New project, 1966 Ford Ranch Wagon

So I posted up a video of a 65 Fairlane on Facebook like one a friend of mine let me drive for a few weeks a couple of years ago when I was a little down on my luck with my beat up cars. Well, now I am in a better spot with my vehicles and kinda miss driving a 3 on the tree car. I had alot of fun driving that old Fairlane even though the body was rough.

Well, a friend of mine that is a high school automotive teacher saw my post on FB and said that he had a 66 Galaxie(corrected) Ranch Wagon that he is going to be selling after the school year is up. Its kinda rough and needs a few things(tune-up, freshen up the fuel tank/lines, needs brakes) but runs. He is going to teach a brake class with it and drop the tank before he sells it to me. He said $600 plus the cost of parts that he needs for the class. Im not used to having someone else work on my cars but whatever, I will probably double check the brakes when I get the car.

Like I said the exterior is rough but he said the interior is pretty nice. It looked like the pans were in great shape.

I have been scouring craigslist for old sedans but this is waaaaay with in my budget. Oh and I have a dirty love for wagons... dirty.

I can't wait to drive this thing.

Edit: Found a pic of the 65 Fairlane I drove for a couple of months that got me into old Fords.

holy hell! That is nasty (in a good way)!!! I would drive the snot outta it!

I went to a vocational high school (DAVEA). I would buy it.

Grew up with one until I was 12 or so, actually a Fairlane 500 wagon. Great car, cool tailgate, lots and lots of memories.

My Mom actually gave it to my Uncle when he was going through some hard times...he just let it fall apart...and his stupid wife at the time put ATF with the oil ...and a lot of other stuff. Otherwise, it would still be with us.

Neat car, but it's a Galaxie and not a Fairlane.

the exterior looks awesome, like it was parked in Dexter's kill room or something.

stuart in mn wrote: Neat car, but it's a Galaxie and not a Fairlane.

Truth, haha. Yeah the taillights should have told me that. Whoops.

Now, lets swap the diesel out of the F350 into the Galaxie/Fairlane....

I think I will keep it simple and stick with the 289.

Anyone know any good resources for classic Fords as far as exterior trim and the such? I usually order my repair parts from Rockauto but classic cars are a bit new to me with the exception of aircooled VWs when I was a teenager. Even if someone has knowledge of junkyards in the southeast that specialize in classic cars would be great. I live in Atlanta for reference.

That my friend is a 1966 Ford Galaxie wagon not a 1965 Fairlane! My father bought '66 Galaxie new and I know that grill very well. The 65 was more squared off around the headlights and the '66 more rounded.

In reply to jimbbski:

I know, we went over that a few post before. I would correct the title of the thread, but I think that requires a moderator to do it.

Oh with the right engine you may have the ultimate new tow vehicle. There is plenty of room to sleep at the track in that, no more tents or sleeping in the Corrado. Me likes.

I would say, paint it like the Griswald Family Truckster, but looks good as it stands

fix the glass, newer and better headlights, redo the bumpers, add a set or Torque Thrust D's and drive

oh...a dual master cylinder if it doesn't have one already

The 289 wasn't a bad choice, plenty of power for our needs....IIRC, there was a 352 engine available that year ( Galaxie) as well.

Do a search for Galaxie Clubs, that may help you find trim parts.

That. Is. Awesome. Hell, I'd leave the exterior as-is, and I don't even especially like that style!

In reply to LopRacer:

Haha, I will never sleep in the Corrado again since NASA SE isn't going to BMP again.

a401cj wrote: fix the glass, newer and better headlights, redo the bumpers, add a set or Torque Thrust D's and drive

Yeah, the bumpers are pretty beat. I have a friend that has a '63(?) Falcon. I am gonna pick his brain on getting trim, glass, and stuff like that. I am really shocked at how well the pans are compared to the body. If I can get the grill, bumpers, trim, and glass looking good I don't really care about the rust. Looks like the headliner is sagging in the back too. Meh.

I have yet to go see it in person but from what I see, I want it.

I am doing a little bartering with the guy because I have a hook up on BFGoodrich R1 tires and he uses the same size on his track toy. So I will try to knock some of the price off with the tires. I love bartering.

a401cj wrote: oh...a dual master cylinder if it doesn't have one already

+1

i've had a few galaxies and pretty much everything for the car is available from restoration catalogs. just google ford galaxie parts and you'll have a few different vendors to choose from

In reply to Anti-stance:

dude, mother nature already handled the exterior trim for you. IIWY, i would:

• lower it over some SN95 Bullitt wheels (probably need 1" spacers)
• upgrade to dual-circuit master
• tune it up
• drive it for a year like that while saving for a crashed fox 5.0/T5
• WIN!

Any idea what the weight is on those? Might want a few more cubic inches to move it around, like a 351. But, NOT a 352!

JFX001 wrote: The 289 wasn't a bad choice, plenty of power for our needs....IIRC, there was a 352 engine available that year ( Galaxie) as well. Do a search for Galaxie Clubs, that may help you find trim parts.

IF more power is needed than a 351 swap would be easier as it's just a bigger Winsor V8 where the 352 is a small "big block" FE engine.

As for weight, I would guess that it may be just under 4000 lbs. The '66 my dad had was a 4Dr sedan bare bones 'Custom" trim version (Think Taxi.) and had only the 289/auto/PS & AM radio for options. It weighed just over 3600 lbs.

AngryCorvair wrote: dude, mother nature already handled the exterior trim for you. IIWY, i would: - drive it for a year like that while saving for a crashed fox 5.0/T5

Thanks... Now I'm looking at 5.0 donor cars.