Full - sizedFordsof the 1962 - 1964 era might well be labeled the " forgotten Fords . " The Ford from this period that the public remembers is the Mustang . Even the house decorator of the other Sixties Fords have forgotten a good deal of the item , although the 1962 - 1964 Fordengineswere powerful for their time . Only very of late have thesecarsemerged as collectibles , especially the Galaxie 500 / XL model .
Ford Image Gallery
President Ford of the period had their origin in the 118 - in - wheelbase 1957 Fairlane . While dead body styling changed dramatically from year to year , inner dead body control board and floor Pan changed very small . The wheelbase was increased a mere inch in 1960 , and remain at 119 inches through 1968 . However , 1965 and late model have a dramatically different " perimeter " physique .
The key to the era ’s big Fords was engines . The mighty 390 Thunderbird Special was introduce in 1961 and remained the basis of all big - block Ford performance engines for years to occur . basically , Ford engineers bored and stroked the 352 . Whilehorsepowerremained at 300 , as on 1960 ’s top street engine , the 390 ’s torsion was increase to 427 pound - feet at the same 2,800 rpm . For police - enforcement agencies and enthusiasts , Ford offered a 330 - horsepower manufacturing plant that reached its peak at 5,000 rpm . It boast square weightlifter , a high-pitched - face lifting cam , header exhaust fumes manifolds , and other goodies .
Next up was a 375 - H.P. ( at 6,000 rpm ) stochastic variable . Its high-pitched - performance block had a stronger bottom final stage , an excess oil pressure relief valve , larger oil passage , and other small-scale modification . Heads were the same as on the standard version . Available in all exemplar except wagons , it was strictly a racing engine . Later in the year this locomotive engine became available in triple two - barrel carb var. , generate 401 H.P. .
Ford rush along into 1962 with basically the 1961 lineup of engines : A 223 - cubic - in six , 292 V-8 , 352 V-8 , 300- and 330 - horsepower 390s , and , at the beginning of the year , beefed - up 390s producing 375 or 401 sawbuck . The 352 and 390s ( save for the 401 - horsepower plant ) utilize undivided four - barrel carburetor .
Early in the 1962 model twelvemonth Ford replaced the 375- and 401 - horsepower 390s with the 406 , available in two versions : 385 horsepower with a four - bbl carburetor , or 405 horsepower with triple two - barrel carburettor . Both peaked at 5,800 rpm . This engine was get out to compete withChevrolet , Pontiac , and Dodge engine that now were all over 400 cubic inch . The 406 enjoy a thicker - walled block than the heavy - responsibility 390 , the concretion ratio was up to 11.4:1 , Piston and rods were tough , and exhaust fumes valves were big .
Transmission options were as wide-ranging asThe Music Man ’s wardrobe . All locomotive engine except the 406 came with a three - speedmanual transmissionstandard . Overdrive was optional . The six , the 292 V-8 , and the 352 V-8 offer an optional Fordomatic two - amphetamine that had been around with some improvement since 1951 . Three - speed Cruise - O - Matic was available with the 292 , 352 , and 390 . Late in the 1961 example twelvemonth a Borg - Warner four - speed manual transmittance was sum for the 352 and 390 ; this was the only transmission uncommitted for the high - carrying into action 406s .
The 1962 was among the last Fords style under the direction of George Walker . At the end of 1961 he had a fall out with Henry Ford II because he urge his " best-loved son , " Elwood Engel , for the position of chief stylist at Chrysler . When " The Deuce " come wind of this , he quickly sent Walker and his well - stock wardrobe packing . Walker retire to become the mayor of Delray Beach , Florida . But before he did , he approved the styling of the 1962 and possibly the 1963 model .
