Several trips around in Galaxies

Throughout the 1960s, Chevrolet and Ford netted the most car sales with the latter maintaining second place—a situation that was typical throughout the preceding few decades. These were the entry-level cars that the vast majority of people could afford to buy. My dad, Bill Temple, was one of those who bought Ford cars during that decade. We talked about the cars he owned back in the 1950s and 1960s, and I recall most of what he told me. However, I will never know how he started with a Ford as the first new car he bought as I never asked.

Dad had owned Chevrolets while in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1954, and he and my mom got a 1957 Chevrolet as a used car while living in Little Rock, Ark., around the time he graduated from pharmacy school in 1959. His choice to ultimately buy five Fords in the 1960s was driven by circumstance, no doubt, rather than by some loyalty to the brand. He also owned a one-year-old 1965 Cadillac Calais for a while, so I know he liked cars made by General Motors, too.

For whatever reason or reasons, while still living in Little Rock, he purchased a 1962 Ford Galaxie 500 four-door sedan powered by the 292-cid V-8 and automatic transmission. My guess as to what led to this selection is that a customer of the pharmacy where Dad worked was a Ford salesman. By then, Dad had been working for about two years as a pharmacist. Not long after getting that car, he found an opportunity to be a partner in a Walgreens with another pharmacist from Arkansas in the East Texas town of Longview. He and Mom moved there in the summer of 1962 and one year later, they had a house built. The associated expenses likely kept Dad from buying a 1963 Ford, or any other make of car. My birth one year after that, though, did not keep him from buying his next new car, a 1964 Galaxie 500 two-door hardtop.

The ’64 was a demonstrator before being sold to my dad. The dealer came into the store one day and gave my dad the old pitch that went something like, “I have a deal for you. If I can’t sell this car to you, then I just can’t sell a car.” It was Pagoda Green with a 390-cid V-8, automatic, factory air conditioning, power steering, power brakes, a radio and a remote mirror. My dad didn’t even realize it had a 390 and its power took him by surprise. He noticed the fender-mounted “390” emblems after a few days and thought, “No wonder it has so much power!” He sold it to his boss and friend before buying it back one to two years later. Regardless of just when, it was definitely back in the garage before mid 1967, when I was three years old. Otherwise, I would have no memory of that car other than seeing it in a home movie and in the background of photos in the family album.

After the ’64 was sold the first time, a 289-powered 1965 Galaxie 500 two-door hardtop took its place. It was Raven Black with black upholstery, but without tinted glass nor air conditioning. Dad had the dealer install air conditioning as it’s needed to survive summer in Texas—especially in an all-black car! The car did not even have an outside rear-view mirror, which remained an option at that time, although it had the extra-cost rocker panel extensions along the quarter panels and an all-vinyl upholstery, an extra-cost upgrade over the standard-issue cloth-and-vinyl combination. That is all I know of it other than it being in an accident in which the entire front end and radiator had to be replaced. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Next time, Dad bought a Wimbledon White ’66 Galaxie 500 two-door, also with a 289-cid V-8, automatic transmission, factory air and tinted windshield, though still with a black vinyl interior because “black interiors look luxurious,” Dad said. That is all I knew about that car until recently when, by happenstance, I found an ad Dad had placed in the local newspaper while I was searching through old newspapers via an online service. The ad was in a May 1966 issue of the newspaper, thus revealing the ’66 was not kept more than several months. Why so short an ownership I do not know, but suspect Dad had finally bought a Cadillac, a car he had long wanted to own. Back then, Cadillac was known as “The Standard of the World” and I guess Dad felt that was true. His Cadillac was a blue 1965 Calais four-door hardtop. He said it was a year old when he bought it, so my theory seems reasonable.

In mid-June 1967, my parents went shopping for a new Galaxie 500. Dad had one he described as “palomino” in color, but there was no such color that year. Therefore, I can only assume the car was Pebble Beige, the closest match to Palomino which, by the way, was a 1964 Mercury color. This car was equipped with a 289 and very likely had factory air conditioning and definitely an automatic transmission. However, Mom was looking at a Candyapple Red car equipped with a two-barrel 390 and a black vinyl top. She liked the color combination. Dad was not enthused about the extra costs of the 390 and the vinyl top. While he was frugal as the result of growing up in the latter years of the Great Depression, he was also practical. Dad bought what Mom wanted! (At the time, he did not know this would be the final new car he would buy until 1988, when he purchased a Mercury Cougar for my mom (red, of course). So, he really got his money’s worth out of the purchase.)

The 1967 Galaxie 500 also came with “Special Equipment Group M” consisting of all-vinyl (black) interior, Select Shift Cruise-O-Matic, 815x15-4 whitewall tires, power steering, wheel covers and bodyside moldings. Other options present were an electric clock, Selectaire Conditioning, AM radio and tinted windshield. With the trade-in of a 1960 Continental for a $150 credit, Dad recalled the sale price was $3,210. The window sticker, which Dad kept, shows more than $3,800. In later years, he claimed that when the car was once again worth what he paid for it, he would sell it, but he did not.

