1963-1/2 Galaxie 500xl Factory 427/4-spd Q-code Original V Code Chestnut Paint on 2040-cars

 I hate long, boring, detail and fact filled narratives about vehicles, 'cause if you're looking at this, you probably know the facts. I will simply say this.......All 427 Fords are awesome!!!!!!!!! This is a Q-code 427, which means it has a single 780 Holley carb where most had two. I say "most" 'cause there were approximately 1000 Q-code cars built and nearly 4000 R-code (2-carb) cars built. Needless to say, the Q-codes were produced to compete in NASCAR. This makes the Q-code much more rare than the R-code. Other than the carb, the differences were negligible. The Q-code was rated at 410HP and the R-code at 425HP.

Now....a little history.  This car was sold new in Globe, Arizona, and traded in at a Ford dealership in Glendale, Arizona. The fellow I bought the car from, about 4 years ago, bought it in around 1966, and traded in a nice '62 Galaxie convert. Ironically, his last name is Ford. He drove the car for a couple years, then noticed low oil pressure. The dealer rebuilt the original 427, but went a step further. They told Mr. Ford that Ford had made better pistons available, which upped the compression ratio. They are similar to the ones used in the Thunderbolts, except they bump the ratio to 12.5:1. They are made by TRW and have a Ford part number, C7AE-6110. The dealership also noted that the weak T-10 had been replaced by Ford's new toploader. Naturally, one was installed, with close ratio gears. Mr. Ford had the original T-10 rebuilt, and it will be included with the sale of the car. In 1971, this great cruizer became a Sunday driver, and was not driven at all after 1984. In about 1976, Mrs. Ford suprised her hubby by having the seats re-upholstered in leather, in the same matching color as the original. This is the current upholstery. When I bought the car, it had not been started since 1991. At some point, the Holley was removed, and replaced with an Edelbrock, but was never hooked up or run. I have rebuilt the original "780", and it is included with the car. The only non-original parts are the air cleaner, which looks like the original, the tranny, but the original is included, and the shift linkage, which is a Hurst unit. Every piece of glass in this car is original, including the windshield!!!!

Let's move on to today. When I bought this great car, it had sat for many years, and the engine gaskets had dried out, allowing antifreeze to get to the camshaft, so a rebuild was in order. I made a couple mistakes when going through this monster. I hate changing things that have been in place for many years, even though they may not be original. This was the case when it came to pistons. Looking back, I should have installed stock units, as our new gas is not conducive to use with 12.5:1 pistons. I use octane boosters or a mixture of 110 racing fuel and premium pump gas. I also installed a HP/HV oil pump. This would have been fine, except I did not change the rocker shaft supports to restrict the oil flow to the top end. A simple fix, I just haven't done it. If I run it hard, it simply flows too much oil to the top of the heads. I went to Comp Cams for a new camshaft, as I heard they make units specifically for this application. They have designed a cam that compensates for our lousy fuel, and keeps the power level as close as possible to the original. It works!!!!   Mr. Ford did not remember changing the rear gear, but I feel it has a little lower gear than stock. It came with a 350 unit, and seems to wind up a little tighter at speed than my 390 4-spd does with a 350. Could be my imagination, but the bitch'n Air-guide tach doesn't lie.

Outside.........You ain't gonna believe this, but it's true!!!!!!! MOST OF THE PAINT IS ORIGINAL.........The hood, top, trunk, and most of the fenders, is all original paint, dating to 1963.......I asked Mr. Ford how this could be, how he kept it that nice. His answer, simple, I waxed it with Vista Wax every two weeks, period. Judge for yourselves, is it beautiful or what??????   I had to threaten the shop where I had the paintwork done, to keep him from painting where it wasn't necessary. The front of the hood had dumbass dents from pushing down to close, and he wanted in the worst of ways to fix and blend in the paint. Not a chance.....You buy the car, and you can repaint. I just couldn't do it. By the way, I have the front fender scripts, I just haven't installed them. The bumpers and trim are okay for a driver, and again, all the glass is original. This car has never had any rust, period......

"Why don't you replace those ugly wheels"  I can't tell you how many times I've heard that. Well, in the trunk, on the back of the lid, is the installation record of the tires that were on this car when I got it. The wheels went on at the same time. That would be in 1973......They were made by Fenton, and since they have been there for the past 41 years, I just couldn't change them. I even bought a set of NOS dogdishes to put on original rims (which I do not have), and still just couldn't do it. The plan was to pickup a set of wheels from Wheel Vintique, to match the original. When I had the new tires installed, the entire front end was checked out. The only thing needed was a new idler arm. It drives like a new car, I kid you not!!!!!

Inside, all is original, and everything but the clock works. Actually, it moves sometimes, so probably just needs to be cleaned. As mentioned above, there is an old Air-guide tack, and there is a "reverberator" unit in the trunk. The radio works fine. Needless to say, this is a non PS and non PB car. There are no tears in the upholstery, although the driver seat needs new padding. The drivers door arm rest needs to be replaced. The dash has shrunk up a tad in the corners, and lifted. I don't know if that can be fixed, or it has to be replaced. It's amazing how much more comfy the seats are, being done in leather.

I have installed new brakes, and exhaust from those magnificent long style cast headers back, using pro-flow long, round, mufflers that look like the original, but sound great. This critter sounds like a solid lifter monster should, and is a joy to run though the gears with that close ratio toploader.

I have only driven this puppy about 500 miles since the rebuild, and hate to sell it, but other responsibilities beckon. Go to the HAMB, traditional customs, gene winfield custom found, and you will see why this great musclecar must go. Hopefully, any true car guy would do the same.    Any questions, feel free to email through the listing, or call me......(208) 695-3956   Bruce   

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On May-18-14 at 18:59:11 PDT, seller added the following information:

 Wow.......If anyone would like more pictures of this critter, please call with your email, or request through the Ebay response. I think that I can attach pics to my response. The question below has me a tad concerned. The door panels are in wonderful, original condition. The carpets are a little stained, not much. The foot pad is excellent. The steering wheel is cracked  in a couple areas, and I suspect that's why Mr. Ford installed the wheel wrap. I did not put that on. The decals on the windows are vintage, and I simply couldn't remove them. I have lots of pictures, I just didn't catch the option of adding more than 12 before I pulled the trigger.
Again, this is not a "restored" car, but it is very original and not messed with.
Notice the added wires in the engine compartment. The hot wire to the coil shorted out against the head, and burnt part of the underhood engine harness. I added the wires to fix, and bought a new engine harness. It plugs into the firewall plug. It will be included with the sale, or I can install it.
I mentioned that the seats had been re-upholstered in leather. They are very nice, and follow as close as possible to the original design. The panel below the rear window, on the inside is very nice.
Again, ask if you have questions or want pictures. The reserve is set as a nice original driver, not a perfect car. Rest assured, you will not be disappointed.