PERFORMANCE MODS: Rebuilt 390 FE
Bored .030" over
9:1 compression
Holly 4bbl Avenger 670 carb Edelbrock Performer RPM intake
Edelbrock aluminum water pump
Crane Cams (part #343901)
Edelbrock valve springs
New lifters
DSC Motorsport adjustable valvetrain (adjustable rocker arms and hardened pushrods)
Rebuilt & Ported Heads (new valve guides, teflon seals, hard seats under exhaust valves)
HEI-Style Distributor/Ignition (D.U.I. by Performance Distributors)
10mm LiveWires plug wires by Performance Distributors Autolite Platinum plugs gapped to 0.055"
Hooker Super Competition Headers (part number HOK-6130HKR available from Summit Racing coated by Jet-Hot 2.5" mandrel-bent exhaust
X-pipe
Flowmaster 40 series "original" mufflers
MISC REPAIRS/MODS/INFO: Performance Distributors 60amp 1-wire alternator 3-core radiator
Custom-fabbed radiator bracket
Replacement oil pump from Precision Pump builders
Windage tray
New high-torque starter
New flywheel
New battery tray
New washer fluid bag (woohoo!)
New power steering hose
New steel fuel lines
Re-lined gas tank
New convertible top from Key Tops
Running Amsoil 10W-30 Synthetic oil w/ Amsoil oil filter
Originally: Was a bone-stock 390 FE 2bbl.
Drivetrain:
Present Day: Disc brake conversion (front and rear)
AOD Transmission
1654 stall converter
AOD to FE Transmission Adapter (by Bendtsen's Transmission Center)
9" rearend
3.50 gears
Trac-loc limited slip
Rebuilt driveshaft
17x8 American Racing Torq Thrust M Chrome Wheels
225/55R17 Falken Ziex ZE-512 tires
Background It's a Ford Galaxie 500 Convertible. Bought it in August of 2001. As far as I can tell, the vehicle had been in Minnesota all of its life and is in great condition. The original owner's manual has the first buyer's name printed in it. I also have the receipts from the last two owners.
Here are details from the VIN and door tag:
The VIN of 7G57H109619 decodes as follows:
7 = model year: 1967
G = build plant: Chicago, Illinois
57 = Body Serial Code: Galaxie 500 2-door convertible, bench seat (19,068
produced during the 1967 model year)
H = engine: 390-2V Thunderbird V-8, 275 hp @ 4400 rpm, 405 ft-lbs @ 2600
rpm, 9.5:1 compression ratio (automatic transmission)
109619 = Consecutive Unit Number (CUN): 9,619th Ford car scheduled to be
built at the Chicago, Illinois build plant during the 1967 model year (Job 1
was CUN 100001)
The door tag information decodes as follows:
BODY 76A = Body Style Code: Galaxie 500 2-door convertible, bench seat
(19,068 produced during the 1967 model year)
COLOR T = exterior paint color: Candyapple Red (red)
TRIM 6D = interior trim color, material and front seat style: red "Crinkle"
pattern vinyl cushions, bolsters and back, bench seat
DATE 14J = scheduled build date: Wednesday, September 14, 1966
DSO 44 = car was originally sold in the
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota sales district, which covered Northwestern
Wisconsin and Minnesota (except Northwestern corner)
AXLE 1 = rear axle ratio and type: 3.00:1 non-locking
TRANS Y = transmission type and shift location: MX SelectShift
Cruise-O-Matic 3-speed automatic, column shift
Notes regarding the headers I get a lot of questions about the headers I have installed. Here's a link to Summit Racing where I bought the headers from. My headers are part number HOK-6130HKR. At the time, Summit either didn't carry the polished version, or Hooker wasn't making them yet, so I had the headers shipped directly to Jet-Hot for ceramic coating. Summit now sells a coated version of the headers, part number HOK-6130-1HKR. I would highly recommend getting the coated version. Non-coated headers will discolor and become somewhat of an eyesore in your engine compartment over time. The ceramic coated headers look really nice even after a couple years of being installed on my Galaxie.
DSCF0026.JPG 4051 hits | 92.54 KB | Posted: 4/25/04 The hood has been removed. Getting ready to pull the motor.
idling_320x240.mov 2652 hits | 1.87 MB | Posted: 4/9/04 The lopey idle of the Galaxie after headers, X-pipe, 40-series flowmasters, and top-end buildup of the 390! This shot is from the rear of the vehicle.
67 GALAXIE 022.jpg 2545 hits | 60.83 KB | Posted: 1/16/06 Bendtsen Transmission AOD to FE Adapter plate on the 390.
exhaust_before_buildup001.mov 2451 hits | 1.02 MB | Posted: 4/8/04 New exhaust installed without the engine buildup. Flowmasters sound great but the idle was too silky-smooth for me! Now it's got a really lopey idle but this is a great video to watch and listen to for hear what Series 40 Flowmaster mufflers sound ...
DSCF0020.AVI 1894 hits | 5.21 MB | Posted: 7/27/04 Sitting in the driver's seat, starting it up, getting out of the Galaxie and letting her idle. The audio is decent for my little digital camera...gives a nice perspective of what I hear when I fire her up before I go cruising.
DSCF0047.JPG 1863 hits | 76.16 KB | Posted: 6/6/04 A really, really clean '67 that I came across. Great paint and an engine compartment that was very clean.
New Tires and Wheels Installed 17x8 American Racing Torq Thrust M Chrome Wheels ($225/ea + $30 shipping)
225/55R17 Falken Ziex ZE-512 tires ($126/ea)
Tire replacement certificate, environmental fee, installation & balancing, valves, rotations, and chrome locking lug nugs
1,731.43
06/08/09
Miscellaneous
123479
Back on the road After over 1 full year of not driving the Galaxie due to it dying on the interstate on 6/1/2008, I finally have it back and am using it as a daily driver. See the maintenance log below for all modifications and repairs done in the past year (truth be told, it sat in my garage for 6 months, and spent another 6 month's at the shop for various parts installs). Nice to have it back on the road.
0.00
06/07/09
Modification
123000
Disc brake conversion After having drum brakes front and rear and constant problems with braking after doing engine modifications (vacuum issues with various cams), and also discovering that a couple of the drums were cracked, I opted to do a full disc brake conversion front and rear professionally installed.
Drum Brake troubleshooting ($105): After road test, brakes were found to be inadequate and almost dangerous.
Checked power booster and determined that booster does not seem to hold vacuum, possible leak in booster
After a visual inspection of brakes, found all drums scored and heat glazed
Although new shoes were installed they also had become grooved and glazed
The left rear drum is badly damaged from being hammered and large pieces are broken out from the outer edge
The right rear drum is not the proper offset, leaving the drum setting out approximately 1.5” from where it should be and not fully contacting the shoes
It is highly recommended to replace all brake components with new disc brakes
Oil leaking from the axle seals was starting to saturate rear brake shoes
Disc Brake Conversion: New front 11" rotors, loaded calipers, brackets, bearings, seals, grade-8 hardware
New 8" dual bendix style power booster/master combo w/special Ford-mount bracket for "E" brake
New rear 10&1/2" rotors, loaded calipers, mounting brackets, grade-8 hardware
All new custom hard brake lines
All new rubber type flex lines
System plumbed for factory brake warning light switch
Customer to follow-up to have custom "E" brake cables installed at additional cost
Brake fluid - 2 quarts
Rear Axles::
After removing the rear axles for the installation of the disc brake components, the right axle bearing was found to be approximately 1&1/2" outward from its intended position and possibly causing the axle to slide out of the housing and off the car
