i recognized the area, when you turned off of Hector street and i was like: ... "No WAAAAAY!!" Very cool vid! Thanks for this one. Is that old girl still in the area? That was one nice Galaxie!

[@tomsnyder6955]

You don't see a 3 on the tree transmission anymore

[@malveezy]

It scares me how much you have to turn the steering wheel before it responds and the adjustments to keep it straight, but yea that was cars back in the day guess you get used to it. Always found 3 on the tree very intriguing, only one I've gotten to drive was an old Morris Oxford and that was interesting.

[@MattsRageFitGarage]

It takes some getting used to. Those old cars don't have near as fast as a steering ratio as the newer cars do. My 64 galaxie takes about a full turn more lock to lock than my 99 grand marquis does.

[@davidgrisez]

I noticed twice in the video that the driver shifted to first gear while the car was still moving, showing that this 3 speed transmission had synchromesh on all three speeds. Many of these three speed gearshifts had synchronizers only on second and third gear, you had to come to a stop to shift into first.

[@thespeez]

I believe that for Ford, the first year for a fully-synchronized gearbox was 1966. Even then, you could only get it in the V8s. I believe that by '67, all Fords had a fully synchronized gearbox.

[@Texassince1836]

GM went full synchro in 66 (for comparison), BUT shifting down to an unsynchronized gear without stopping only requires a little skill. Ive done it several times.

[@bobcarlino7280]

@@thespeez Ford made full-synchro standard equipment on all full-size Fords & Mercurys with the 3-speed (regardless of the engine...including the inline-6 in the Fords) beginning in the 1963 model year. In that same year, full-synchro was standard on all V-8-powered FoMoCo products. Full-synchro became standard on all 3-speed FoMoCo products (regardless of the engine) beginning with the 1967 model year.

[@nathanduckeorth806]

Very cool!!

[@kramnull8962]

This must have been in the low 40,000 mile to 60,000 range LTD. My Dads 68 pickup withe a 3 on the tree had NO click or clunk to the shifter at all. Of course it had 200,000 when he bought it in 81... Shifted smooth as hot butter spreading on toast...

[@davidallen5776]

By the time this came out, most people specified a slushbox!

[@79tazman]

The old 3 on the tree was the first manual I ever drove it was in a 72 chevy pickup Farmtruck with a straight 6 and I was only 12 or 13 at the time

[@ffarmchicken]

79tazman We are the same! My very first time driving was a 66 GMC pickup with three on the tree, straight six, at 12 when I could depress the clutch enough. My dad always let me drive the last couple of miles home, scared my mom too! 😎

[@5610winston]

My '51 Commander Starlight had one with overdrive. Studebaker sold a lot of the Borg Warner OD units.

[@Imnotyourdoormat]

I like the motor.......

[@brianhdueck3372]

There were not a lot of full size 3 on the tree cars. Novel to say the least!

[@thespeez]

Which engine does it have? My family had a 1967 Ranch Wagon when I was growing up that also had a 3-on-the-tree. I learned to drive on that car.

[@saintkevin5286]

O 390cu

[@nickscustoms269]

Very nice.

[@kramnull8962]

The waves were rough this day...

[@jondstewart]

Does the car have power steering? I’m thinking it’s pretty tough driving that if it isn’t. I always wanted to drive my neighbor’s 1970 Ford Maverick that was a 3 on the tree

[@aaronwilliams6989]

Looks like that thing can go pretty DOGGONE fast even in 2nd gear!

[@frankdominguez3734]

Cool video, thanks for posting. I have the same car, only mine is a Custom which is the bottom of the barrel base model. I'm currently having trouble replacing the column shift linkage, particularly the 2nd and 3rd gear parts. I was wondering if you could, take some video of the linkage parts under the hood, from the steering column all the way down to the transmission levers? I'm trying to re-fabricate the parts but I need a factory original sample to copy in order to get all the angles right. I would really appreciate this huge favor! If there was any similar service I could help you with I would! I see your brake light stays on on your dash, I had the same problem and fixed it, no big secret but I would be happy to explain in depth. Thanks either way!! BTW, what size engine you have there?

[@virtualudrive]

I sold it. If I still had it I'd be happy to help you out any way possible.

[@frankdominguez3734]

Ok Thanks

[@6sexysize]

Thanks !!!

[@jacquespoirier9071]

much better than the automatic version.

[@donchamberlain3061]

Neat Galaxie.

[@billyg3424]

wow river road i know where your at

[@jeffring1222]

302 V8 ?

[@BruceDavis-p3v]

Fast 3 on the tree 1968 ford galaxie

[@thespeez]

Which engine does it have?

[@octopus680]

Take a look at mine

[@RodBeauvex]

All 13 seconds of it. :/

[@octopus680]

@@RodBeauvex Better than nowt, my videos are getting longer now.

[@Escobar87325]

Does anyone know where to buy body parts for this car quarter panels front fenders and doors etc please reponds.... Thanks

[@5610winston]

What's the red light to the left on the dash?

[@davidphelan8951]

parking brake warning light? the one on my '65 Galaxie comes on when I start the car then starts blinking red after about half a minute if the brake isn't released

[@DJSI3434]

Anyone know where I can get me one?

[@butterswishflamingconserva1488]

What's under the hood? 289 or 390?

[@virtualudrive]

390.

[@mitch9521]

The last year for the 289 was 1967. The base V8 would have been the 302

[@thespeez]

I thought the 289 carried on through '68.

[@mitch9521]

Nope.

[@thespeez]

Two- or four-barrel?

[@butterswishflamingconserva1488]

It sounds like a V8, is it a 289, or 390?

[@MisterMikeTexas]

289 or 390?

[@burningempire666]

'68s switched to a 302. although I'm not sure if it pertains to the 3-speed column shifter variety or not

[@thespeez]

Where in Pennsylvania is this?

[@dicarlo57]

is this a galaxie or a custom/custom 500?

[@bobcarlino7280]

The interior trim, plus the painted outside window frames (vs. chrome), indicate that the car in the video is a Custom or Custom 500.