Bodies for 1962 were very interchangeable to those of 1961 , with enough trimness and soundbox instrument panel changes to make buyers intend otherwise . The rudimentary fins were clip in 1962 in keeping with an industriousness trend . In an effort to make the pear-shaped tail - light appear new , they were dropped down into a graven rearward bumper . While retaining the overall dimensions from 1961 , there was a new cap instrument panel and roof rail , new upper back panel , rear quarter panels , deck lid , lower back gore , rear flooring country , and rearward crossmember . A flatter grill replaced the concave style of 1961 .
There also was some manakin reshuffle . With the Fairlane and Fairlane 500 names consign to the raw - for-1962 intermediate job , full - sized Fords resided in the Galaxie 100 and Galaxie 500 serial . The Galaxie 100 was uncommitted only as two- and four - door sedans . The Galaxie 500 came in these body manner plus two - and four - threshold Victoria hardtops , and a Sunliner convertible security . The station black Maria agate line consisted of a six - rider Ranch Wagon , six- and nine - rider Country Sedans , and six- and nine - rider Country Squires . All wagon were four - doors . Dropped for 1962 were the prominent , airy Starliner two - room access hardtop , and the two - door Ranch Wagon , a Ford staple since 1952 .
For more information on different types of machine , see :
1962 Ford Galaxie 500/XL
Ninteen sixty - two was the year of " The Lively Ones fromFord . " Liveliest of all were the 1962 Galaxie 500 / XLs , a mid - twelvemonth - editionconvertibleand two - door hardtop sporting bucketful seats and a shopping center console , but not necessarily hotengines . ( received motivation came from the 138 - horsepowersix . )
For several years Ford had resisted putting buckets and a console in its top - line wandflower , hoping to keep the Thunderbird distinctive . But by 1962 so many rival offered this software in standard example that the knob in Dearborn could no longer push aside the trend .
Standard 500 / XL equipment included special wheel blanket and exterior designation , chrome - trimmed console table with fancy sceneshifter , and luxe front bucket and rearward semi - bucket hindquarters . room access and side clipping panels were emphasize with chrome - like Mylar .
There were seven hearty interior color , and nearly all of Ford ’s exterior colors were eventally made useable . The base price of the 500 / XL two - door hardtop was $ 3,268 ; with a bigger engine and other options you could easily start the XL up into the $ 5,000 range .
Some young options for the 1962 Galaxies were two - amphetamine electricwindshield wipers , magnate windowswith a condom lock , load - leveling jar absorbers , a remote - control torso lid release , and seat belt ammunition anchorman ( thoughseat beltswere still optional ) . Transistorizedignitionwas introduce in March .
Ford continued its program of long - interval sustainment with 30,000 - nautical mile chassis lubrication and an allowable 6,000 miles between oil changes . Radiator coolant was publicise as being good for two years . All unmarried damper were fortified with aluminizing , and dual mufflers were fabricated from aluminized sword .
exceptional care was given to eubstance areas prone to rusting . Nylon bushing were employed to reduce lubrication and vesture , and many more parts were plat to stave in off corrosion . The 12,000 - naut mi or one - year warrantee programme entered its second class .
The 19Â62 Ford Galaxies were introduced September 29 , 1961 ; by simulation class - end 704,775 of them – including wagons – had been produced , a decrease of 86,723 from 1961 . ( However , total Ford production was up by more than 220,000 unit of measurement . )
1962 Ford Racing
By 1962Ford’squality control program , begun in 1959 and help by the 1962 Ford racing programme , was designate results . Since 1946 Ford had its good and not so good years . Some years trunk were improved , some yearsengineswere better , some years had better interiors , better chrome metal plating , or just pigment .
But no Ford was as good in as many respects as the 1961 . The 1962 models had even practiced overall quality control , and the 1963 and 1964 Fords were honorable still . During these years Ford was acquire a pot from the projectile industriousness to drive bugs out of its product and make itscarsreliable in every face .
A second aspect of Ford ’s timber control program was its racing enquiry . Contrary to popular belief , Ford did not rush in these years only to sell cars . During the early Sixties , Ford was seriously committed to push its cars around the tracks until the wheel literally fall off . From the lessons of stock car challenger , the road - kick the bucket gravid Fords extracted new freedom from tune drag and pull ahead fabulous layer of railway locomotive performance and durability .
