Alright well here’s the story… I inherited a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500XL years ago… It has been sitting in a garage since 1973 and has 36k original miles.
I finally got the car out of the garage that it was at and now have it nearby so I can finally work on it…
Now the question is what is my best bet in getting this car running? I threw some WD-40 on the spark plugs and was able to get them out last week with not too much force… But I figured I’d invest in some gallon sized WD-40 deals and dump it down through the spark plug holes down into the cylinders and let that sit for a bit. Then try to wiggle the pistons back and forth using the bolt thats on the front of the engine (I believe its connected to the crank shaft). Then go on from there… (all fluids, fuel lines, battery, clean out the carb, drop the gas tank (possibly replace it… if not then get the old gas out).
But basically I’m looking for any kind of suggestions and what your opinions are in whether its worth while to even try getting the pistons to turn or if they’d just be rusted solid. I do have pretty decent knowledge of cars but I’m not spectacular with them so rebuilding the engine is out of my league… (although I would love to learn)
But here is a few pictures of the car so you guys can see it
Put a 351 in it and rock it out.
Is it a vert? Damn, nice low mileage.
I’d cruise it like it is. :tup:
As for suggestions for how to get it road worthy after the year, start up a post on m site and I’m sure a lot of car guys will chime in.
www.rodandpiston.com
that’s pretty cool 
what engine does it have?
[quote=“camarojoe,post:3,topic:33735"”]
Is it a vert? Damn, nice low mileage.
I’d cruise it like it is. :tup:
As for suggestions for how to get it road worthy after the year, start up a post on m site and I’m sure a lot of car guys will chime in.
www.rodandpiston.com
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Yeah it’s a convertible… I’ll have to throw a post up that website and hopefully I can get some more info
[quote=“ly555is,post:4,topic:33735"”]
that’s pretty cool 
what engine does it have?
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unfortunately it’s just the 289ci which if I’m not mistaken is the smallest engine the Galaxie’s had… it’s funny looking into the engine bay and seeing all the extra room because of it being so small :biglaugh:
Whoa. I just caught this.
Take that bumper jack, and get it the hell away from the car. Don’t use that unless if you don’t mind having the car on top of you
[quote=“ly555is,post:7,topic:33735"”]
Whoa. I just caught this.
Take that bumper jack, and get it the hell away from the car. Don’t use that unless if you don’t mind having the car on top of you
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ahh don’t worry about that… that picture is actually from where the car has been it’s entire life. My great uncle (I’m assuming) wanted to alleviate some weight off the back right tire because it was flat so he threw that on it… But it’s no longer at that location and is on 4 decent tires…
First of all, if that’s a factory black 500XL droptop, I fucking hate you 
That’s a GREAT canidate for restoration as they’re in demand again and the prices are coming back up.
Second, yank all the plugs and shoot in PB Blaster Let it soak for 1-2 days. If it will turn over now, it doesn`t need soaked. Change the oil and coolant. Is it a stick? If so, put it up in top gear and try to rock it by hand. Otherwise, disconnect the coil and try cranking it.
Here’s a trick to checking compression and spark timing quickly. It’s not 100% accurate but will tell you if you are way off or not.
Compression can go away in a few years by lifters bleeding down and not pumping up when the engine is spun over. The spark is easy to check, just pull any plug and lay it up on the valve cover while attached to the plug wire and put your thumb over the plug hole while someone spins the engine. Your thumb will make a “pop” sound when that cylinder comes up on compression and the plug will have a thick blue spark that makes a “click” sound. If the timing is close to correct it will seem that the “pop” is causing the “click”. If you have a “click-pop”, or a “pop-click” the timing is off.
Next is the most likely problem and that is stale gas or no gas. You can remove the air filter and spray something like “WD-40” in the carb while someone spins the engine over. Also, you can put a small amount of fresh gas in the carb but stand back before the engine is spun over and have a fire extinguisher handy. If it starts and runs just a second or so and you can’t keep it running you probably need to drain the tank, lines and carb. and put in fresh fuel and test fuel pressure to the carb. Old fuel can varnish up parts and jets in the carb and cause the inlet and outlet valves in the fuel pump to stick and clog up tank pick-up screens and fuel filters.
Dude, now get some more shots of that bitch out in the air. :tup: GL, keep us in the loop.
