Archive for the Galaxie Category
Before and After Exterior Shots
Posted in Galaxie with tags 1966 galaxie 500 convertible, before and after, paint job on May 16, 2011 by SpiralboundTo the Letter
Posted in Galaxie with tags 1966 galaxie 500 convertible, quarter panel letters on May 16, 2011 by Spiralbound
After bending, twisting, whittling down, hammering and in one case breaking the pegs on the quarter panel letters, they are finally in place. I had to use a combination of barrel clips and flat nuts to mount the pegs, using the flat nuts where the pegs were long enough and the clips where they were not. The car looks a million times better with the letters where they belong, and although the driver’s side holes were not exactly straight, I am still extremely pleased with the outcome. The best thing about having these suckers in place, other than their obvious aesthetic value, is that people will now have to stop asking me what year my Fairlane is.
The dash cap is also in and looking fantastic, but I am going to hold off taking pictures until I get the new steering wheel in. I almost had that in today but it looks like I will need a steering wheel puller to get it off, although I may give brute force another try tomorrow.
The guys at Just Dashes also did a light detail of my instrument panel and surprised me with an amazing job of rust removal on my old Sun tachometer. Hopefully I took some pictures of how trashed it was before, I’ll try to get some comparison pictures up later.
The Old Switcheroo
Posted in Galaxie with tags 1966 galaxie 500 convertible, convertible, restoration, universal top switch replacement on May 10, 2011 by Spiralbound
Pictured above is the original switch that I yanked out from under the dash along with the mind-numbingly complicated wiring diagram that came with the new switch. The switch works like a champ and the top went up and down without a hitch. Unlike the original, the new switch is a toggle that snaps back to center when pressure isn’t applied, so there isn’t any danger of accidentally leaving it on and burning out the motor or draining the battery (as the top pump will work whether or not the engine is turned on). I bought the universal replacement for $15 from Hydro-E-Lectric and if you’re interested it can be found here.
The dash is done and I’ll have it in by Friday. No update on the door panels, but after doing some research around a few message boards I discovered that the average turnaround time on SMS door panel restorations is 1 year. Son of a bitch!
New Vinyl
Posted in Galaxie with tags '66, 1966 galaxie 500 convertible, bench seat, interior, vinyl on May 6, 2011 by Spiralbound
The front bench has been completely rebuilt and reupholstered. The foam padding, some springs, both the rosette and sierra vinyl and the piping were replaced. The center pattern insert was dyed and fits in perfectly with the new material.
The material was purchased from SMS Auto Fabrics and the work was done at Mike’s Auto Tops & Upholstery in Mission Viejo, CA.
Today I am going to pick up the last of the quarter panel letters from the metal shop where they were being re-chromed (along with some of the inner door panel trim), so this weekend I may be able to finally get the Galaxie 500 lettering installed.
Benched
Posted in Galaxie with tags 1966 galaxie 500 convertible, bench seat, front disc brake conversion kit, interior, vinyl on May 3, 2011 by SpiralboundDropped the car off today to get the rosette pattern material replaced on the front bench seat. For the most part the interior vinyl is in great shape, but as you can see there are two gaping exceptions:
Last weekend the convertible top switch went out on me so I had to yank the original out and order a universal replacement, so we’ll see how that goes when it gets here this week. Other than that I am just waiting on the door panels to be finished and sent back and the new dash to be fabricated and the interior will be good to go.
The new front disc conversion kit is in as well and working beautifully. The Galaxie stops like a modern car now, smoothly and firmly with no trace of the former jerkiness or slight pull to the left. My only complaint is that the new booster and MC disrupt the otherwise stock appearance of the engine bay, but the night and day difference in braking more than makes up for it. The brake pedal does sit a little higher than it did before, but after a few stoplights it wasn’t an issue. I bought the kit at ABS Power Brake Inc. in Orange. You can find their site here.
Downright Skeletal
Posted in Galaxie with tags 1966, 500, convertible, dash pad, door panel, Ford, Galaxie, interior on April 12, 2011 by Spiralbound
The dash is still bare as I wait for the new one to be constructed and I removed the door panels this last weekend so that I can mail them out for restoration later this week. I also replaced the cassette deck that broke recently with a cheap CD player.
Things are moving along at a nice clip; I had the alignment done yesterday and today I picked up some of the chrome I had sent out a couple of weeks back. I left a few more pieces to be done as well. Later this week I am going to pick up a front disc brake conversion kit and see if I can get my battleship to slow down with a little more finesse.
While it does seem like everything I finish just adds a few more things to the list, I firmly believe that if the finish line isn’t quite visible on the horizon yet, at least I’ll be able to apply my brakes when I get there without sending my corporeal form hurtling through the windshield.
Dashed to Pieces
Posted in Galaxie with tags 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 convertible, dash cap, dashboard, just dashes, restoration, restore on April 1, 2011 by SpiralboundI’m wrapping up the last of the big items I want to have fixed with the Galaxie, beginning with the dash. Just Dashes in Van Nuys now has the majority of my dash in their possession where they will do their magic on it. If you’re interested in the process they use you can read about it here. In about 2-3 weeks it should be ready for re-installation. In the meantime I am looking at a trio of mean spikes where my dash cap used to be. Not that it would matter much anyhow in the event of a collision, as the lack of a shoulder belt and airbag would probably end me regardless of the presence of spikes. I’ll upload pictures of my bare dash later. Here are a pair of pictures demonstrating how bad my dash was before they stripped it out:
Car Wash
Posted in Galaxie with tags 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 convertible on February 21, 2011 by Spiralbound
Closer…
Posted in Galaxie with tags 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 convertible, paint job on January 30, 2011 by SpiralboundThere is still some touch-up work to be done on the paint but for the most part she’s done. I still need to replace the dash pad, rechrome the bumpers (and some miscellaneous parts) and get new material on the front split bench seat, but at least at this point she’s drivable AND presentable. I haven’t put the new convertible pump motor in yet either, but that’s definitely the next thing on my list.
And of course, most importantly, she’s driving like a champ. I can’t stop smiling when I get her out on the freeway. As soon as I get the pump replaced and drop the top for the first time since having the new top installed I’ll post more pictures.
Not Quite There
Posted in Galaxie with tags 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 convertible, maroon, paint job, vintage burgundy on January 22, 2011 by SpiralboundI was informed the car was done yesterday and arrived at the shop to find a number of issues with the paint; the majority of which were located around the bumper. There were also a few defects found in various places around the car. The manager said he hadn’t taken a good look at the car after it had been finished and was very cooperative about fixing the issues. The updated ETA on the car is now Tuesday. I was looking forward to putting in the new convertible top pump this weekend and working on a few other things (not to mention taking full advantage of having a convertible with the current weather) but I will have to wait a few more days.
The paint itself came out perfect–the color is a rich, dark maroon with a slight hint of metallic flake that looks much more pronounced in direct sunlight. Here’s a preview:
