Technical '63 Ford Galaxie - (Traffic) Performance

Hi all!

I'm a relative newby to the H.A.M.B and world of hot rods and customs. After owning mainly British steel, I've recently fulfilled a long-lived dream and acquired a '63 1/2 fastback Galaxie (390 4V).

It has had its engine rebuild to standard spec by the previous owner, and currently the only 'performance upgrades' are an Edelbrock performer carb and a set of Flowmaster exhausts. Car runs like a peach and sounds good, but is probably making stock HP and torque at the moment.

Reading several topics on 390 FE upgrades got me excited to upgrade over time to 400'ish HP, which should be feasible with a decent manifold, a good set of headers, the current carb and perhaps take it further with a set of street heads and a not-too-wild cam. The car wouldn't be raced, but I do enjoy a car with decent power

My main question however is how these kind of mods will impact traffic jam driveability. I live in central London (UK), meaning that even on weekend drives, I have to endure at least 30m of crawling traffic before roads open up a bit. Therefore, my main worries are overheating and poor idling at low RPM. Do you guys have any experiences with this? Or should a mild prepped FE 390 be absolutely fine in these environments?

Car in current specs seems pretty happy to sit in traffic and doesn't overheat, although I noticed idle dropped a bit (from 475-500rpm under load to approx. 400rpm under load) when engine reached 205-210 degrees after 30m of traffic jam on a warm summer's eve. Normally it runs at c. 185-190 degrees.

 

Been in London. A high performance car would do poorly in that type of environment. I'd never invest that much time and money for a few extra horsepower especially when increasing your chances of overheating in traffic.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

A mild build shouldn't affect traffic jam driveability much, if at all, assuming you end with a cam that's not incredibly wild, ie. rough, choppy idle, and that the rest of your cooling system is up to par. The intake, headers and heads will simply allow the engine to breathe better, which you will feel in the seat of your pants.

I've been to England several times as well, both in London and the countryside, and yes, you will likely have to drive at least an hour until you can find a road where you can really put your foot into it. The Galaxie is probably twice the size of most cars on the road, other than Jags and the bigger German cars, so maneuverability will always be an issue, but I'm sure you know that already.

I have a '64 Galaxie ragtop 390 4V 4spd so I'm very familiar with the car.

Good luck....

Chris

 

My car with the SBC is in at around 400 HP. With the cam, it drives well enough in stop and go, but it gets hot fast. I was driving on Sunday and got stuck for about 10 minutes, my normal 180* crept up to 220*. Out of traffic it cooled down fast enough.

 

If it is factory hydraulic lifters [Meaning the block has the lifter galleries drilled for hydraulics] You can drop in a retro Hydraulic roller cam with good lift and minimal overlap.
With Headers, Dual plane manifold ,750 holley and you're good for 400hp and it'll be quite docile

 

The Edelbrock packages make over 400 HP, they use their heads, intake, cam and carb. You can easily make 400 HP using your stock engine and heads, a new intake and carb, a cam with similar specs (may have to be a little bigger to compensate for the factory iron heads) as the Edelbrock and some headers and good exhaust. We installed the Edelbrock package complete with heads and the 2x4 intake with Edelbrock carbs on the 390 in my buddy's 63 and it drives like a new car in traffic, no idle problems, 180* thermostat and it runs 180* even in traffic.

 

The car should run cooler with aluminum heads but if all you are after is 400 horse the stock 4v heads should be just fine. A cam change to a [stock] 390 horse cam will get you within sight of your 400 ponies and you should get to the mark with a good set of full length headers and a decent ignition system. You may have to change the carb and intake.

Think of it this way you are only trying to make 1.026 HP per cubic inch that's a pretty mild build.

 

Thanks for all the advice everybody, much appreciate it.

As the aforementioned 400 HP might be an end result, I think for a first gentle step could be the combination of decent headers + a performance intake manifold such as an Edelbrock RPM, in order to gain a few horses while maintaining a useable/driveable engine? Car currently has a 600cfm Edelbrock performer carb, which I think would still be up for the task with aforementioned modifications?

Additional question: do performance headers (such as Hookers Super Comps) increase tempature under the bonnet significantly over the stock cast iron exhaust manifolds? The car's cooling system is in good condition as the old owner used to install radiators for a living, with an additional electric fan added (although haven't needed it this summer). However given the regular traffic crawl, I don't want to start cooking under the hood, if you know what I mean

 

Cast iron exhaust manifolds are a heat sink, they hold the engine heat and release it slowly. With headers it should run cooler. Keep in mind that stock manifolds quiet down the engine, headers will ring with combustion noise. I'm pretty much anti-header for street use, so don't listen to me. There are better factory '63 manifolds, but pretty hard to find.

