[segeorge982]

Hi Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm looking for a little help on some questions about axle identification. But first a little background on the car.

I bought a 1963 z code galaxie project in 2013 as a 30th birthday gift to myself. I actually went to investigate a 1961 Starliner but that proved to be a lot more rotten than advertised. A buddy and I drug the car out of a building with a partially collapsed roof, trailered it home, changed all the essential fluids and let some mystery oil sit in the cylinders for a week or so before attempting to start it. With gas out of a can it fired up but ran rough. I added a pertonix ignition, disc brakes and fixed a few of the major leaks so it could be a fun driver every once in a while. In 2017, while out cruising with my wife one evening the headgasket popped near cylinder 5. The car was parked in the garage and typical life distractions got in the way. Fast forward 2 years and my wife moved out(divorced shortly after) and I dove head first back into the galaxie.

I wouldnt quite call it a body on restoration but its pretty damn close. With the help of a friend (another classic ford nut) living with me(he's currently going through a divorce), we rebuilt the 390(bored .030 over) and installed with a rebuilt, upgraded c-6 transmission, new wiring pulled and a lot of other small projects done( rebuilt heater box, dash repainted and being rebuilt, etc).

Currently, I'm waiting on the seats from the upholsterer and parts for the rear suspension(nothing crazy, lakewood traction bars, new springs and shocks).

Did the 9" rear axles in Z-code galaxies come with the standard carrier bearings; 2.89, or the larger 3.06? I know there was a ton of variability from the factories with these cars but I'm working on ordering parts for next week(company I work for is closed the week after the 4th) and might not have time with work this week to pull the 3rd member. Important note, the original axle tag is long gone.

Thanks!

 

[635Rangoon427]

According to the 1963 Ford Facts & Features Manual, 390 4V engines (Z code) hooked to a Cruise-O-Matic transmission came with a 3.00:1 non-limited slip axle. That's it. Optional ratios such as 3.50, 3.89, and 4.11 were reserved for the available manual transmissions (3 speed, 4 speed, and overdrive). I don't actually know the answer to your question, but I would bet on the smaller of the two bearing sizes if it were stock. Of course, I have learned never say never. Nice looking '66 F100 there in the background. Yours or your roommate's?

 

[segeorge982]

Thanks for the response, I was afraid of that. I'll have to find some time this evening to pull the center section and confirm. The '66 F100 is my friends. We built it in the late 90s in highschool. It's a '66 custom cab on a '78 bronco chassis with a mildly built 460 and c6. It was parked for a couple years but received a hydroboost setup (made no vaccuum with its cam), replaced the hacked instrument cluster we thought was cool in the 90s with a custom cab cluster modified with additional aux gauges, new W/P, valve adjustment, and a few other odds and ends over the last few months to get it back to being a fun driver and "reliable". I'll have to get some better pictures of it.

There is another '66 F100 custom cab in my backyard patiently waiting its turn. It will be crown vic swapped, with a 351 and 5 spd. All original metal, including the bed floor, is in great shape for NC. I got it from the 2nd owner who bought it in '72. I've got a HD CV front end already and a 351 from a '82-'83 police car that needs rebuilt; rings, bearings, and itll get some GT40 heads and a small cam.

 

[Foxbody817]

Nice car! What brand headers do you have installed on your engine?

 

[segeorge982]

Thanks! FPA long tubes. They are snug. It took a bit time and patience to get them in without tearing them up.

 

[ShotRod64]

That gauge cluster looks great! And the pizza in the other pics made me hungry! If the rear end had never been changed you could go by the code on the warranty data tag on the door if it's still there. That also has what axle and trans it came with originally. My '64 had the 3.00:1 But things get changed over the years and some even on assembly! Project is looking good!

