This week’s fan car Friday is brought to us by James and his 1963-1/2 Galaxie Fastback. Fan Car Friday is a segment where we want to share with the world the automobiles that our fans have. We have absolutely no affiliation/relationship with the cars, the build or the owners. This post was made with written consent from the owner.

James purchased this car back in 2010 with the idea of purchasing a car that was just bad enough that he could still restore it without having every tool and bit of knowledge like the guys on TV have. Being a first time buyer, he purchased this site unseen from a guy on craigslist a few states away. Like James, the seller couldn’t identify an engine simply by looking into the engine bay. After trailering it back on a U-Haul carrier he had started taking it apart and learning how to fix things as he went as he went. Which is when he learned the car he just purchased came with a 427. After much searching and going through the car he learned that this Galaxie has a factory 427 4 speed Q code option with R code factory dual quads and manifold. It was then that he decided this small time restoration had to be done right to give the car the justice it deserved.

He completely redid the 427 with new rebuilt (original) carbs, hi-temp paint, hoses, radiator was reworked, the heads were reworked, everything was rebored and polished. The T-10 4 speed was rebuilt as was the clutch.
Once he finished the most important aspect of this car he moved onto the body where he rebuilt the suspension, shocks, frame, added new brakes and completely stripped the car to paint it a Rangoon Red 2 Stage Paint. If anything else on the car could be ceramic coated, it was.

Everything from the buttons to the capacitors were replaced on the radio to make it as healthy as can be, the clock was rebuilt to keep time and run quite a bit quieter. The interior was completely redone and virtually everything was replaced that wasn’t made of metal.

This car was completely stripped down to its bare skeleton meaning everything on the car was rebuilt or replaced. What started off as a car that was going to be his long term retirement project became something that required him to work a few more years to pay it off after discovering what he had. And James has no complaints about that.

He says his favorite thing about the car is how it is perfect. He stores it in a heated garage, it has never seen rain or water since its rebirth and everything on it was carefully worked on. He says at the rate this is being kept, his great grandkids will be able to enjoy the car…if there is still gas to be had.