[jellish]

Hi guys,
I just purchased a 66 Galaxie 500 to add to my car collection and should be getting it in the next week or so. It is this car - Modified 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 Convertible

It looks like it's in pretty good shape, but I'll find out for sure when I receive it. I tend to do a lot of modifications to my cars and document it on my youtube channel, so I was wondering if there is a good shop manual or something people recommend for these cars, as this is my first Galaxie. I found this one (1966 Ford Custom Galaxie Monterey Parklane Factory Service Manual Shop Repair | eBay) but wanted to see if that would be my best bet?

I was also wondering if there are any common things I should be aware of with these cars to look at first. I plan on doing a full shakedown of the car, but as I'm new to these maybe you guys know the common issues I should look at?

Thanks for any help or recommendations! I'm excited to join the Galaxie club, as these are my favorite 4 seater convertibles.

Josh

 

[jellish]

I just thought of another question! Does anyone know of any direct fit 3-point seat belts for the front and rear of a 66 convertible? This is going to be a family cruiser as I have my own sports car, so I want to make sure it's safe.

 

[Touring919]

Yes that manual is well worth it. I always buy shop manuals for a car if I intend to do major work on it. Just for the torque specs it is worth while but also wiring and all the exploded views of everything on the car.

most dreaded thing is frame rot. Look it over closely especially The inside of the frame as best you can.

there are no 3pt belt options unless you do a custom install.

 

[Touring919]

Car looks great by the way. Welcome to the forum and congratulations. Hope it is as solid and well built as it is pretty.

 

[Gelgoog13]

As was said above, rot at the front torque boxes and the trunk gutters are the worst spots for rust. Mine sat on blacktop for 20 yrs and the frame rotted so bad the frame buckled when we removed the body

I have an old copy of the shop manual, it's been a big help putting things back together.
Haven't seen any 3 point harness setups, but my plan is 4 point harnesses for the front seats. She's being set up for autocross. Hope you enjoy yours they are wonderful cars, had mine for 37 yrs. Hoping to have her back on the road this spring.

 

[Jazzmeister]

WAY cool car! Congrats...I hope it lives up to the pictures!

 

[289Galaxie]

I think I saw that Galaxie on the BaT website. Congratulations on that.

As has already been mentioned, look for frame rot. These tend to rot from the inside out so what may look like a solid frame may in fact be compromised. I think the best bet is to get a borescope if you don't already have one and stick it in every frame hole you see.

Regarding the shop manual you referenced, that is a reprint not an original factory copy. Although I don't have any first hand experience, I've heard that some of those reprint manuals leave a bit to be desired regarding quality of print, especially the illustrations.

Best of luck to you.

Just noticed you posted the link to the BaT auction in your original post. Guess I have a case of brain fog.

 

[jellish]

I think I saw that Galaxie on the BaT website. Congratulations on that.

As has already been mentioned, look for frame rot. These tend to rot from the inside out so what may look like a solid frame may in fact be compromised. I think the best bet is to get a borescope if you don't already have one and stick it in every frame hole you see. Good luck.

Yep, that was this one! It didn't hit reserve, and the high bidder was just a flipper, so I managed to buy it directly.

 

[Touring919]

I have a reprint. Its text and picture quality are on par with other manuals I had that were originals.
The cover is made of cheaper paper. Not the nearly cloth like material of originals but that is a minor complaint.

 

[gearheadct]

For a ‘65, but they are very similar: 1965 Ford and Mercury Service Manual

Nice car. Enjoy it!

 

[Dakar09]

Gorgeous car! And welcome to the forum.

I have a reprint of the original shop manual (got it off of ebay).

This is the '66 version I just found:
66 Galaxie shop manual

And I have been trying to figure out 3-points for my conv recently. Have a 390/4 spd swap going in soon and want to put it in some events. No luck so far with any off-the-shelf solutions.

 

[galaxiex]

Beware some of the reprint manuals have errors in them.
In particular the wiring schematics.
Maybe? the originals? had those errors as well?

Just my experience. My 66 reprint manual has schematic errors.

 

[jellish]

Gorgeous car! And welcome to the forum.

I have a reprint of the original shop manual (got it off of ebay).

This is the '66 version I just found:
66 Galaxie shop manual

And I have been trying to figure out 3-points for my conv recently. Have a 390/4 spd swap going in soon and want to put it in some events. No luck so far with any off-the-shelf solutions.

Definitely let me know what you end up doing. Otherwise I will just buy a generic inertial retractor set and make my own brackets/install.

 

[Touring919]

I bought seatbelts thru seatbelt planet. They are helpful and the old guy seems to get excited when he gets a call for a true custom install.

Go to page 7 of my restoration thread. It shows my setup for putting in 3 pt belts.

1965 2dr restoration

As anyone following from the beginning knows the roof on my car was rough. Something also landed on the roof and kinked the center roof brace. No damage to the skin but the brace had to come out to get straightened. Before putting it back in I made sure no squeaks or rattles were ever coming...

www.fordmuscleforums.com

 

[jellish]

I bought seatbelts thru seatbelt planet. They are helpful and the old guy seems to get excited when he gets a call for a true custom install.

Go to page 7 of my restoration thread. It shows my setup for putting in 3 pt belts.

1965 2dr restoration

As anyone following from the beginning knows the roof on my car was rough. Something also landed on the roof and kinked the center roof brace. No damage to the skin but the brace had to come out to get straightened. Before putting it back in I made sure no squeaks or rattles were ever coming...

www.fordmuscleforums.com

That's awesome! That's exactly what I was thinking about doing. Thank you for the example!

 

[Touring919]

No problem. We are all here to help out.