Mom drove the ’67 for many years, including taking me to grade school in it. (That car seemed to stick in the minds of some classmates; those I later encountered remembered the car.) Dad drove the ’64 Ford for a while, but how long I do not remember. I do recall him having a number of used cars at the house, such as the ’60 Continental he traded in, which he repaired as needed and flipped for a profit. I also remember a gold late-1960s Cadillac that must have been owned for only a brief time. There were no more Ford products bought for personal transportation until the aforementioned Cougar.

Eventually, the ’67 Ford became used less and less; around 1979, it was driven only 300 miles for the entire year. However, my dad decided to start driving it as his go-to-work car. The vinyl top had deteriorated and needed replacement so a white one was installed. In August 1983, it became mine. By this time, the old car bug had really bit me after attending my first car show a few months earlier. The Galaxie served me through my college years and well beyond. During that time, the front suspension was rebuilt, the rear main seal, timing chain and U-joints were replaced, dual aluminized exhausts were installed and the vinyl top was replaced with a black one, thus giving it its original appearance again. I also added additional options and accessories such as Styled Steel wheel covers, headrests, deluxe seat belts, AM-FM radio, etc. Additionally, an NOS bodyside molding kit replaced the original oxidized and somewhat dinged units.

I drove the car on trips to visit my grandparents in Arkansas; twice to the Petit Jean (Arkansas) Swap Meet; Memphis; Galveston, Texas; Ft. Worth; and elsewhere. By mid 1995, the old Ford’s 390 was tired after 143,000 miles and rust had infected the roof panel. Dad passed away that year and I inherited his 1982 Riviera, which I drove for nearly a year before getting a new car. The ’67 went into storage until late 1999 when it was hauled to R&R Restoration for major body work that included not only a repaint, but a roof transplant. A vinyl top was not installed this time. Several years later, the transmission was rebuilt using an NOS taxi-type valve body. (It shifts quickly like a shift kit would do.) Axle seals, wheel cylinders and wheel bearings were also replaced. Recently, major mechanical work has been performed, including a new 390 using a slightly used standard-bore block along with NOS cam, lifters and timing chain. The earlier rebuild had been poorly performed, making the block nothing more than scrap metal. All that is left of the original engine is the crankshaft, heads, front cover and intake and exhaust manifolds. It is ready for another 100,000 miles, though it probably will not be driven that many more miles.

My interest in cars ultimately lead to a writing career which includes authoring five books, among them, “Full Size Fords: 1955-1970.” Who knew some old Fords could lead to that?

My father had a sideline of selling used cars. He partnered briefly with a man in 1967 to form Gregg Motor Co. (I suppose “Gregg” was for Gregg County, because neither was named Gregg.) Sometimes my dad brought home a car for minor repairs. The partnership dissolved by early 1968 when dad’s partner suddenly died. However, my dad continued to sell used cars as a sideline, but from home.

Among the cars I recall were a blue 1962 Impala, a 1963-’65 Riviera and a turquoise 1965-’66 Bonneville four-door hardtop. My sole memory of the Impala is not a good one. My dad backed it over my pedal car, thus totaling my first “car.” (At least I still had a tricycle!) However, the Riviera and the Bonneville fascinated me; I recall riding in them on just one occasion each, but those memories stuck with me all these years. One day, probably about 20 years after the fact, I mentioned those two cars to my dad. He said, “The Riviera burned too much gas,” and the Bonneville was “too big.” However, I loved them!

The 1964 Galaxie 500 my dad owned twice is remembered by me from the second ownership. I was brought home from the hospital in that car after my birth. I was probably three years old when I saw what must have been the first flat tire I had ever seen. My parents and I were going to go somewhere in it, but the car’s left front tire was flat. That is my one memory of the car, but seeing it in a home color movie and in the background of family photos, plus the story of my mom driving it at 80-85mph on the highway, left an impression on me, plus the 1964 model is my favorite full-size model of the decade.

Another car he had to sell, which I do not recall, was a blue 1965 Galaxie 500 with a four-barrel 390 and four-speed. He told me a young guy came to look at it, but the car would not start. The problem was a simple one; the tachometer had shorted out. Dad did not think the guy would return, but he did. He gave it a test drive and bought it. Incidentally, the car had come from Hawaii.

Lastly, my father mentioned having for sale a 1967 or 1968 Camaro with a four-speed. He said it was tremendously fast. I suspect he had some fun driving it, but I do not believe he would have ever admitted it.

Love Galaxies? Here are a few more articles for your reading pleasure.

Ever wonder what your classic ride is worth? Old Cars Price Guide is now online! Check it out and join to get the unbiased and real-world pricing on classic cars. You get pricing anytime, anyplace on your phone, tablet or computer.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE