Projects 1963.5-1964 Ford galaxie 500xl

Also I have a big vintage car junk yard 10 mins from house to get parts

 

The VIN number is going to drive some of the value. The 5th digit will determine what the original engine was. Since it appears the original engine has been replaced, I would decipher the numbers. Unless a 6 cylinder car, it should be C (289), X (352) or Z (390). If Q or R (427), snap it up.

 

Not specific to this particular car necessarily, but any sought after project car.

You've been searching for the car of your dreams, but possibly they've been priced way outside of your budget, so a project comes up for sale for a fraction of what you've seen.
You jump on it, feeling good about the bargain price you bought it for.
Reality sets in after a period of time, searching for needed parts, repairs, etc., and the associated costs to get it to where you want it to be..turns out the acquisition cost of the project was the lowest amount of dollars that will eventually be spent.
After serious dollars and time spent, the original cost of the project is surpassed many times over.
We see project cars for sale quite often, all bought with good intentions, and the belief a quick repair here and there, and it will be back on the road ( "I can get that on the road in no time").
Be honest with your skills, ambition, time, space, and budget.

 

Popularity of the 64 should increase now that relatively good quality quarters and pans are being reproduced and readily available in the aftermarket

 

I know they re-pop them in fiberglass. I had 3 of these cars, my 2 station wagons had chewed up bumpers.

 

I saw a clapped out R-code Galaxie go for over $5000 on eBay a few years back. It was quite a piece of swiss cheese.

 

Now. Go back and review what @corncobcoupe said and digest every word. Do not get into a rut that will burn you out on old cars with this project. That is what it is, a project. It will need work and $$$$$$$$$$$. After that more work and $$$$$$$$. Then, maybe you will get it on the road. After all of that being said. Re-think your heart and desires. If all seems OK. Then by all means buy it with a title. Not the promise of a title but the real paper title in your hand.

 

I d

 

Run the codes to confirm that is a factory black, XL, 390 car as it appears, look for rust in the trunk, frame, and quarters, and confirm that it has a title.

If that all checks out, buy it. Tape a Holman-Moody poster to your garage wall and get to work. This car will be the best bad decision that you ever made.

Damn the Torpedoes

 

TROUBLE SPOTS R ALL OVER FROM FRONT TO BACK
LOOKS LIKE A MONEY PIT 2 ME
I WOULDNT WALK AWAY I WOULD RUN LIKE HELL IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION

 

I have had a 64 since 88. It is my first car. I have had many. I would really just look at it as parts. They make new bumpers finally but not sure of quality. The xl interior is valuable. Looks like a small block radiator. Under the hood is cobbled up. Who knows what else is too.
Like corncobcoupe said buy a 15 grand car and drive it and fix as needed.

 

49Olds has the best advice. If all of us had listened to the "don't do it" people around us when we were young, we wouldn't have built much of anything. It's a 57 year old car, it could be built as a fun beater, a ragged around the edges driver, or a full on show car. I didn't say RR.
Lot of people like the 64s. And they don't make them anymore. If it passes the 49Olds tests, buy it. You're young, you've got time to fix it.

 

The typical spots on these will include all the floors, the bottom 6" of all the lower edges of the body, the edges/inner structure of both the hood and trunk lid, corners of the doors, and the biggy, the frame where the rear springs attach. Also look for rust around the driprails and rear glass on the top, that would be a deal-breaker for me. Surface rust is one thing, but 'soft' spots or rust through means metal replacement. Rust can be like icebergs; sometimes what you see is only a small part of it. This is a fairly popular car with better-than-most aftermarket support, so there is patch panels available but keep in mind they're usually only exterior or large panels like the floors. Some of the inner structure bits you may have to fabricate. You'll need a decent wire-feed MIG welder and the skill to use it along with at least a basic selection of metal-working tools.

Somebody noted that you're a young guy, so you have youthful enthusiasm and a non-broke-down body in your favor but make no mistake, this is not a quick and easy build. As a DIY project with a 'working mans' budget, I'd be surprised if you could repair the rust and basic mechanical bits in less that 2-3 years, and that still leaves paint, trim, wiring and the interior to do.

And some are saying don't put more money into it than it's worth, but old cars are generally a poor investment. It's almost always cheaper in the long run to buy a finished car... but that takes more up-front money, not always available. If you have a passion for the car, the money won't matter.

 

I think it's decent.
Check the door bottoms. If the door bottoms are gone, especially the corners....pass.
Check the floors. Expect the lower portions of the floor pan to be gone or going. If very large portions of the floor are gone....you may want to pass. All cars have reinforcing structure in the floors. This is where the body mounts go through. If the floor pans and reinforcing structure is gone or going....Pass!
Check the top...drip rails...back glass at the corners....sail panel trim where the quarter meets the roof....This car likely had a Landau/vinyl Top....Check for rust out along the roof. Gone or going in the corners....pass.
Check the frame.....Now the frame is going to be rusty and dirty. If any of the frame is gone....Pass!

Engine...who knows???? It would not surprise me if it's a 360 out of a 70s pick up. Who knows? 360s and 352s become 390s and 427s-428s on sale day.
VIN number value...Who cares? Especially for the assumed price range we are talking about.
Wiring looks to be a mess.
This is to be expected.
Transmission...again who knows....It could be a iron Cruisomatic or a C6....
Power brakes
AC
Some of this stuff is going to be expensive to fix.
The first thing I would have done...way back when.. would be to...Rip all that AC junk out. The windows do roll down. I would keep that stuff but all the condensers...compressor....all that stuff would come out. It is a hot rod after all.

