My 1968 Galaxie 500 Memoir

My 1968 Galaxie 500 Memoir
My first car had way too much power for a little lady like me; but that's exactly why I loved it. I remember it as big, yet sleek for its time. When you cranked its V8 engine, it came to life with a slow, sweet grumble. My Galaxie 500 was a muscle car forerunner. It was the kind of auto young guys raced through the streets late at night. For a woman it was sexy and very cool.

I wasn't a street racer by night, nor did I crave fast cars. I was a young divorced mother who needed a good deal, a low down payment and the dealer had to let me drive it off the used car lot that day. I got everything I needed and drove away happy. I didn't realize my car was a serious automotive catch until I started getting all those admiring stares.

"Is that a 390?"

Guys used to call my Galaxie 500 "a powerful car for such a little lady." The underwriter pronounced it "high performance," a condition worthy of an insurance premium surcharge. One day I lifted the hood to see what all the fuss was about. A single glimpse and I understood all that macho admiration. The engine was massive, a 390 V8, I was told. Except for the water pump, radiator, battery and a few other mechanical incidentals, that big engine filled all the under hood space.

It did perform well. One tap on the gas pedal and my Galaxie 500 zoomed forward. If I floored it, I could catch up with anything on the road. In winter I ruled the ice and snow. A V8 engine made the car so heavy, it could glide through snow, over ice and around stuck cars without so much as a slip or a slide.

My Galaxie 500 Was a Gas Guzzler

Yes, that big engine went through gas by the tank full; but it was 1975 and fuel was cheap. America's love affair with big cars had not yet faded; so we weren't driven by miles per gallon. I can't imagine my Galaxie got more than 10 MPG; but that wasn't a big deal when a full tank cost less than 5 dollars.

In 1975 I traded in my big V8 engine for a 4 cylinder subcompact. By then my Galaxie had outlived its usefulness. As it neared its 10 model year mark, pumps and gauges failed, gas was getting pricier and my car became an automotive nightmare. That powerful engine began to sputter when I stepped on the gas. It needed frequent big car/big engine repairs that came with a big price tag so I had to let my Galaxie 500 go.

Source:

Dearborn Classics

http://www.dearbornclassics.com/galaxie.html

Musclecarclub.com
http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclecars/ford-galaxie/ford-galaxie-history.shtml