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1966 Ford Galaxie 500 7-Litre Restoration Thread


V8TV

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Next, the attention was turned to the interior parts on the car.    This interior shares the color as the exterior, but the original color was worn and faded.     

 

As the car arrived in our shop:

 

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Stripping and refinishing the plastic and steel interior parts…

 

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Edited by V8TV (see edit history)
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We were very fortunate that the original seats actually cleaned up without the need for recovering.   Sure, the oxblood center strip is not as fresh as new, but the seats have a nicely worn appearance, and will look great after reinstallation in the car.  

 

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On 11/8/2016 at 3:37 PM, GARY F said:

great job. this guy must have deep pockets.

I agree on all counts.  The work is outstanding!

 

I hope we are going to be privileged to know the final dollar and cents tally on this fantastic restoration.  I think it would be enlightening to many.

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18 hours ago, GARY F said:

looking good. glad you are still at it.

 

Absolutely, just trying to work in the time to share the story!   Thanks! 

 

17 hours ago, D Yaros said:

I agree on all counts.  The work is outstanding!

 

I hope we are going to be privileged to know the final dollar and cents tally on this fantastic restoration.  I think it would be enlightening to many.

 

As you can imagine, there is a lot of time and resources in this car.    However, it is our policy not to discuss the financials of our customers projects, as we consider that to be personal info.   However, the customer is free to share as much as he would like.   I hope you understand... call it "restorer / client privilege!"  

 

17 hours ago, keiser31 said:

Man, I LOVE that color on those seats. Never seen that style bucket seat pattern before. Nice work!!

 

Thanks, that is the stock seat for these cars, and it is a very cool design!   

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  • 2 weeks later...

Integrating the steps of a complete restoration takes some thought.    At this point, we elected to install the engine and transmission so that we’re not risking scratching up painted fenders in the future.    

 

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The fresh 428 awaits on the stand, the aluminum foil is a cheap & easy mask film to keep our stand from being painted all different colors.

 

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The big Galaxie makes the big FE look like a 289 by comparison!

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

The heater core and housing were restored and reinstalled back on the firewall.    

 

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The inner fenders and core support were installed next.

 

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Soon, the crew hung the “jambed” fenders on the nose.   These were not final installed, but put in place for outside final color.   This color has a high metallic content, so we wanted to paint the exterior with all the panels in place so the metallic pattern would match as much as possible.   It’s not 100% required, but it helps.      The masking paper was left on to protect the primer outside surface.  

 

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New brake booster

 

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Some wiring and accessories going together

 

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Restored / cleaned / polished dash clusters being reassembled


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On 1/13/2017 at 7:28 PM, keiser31 said:

Nice work. That car is going to look SO good!

 

Thank you sir!

 

On 1/14/2017 at 4:14 PM, GARY F said:

it is great following your work.

 

We're glad you enjoy the ride, thanks for the kind feedback!

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  • 4 weeks later...

As the mechanical items were going back together, it was time to build an exhaust system so the 428 can breathe.    We pieced together a mandrel-bent 2.5” stainless system using MagnaFlow tubing that mimicked the factory design but with better flow.   The exhaust tip location is finalized after the rear bumper is installed later on.  

 

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Snaking the tubes over the rear axle

 

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Edited by V8TV (see edit history)
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  • 3 weeks later...

Soon, enough of the engine and interior had been installed, and the big day arrived to spray the Standox basecoat Emberglo and and clear on the outside of the 7-Litre’s body.     The primer has been wet sanded to 600 grit and thoroughly cleaned.  

 

The boot was cleaned and the car was rolled into the booth.

 

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GoJacks are used to maneuver the car in the booth to get it in position to be jacked up and masked off.

 

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The trunk and tail light openings are masked off with 3M tape and masking paper.

 

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The big Galaxie is jacked up, and the wheels are removed.    The window openings, wheel openings, and engine bay are all masked off, and the bottom of the car is masked to the floor.

 

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3M foam tape is used in the door jambs.

 

The car is cleaned again and wiped with a tack cloth, and a fresh batch of Standox Emberglo basecoat is mixed.

 

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V8 Speed & Resto Shop painter Jeff Wittlich suits up and dons his 3M PPS cup equipped SATA spray gun and heads into the booth to turn our big gray 7-Litre into a sea of Emberglo metallic!

 

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It’s on!

 

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Jeff starts at the top of the car and works his way down and around.  This color covers very well over the primer.   

 

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Soon, the first coat is complete.

 

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As sweet as the car looks in satiny basecoat, we’re excited about seeing it wearing a new shiny clear coat!

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21 hours ago, keiser31 said:

WOW! Just WOW!

 

 

Thanks Keiser!

 

12 hours ago, Roger Zimmermann said:

Super! I like the way the underside is protected from paint dust.

 

Thanks Roger, we spend so much time making the underside nice, it would be a shame to shoot overspray all over it!  

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After the basecoat had “flashed off” or dried the required time period, Jeff brewed up a mix of Standox clear to add some shine to the ‘66 7-Litre!      The satin looked cool, but man, this car is going to be a stunner!

 

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This shot uses a flash and ambient light to show off the sparkly colors in the Emberglo paint recipe.  

 

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Jeff uses a SATA spray gun and 20+ years of experience to achieve these results “right out of the gun”, before any wet sanding or buffing is done.    The whole V8 Speed & Resto Shop Crew is to be recognized for paying attention to detail and maintaining quality levels from bare steel all the way up to final clear, as that’s what it takes to make ‘em nice!

 

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1 minute ago, Roger Zimmermann said:

Wow! almost no orange peel. Jeff is knowing what he is doing!

 

There is some peel on other surfaces, but it is minimal.    Thanks for the kind words, we'll share with Jeff!

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  • 3 weeks later...

This color is wild in the sun, and it is also a bit tricky to photograph, as it has a very high contrast from the bright spots to the shadows, which give it a very dynamic appearance.

 

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There is a lot going on in the Emberglo up-close!

 

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5 minutes ago, keiser31 said:

I just had to go retrieve my eyeballs off of the floor as they popped out of my head seeing that beautiful paint job!

 

Wow, that's the overstatement of the day, but we'll take it!    Thanks so much for the kind words!   

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5 hours ago, Roger Zimmermann said:

I had not this problem: I have glasses! Very nice job!

 

56 minutes ago, GARY F said:

Just outstanding

 

Thank you Gents, I'll pass your positive feedback to the crew!

 

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