The fact is if they gave you this car. You would be in the hole. You are always going to be in the hole so any "investment" talk is BS. This is why the matching #VIN data is like tinsel On a Christmas tree....It's not the tinsel....it's having a tree. It's a Ooooh Awwww point. Nothing else.
What I mean is a car that runs and drives with a 352, 360 or even a 302....351 is better than a garage queen with locked up "matching/correct" 390. Especially in this supposed price range.

Value.....
If it's not worth 2500, it's not worth nothing. 2500 is the cap. $300 would be great but that ain't happening.
Don't be surprised if they say 10K!

Now, If this was a '62 Impala with a W engine....
The responses much different. Likely it would be gone when you went back.

 

I look at possible project cars with a checklist....

1. Rust. Always the biggy, major rust repair isn't easy and unless it's a valuable rare or uncommon car and one you just have to have, starting with a less-rusty example will save you time and money. Again, if your skills are up to it and you can invest 'sweat equity' into it this may not be a deal breaker but be realistic. Looking at the pics you posted, it doesn't look all that bad (usual rust in the quarters) but I'd go over every inch of it before money changes hands. Replacement floors are available.

2. Completeness. This will depend somewhat on your plans. Planning to more-or-less restore the exterior/interior? Every missing/damaged part will cost money to repair/replace and it can add up fast. Chrome costs these days are outrageous, particularly for die-cast bits. Will these parts clean up satisfactorily as-is? If you're envisioning a custom treatment, that may not be as critical. This one looks to be pretty complete although some trim restoring will be needed.

3. Mechanical. Unless it's some rare hi-po model, this is just a matter of fixing stuff. I don't see anything particularly rare or expensive there, although rebuilding that FE/Cruisomatic won't be inexpensive. I'd hesitate to swap in a cheaper late-model alternative (351W or 429/460) as the FE is a big part of it's charm, but some money could possibly be saved here, but keep in mind swaps usually require custom exhaust as well as myriad minor changes that will test your fab skills. There is some cobbled stuff under the hood (the radiator for one) but that's not a deal breaker for me. This car does have very good aftermarket support for both OEM and upgrade mechanical parts, and they're not horribly expensive. This car isn't rare enough to require a 'correct' restoration for value, upgrading things like the brakes and steering will add value for most people.

Paint, interior, and wiring costs are pretty much the same for any car but you should still factor those into the build cost. The AC is probably a dealer-installed option, that could be done at a later date.

Again, be realistic about your skills and check locally for clubs or other owners for tips, parts or even mentoring. And the HAMB will be here for you!

 

Anyone know max speed of these cars

 

If you can buy it and it doesn’t cause financial problems for you I say go for it (unless it has major rust issues). You have to start somewhere, and you’ll likely trade up to other projects. I bought much worse when I was slightly older than you (27, and it was a $99 dollar truck. I still have it).

 

I'd buy it if the price is right and titled. Always liked the look of these cars with a "teardrop" hood.

 

$4500.00 any day of the week

 

Pleas

please go into more detail I’m scratching my head at what you said right there

 

175-185 if prepared right.

You'll have to get underneath it where it's parked and start pushing up with your hands on the floors, trunk drop offs, rockers, fender aprons to see how soft the metal is. Rust for me is always dictates the price of a car or whether I pass on it.

 

You are looking at a non running 1964 Galaxie with an unknown engine. As it sits its top speed is whatever your tow rig can reach.

Under the hood there should be a 390, but it could be anything, very likely a 352. Asking top speed on a '64 Galaxie is sort of out there. If it were a 300hp 390 and it had 3.25 gears it might do 125. It's a big heavy car with brick aero. It's not a top end car. If you put a 600 horse stroker 390 in it like RMK, you might push 180. If you have a ragged out 352 that's putting out about 130hp you aren't getting that lead brick to 100. I had an OT car that was light and aerodynamic. It only had 150 hp but it did 134. Buuuuut....

The top speed is an odd question because you are looking at a major feat to get it running, even in ragged condition, let alone take it on a top speed run.

 

This looks like a 390 4 speed possibly R code car to me. Sure there are a few things under the hood but so what?? Its really hard to tell about the rust but the pics look pretty darn good from what i see. There is a very good possibility that the floors and trunk floor will have issues sitting in grass like that, but how long has it been there. Unless its rusty, which i'm old so totally don't do rust repair anymore, I'd buy it in a minute. A year ago i bought a 63 1/2 Galaxie XL500 390 4 speed R code for 3500.00 and that's here in Ca. with a title. No rust other than surface as it had been indoors for the last 20 or so years. It pretty much needed everything but could have drove it like it was after fixing the clutch lol. So It's got to be worth 2-3 thousand if its in sound shape. And the 64 is more popular than my car. Just my opinion. I guess we'll see if you're a negotiator or not lol.

 

There seems to be some confusion about engine codes. A 'R' or 'Q' code would be a 427 car (8V and 4V respectively) and those were 4-speed only, power steering/brakes and AC weren't available. Don't be fooled by the floorshifter, the XL came with one on the Cruisomatic which is what's present here.

 

One piece of advice on buying an old car….. show up with cash and offer somewhat less than what is asked…… and show the cash! On this car I would show the owner 10 one hundred dollar bills and let him chose with one he wants….. the car or the cash! It has worked for me many times!







Bones

 

Well....they consistently won NASCAR races back when stock cars were mostly stock.

 

Take a long objective look.
No Title? Walk. Frame rotten? Walk.
Floors? Body? What's your comfort level for fixing? Fun Beater or "Show Car" goals?
It's a 57 year old car. Can you get parts?
Engine turn over? No? Assume it's a 360 from the mid 70s for value. (would explain modern ignition/venting).
Can you afford it? And the fixing?
Have fun but be realistic.

 

A 360 isn't a bad thing; all you need to convert it is a 390 crank and pistons, no sweat. It's the 352 that's the red-headed stepchild...