Ford andPontiacslugged it out on the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing ( NASCAR)superspeedwaycircuit in 1962 , with Ford gaining a flimsy border in the eight major subspecies at the Daytona , Darlington , Charlotte , and Atlanta speedways ( four wins to three for Pontiac , and one forChevrolet ) .
But that was n’t the whole picture . Pontiac dominated the NASCAR Grand National time of year with 22 triumph ; Ford took only six wins out of 52 races insert , its worst year in NASCAR since 1955 . Ford ’s major problems were nonaerodynamic Galaxie roofline styling and cracks in early 406 blocks . ( redesign mental block bring in out later on in the racing time of year proved much worthier . )
for certain the driver were not to blame . Ford had the best of them , including Nelson Stacy , Fred Lorenzen , Marvin Panch , Larry Frank , Norm Nelson , Bill Cheesbourg , and Troy Ruttman . The real bottom personal line of credit was that the 1962 Ford Galaxie with the 406 was simply no mates for the Pontiac 421 . In an attempt to even the grievance a number , Ford came up with a bolt - on " Starlift " fastback cap forconvertiblesthat bore some resemblance to the slipperier Starliner hardtop ceiling of 1960 - 1961 .
For reason so complex it would take another article to explain them , NASCAR disallowed the Starlifts after they were used in one backwash . These roofs are now a rarified detail , and any 1962 convertible so fit is a genuine find . ( On the brusk United States Auto Club racecourse , where aeromechanics was n’t so enceinte a factor , Ford did much upright . )
likewise , in the drags , Pontiacs and Chevrolets clean house Ford clocks . For Ford fan , 1962 was a racing season best forgotten . But help was on the style on all fronts .
1963 Ford
The 1963Fordsarrived with the 406 - cubic - inchenginestill available at 385 or 405horsepower . But after the first of the year , it was replaced by the unexampled 427 . It was not a all raw engine , but a 406 bored out by one - tenth of an inch . ( In fact , it was n’t a " 427 " at all , but a 425 - cubic - column inch unit ; it gained two cube on paper in deference toNASCAR’sthen - current displacement limit . ) But it did have cross - bolted mainbearingcaps , a newfangled side art gallery oiling organisation , a forged steel crank , wedge - form combustion chamber , big valves , and solid lifters . The compression proportion stood at 11.5:1 .
This engine was rated at 410 horsepower with a four - barrel carburetor or 425 with two Holley four - barrels atop its aluminum manifold paper . The street version of the 410 - cavalry locomotive could be ordered with an optional transistorizedignition . Like the 406 before it , the 427 was uncommitted only with a four - speedmanual transmission system .
The powerful and durable 427 hit the tracks in tandem bicycle with another new detail – a sloping " slantback " hardtop roof intent that reduce the retarding force from the more formal Thunderbird - inspired style . It ’s long been contended that this semi - fastback design was make primarily for racing role . " Not so , " says Joe Oros , who was Ford Division Chief Stylist during this period .
disregardless of the motive behind its design and engineering efforts . Ford had its most famed NASCAR season to date in 1963 . Dan Gurney gain ground the inaugural event in January the Riverside 500 . From there , Fords catch every race of 500 miles or more : the Daytona 500 , with Tiny Lund at the wheel ; the Atlanta 500 and the Charlotte World 600 , with Fred Lorenzen on board ; and the Southern 500 , with new Ford convert Fireball Roberts in the chair . When the 55 - race time of year was over , Fords had pull ahead 23 time – including one reaching of seven straight – to runner - up Plymouth ’s 19 triumphs .
" full Performance , " Ford ’s advertizing claim for 1963 , was a minute hard to find at the nation ’s dragstrips . A special dual - quad 427 with a wilder Cam River and 12.0:1 compression proportion was cover , as was a fleet of 50 lightweight Galaxie slantbacks pared down to 3,425 pounds .
