[1]Back in the early 1960’s, automakers seemed intent on building the biggest, baddest engines possible into their cars, and V8 engines roughly doubled in cubic inches between 1955 and 1965. But there was a lot of other innovation going on too, as automakers sought to edge out every advantage possible. Among the more effective ideas were replacing heavy steel body panels with fiberglass.
Hemmings Auto Blog [2] came across a Ford Galaxie packing a big bad 427 V8 and with lightweight fiberglass body panels to help it on the drag strip. And this rare full-size Ford is heading to auction.
The 1964 Ford Galaxie was a big, heavy car, and even with a 427 V8 it wasn’t exactly a bullet down the drag strip. So Ford started cutting weight wherever it could with the 500S. That meant no heater, no radio, no carpets, clocks, or bench seats. And then they replaced fenders and the hood with fiberglass parts that shaved off hundreds of pounds in excess weight.
Just 25 of these rare, lightweight Galaxies were ever built, and one of them is going to auction at the Mecum Auto Auctions [3] later this month in Dallas. This isn’t to be confused with the Thunderbolt drag cars, which were a different vehicle. This is cooler and rarer if you ask us, and should bring a pretty penny at auction.