The last thing an old man should do is start another project. However, I have never been known for making sound rational decisions. Back in 1962 I ordered a 406 62 Ford. Unfortunately, I was too late in the year and the car was never produced. The dealer convinced me to buy a 63 427 R code but I still missed the opportunity to get a 406 with the really cool, at the time, Thunderbird style notch back top. This past spring a few of my car buddies started planning a trip on the blue line road through Nevada, Idaho and Montana to the Canadian border. Even though I have a great running 40 and an OHV banger 28 roadster I felt compelled to get a more modern car for the long trip. As luck would have it I found a survivor in Montana with 65K miles and original paint. This was the perfect car to install the 406 tripower and T10 transmission in. We made a quick trip in the beginning of the summer, picked up the car and have started on the latest project. Since it has a good running 352 with Cruise O Matic I am working on getting the 406 running and tuned up, along with all the factory linkage for the T10 completely done before tearing into the good running car. I’m hoping to make the upgrades to a G code Galaxie in a short week or two during the winter. The paint was a little faded but a little work with a clay bar brought back the original shine. The lady who owned the car replaced the inserts on the front seat with a cloth and the dash is cracked but other than those two things the interior is perfect. Original carpets still look good and the Ford bug is still on the windshield and side glass. It’s unbelievable a car can survive in Montana for 63 years and still look this good. My 406 came from a jalopy project that was never finished. I bought the whole car, a 20’s era Oakland with a rebuilt engine that was never even broke in. We had to get rid of the HEI distributer and rebuild the tri power but it’s a good tight engine that will fit right into my new Galaxie. Plans are to pull the cracked padded dash and replace the front seat covers back to normal, convert it to a G code clone and drive the hell out of it. Pictures and progress will follow as I move along with the project.
Sometime back, I posted comments about the '62 406 powered Galaxie that I lost out on when I was in my late teens. All I can say here is that I really, really envy you. Enjoy your car.
That looks great. My favourite body on a Galaxie. Kugel do some great looking cast manifolds, they’re on my wish list for my Mercury.
I've missed out on two 406's this year and still kicking myself. This looks amazing clean. Nice find!
The more I drive it the more I question that very thing. If it had a 390 there would be no question and I would just drive the hell out of it.
An update on the project. After fooling around with the 406 I began to question my sanity and the direction I was going. I was especially worried about the lack of quality gasoline. Since I also had another 62 Galaxie with a 390 I finally decided to sell the 406 and swap my milk toast 352 into the XL car and put the 390 in the Galaxie 500. I got around to starting that project this last week. The XL had 76K showing on the clock but I****umed it was at least 176K. I pulled the 390 out of the XL, hoping for a good enough engine to get by with rings and bearings. Yesterday I pulled the heads and to my great surprise the cylinders showed no significant ridge and measured 4.05 with no detectable taper. I didn't know that was possible with a 76k engine. That speaks to the durability of these great engines. The other good news is the dirty black oil that has probably been in the engine since the nineties had zero metal on the magnetic drain plug. The heads went to the machine shop today for a rebuild with new springs as the engine set for more than 25 years. I found a genuine Ford intake on eBay and have a set of Kugel exhaust manifolds on order. A Lunati cam, Quickfuel carb, new bearings and timing chain kit will complete the engine. The four speed T10 has been rebuilt and I have finally pieced together the shift linkage. Hopefully looking forward to having the engine and trans and all parts ready to go by mid December. With the help of family and friends I hope to have the Chestnut 500 back on the road by the time of the spring thaw. Wish me luck.
That's a beautiful '62! I remember looking at a teal '62 406 tripower car in '68 for the then-impossible price (on my $1.25 hr wage at the time) of $795... I wanted that car bad but just couldn't swing the money.
that looks like a great car. 390 4 speed sounds fun.love my 61 car rides super nice way more comfortable than an A or even a 40
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