Cranking Z-Code: ’64 Ford Galaxie 500XL
The sixties was the decade of Ford in racing. Hank the Deuce was a firm believer of “run on Sunday, sell on Monday”. He tried to buy Ferrari and was shunned at the altar by il Commendatore, Enzo Ferrari. Most of us car geeks know that was probably the best thing that ever happened. Imagine if Ford gobbled up Ferrari. There would not have been the fever pitch to pulverize Ferrari and win LeMans – so no GT-40s, probably no Daytona Coupes. Imagine Richard Petty running a Fordarri 365 GT 2+2 on the banks of Daytona? What as any of this got to do with the feature car? 
The Sport roof or Fastback styling represented on this Galaxie is a direct result of competition. They wanted something that would go faster on the ovals. The styling spread throughout the line including the beloved Falcon Sprint which made a heck of a stout rally car. This car is special because it survived when most of its brethren didn’t. It is a mostly original, Z-code, 4-speed. That’s a 390 V-8 with 300 horse and it is documented to be a real Z. It has patina in spades too. The seller knows that since 1970 there has been only 1-owner. We repeat, original paint, interior, trunk and engine on an always California car. We know it isn’t a 427 R-code but they aren’t asking R-code money at $20,000. See it on Craigslist at a well-respected dealer.
The cool thing about M2M is I get to “window shop” every day. Now I’m usually an imported car kind of guy and often breeze past the old domestic cars. But every now and then there is something that is just so cool. This Galaxie is one of those cars. This is a pretty neat car that I would love to have. A “sleeper” sedan body, black on red, a Cobra shifter on the floor (but not bent foward like in a Cobra) a V8 engine and baby moon hubcaps! What’s not to like?