Can anybody post pics or tell me how to take the dash out of a 59 Galaxie? Also any body have any pics a of seat swaps in a 59 Galaxie? preferrably minivan seats with the seat belts built in (Caravan or Astro). Also anybody know where to get a reverse light switch for a column shifted Automatic. Thanks in advance. P.S. can anybody tell me how many rollers are on each window regulator in a 4 door.
Ok this may be hard to explain but ill give it a try.... For the dash... there should be a few bolts on top under the moulding were the dash meets the window. Then if you crawl under the dash there are some "dash caps " on each end that come off seperatly. From there you should see the few remaining bolts holding it down. As for the seats.... I really cant help you there. However, I did install some "aftermarket " seatbelts in my 59 and they work really well. Also I believe there are 2 window regulator rollers per door. And for all my parts I usually go to MAC 's antique auto parts or KANTER auto parts. They may have what you're looking for. Hope this helps out, later Ken
I can't imagine a minivan seat that wouldn't look like *** in there, either use some 60s T-bird buckets, or keep a regular sedan bench in it.
The reason I would like some van seats are because I want some headrests and seatbelts. I don't want buckets because I got the car so the wife can sit right next to me. I'll redo the seat to look like it belongs. If I can't make it look better i'll just redo my seat.
Is there a way to do a DIY rack & pinion conversion for less money than the complete kits on the market? My power steering isn't hooked up and the guy I bought my car from said it leaked all over the place. It looks like it'll cost me about $300 to $500 to fix it. Does that seem like an accurate estimate? I think I should be able to do a junk yard conversion for that. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Not sure bout the power steering setup. if you are running the original engine (352 or 390) I think just fixing what you got would be best. Don't think any junk yard conversion would be much cheaper. But that's just me.
Estimate seems high to me. Unless every part is leaking... I personally prefer the no road feel, ultra power steering of this era car.
Do you have a shop manual? Get one for this specific car. It's a life saver. I wouldn't put minivan seats in there to be honest...that's just disrespectful to the car! If you're handy with welding and upholstery, you might be able to weld in your own headrests from another car, or bolt them in somehow, and then get them reupholstered to match the bench seats, if there are bench seats in there. I might actually do that with mine. I'm only putting mexican blankets over them for now, but when I learn to sew, I'm going to do my upholsterey completely over again, and i might as well try to weld in some headrests, as well as try to install shoulderbelts. But I have a Catalina, so I think I'd have to attach them through the roof. Good luck.
Upholstery is no problem for me the more I look at it the less I like the van seats. I have no welding skills yet. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Is the 59 a 1 year only suspension? I have read some say it Is like a 57/58 and others say it shares parts with the 60-64. I'm asking because i'm thinking air ride might be in my future and I wonder if the bolt in 4 link for the 60 and up would fit. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
The P/S is pretty simple to repair. The pump has a seal on the front, easy to fix. If the pump is shot, or the controll valve or cylinder, each can be sent to Lares Corp in Minnesota for a good garanteed rebuild. larescorp.com, or 1-800-280-6386 You may only need new hoses, usually about 90 bucks for all. Lares did the valve and the pump on my car for less than half what others were asking. About two weeks and it was back.
You might want to measure those seats first, 59's are relatively wide cars. I think a minivan seat would be swallowed up. Mine is huge compared to my F-1 and Ranchwagon.
Thanks Ole don. I'll check that out. The minivan seat would be a good fit as it about 53 1/2 across. Still probably going to bail on that idea. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Man I'm not 100% sure but I'm almost positive that the 60 4 link ail bolt right in. If you find out otherwise PLEASE let me know! Cause I'm planning to do the same on my project. thanks Ken
Can anybody explain to me how that parts interchange works? I was looking at it on my phone and It was kind of spotty so I might have missed the directions.
If it was my car I would not change the seat. I would reupholster the original seat. Seats from some other car never seem to fit right and are not comfortable and as someone pointed out, look like ***. You can add seat belts, there are mounting points for lap belts built into the floor pan. Ford offered seat belts as an option starting in 1955. While you are at it put some big washers under the seat bolts to prevent the seat pulling loose in a bad crash. Power steering should not be that hard to fix. Where is it leaking? Pump or steering box? A pump is not hard to change and neither are the hoses. If it is the steering ram they can be taken off and a seal kit put in. $300 to $500 would be to hire a mechanic to fix it, you couldn't have it changed to a different steering that cheap. If you do the work yourself it should cost under $100. Fixing the old system should be easier and cheaper than installing a totally new system.
I have been thinking about putting seat belts in my 59. Mine is a two door post car and I have been considering a few ways to do it: 1)just add lapbelts 2)check the strength of the mounting point above the post and maybe use a solid mount seat belt out of early 70's car, or 3) building a rollbar and mount the belts to that. The benefit of the rollbar is that it could add some side impact protection. The down side is that it has the potential to look like ****. As far the the P/S - thats not a problem for me as my car has manual steering. I know some people have used the front suspension from a Crown Vic, but that might be more work that just fixing the OE P/S. Personally, I think adding an R&P set up would take away from the vintage feel of the car. You might want to join the 49-50 Ford group, its been a very helpful resource for me.
Rocket I think I'm going with the julianos kit for a bench seat or try and grab some out of an early 90's f150 or get some cheap flea bay 4 point knock offs. The roll bar idea isn't a bad idea but my son rides in the back seat and I wouldn't want him getting hurt on it. Even with padding it still hurts to run into cage bars. I'm a part of the 52-59 group but I can't seem to access it through my app. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
The Jalopy Journal