I’m loving seeing all the old school stuff coming out on this site now :tup:
That car I think will be worht some decent $ with some tlc. Not sure if you plan on keeping it for sentimental value or changing it to what you want. If you do decide to make mods, make sure you keep EVERYTHING tucked away in a corner in case you want to go back.
And trust me, if you bring that out modified any way from stock, you might hear shit from some people, but do it the way you want to do it.
But if you get bored of it, I’ll give you $1000 cash to take it off your hands
I’ve got $1100 on that 
Ugh, if you could afford it, the big gun in those days was the 427 side-oiler with dual quads. That had some authority :tup: I can’t imagine a 289 in that ship :lol:
[quote=“TrueBlue,post:11,topic:33735"”]
I’ve got $1100 on that 
Ugh, if you could afford it, the big gun in those days was the 427 side-oiler with dual quads. That had some authority :tup: I can’t imagine a 289 in that ship :lol:
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Oh yea, that would be nice… but $$$$$
But nice…
Oh yea, take hudreds os pics, outside, inside, under the car to document it. So if you decide to go back to stock. Also is helpful info for others doing restorations.
I’m seriously jealous. That’s a great car.
But if I was to mod it, I see some 18", dropped and bagged, and a big block under the teardrop hood. Keeping it black with black.
BTW, TrueBlue. Heading back to Mustang show. Bring your Stang or go for a few beers :tup:
I really appreciate the information TrueBlue… I’m going to have to jump into it possibly tomorrow if the weather isn’t too bad…
and yes it is an original factory black 500XL drop top… so start hating 
As far as the sentimental value… It wouldn’t be a huge deal to let it go… I’d definitely like to try and get it running just because it would be a sweet car to just cruise around in on nice weekends… but it’s always been in the back of my mind to sell it and buy/put the money towards something I’d rather want.
But as of right now I’m gonna see what I can do as far as getting the car to possibly start… I’m just afraid that the engine is a big block of rust from sitting around for 34 years untouched. But really the car has held up and shown barely any problems at all from what I’ve seen… It still holds oil fine (oil doesn’t look too bad either), the transmission fluid is surprisingly still looks near brand new… the car has really shocked me.
As far as a 427, I’d definitely like to go that route but I’d rather not invest that much into the car… also I’d kind of like to keep the car completely stock being that its a completely unmolested car at this point. I figure at most if I can get it running is some kind of exhaust on it and possibly a better carb. But nothing too extreme. Which I’m sure a 289 pulling that boat around is going to drag but there’s no sense in going fast in a 4000lbs+ tank… But I figure as long as it looks good (which it pretty much does either than some rust spots) and the motor/exhaust sounds good… that’s all I could ask for
Pull out the plugs and spray some PB Blaster down the holes. You can get Blaster at any parts store, it’s the best penetrant going. With the plugs out, try to crank the engine over. You can use a breaker bar and socket on the harmonic balancer bolt (in the center of the bottom pulley), just don’t pull on it so hard you break the bolt. You can try using the starter, but if you turn the key and just hear a loud clunk and the engine doesn’t turn let go of the key! This means the engine is stuck. If this is the case keep spraying blaster down the plug holes for a couple weeks. It’ll free up. I had to do this to a 327 in a '62 Corvette. It took weeks, but I got it running.
If the engine does turn over, crank it with the starter with all the plugs out for awhile. You should see the oil pressure come up. Sometimes it takes awhile… Once you have oil pressure, you can put the plugs back in. Check to see if you have spark. Pull the center wire off the distributor cap and lay it near something metal. Crank the engine over while you watch it. You should get a loud bright blue spark. If you don’t, go buy a set of points and a condenser. You might as well change the cap and rotor, plugs and plug wires too. Once you get spark, you need fuel. The carb probably needs to be disassembled and cleaned. I wouldn’t be surprised if the tank is all crapped up and the fuel lines may be clogged as well. To see if it runs, you can take a small gas can (1-2 gals) and hook a rubber fuel hose from the suction side of the fuel pump into the gas can. After you get the carb back together, pour a very small amount of fuel directly down the carb throat, a few tablespoons will suffice. Crank it over and see what happens. Have a fire exinguisher nearby just in case. The engine will likely fire, run for a second then quit. Pour more fuel in the carb and repeat. It’ll take a little bit to get the fuel pumped up from the gas can to the carb. Once you get fuel to the carb it should run on its own.
