Pick Of The Day: 1963½ Ford Galaxie 500 Sports Hardtop

Evolution can be a good thing. Sometimes we may not quite like the next incarnation of a particular vehicle, but when Ford introduced a new, sleeker roofline for the Galaxie, the general public decided it loved the evolution. Our Pick of the Day shows this mid-year roofline — this 1963½ Ford Galaxie 500 Sports Hardtop is listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Marshall, Virginia.

Starting with the 1963 model year, Galaxie hardtops featured the Thunderbird-inspired roofline. The mid-year update introduced the NASCAR-influenced roofline, which was Ford’s attempt to make its cars more competitive in a marketplace that was hungry for performance. Though nothing extraordinary about it, the roofline was aerodynamic and hence resulted in less drag and aerodynamic lift.

Also coinciding with the introduction of the Sports Hardtop was the 427 engine, replacing the 406 that was introduced the year before.  With a four-barrel carburetor (“Q-code”), this 11.5-compression V-8 was rated at 410 horsepower and 476 lb-ft of torque; add another four-barrel carburetor (“R-code”) and horsepower increased by 15, torque by 4.

This wasn’t the only mid-year news for Ford, as the Falcon Futura and all-new Falcon Sprint also received a slick roofline, and the Fairlane could now be ordered with a new 289 Hi-Po, plus there was a new Fairlane Sports Coupe buckets-and-console model. Clearly, Ford had planned an assault on the market.

Ford’s customers responded in force as the new Galaxie 500 Sports Hardtop built 100,500 units compared to the “conventional” two-door hardtop (Ford called it the “Club Victoria”), of which were 49,733 built; additionally, the Galaxie 500/XL Sports Hardtop outsold the Club Victoria, though only by around 4,000 units.

This Rangoon Red 1963½ Ford Galaxie 500 Sports Hardtop reflects a strong bond between man and machine due to the combination of high-horsepower V-8, and manual steering and drum brakes. You know this car came with the dual-quad 427 as it features the R in the VIN, plus the mandatory four-speed sans console — that was the territory of the Galaxie 500/XL. The interior is a sea of red: red split-bench seat, red dash, red headliner, red steering wheel, red floor mats, and red carpet. What’s not red is the factory-style AM radio and clock.

This Galaxie 500 has spent most of its life in the dry Arizona climate. That’s a fine precedent because its next stop might be whatever climate you live in once you place $87,000 in the seller’s hands.

Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com