Ford Galaxie 500 Convertible

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THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN DUE TO A MECHANICAL FAULT

By the late 1950s, America was well in the grip of rocket age fantasies and the newspapers were full of the latest moves in the Space Race as Uncle Sam battled with the Russian Bear for supremacy in interplanetary exploration.

No surprise then that when Ford launched its new top-of-the-range model in 1959, it was called the Galaxie. Of truly vast proportions, it abandoned the ostentatious fins and flourishes of the early 1950s for a more sober, sleek and scientific look. Available as either a sedan or a convertible in two- and four-door form, it came with a range of engines from a 3.7-litre straight-six to a gigantic 7-litre V8.

Always an impressive machine, the Galaxie really came to prominence in 1963 when Ford brought a few specially tuned ones over to England where their tyre-smoking, power-sliding antics in the hands of drivers like Jack Brabham, Graham Hill and Jack Sears not only thrilled the crowds but also won Ford the coveted British Touring Car Championship.

This particular Galaxie 500 Convertible has the 5.8-litre (352ci) V8 engine and bristles with technically advanced features for its time such as a power-operated hood, power brakes, power steering and a radio. An original right-hand drive model, it was built at the Ford Dearborn factory in Canada (a country which had a long tradition of RHD cars, unlike in America where LHD was deliberately chosen to cast off any links with their British colonial past) and was first registered in the UK in August 1963.

Presented in Rangoon Red with a cream side stripe, the bodywork is said by the vendor to be “in good condition and has most likely had a respray at some time”, while he rates the red interior as “lovely” although the hood is said to be “tatty but with working electrics”. Mechanically the car is said to be “sound and runs smoothly” with an MOT until March 2016. Bills on file show that it has had around £1,800 spent on it in recent times to keep it in good order.

Due to be driven to the sale, this impressive piece of Sixties Americana is ready for some serious summer posing. Shrinking violets need not apply!