Register now to get rid of these ads!

'63-'67 ford/mercury 427 "r" cars

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by frank spittle, Feb 25, 2011.

  1. Have you tracked down Bud Shellenberger? He worked at King Ford for awhile and ran their T-bolt. I've heard he has a very nice photo collection. I have no idea how to contact him but last I heard he is still in Maryland.
     
  2. Thanks TroubleMaker: I'll turn this info over to my friend. I did search the T-Bolt thread and his name came up in a thread, but no contact info...
    Stan
     
  3. macshemi
    Joined: May 31, 2014
    Posts: 2

    macshemi
    Member

    Here's info on my 1963 R-Code Galaxie. Still looking for pictures of it when it was lettered.

    Complete Documented History
    1963 Ford Galaxie 500
    SN – 3N66R147862

    Serial Number Decoding
    3 – 1963
    N – Norfolk, VA
    66 – Galaxie 500, 2 Door Fastback
    R – 8 Cylinder 427 Cubic Inch (8 barrel High Performance)
    equipped with the very rare factory Ford Perma-Tuned Transistorized Ignition
    147862 – Sequential Production Number

    Data Plate Decoding
    Body: 63B (Galaxie 500, 2 Door Fastback)
    Color: X (1444 Maroon Metallic/Heritage Burgundy)
    Trim: 66 (Black Vachette Vinyl and Black Crush Vinyl)
    Build Date: 09E (May 9, 1963)
    DSO: 26 (Washington, DC)
    Trans: 5 (4-speed manual)
    Axle: 9 (4.11:1)
    Plant (N) – Norfolk, VA

    Verbal communication of the following history and information on the car was provided by telephone conservations, letters and e-mails between Paul R. Skoloda and Mark Carswell (current owner)

    On May 25, 1963, the 1963 Galaxie 500 was delivered to King Ford Sales of Essex, MD (home of the KING FORD SALES THUNDERBOLT which was campaigned in 1964 by Bud Shellenberger).

    In May of 1963, Edward W. Skoloda was employed at King Ford Sales of Essex, MD. In fact, the day the car was delivered to King Ford, Ed actually drove the car off of the transport truck. Ed fell in love with the car and purchased it that very day as documented in the Original Owner's Manual which accompanies the car.

    Ed drag raced the car from 1963 until the late 1960's. The car was campaigned in and around the Baltimore area, including the Cecil County Drag-O-Way in Baltimore, as “Mister Ed”.
    To this day, the car still retains the original 1964 Cecil County Drag-O-Way Participant's Decal and the original Hurst Shifter decal on its rear quarter glass. Sometime in the late 1960's, Ed decided to just “put the car away” and stored it at his home.

    Ed has an older brother, Paul R. Skoloda. In August of 1963, when Paul got married, Ed drove Paul and his new bride away from the church in this car. In 1991, Paul learned that Ed was considering selling the car and purchased it at that time. In 2002, Paul and his wife moved to Macedonia, Ohio. The Ford was actually transported from his home in West Virginia inside its own moving van. For 20 years, Paul maintained the car and drove it for personal enjoyment and even drove it to local car shows.

    In July of 2011, Paul had a total knee replacement procedure. During Paul's recovery time, David E. Walters, who operates an auto body repair shop in Reminderville, OH, was persistently trying to buy the car. In Paul's own words, “during a weak moment,” he decided to sell the car to David Walters. David owned the car from August 17, 2011 until June 4, 2013, at which time he sold the car to Jacky Jones (Jacky Jones Ford) and Donald Allen in Cleveland, GA. After the purchase, Donald completely detailed the car and removed the lettering from the car's front fenders which read “Mister Ed”

    The car still retains its original factory paint (except for a couple of small areas), all of the original interior, all of the original chrome & brightwork and its original spare tire. It currently (05-15-2014) has 58,852 original miles – also documented as being correct by Paul Skoloda on April 6, 2014 during my telephone conservation with him.

    Paul has since been back in touch with me several times by telephone, e-mails and mail with additional information about the car. On April 21, 2014, Paul so graciously mailed me the original Owner's Manual and even more pertinent information about the car.

    100_4948 (2).JPG 100_4945.JPG

    100_4891.JPG
     
  4. loudbang
    Joined: Jul 23, 2013
    Posts: 40,276

    loudbang
    Member

    Man that is NICE and a lot of history.
     
  5. SOHC427
    Joined: Apr 5, 2009
    Posts: 1,048

    SOHC427
    Member

    God Damn, that is a BEAUTY..... Wow, nothing more than wow.
     
    speedyb likes this.
  6. speedyb
    Joined: May 12, 2010
    Posts: 484

    speedyb
    Member
    from socal

    Man thats a beautiful car !!
     
