As a wee lad, I remember watching a bunch of NASCAR races on TV. As an impressionable young boy, the roundy rounds of the early Seventies were pretty neat stuff and that Petty guy was just too cool. As I grew up, NASCAR lost it’s luster for me and I lost all interest. The cars from a decade earlier never really became more than the tiniest blip on my radar.
Lately though, as I learn how many of those early oval track drivers also got involved in open road races like La Carrera and how many of the cars were sort of multi use, I’m starting to notice these cars a lot more. There is a whole new element of automotive cool that I’ve just never really exposed myself to.
At the 2008 VARAC Festival at Mosport, I came across what might have been the coolest car I’ve seen in years, David Strachan’s 62 Ford Galaxie. That’s a pretty strong statement for a clone car in a paddock full of Can Am cars, but it is the truth. Strachan’s machine is a period correct copy of the Holman Moody Galaxie’s from the early Sixties. David and the team went to great lengths to use as many original bits as possible. The shocks are true old Holman Moody pieces, as are the wheels. Great care was taken to replicate trick pieces like adjustable front shock mounts. The car is powered by a big honkin’ 427 cubic inch V-8, just like one would expect to find.
The Festival was sort of a break in run as Strachan prepares the car for its’ voyage to Darlington Raceway for their inaugural Historic Racing Festival. I’ll bet some of our friends in the oval racing world will be there and will help out with pictures of this stunning car on the high banks.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
6 comments ↓
Great car! I have had a love affair with them since I was a boy. Did you find out if this clone has the aluminum bumpers and fiberglass fenders by any chance? But you missed the most important shot of all… I realize this is a clone but I love seeing details and how attentive/informed the builders are when building a clone. Becuase of so many rip-offs/fakes, anyone that knows the history of these old “lightweight” Galaxies and how to tell if one is real or not would want to see the inside of the trunk. When the “lightweights” were built at the factory they did not weld/install the simple little metal loop that the spare tire hold-down bolt fastened to. A detail missed by many.
1962 Ford Galaxie Lightweight. If a G-Code Galaxie isn’t hot enough for you, how about a rare, 1 of 11, Galaxie Lightweight sedan. Ford produced 11 of these cars in total and sold each car for $1.00. Today only 4 of the 1962 Lightweight cars have survived. The LW Galaxies received special components from the factory that included: a fiberglass hood, fiberglass fenders and fiberglass
trunk lid, aluminum bumper, aluminum inner fender aprons and aluminum radiator, factory headers, 406 cid, dual quad carburetion, radio and heater delete, 4-speed transmission, paper-thin floor mat, body filler and sound deadener delete, door pulls delete, battery relocated to the trunk.
I have been to hall of famer Reggie “Mr October” Jackson’s private muscle car collection and seen not one but two of the originals he owned before they burnt in a wharehouse fire.
Gary, it isn’t a lightweight… it’s anything but!
Shocks: Gabriel (we hand-picked the best ones from a pile of them in some old shop that had lots of old Nascar goodies from the 60’s and 70’s). Also, they are mounted on tall shock-towers, which are comprised of tubing welded to the frame with a mount welded on the top.
Uprights: Holman Moody (using a 3/4 ton truck bearing)
Exhaust: welded into a hole cut into the chassis.
Wheels: Holman Moody double-center.
Bodywork: all stock, albeit slightly pulled for clearance around the rear wheels.
Rear-end: Lincoln rear axle, with tension strap for strength (replicated using photos of Holman Moody’s body-less show car).
Many nights were spent in the garage working on this car! It turned out quite well though, although I might be a bit biased, considering I am the owner’s son.
Though NASCAR is not my cup-o-tea (or beer), I go ape-s**t-crazy over the old stockers. And that one looks stunning! I know nothing about them, but they still push all my buttons.
The new stuff is complete off my map …
That car has the “look” and a reminder of when NASCAR had more character and personality.
Besides Holman and Moody, Fred Lorenzen, the Wood Brothers come to mind…must be what old race cars are supposed to do…fire up the memories.
What a great car to run the La Carrera Panamericana with!
Seeing it at the Vintage Festival brought back memories of the USAC stock car races at Mosport.
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