 

[segeorge982]

we pulled the center section on Monday and its a 3.06 bearing 3.00:1 peg leg. Correct bearing rebuild kit, trac loc, and a 3.25 ring gear ordered from quick performance should be here on the 9th. Then it'll go to a master mechanic friend to setup correctly because I will admit I have no idea what I'm doing there. It's been a productive week off;

So far this week;

1. Pulled the center section(waiting on parts)
2. Finished wiring in the rear of the car. converted everything to weather packs behind the rear seat; Tailights, fuel sender, fuel pump.
3. Kilmat in the trunk(finally)
4. Installed and mounted the AirShocks from bud's galaxie with the airline. Fill nipple hidden near the license plate bracket.
5. Sniper EFI fuel pump mounted
6. Defrost ducts and hose installed.
7. 3G alternator, Powersteeing pump(for hydroboost setup) hung on the motor with belts.
8. New OEM style antenna installed.
9. Cleaned up and reinstalled the driverside fresh air duct.
10. Installed dash trim, heater controls and reconnected all the hardlines.

I'm currently trying to sort out how to put 4 temperature sensors on the old 390 for; sniper efi, the electric fan relay, the original dummy gauge and light, and an autometer gauge(so i actually know whats going on).

 

[635Rangoon427]

What are your plans for your Sniper's handheld device after you get your car running? The reason I ask is if you plan to leave it accessible to the driver, it will provide lots of handy dandy information and do things like run your electric cooling fan(s) for you. I would have loved for there to have been TWO places on my intake manifold to plug into, but there was only one. Apparently Chevy engines offer more options. Anyway, you can use the stock location for the stock coolant sensor, behind the distributor, for the Sniper's coolant sensor. This gives Sniper the digital signal he needs, and if you leave the controller visible, you won't need the AutoMeter gauge you were planning on as Sniper will give you a digital readout that you can make large. Sniper will also take care of turning on and off your electric fan(s), so you don't need to worry about that. If you want to drill and tap the intake manifold for your stock coolant temp gauge sensor, this was the time to have done it - but it looks like you're way past that point. An alternative might be to have a "T" connector machined to fit the heater hose that does NOT have its flow controlled by the heater core shut-off valve. The perpendicular portion of the "T" would be drilled and tapped to accept the stock temperature sensor. You do not want any flow restrictions or you will probably get an inaccurate reading - but if there's to be an erronious reading, better it be the instrument panel's gauge than Sniper's. Anyway, just something for you to consider. Good luck with your project.

 

[Jiffy]

Great work - love the sneaky shot of the single man food in the early pics...

 

[segeorge982]

@Jiffy - haha. Yep, some nights a box pizza is easiest when I lose track of time. Cant forget the veggies and fruit.

@Rangoon - The sniper screen is going to be on a magnet so I can tuck it under the dash when it isn't needed, similar to modern cell phone holders. I've tucked a small magnet behind the driver A-pillar trim for the screen to be visible when driving. I realize I'm making things complicated by attempting to mirror how aux gauges could have been setup in the 60s.

• The factory temp gauge will get temp from the heater hose, its a dummy gauge anyways and I'm just avoiding a dead gauge on the cluster.
• I agree with you the factory sender location is the best/ideal place for the sniper sender, so that's where it is going. Good information on the fan. I spoke to Holley on Thursday morning, shortly before your post and learned the same thing. Too bad the included instructions are generic and not very detailed.
• I'm going to bite the bullet and tap another hole in the coolant passage for the aux gauge so it's accurate.

Not much progress this past weekend on the Galaxie as I helped a friend replace all suspension components on his 250k mile 1994 cobra. New struts, CC plates, rear upper and lower controls arms and bushings throughout. Unfortunately, summit's bushing vendor mis-labeled a box of steering rack bushings as rear spring isolators. $15 worth of rubber prevented us from buttoning everything up sunday evening. Hopefully only an hours worth of work left to reinstall the springs, finish the RLCs, the kicker shocks and reinstall the swaybar. Then back to the Galaxie.

 

[Foxbody817]

Thanks! FPA long tubes. They are snug. It took a bit time and patience to get them in without tearing them up.

Did you paint your VC's yourself? If so, what brand and color paint matched up best to the original gold color? I have my original VC's and air clearer housing and they need to be repainted. They're in bad shape so it's hard to judge what the original color really looked like, almost like a Dijon Mustard gold color IMO.

 

[unforgiven]

Wow looks great. Good job.
How are you handling the fuel from the tank? An in tank pump or external?

