Stored 32 Years: 43k Mile 1960 Ford Galaxie
The 1960 model year was a big one for Ford. The personal luxury 4-seat Thunderbird was selling well, the compact Falcon brought Ford an expanded customer base, and the full-size cars were redesigned and were “space age” in appearance. Popular was the Galaxie Town Victoria, a fancy term for a 4-door hardtop. The seller’s blue survivor has been in storage since 1991 and runs but is going to need some further work on the fuel delivery system. Located in Fort Myers, Florida, this top-of-the-line Ford is available here on craigslist for $8,500. Another finned tip brought to us by T.J.!
Introduced in 1959, the Galaxie was the Ford equivalent of the Chevy Impala, its primary competitor. The nameplate would remain in the Ford lineup through 1974. Naming-wise, it was designed to appeal to the excitement surrounding the 1950s Space Race. In 1962, it would gain the 500 and 500/XL suffices to help accentuate the appeal and sportiness of the car (the latter was akin to the Impala SS). The thin, sloping rear roof pillars on hardtops featured three “star” emblems that served as the Galaxie signature badge for all 1960-1962 models.
Though the seller refers to this car as a Town Coupe or Town Sedan, the brochures called the 4-door hardtop the Town Victoria. Ford produced about 39,000 of them compared to nearly 105,000 of the pillared versions of the car with four doors. Having been in hiding for 32 years, it looks like great care was taken to preserve the seller’s car and the body and paint look great, though oddly the dashboard and steering column appears to be the only places to wear surface rust. Exposed to water or moisture at some point?
Under the hood, lies Thunderbird’s 352 cubic-inch V8 which was rated at 300 hp with a 4-barrel carburetor. The motor is paired with Ford’s 3-speed version of an automatic transmission, the Cruise-O-Matic. The odometer has supposedly logged just 43,000 miles in the machine’s first 31 years on the planet, a nominal figure. We’re told the car “runs and drives great”, though it took a new fuel pump to do that. And it runs only off an external bottle, so all that would permit is a quick trip up and down the street. For it to be a reliable runner, I would guess the fuel system needs to be flushed out.
The interior of this Ford looks great and it even has floor mats with the Galaxie name and emblem on them. We get a better look at the back seat than the front due to the lighting. Serious buyers of the car should do an undercarriage inspection as the placement of the surface rust previously mentioned does pose some questions.
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Comments
Great price for somebody to get into the hobby. The person who gets this… First get the gas tank cleaned out and gas lines. Next is new sending unit if you can get one. Have the car professional clean up. And good detail will bring the paint back. For a total under $10,000 …you will have a beautiful car for cruising and car shows have fun! ,🐻🇺🇸
The rear seat material/pattern isn’t original. Can’t see the front seat so I can’t say about that. If all vinyl was original, it should have a vertical pattern striping.
And cloth was a different pattern altogether. But overall, this `60 looks very clean and solid for it’s age (same age as me!)
Both seats are totally incorrect (see the craigslist ad for the front). Their design leads me to believe that these may have been switched out with seats from a later model Ford/Merc. It’s an odd pattern to use when the originals are nothing like this. The car also has enough antennas for THREE cars!
Your wife called you a barn find also. lol
I remember late back in1959 in third grade we were playing in the school yard before the bell when Mrs Bahm rounded the corner in her new bright red 1960 Galaxie – it was the first we had seen and we walked over to where she parked to look at it in eight-year-old awe … we were equally mesmerized when she rounded the corner a few years later in her maroon ’64 Mercury Maurader … only Mr Trotter with his new red ’64 Jetstar got more attention – he shook his cane at us to “get away” from the engine (you could open the hood from the outside back then) … such great memories from the “old days” …
Those thin pillared hardtop Fords, with the three stars on the pillars were called Starliners. And there was no 1962 model.
My first car in high school was a 61 Starliner Convertible. I still have the original hubcaps. Unfortunately, someone on a motorcycle made a U-Turn in front of me and that was the end of that car. I didn’t realize how rare that car was until I started looking at Barn Finds. This brings back some memories.
If it was a convertible it was a Sunliner
I learned to drive in the family 1960 Ford Country Squire, loved those gun sights on the front fenders. Ours had a 352 but only a 2 barrel so it ran out of air at about 90 mph. It was owned by Hertz before us and they had seconded it to the local Raybestos factory who used it for brake testing. It helped make me popular with the HS basketball team, could take 5 or more to the local burger place after a game.
Starliner 60 & 61 only. No 62
All those picts and not one of the rear…which is the worse part of this car
Looks alot like my “60 Edsel…..and because it was only produced for 2 months and 5 day;,2846 cars, It was still produced but badged as a 1960 Ford….
I think Edsel finally got it right with this year, too bad it was cut short. The front always reminded me of a 64 Imperial.
I see it is in Fort Myers. Any chance it got some ocean water damage
Hey Brad Hamilton! Six more payments and this beautiful four door luxory sedan is all yours!
Overspray on the door jamb and a paint finish that is incongruent with the condition of the interior (dash, steering column, and door panels look beat) tells me I’m looking at a quick & poor restoration effort. Definitely not a survivor. Actually looks like it spent some time underwater. Seats have been recovered in a pattern that is not stock, and rust on the steering column? Just another Craigslist “low mileage” scam. Great looking car, but it has tons of hidden damage and the stated mileage is simply a lie.
Seats look more like Mercury than Ford at that time. Maybe 63 or 64 Mercury seats? didn’t catch the overspray on doors. Will have to look again. old eyes not as sharp as when I was 20, about 54 years ago. Interior rust, just a thought: under a car cover in Florida driveway? heat ’em up, cooll ’em off, sort of like when the concrete on your driveway “sweats” due to humidity? Like I said, just a thought. BTW, $8500 is to high an ask, $5500-6500 for a 4 door.
I live in Fort Myers, if anyone wants eyes-on. Close to the beaches saw potentially a lot of water, but there’s a lot of FM that didn’t see any surge. Not my house however, 5.5′!
I always found it odd, that through 1962 the shifting linkage on Fords were exposed.