Although equal to of ETs in the low-down 12 - second range , the Fords still were heavier and boring than their rivals , and were shut out of the National Hot Rod Association championship pic . Come 1964 , the division ’s drag racing hope would more successfully dislodge to a raucous in high spirits - hike multiplex version of the 427 stuffed into special midsized Fairlanes .
Ford ’s more distinctive customers constitute enough new in 1963 , as well . Galaxie outer skins were thoroughly restyled with some side sculpturing , highlighted by a striking car - length beltline crinkle , replacing the slab - sided look of 1962 . A concave wicket come back , but now it bore a floating Ford crest that doubled as the hood release door latch .
The key signature taillights move up above the bumpers and lent their rotundity to the top of the rear quarter panels . Galaxie five hundred and XLs featured a bold bi - level side chrome discussion , seven hasheesh bull’s eye on each rearward fender , and a rearward board that reprised the front grille design . The instrument panel was whole redesigned for the first fourth dimension since 1960 .
There was a gravid reorganisation in the framework lines . A novel stripped - down 300 series added two- and four - door sedan for under $ 2,400 . Meanwhile , the low - destruction Ranch Wagon go away . The Galaxie 500 / XL line was amplify with the exit of a $ 3,333 Town Victoria four - threshold hardtop . Then at mid - year Ford added the " slantback " sportsman Hardtop in the Galaxie 500 and 500 / XL origin . Despite its previous arrival , 134,370 copies of the " 1963 1/2 Sports Hardtop were produced ( including 100,500 as Galaxie 500s ) to 79,446 of the courtly hardtop .
While the 223 - cubic - in six remained the received engine for all but XLs , there were eleven V-8s offered , just not all at the same prison term . At the polar end of the spectrum from the two 427s was a 260 - cubic - inch substitution for the 292 . In the spring a 289 supplanted the 260 . These two were the standard XL engine . The 352 was still available , as was the 390 , range at 300 or 330 horsepower , each with a four - barrel carburettor .
Fordomatic was offered only with the six and pocket-size V-8s . The 352 and 390s could be had with Cruise - oxygen - Matic , the four - speed Borg - Warner gearbox , or a new three - speed manual transmittance with full synchronization that made depressed a performance gear .
New to the option inclination was the Swing - Awaysteering wheel . Major lubrication separation were upped to 36,000 land mile from 30,000 miles .
In the April 1963 issue ofMotor Trend , Jim Wright clocked an XL exchangeable with a 300 - H.P. 390 and Cruise - O - Matic at 9.8 seconds to 60 miles per hour with a top speed of 107 . He was especially impressed with Ford ’s improve , firmersuspension .
A rising tide of Ford sale land up production of full - sized railcar , of which 845,292 units were made , up 140,517 from 1962 .
1964 Ford
The 1964Fordsplayed to expectant critical and popular acclaim . The entire 1964 blood was namedMotor Trend ’s " Carof the Year " for " the concept of Total Performance base on high performance testing in open contention . " The full - sized cars receive another reskinning and enough refinements to make them arguably the o.k. Fords of the Sixties .
exterior were inspired by a number of aerodynamically style show cars of the period , particularly the Torino , which became a mannikin in its own right wing in 1968 . Joe Oros , Ford ’s main stylist in this era , recall that one class Ford andMercury"changed hats " ; that is , the pattern slate to become the Ford was made the Mercury and the planned Mercury became a Ford . Oros is not certain of the twelvemonth , but 1964 is the likeliest possibleness .
Taillights remained pear-shaped , but were dip into a sharply butt on rear cove . Oros and stylist John Foster have indicate out how difficult it was to retain the round taillights , yet make them bet unlike every year . In 1965 Ford commit up , going to orthogonal taillights for their full - sized cars ( save for the low - priced Customs , which sported a round lens in a rectangular bezel ) . Thus a major Ford styling theme date back to 1952 finally was retired .