 

[segeorge982]

@Foxbody817 - I did paint the valve covers myself. I'm sanding everything with 1k grit sandpaper, shooting scratch filler primer and then final color from a spray can in a homemade paintbooth. I'll look at the paint can tonight when I'm back in the garage and let you know what the code/color is. I do not believe mine are original to the car but were added by the person who installed the 65 4bbl intake. I spent a couple nights with body hammer and dollies trying to get them presentable.

@unforgiven - External fuel pump located on the trunk floor directly in front of the tank. The fuel pump was included with the Holley sniper setup. I've cut out the original hardline on the driverside because it didnt look long for this world and will be running the high pressure rubber line and return line up the passenger side of the car.

The last couple nights have been fixing little details while I wait on other parts to arrive;

• a broken window regulator rivot (found a short bolt and drilled a hole for a cotter pin)
• cleaning up the headlight buckets (sanded, primed, painted) for the new lights(united pacific crystal 7")
• disassembling the vent windows to replace all the weather stripping. The passenger wing window took 1.5hrs to carefully disassemble. I couldnt find my rivot gun but hope to grab one tonight and rebuild the window assembly so I can rebuild the passenger door and then start on the driver's door. Details eat time.

 

[segeorge982]

@Foxbody817 - here is the gold paint i used

Weatherstripping on the wing window wasnt terrible. Probably should've polished out the metal first

 

[segeorge982]

Good morning guys and gals, does anyone have a recommendation on a rear sway bar for a 63 gal? I'm not expecting this thing to handle like my '12 boss 302 but I installed a 1" front swaybar while the front end was apart. I'm having a hell of a time finding a rear swaybar with the exception of the quickor garage one that clamps to the axle housing; Quickor Garage - New Ford Galaxie Anti-Sway Bar Kits

Thanks!

 

[segeorge982]

Slow progress on timing consuming stuff but the seats are back from the local upholsterer. The seat frame and springs were restored, new foam with some custom bolsters. Should have the backseat installed for final time this weekend while the front seat wont be installed until all the dash wiring/rebuilding is completed.

Anyone have a One-speed wiper switch they want to sell?

 

[Foxbody817]

@Foxbody817 - I did paint the valve covers myself. I'm sanding everything with 1k grit sandpaper, shooting scratch filler primer and then final color from a spray can in a homemade paintbooth. I'll look at the paint can tonight when I'm back in the garage and let you know what the code/color is. I do not believe mine are original to the car but were added by the person who installed the 65 4bbl intake. I spent a couple nights with body hammer and dollies trying to get them presentable.

• cleaning up the headlight buckets (sanded, primed, painted) for the new lights(united pacific crystal 7")

View attachment 169406

Your post reminds me that I want to upgrade my lights. Are you installing relays for your headlights? My car is mostly original and I don't like the idea of cutting wires on my car but it's likely worth it. The stock light output sucks! I'll do the relay mod before I purchase new lights.

Thank you for the paint info.

 

[segeorge982]

I'd recommend adding relays to your car if the wiring is original and you upgrade the headlights. Before the highbeam switch on the floor is probably ideal, hopefully others weigh in that are more knowledgable than I though.

I'm rewiring the entire car with a modern harness from Kwik wire that includes a modern fuse panel with relays. Whoever painted the car its current shade of Red did a quick and dirty paint job in and out and covered a lot of the original wiring, resulting in the insulation drying out, cracking and my enjoying a small underdash fire some years back. Based on the trim tag the car was a special order paint, I believe a shade of white that wasnt a stock option, with light gold and dark gold interior two tone interior.

 

[segeorge982]

More progress towards getting the seats back was made in last night. Should be on track to get the rear doorcards and seat in. Does anyone know where the factory rear seatbelt holes would have been?

The picture is boring and doesnt accurately capture the amount of work;

• new outer weatherstripping on both passenger and drivers side.
• cleaned & lubed the window tracks, gear and springs on either side.
• sanded the pot metal crud on the leading edges of the rear quarter windows.
• Package tray and trim installed.
• new waterproofing plastic and sealant.
• cut and installed trunk divider and added more sound deadener.

 

[1964Fastback]

Does anyone know where the factory rear seatbelt holes would have been?

My 1964 didn't have rear seatbelts, and I didn't see provisions for ones when I had the back seat out.

FYI,

Pat