  7. tommyd
    Joined: Dec 10, 2010
    Posts: 11,946

    tommyd
    Member
    from South Indy

    Boy, I wish SOMEONE knew where this car is today and would share some photos. I know the last three who owned it after Glidden but then.......?
     
  8. THAT is beautiful.....can't believe the dumbass removed the lettering. Oh well, goes to show, yet again....how hard it is to have a real deal survivor "as is". Years passing are usually not so kind, but I would not exactly say that about yours.....WOWZA !
     
  9. speedyb
    Joined: May 12, 2010
    Posts: 484

    speedyb
    Member
    from socal

    Maybe we can get this thread moving again, I'll throw these in, these photos are of my car back in the early 90's Scan.jpeg Scan 1.jpeg when the last owner was detailing the engine compartment, the chalk marks on the cowl are from the factory and in the second picture the the vin's are visible
     
    loudbang likes this.
  10. john worden
    Joined: Nov 14, 2007
    Posts: 1,827

    john worden
    Member
    from iowa

    We did a fair amount of work on this one recently. 102_2195.JPG 102_2196.JPG 102_2194.JPG
     
  11. speedyb
    Joined: May 12, 2010
    Posts: 484

    speedyb
    Member
    from socal

    Here are a few photos from around the same time of another So Cal 500XL "R" car that stopped by to Scan 6.jpeg Scan 7.jpeg Scan 9.jpeg Scan 10.jpeg visit
     
    Deuces, droppedstepside and 65COMET like this.


  12. This is an exact duplicate of the car I bought new. It's strange that it has a black interior because when I bought mine (early) they didn't offer black so I settled for a tan color. I sure would have rather had the black. Looking at these pictures gives me goosebumps. Beautiful car.
     
  13. Randy Routt
    Joined: Jan 13, 2013
    Posts: 614

    Randy Routt
    Member

    I love thatMarauder. I know a guy who has a 4 dr hardtop Marauder in his old car yard. Tried to get my brother interested, the motors missing, dont know where to check for the code on a Mercury.
     
  14. Slopok
    Joined: Jan 30, 2012
    Posts: 2,919

    Slopok
    Member

    Just how rare are these? Had one when I was 18 and never realized how special it was at the time. Haven't seen one since I sold mine.
     
  15. FrozenMerc
    Joined: Sep 4, 2009
    Posts: 3,092

    FrozenMerc
    Member

    According to 427galaxieregistry.com

    1963 R and Q Codes: 4895 Built - 173 Recorded
    1964 R and Q Codes: 3104 Built - 75 Recorded
    1965 R Codes: 327 Built - 12 Recorded
    1966 R Codes: 237 Built - 23 Recorded
    1967 R and W Codes: 89 Built - 18 Recorded

    Mercury Marauders
    1963 R and Q Codes Marauders: 83 Built
    1964 R and Q Codes Marauders: 64 Built
    1965 R Code Marauders: 19 Built (Supposedly 7 of which were wagons)

    Not coach built Duesenberg rare, but a '65 427ci 425hp Marauder Wagon would be a getting close to that level of rarity.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2014
    Deuces, droppedstepside and 65COMET like this.
  16. 69supercj
    Joined: Apr 5, 2010
    Posts: 356

    69supercj
    Member

    Here's a story that still makes me cry. I live in Fair Grove, MO which is about 15 miles north of Springfield. Back in the early to mid 90's my buddy's family owned the only local parts store in Fair Grove and they were Ford people. Anyway, one day a local guy came in and was looking for some automotive paint to paint his car. He said he was having trouble with the paint not sticking on some of the body panels. Turns out, the car in question was if I remember correctly was a 63 1/2 lightweight Galaxie. I used to see the car sit next to this guys mobile home and never seen in move. It was red, not sure if it was original red or not. Anyway I think Greg Donahue from Colorado maybe ended up buying the car. And to think it sat here in my home town for several years parked out in the weather just like any other 30 year old car at the time.
     
