This Galaxie originally belonged to my good friend Dennis McPhail, and it broke down while he was driving it to Fort Smith a few years ago. He ended up leaving the Galaxie at Ryan Cochran's house in Oklahoma, so I offered to pick it up for him but had an ulterior motive. I had always admired the car and offered to just buy it from him, and he agreed.
The car was in very nice, original condition; even the factory paint was still in good shape, just a little dull. The interior was still original and just beginning to come apart at the seams. Besides a noisy rear wheel bearing, it was mechanically sound as well.
The first year I had the Galaxie, I re-sprayed it red (the factory color) and added white scallops. Then I sprayed the top with a genuine Abalone Flake shiny coat. I grew tired of that combo after about a year and shot it again with red suede and added flames to the hood and scallops to the sides again. That paint job lasted another two years, until I sprayed it with candy suede and added flames all over with a flaked roof with candy red flames and lace details. Dennis laid out the flames this time and Van pinstriped the car while I attended the Paso Robles event in 2001. I drove the car in that combination until 2005.
Then the time came when I knew I wanted to change it again, but I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted. I was thinking it would be totally shiny this time (no suede), and it would definitely have a '60s vibe. I was going to do a Larry Watson style "racetrack," but decided to scale it down for something a little simpler while I was painting it. This car has become a rolling canvas for me to practice paint styles because customers where I'm from are not always willing to let me have free reign over their cars. The latest choice ended up as a House of Kolor Kandy Red over a Solar Gold base with Snow White Pearl scallops as the finishing touch. I finished that look up with some chrome bullets added to the rear panel, a pair of '59 Caddy taillights added to the rear lenses, and a set of Astro chrome spokes wrapped in pinstripe wide whites.
This car was always meant to be a driver, and so far it's been to Paso Robles six times, Austin for the Roundup three times, Lincoln, Nebraska, and all over Kansas, Missouri, and Minnesota. While venturing to the most recent Paso Robles event, we traveled through the Sequoia National Park, Yosemite National Park, and the Sonoma Pass and I finally made the decision that I will never again make that trip with drum brakes! It was great being on the road for a week with some buddies, and doing it in an old car is one of the greatest pleasures I know.
Now that the car is finally done, with the addition of the period-perfect upholstery job by Fat Lucky's at the South Austin Speed Shop, I think this is the last time I will re-do the Galaxie. In my mind, my '63 is the quintessential '60s-era mild kustom.
Jeff and Tricia Meyers
Arkansas City, Kansas
1963 Ford Galaxie
Drivetrain
All the kustom tricks on the Meyers' Galaxie were saved for the body, paint, and interior. The original '63 289ci Ford small-block and three-speed transmission still provided plenty of trouble-free cruising, so why mess with something that's not broken?
Chassis
The underpinnings of Jeff's cruiser received just a little more attention than what the drivetrain received. A few coils were lopped off up front and a set of lowering blocks were added in the rear. The rest of the chassis remains bone stock.
Wheels & Tires
Jeff's '63 has always had an early '60s vibe through its many incarnations, and fitting that look is a set of Astro five-spokes (14- and 15-inch) rolling in a set of Cooper Trendsetter narrow white stripes.
Body & Paint
Since Jeff runs his own body and paint shop, this is the area where he focused most of his attention while working on his Galaxie. Jeff formed a custom hood scoop resembling a late-'50s T-bird after removing all the unnecessary emblems. Having already painted the car a few times, Jeff was very familiar with the Galaxie's lines when he sprayed on the House of Kolor Kandy Red over a Solar Gold base and then added the Snow White Pearl scallops. Once the paint was dry and rubbed out, Jeff reinstalled all the brightwork and added some bullets to the grille and rear panel along with a pair of '59 Cadillac bullets to the center of the stock lenses.
Interior
The area where it's easy for many "period customs" to get off track is in the design of the interior. Jeff stayed perfectly on course when he enlisted Sean at Fat Lucky's (the stitching side of the South Austin Speed Shop) to design his interior. Sean gets the right look by using N.O.S. vintage fabrics and stitching them into bold period-perfect patterns. The retro threads extend all the way to the carpet, which is called Glamour, and uses a silver foil for an added extra bit of pop! An add-on A/C unit works really well to keep the Meyers comfortable on their long road trips, and a Pioneer sound system pumps out the tunes.