by Brian Keith Compton

Created on: September 04, 2009

The 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 was an understated muscle car. With its sleek lines and potential for horses under the hood, this automobile was the perfect fit for any race track.

I was violently shaken alive in the front seat of my brother's old sky blue Galaxie 500 when I was just a kid. I got a kick out of his 'oh sh*' handle on the glovebox, which he always told me to clutch before take off. That rocketmobile would eventually become graveyard scrap, but I'll never forget the vibrant comfort of bouncing on those leather seats.

The version of the Galaxie that arrived in a mid-year production run in 1963 had buyers salavating with the fall release of the '64 muscle car. Ford had built a more aerodynamic machine that could compete with Mopar on the oval and straight away tracks. With its box-top roof, the 63 1/2 model had revealed a new fastback design. Boxy, yet long and lean, it was meant to compete with the Chevy Impala.

A fastback model built by Dearborn Steel Tubing was more powerful than it's predecessors. With fiberglass and aluminum, sound deadener was removed from these cars to make you long for earplugs. A leaner machine meant leaving more rubber on the road. Galaxies like this were popular with the NHRA and NASCAR and even found success overseas in the UK.

The Ford Galaxie 500 XL was affordably priced and deemed durable and comfortable with decent road handling. The smallest engine offered in 1964 was a 289. Like many cars in its era, it was also marketed as a reliable family car, taking on many looks with the 2-door sedan, hardtop and convertible. Some owners had it equipped with a 427 cubic inch engine. Cranking out 425 horses under the hood, it was bolstered by an enormous dual four-barrel carburetor.

Car restorationists find the '64 Galaxie 500 XL to be durable and easy to rebuild, because of the great supply of replacement parts. This vehicle is also very easily modified. The 1963 1/2 Ford Galaxie XL would be a rare find today, as only 3,857 units produced. Its suggested street value tops out in the neighborhood of $90,000. A '64 version is valued around $15,000 less.

My brother can attest to the appeal of the Ford Galaxie 500, having found a rare R-code 427 muscle car stashed in an Upper Michigan warehouse several years ago. He was able to buy and restore the mid-year '63 model that was even more powerful than his first possession. The rebirth of this car show attention getter has certainly revived some fond memories from our past.

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