 

The headers should lower the under hood temps.

If you are spending money on an intake and an edelbrock is what you want get an air gap, there isn't enough difference in price to not have one.

 

A 75-100 shot nitrous kit will get you 400 hp with just headers and a 750 Holley

 

Again thanks for the replies all. Sounds like headers + intake manifold is the way to go. Looking at the air gap manifolds, these seem to be only available for 429/460 big blocks - might be overkill to put on a 390?

 

Not needed

yep, plenty of carb for the street - have 14" aftermarket air cleaner? make sure that headers are ones specifically for your car - need to truly consider proper clearance & make install easier - the Edelbrock intake manifold will make plenty of difference - where is electric fan mounted on radiator? only using that and no stock style metal fan? fan have shroud? what how many LBS is radiator cap? what amount of coolant to water ratio (50/50)? run a Pertronix distributor ignition upgrade with their coil. post some pics of your car & motor.

 

Car currently has the tri-power style air filter mounted by previous owner. It still runs the stock metal fan, which seems to provide plenty of cooling. Ignition currently is a stock Ford coil with MSD leads, nothing too fancy. Indeed c. 50/50 coolant to water ratio - radiator cap need to check.
Below some pics!

 

If your rolling with the hugger 69 SS 396 Chevelle next to you in your avatar then you need to up the ante. I'm thinking Paxton and headers. Make sure you are wearing a bowtie when you blow by him.

 

That is a nice looking Galaxy. I am sure you are enjoying it!

 

Guys are giving good advice...but the 'summer temperatures' concern has me chuckling!

 

Nice looking Galaxy.

 

bet it don't get near as hot as it does here in its natural environment

 

Thanks again all! The Galaxie is indeed great fun to drive through London - a welcome sight from the gold wrapped Lamborghinis as 'Arab/Russian supercar season' is in full swing here I'm surprised by the lack of proper American/muscle cars in London TBH - the Galaxie is getting a lot of thumbs up when on the move.

Summer temps here are max. 90-95'ish degrees, so not too bad especially when driving. However, the long periods of idling in full sun at these temps, being wedged in between cars and lorries, that's my main concern. It's a big city with old narrow roads - constant road works and traffic jams to enjoy! Had a few hairy moments with my TVR in that regards - a wildly build 5.0L Rover (Buick) V8 cramped in a glass fibre shell will get pretty hot pretty quickly in these conditions

 

Had a 63 1/2 500XL for 10 years, mild 390 with CruisOmatic, ran a 15.9 1/4 mile time, and was a joy to drive in all conditions.

 

Curious to know what kind of modifications you had on your Galaxie?

 

I have a 390 in my shop truck.

Modifications:
Original C-6 automatic trans replaced by truck 4-speed (granny low)
390-GT heads
390-GT cam
Ford 1963 427 factory headers
Offenhauser 2 x 4 with 2 modified genuine Carter 625 CFM type AFB carbs and solid linkage

The carbs started life as 4759s Comp series (for the castings) and got the insides from a pair of 1967 Lincoln AFB's (the venturi clusters, rods, airvalve, etc. inside the Comp series are optimized for Chevrolet, not Ford).

Driveability is excellent, fuel economy at 70 MPH exceeds 20 MPG (city driving, not so good). Temperature in Missouri yesterday was 98 with a heat index of close to 110. The truck didn't overheat, but its driver did

Jon.

 

Your temps are higher than I would have thought. We have been running mid to upper 90s here all month but the humidity is a killer here. 70% and higher

 

===============

Hi Carbking,

Do use air/fuel monitor(s) for tuning?
regards,

Dan T

 

I remember the 'Bama summer heat from an August road trip to Muscle Shoals some years ago - pretty sticky! Luckily the aircon in my Crown Vic was like opening an industrial freezer door

 

What brought you all the way to Muscle Shoals?

 

Nice car. You've gotten all the answers, I think. Best of luck. Common sense and a top notch cooling system should cover any "normal" upgrades.

 

No, learned to tune carbs before electronics (1959), and semi-retired, don't need them now. Research and math will get you close, seat-of-pants will get you closer. Starting with something close is half the battle.

Jon.

 

One comment on cooling.

When I replaced the original 360 in the truck with the 390, I DID have cooling issues. The culprit was the lower radiator hose. The hose on my truck runs from the lower drivers side of the radiator completely across the front under the engine, then turns up on the passenger side to the water pump. Original hoses had wire strengthening. Modern hoses do not have the wire. The long run of the return hose (no pressure) would be closed off by the suction of the water pump, thus severely restricting water flow. I took one of the hoses and cut the two elbow ends off, and replaced the center section with aluminum tubing. End of heating issue.

Jon.