The low-pitched - tear 300 of 1963 became the Custom serial publication for 1964 , with the base Galaxie of late days rechristened the Custom 500 . Galaxie 500 and XL notch - back two - door hardtops were stricken from the catalogue , and four - door hardtops adopted the look of the successful Sports Hardtop roofline . Even the back windows on sedan – such as the two - doorway Galaxie 500 , which made its concluding visual aspect in the descent – have on a racier rake .
Enginesremained unchanged except for the 352 , which picked up a four - barrelful carb and an additional 30horsepower . Cruise - O - Matic was now the stock transmission on the XLs , and Fordomatic was no longer usable on any full - sized Ford .
Motor Trendtested two model , a Galaxie 500 / XL four - door hardtop with a 390 , and a two - door hardtop with a 427 . The four - doorway storm over tight , twist mountain road at in high spirits stop number , and never once did the four - barrel carburettor cough or flood , even during maximum - effort cornering .
Acceleration was impregnable all the way up to a top swiftness of 108 miles per hour , with no monotonous dapple along the way . The 0 - 60 time was a respectable 9.3 seconds . thriftiness was nothing to call your female parent about , average 11.4 mpg on exchange premium fuel over 1,500 statute mile of wide-ranging - condition drive . MT ’s 427 - powered two - door , unencumbered by power options , raced to 60 in a rattling 7.4 seconds .
On the tracks , the year started out like 1963 , with Gurney repeating as Riverside 500 friend and Fords localise 2d , third , and fifth . But the top - five sweep in the 1963 Daytona 500 was reverse in 1964 by plain bad luck and the controversial arrival of the 426 - cubic - inch Hemi inChryslerproducts .
Plymouth carry the first three slots . Ford ’s racing honchos resist and asked to be let to flow an experimental overhead - camshaft locomotive engine . NASCARofficials sour them down , but said they would permit Fords and Mercurys have a reduce - down rendering of the high - riser 427 conconcted for retarding force racing . ( The intake manifold on that locomotive engine was so tall that lightweight Galaxies and Fairlane Thunderbolts for the strip required a teardrop - shape hood bubble to reset the air cleanser . )
Ford bounce back at the Atlanta 500 , withFred Lorenzentaking the checkered iris . He make headway the Rebel 300 at Darlington and a total of eight wash that twelvemonth , but not the World 600 at Charlotte , a scene of disaster for Ford .
early on in the race , Galaxie pilots Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett embroil and birl on the backstretch . Fireball Roberts lost control endeavor to forefend them , and struck the rampart , his lavender No . 22 Ford alternate over in flames . Jarrett struggle from his own combustion car and helped his rival struggle free of the Hell , but the critically burned Roberts – one of NASCAR ’s greats – died six weeks later .
Still , when the terminal tally was in . Ford had get ahead 30 Grand Nationals , more than double as many as 2d billet Dodge , and more than Ford had ever win before . Jarrett alone visit the winner ’s round 15 times , mostly on little caterpillar track .
Total Galaxie and Custom output for 1964 was 923,232 , up crisply over 1963 . The most pop Ford of any kind that year was the Galaxie 500 two - doorway hardtop , with 206,998 unit of measurement produced .
It seemed Ford had saved the best for last in the generation of cars that debuted in 1960 . The 1965 - 1966 Fords were fast cars on the tracks , but not sound cable car all around . Other than engines , 1965 Fords were about as much like the 1964 models as an Alfred Hitchcock thriller was like aJames Bondfantasy . time vary , tastes transfer , and in the mid - Sixties , things were changing tight .
1962-1964 Ford Models, Prices, Production
The full - sized 1962 - 1964Fordmodels were overshadowed in their own metre by the democratic Mustang . In recent years , however , these " forgotten " Fords have become collector ' items . witness models , prices , and output of the 1962 - 1964 Fords in the following chart.1962 Ford Models , Prices , and Production :
1963 Ford Models , Prices , and output :
1964 Ford Models , Prices , and Production :
