New Galaxie Guy! - Ford Muscle Forums : Ford Muscle Cars Tech Forum

Cruisin63 · 08-30-2012, 05:22 PM

Well, new to being a Galaxie owner. The Galaxie is of course not new, Lol. It is a '63 500XL. It has a rebuilt 390 with tri power, headers, cammed up a bit (don't know the specs) Mallory Unilite CD ignition system. It has a fresh C6 auto, and seemingly a locker in the rear, I'm guessing 4.11 gears as I have not counted rotations yet. It thinks it's going 40 when the flow of traffic in town is usually about 30.

I have been a Ford fan forever, but have been Buick since we sold our 1964 1/2 Mustang when our first kid was on the way. I couldn't get myself to part with the Buick as it has a lot of family history. Ironic now as I am selling it to fund the Galaxie. You can check out the Buick's story on my website...

The Buick | Burton Machine

I'm planning a stock off white paint job, polished Halibrand lookalikes, and a big-n-skinny combo. 15X4.5 fronts, 15X8 rear with Mickey Thompson S/R radials 30X12 and whatever the front size is. I have a LOT of questions! I'll be asking them on an as-tackling-projects basis.

I have a killer 1973 F-250 Ranger so it just seems natural to go all Ford!

gbic1 · 08-30-2012, 06:43 PM

Welcome to the board. Nice ride. Loose the wheels.

Lot of good info here. Ignore the drama and it is a great place.

Cruisin63 · 08-30-2012, 07:07 PM

I know, aren't the wheels HORRIBLE!? Bad enough that they don't match but Mopar rallyes? Ugh. Wheels and tires are the first things on the big items list for sure.

FEandGoingBroke · 08-30-2012, 07:39 PM

To be totally honest with you I think that mismatches wheels on a car you can drive are FAR better than no wheels and not being able to drive

jhooch · 08-30-2012, 09:27 PM

Nice boxtop. I have one as well. Keep us posted on the project and welcome to the forum!

ShotRod64 · 08-30-2012, 11:26 PM

Welcome to the forum!!

Cruisin63 · 08-31-2012, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FEandGoingBroke

To be totally honest with you I think that mismatches wheels on a car you can drive are FAR better than no wheels and not being able to drive

Ha, for sure! I did some looking this morning and I guess they are Ford wheels? Looks just like the Mopar ones to me.

I'm amazed at how well it drives as it sat for 12 years after all the engine rebuild, trans rebuild rearend rebuild. They couldn't get it running right and gave up. The brake booster had a few big cracks and it had a huge vacuum leak. Also, all the ported vacuum advance ports were wide open. They tried to compensate with big main jetting and fat idle mixture. The plugs were thick and caked with soot. The carb linkage was so screwed up none of the carbs opened fully, some only about 25%.

I changed it to manual brakes, plugged the vacuum ports (for now) and dove into the carbs. I don't know if the idle feed restrictors are a function of the idle emulsion tubes, but I went ahead and tapped the usual locations and restricted the outer carbs WAY down, and dropped the center to a .028" IFR. It cruises super nice, with just a hint of lean surge on occasion. The plugs come out immaculately clean still, so I might bump that .028" up a couple thou. I'll probably put a wideband on it in the glovebox or somewhere I can use it for tuning, but won't stare at it all the time like in the turbo car.

So, first questions:

What do I need to get rid of the power steering arm/valve and go straight manual? It had power, but they took the pump and line off probably due to leaks, and just capped the ends of the hoses. Where do I get any parts needed for the swap?

The fuel gauge doesn't work. Well, to be accurate, the sending unit doesn't work. The gauge works fine grounding the wire at the tank so I know it and the wiring are good. Question is, do these tend to have sinking floats, or does the unit itself go bad? I was going to drop the tank and see if I get lucky and it is just a float issue, but not sure i want to drop the tank twice if I have to order a new assembly.

Thanks for the warm welcomes, and thanks in advance for any help with the q&a!

Cruisin63 · 08-31-2012, 01:08 PM

Woohoo! Gas gauge works, and for free to boot! I dropped the tank and sure enough, the float was badly cracked. I checked the sender and it works perfectly, full sweep. I whipped up a solid nitrophyl float from a block I obtained from Rodgers Corp (the company who owns the rights to the material) and BAM. Working great.

ShotRod64 · 09-01-2012, 11:14 PM

Woohoo, progress!!

Cruisin63 · 09-04-2012, 04:47 PM

Bump. Anyone have experience with this?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruisin63

What do I need to get rid of the power steering arm/valve and go straight manual? It had power, but they took the pump and line off probably due to leaks, and just capped the ends of the hoses. Where do I get any parts needed for the swap?

KULTULZ · 09-04-2012, 09:07 PM

Manual steering center link for starters. I would have to check the MPC for inner and out tie rods, pitman and idler arm. Please do not discard the take-off parts.

Cruisin63 · 09-05-2012, 07:40 AM

Thanks for the info. What is MPC? Do you know where to get the parts I need? Do all the parts you listed need to be changed? I'm obviously a bit confused. Thanks again for the help though!

ShotRod64 · 09-05-2012, 12:46 PM

Master Parts Catalog

Cruisin63 · 09-07-2012, 04:03 PM

Hmm, I was really hoping someone would have a complete answer to this. Anyone done the swap before on a '63? What parts? Where to get them? Thanks again for any help.

ToddZC · 09-07-2012, 04:58 PM

I did the power to manual steering conversion on my 63 using this adapter from Autokrafters: http://www.autokrafters.com/v4/go.gn...&product=31391

Using this adapter, you retain the original power steering drag link and tie rods. It's quite simple and works well.