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Source: hemmings.com
In
February of 1963, Ford’s car merchandising manager, V.P. Motto,
announced that the Dearborn automaker would be introducing a “Special
Lightweight Performance Vehicle ,” based upon the production Galaxie,
to be offered to drag racers nationwide. The 1963 (technically 1963½)
Ford Galaxie 500 Lightweight soon became the stuff of legend, proving
competitive at drag strips nationwide in the hands of drivers like Dick
Brannan and Phil Bonner. Only 212 were ever constructed, and many have
been lost to the dual ravages of time and hard use in competition. Last
Saturday, a two-owner 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 Lightweight, showing just 1,483 miles on the odometer, sold for $220,000 in Indianapolis, earning
a spot in the top-10 of the Mecum sale. - See more at:
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2015/05/19/two-owner-1963-ford-galaxie-500-lightweight-sells-for-220000-in-indianapolis/#sthash.Qh4h5cJJ.dpuf
a spot in the top-10 of the Mecum sale. - See more at:
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2015/05/19/two-owner-1963-ford-galaxie-500-lightweight-sells-for-220000-in-indianapolis/#sthash.Qh4h5cJJ.dpuf
In
February of 1963, Ford’s car merchandising manager, V.P. Motto,
announced that the Dearborn automaker would be introducing a “Special
Lightweight Performance Vehicle,”
based upon the production Galaxie, to be offered to drag racers
nationwide. The 1963 (technically 1963½) Ford Galaxie 500 Lightweight
soon became the stuff of legend, proving competitive at drag strips
nationwide in the hands of drivers like Dick Brannan and Phil Bonner.
Only 212 were ever constructed, and many have been lost to the dual
ravages of time and hard use in competition. Last Saturday, a two-owner 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 Lightweight, showing just 1,483 miles on the odometer, sold for $220,000 in Indianapolis, earning a spot in the top-10 of the Mecum sale.
Customers purchasing a Galaxie Lightweight could get them in any color they wanted, as long as that was Corinthian White with a red vinyl interior. Not that there was much of an interior to speak of, since in the interest of weight savings, the purpose-built Galaxies did away with heaters; sound deadening and seam sealers; a clock; window
anti-rattle shims; carpeting; arm rests; and a dome lamp. Front seats
were lightweight Bostrom Thin Line models, and to give an idea how
seriously Ford took its weight savings, visors were made of stiffened
cardboard instead of padded vinyl.
The crash diet wasn’t reserved for the interior, either. The fenders and fender aprons, hood, and trunk lid were made from fiberglass, and some Galaxie Lightweights even got fiberglass doors. Bumpers and bumper mounts were from aluminum, as were the flywheel housing and case for the T-10 transmission. A lightweight chassis, featuring a frame designed for six-cylinder cars,
was standard issue; hinge springs were absent from the hood (though a
prop rod was provided); the trunk lid torsion bar was similarly deleted;
and no spare tire, jack, lug wrench or mount was included. In total,
the changes shed 425 pounds, but increased the price by an estimated
$1,400.
Under the hood, Galaxie Lightweights received a 427-cu.in., 425-horsepower V-8, with cross-bolted main bearings, transistorized ignition, cast-iron headers, a high-lift and high-duration camshaft, and dual Holley 4160 four-barrel carburetors sitting atop a single-plane low-rise intake (hence the car’s flat hood). In 1963, Popular Hot Rodding recorded a pass of 12.49 seconds at 116.27 MPH in Les Ritchie’s Galaxie Lightweight, while Dick Brannan recorded a pass in 11.81 seconds at 123 MPH in his own Galaxie (a 1962 Lightweight wearing a 1963 body).
The 1963 Galaxie Lightweight that sold on Saturday had been part of the Danny Hill Collection for two decades. Hill reportedly purchased the car from the same Ford dealership that had delivered it to the original owner, later repurchasing it when the owner lost interest. As listed, the Galaxie Lightweight was described as a two-owner car with a correct (but not necessarily original) 427/425 V-8 and a 20-year-old restoration; despite the age of the work, the 154th Galaxie Lightweight built managed to sell for its high pre-auction estimate.
- See more at: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2015/05/19/two-owner-1963-ford-galaxie-500-lightweight-sells-for-220000-in-indianapolis/#sthash.Qh4h5cJJ.dpuf
,”
based upon the production Galaxie, to be offered to drag racers
nationwide. The 1963 (technically 1963½) Ford Galaxie 500 Lightweight
soon became the stuff of legend, proving competitive at drag strips
nationwide in the hands of drivers like Dick Brannan and Phil Bonner.
Only 212 were ever constructed, and many have been lost to the dual
ravages of time and hard use in competition. Last Saturday, a two-owner 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 Lightweight, showing just 1,483 miles on the odometer, sold for $220,000 in Indianapolis, earning a spot in the top-10 of the Mecum sale.
Customers purchasing a Galaxie Lightweight could get them in any color they wanted, as long as that was Corinthian White with a red vinyl interior. Not that there was much of an interior to speak of, since in the interest of weight savings, the purpose-built Galaxies did away with heaters; sound deadening and seam sealers; a clock; window
anti-rattle shims; carpeting; arm rests; and a dome lamp. Front seats
were lightweight Bostrom Thin Line models, and to give an idea how
seriously Ford took its weight savings, visors were made of stiffened
cardboard instead of padded vinyl.
The crash diet wasn’t reserved for the interior, either. The fenders and fender aprons, hood, and trunk lid were made from fiberglass, and some Galaxie Lightweights even got fiberglass doors. Bumpers and bumper mounts were from aluminum, as were the flywheel housing and case for the T-10 transmission. A lightweight chassis, featuring a frame designed for six-cylinder cars
,
was standard issue; hinge springs were absent from the hood (though a
prop rod was provided); the trunk lid torsion bar was similarly deleted;
and no spare tire, jack, lug wrench or mount was included. In total,
the changes shed 425 pounds, but increased the price by an estimated
$1,400.
Under the hood, Galaxie Lightweights received a 427-cu.in., 425-horsepower V-8, with cross-bolted main bearings, transistorized ignition, cast-iron headers, a high-lift and high-duration camshaft, and dual Holley 4160 four-barrel carburetors sitting atop a single-plane low-rise intake (hence the car’s flat hood). In 1963, Popular Hot Rodding recorded a pass of 12.49 seconds at 116.27 MPH in Les Ritchie’s Galaxie Lightweight, while Dick Brannan recorded a pass in 11.81 seconds at 123 MPH in his own Galaxie (a 1962 Lightweight wearing a 1963 body).
The 1963 Galaxie Lightweight that sold on Saturday had been part of the Danny Hill Collection for two decades. Hill reportedly purchased the car from the same Ford dealership that had delivered it to the original owner, later repurchasing it when the owner lost interest. As listed, the Galaxie Lightweight was described as a two-owner car with a correct (but not necessarily original) 427/425 V-8 and a 20-year-old restoration; despite the age of the work, the 154th Galaxie Lightweight built managed to sell for its high pre-auction estimate.
- See more at: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2015/05/19/two-owner-1963-ford-galaxie-500-lightweight-sells-for-220000-in-indianapolis/#sthash.Qh4h5cJJ.dpuf
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