- This prairie-sized Galaxie is particularly imposing in the rarely seen fastback body style.
- Underneath the acres of sheetmetal, this ’60s cruiser has been modernized with a reworked Hotchkis suspension and Wilwood brakes.
- Metallic blue paint, a subtle hood scoop, and black steelies with dog-dish hub caps complete the understated look.
One of the world’s most scenic roads, Canada’s Icefields Parkway runs north from Calgary up to the tourist town of Jasper. Sure, you could rent a Chevy Equinox to make the trip, but here’s a much more charismatic sled to haul you past the glaciers. Up for auction in Calgary is this 1968 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe, a prairie-sized cruiser with some very cool tricks hidden up its sleeve.
Today’s pick from Bring A Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos) is the kind of carefully prepared vintage machine that provides 1960s nostalgia without the old-car dynamic drawbacks. This Galaxie is a true full-sizer, a big ol’ boat from the blue oval. It should be driven while wearing the full-denim Canadian tuxedo, singing along with Stompin’ Tom Connors as he belts out Bud the Spud. But tucked behind those 18-inch steel wheels are a host of parts from the likes of Wilwood and Hotchkis. It’s a boat all right—but a speedboat.
The Hotchkis sport suspension is the really tasty part of this build. When Jay Leno went looking for a way to improve the handling of the 1966 Ford Galaxie he built as a tribute to a beloved Leno family car, he had Hotchkis design a setup incorporating big anti-roll bars, Fox shock absorbers, uprated springs, and even reworked control arms. This ’68 Galaxie gets essentially the same treatment, and it should corner as flat as a Saskatchewan wheat field.
Under the USS Eisenhower–sized hood is a comprehensively rebuilt 390-cubic-inch V-8. Galaxies came with bigger powerplants, but this 6.4-liter makes all the right noises without any high-strung motor bad habits. It huffs out growly V-8 noises through Hooker long-tube headers like a big friendly mastiff.
The transmission is a highway-friendly three-speed automatic, refreshed and rebuilt. A 9-inch rear end with an Eaton limited slip differential gets that V-8 power to the ground via 255-series Firestone Firehawk tires wrapping 18-inch steel wheels.
Wilwood six-piston front brakes connected to braided lines and an upgraded master cylinder should enable this big Ford to safely shed highway speeds. A three-core aluminum radiator with twin 11-inch fans keeps things cool in the summer.
Throw in a laundry list of other driver-friendly tweaks—better seats and steering among them—and this Galaxie is an ideal retro road tripper. Cruise on up into the Rocky Mountains, make friends with the bighorn sheep, then thunder across the Plains on your way back home. Bidding at this writing is just under $10,000, and the auction runs through May 31.
Contributing Editor
Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.