  17. frank spittle
    Joined: Jan 29, 2009
    Posts: 1,672

    frank spittle
    Member

    In the 50 years I have been involved with Muscle Cars I have never seen in person or in print a '65 "R" Marauder. I hope at least one of the 19 built is still around and someone can post a picture of it.
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2014
  18. frank spittle
    Joined: Jan 29, 2009
    Posts: 1,672

    frank spittle
    Member

    I did some research today on the '65 Mercury "R" cars. There were probably only 7 cars built, not 19. It doesn't make any sense that 7 out of the 19 supposedly built would have been wagons unless they were a special order by "who knows" (Government, Mafia......naaay). I just can't come to terms that the 7 wagons were built. I lean towards the speculation only 7 CARS were built and NONE are known to exist. Let's hope at least one is out there in someone's back yard or even better their garage.
     
    speedyb likes this.
  19. FrozenMerc
    Joined: Sep 4, 2009
    Posts: 3,092

    FrozenMerc
    Member

    Frank, You could very well be right. Internet numbers are notoriously accurate (think Wikipedia....). I do know from conversations with a former Minnesota DNR Game Warden that the MN-DNR was good for ordering odd engine-chassis-body combinations. He talked quite fondly of a '65 4 door 427 Galaxie that he used to chase poachers around the back roads of Northern Minnesota with. They also had a stable of wagons with the rear seats removed from the factory for more cargo room along with other odd factory delete options. I agree completely that it would be amazing to find one '65 Marauder that may have survived.
     
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2014
  20. frank spittle
    Joined: Jan 29, 2009
    Posts: 1,672

    frank spittle
    Member

    According to the Super Marauder website there are two official production numbers for '65 427 Marauders. Only the 425 horsepower version of the 427 was an option for the '65 models, both Ford and Mercury. One official FoMoCo number is 7 and another reported by a FoMoCo official is 19. The Super Marauder gives the 7 figure the most likely and I believe it is probably the right number.
    Like I said earlier I have been a Muscle Car enthusiast since they were new and don't recall ever seeing one.
     
  21. CDXXVII
    Joined: Nov 5, 2010
    Posts: 144

    CDXXVII
    Member
    from Vermont

    Speedy-That blue 65 came east shortly after your pictures were taken.
    She is still looking and running good.
     
  22. mgtstumpy
    Joined: Jul 20, 2006
    Posts: 9,214

    mgtstumpy
    Member

    Price reflects rarity that only 19 of these were built, a mint 'R' code 427 8v 1967 Mercury Cyclone currently on E-Bay.
    427 Cyclone.JPG
     
    Deuces and droppedstepside like this.
  23. loudbang
    Joined: Jul 23, 2013
    Posts: 40,276

    loudbang
    Member

    I had one sadly only a 390 but it had the Fake scoops near the front of the stock hood that was fiberglass. Was that an option or this one just different?
     
  24. papajohn
    Joined: Nov 2, 2006
    Posts: 896

    papajohn
    Member

    My cousin has a longblock in his garage he wants to sell. 2 fours, air cleaner and everything. I think its a 63.
    PM me if anyone is looking.
     
  25. mgtstumpy
    Joined: Jul 20, 2006
    Posts: 9,214

    mgtstumpy
    Member

    Cyclone GTs fitted with 390s are still as rare as and had dual inlet hoods. 427 fitted cars were known as Super Cyclones.
    S67 cyclone b.jpg
     
    The Rat Patrol and Deuces like this.
  26. loudbang
    Joined: Jul 23, 2013
    Posts: 40,276

    loudbang
    Member

    That's it looked almost the same on my 67. The fiberglass hood drove the radio crazy with interference. I tried every trick in the book, carbon wires, caps on the alt etc. Finally I saw that the hood had screen like metal material bonded between the support bottom part and the upper outer skin on the hood. Scrapped a bit of the paint off and soldiered on a ground wire to the screen material and it helped a bunch but never did get it to where you could listen to the AM radio without engine static.
     
  27. If you haven't found out by now...they are from the Bill "Redman" Floyd collection.
     
  28. tommyd
    Joined: Dec 10, 2010
    Posts: 11,946

    tommyd
    Member
    from South Indy

  29. Jar-head
    Joined: Dec 30, 2014
    Posts: 7

    Jar-head
    Member
    from Maryland

    I bought a 43,000 mile Fairlane 390 convertible off the original owner in 1985 for $500. Power top, two barrel. I went away to boot camp, pops sold it; got a letter in the mail!!! Wish I still had it! Love the old Fords; and I have a 62 409 in the garage.
     
  30. speedyb
    Joined: May 12, 2010
    Posts: 484

    speedyb
    Member
    from socal

    DSCN0334.JPG This is the 67 car Sold out of So Cal a few years ago, was at the mcacn show last month. DSCN0333.JPG [/ATTACH]
     

Share This Page

Register now to get rid of these ads!

Archive

Copyright © 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy.

Atomic Industry
Forum software by XenForo™ ©2010-2014 XenForo Ltd.