All that should get you started. Ask LOTS of questions.
That’s a valuable car, treat it well. Since it is so original and is low mileage, I say keep it 100% bone stock original. I see nothing wrong with an exhaust, a new carb, and maybe an electronic ignition just to help make it drivable, but don’t butcher it. Keep EVERY part you take off the car so it can be put back to stock if need be.
Good luck!
[quote=“Jimmyjamz,post:13,topic:33735"”]
I really appreciate the information TrueBlue… I’m going to have to jump into it possibly tomorrow if the weather isn’t too bad…
and yes it is an original factory black 500XL drop top… so start hating 
As far as the sentimental value… It wouldn’t be a huge deal to let it go… I’d definitely like to try and get it running just because it would be a sweet car to just cruise around in on nice weekends… but it’s always been in the back of my mind to sell it and buy/put the money towards something I’d rather want.
But as of right now I’m gonna see what I can do as far as getting the car to possibly start… I’m just afraid that the engine is a big block of rust from sitting around for 34 years untouched. But really the car has held up and shown barely any problems at all from what I’ve seen… It still holds oil fine (oil doesn’t look too bad either), the transmission fluid is surprisingly still looks near brand new… the car has really shocked me.
As far as a 427, I’d definitely like to go that route but I’d rather not invest that much into the car… also I’d kind of like to keep the car completely stock being that its a completely unmolested car at this point. I figure at most if I can get it running is some kind of exhaust on it and possibly a better carb. But nothing too extreme. Which I’m sure a 289 pulling that boat around is going to drag but there’s no sense in going fast in a 4000lbs+ tank… But I figure as long as it looks good (which it pretty much does either than some rust spots) and the motor/exhaust sounds good… that’s all I could ask for
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:hateyou: lol, it’s all good. Camarojoe and I both have projects of our own :tup:
Dude, you may think you want something new and shiny, but wait until you start working on it, I mean really working on making her nice You’ll find that restorations are just good for the soul, I mean something really connects down in your gut. I’ve done late model cars and I don’t know if I’ll ever go back. Especially since your grand uncle owned it, it’s stays family too. It’s also nice 'cause you can take the whole thing apart with a standard socket set and a screwdriver :lol:
I dunno, spin some wrenches on it and see how you like it.
Yeah man, if it turns out you don’t like it after you get it running, not your thing
Stop
Don’t hack anything up - just sell it to someone who’s really down
I was just thinking of this - make SURE that your brakes are good before the engine fires and you try to take a spin around the block. I’d hate to hear that you rearended something b/c the drums seized or something.
[quote=“2TurboZ,post:2,topic:33735"”]
Put a 351 in it and rock it out.
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I know of a 351C, C6 and a Ford 9 with 3.52 in it, and its for sale :snky: only issue is it comes with a mustng
trick to break them loose is pull heads, soak in a thin oil and go from there
Wow, only 36K! That car will fetch a pretty penny if you fix it up and sell it. How did the car fare against rust over all these years? Why has it been sitting so long? I have a feeling you will be really liking the car once you get it in running condition. I’ve wanted a Galaxie since I was a kid, but a clean 'vert would be a dream. Good luck to you, keep posting as it progresses.
What southtowns said. It probably isn’t going to run without cleaning the carb and filing the points. If it has been sitting that long you may need to take the starter out and clean the commutator - its probably too corroded to work. Probably needs a new solenoid - again too corroded to work. Generator probably won’t work. Get it rebuild and get a new voltage regulator. Should cost no more than a bill. It will look much better than a one wire delco cobbed in there.
That engine is 195 hp. And not the smallest, base engine was a 223 CID s@ 138hp with three on the tree.
And I bid $2000
Like TrueBlue said, working on a classic is something different. I wrench on new and old, but there is just something cooler about working on something that you can use an adjustable wrench, a flatblade, and a hammer on. Plus once you finally get the car road worthy and you cruise it down the street, the looks from people are great. It’s like walking through town with the hot girl under your arm. Puts a big ass grin on your face.
But if you don’t get into it, you won’t have any problem selling it. And I’ll be the current bid with $2100
