You’d have to have met my dad to understand … lol … a great guy, but some unusual ideas. When I was a little kid anytime the family went anywhere he’d comment on how great it is to only have two doors, the more doors you have , the more rattles. etc etc. … these comments went on for years and years, even though nobody in the family ever asked about the door count, I just thought door-talk was normal conversation for families to have. Later, adult-me realized the reason for the constant door-talk is that mom had preferred to purchase a 4-door, and dad was re-justifying the 2-door purchase to anybody who’d listen. On every drive … lol.
Personally teen-age me preferred the look of the 2-door, not as long, didn’t look so much like boat, easier to park, access to the back seats not a problem at that age. I had nothing to compare with engine-size wise, so I thought building up speed on flats to carry onto up-hills was just how all cars worked.
When my VW was totaled I borrowed my Dad’s 62 Falcon for the 200 mile trip back to school and then home again the next weekend. Actually compared to the trip with a 36 hp VW, it wasn’t too bad. It was not exactly a small car. Huge next to a VW, but still reasonably comfortable. Then I got the 59 Pontiac and the VW would have fit in the trunk.
@George_San_Jose1 Could the 1962 Ford you mentioned have been the intermediate Fairlane? It came with a 170 cubic inch and was closer in size to the Falcon.
The “compact” Falcon is a good example of how our perceptions of car sizes have changed over the decades.
When the American compacts were introduced, a LOT of people ridiculed their “tiny” size. Just for the sake of comparison, the original Falcon was 6 inches longer and 1.4 inches wider than the 2022 Toyota Camry. Yes, the Camry, not the Corolla!
A car that was once considered to have been ridiculously small is actually larger than the typical family sedan of modern times.
Econobox b/c it was a 2-door rather than 4, smallest engine available, manual transmission 3 on the tree, and the only option I think was the AM radio. No seatbelts. I think it cost about $2000 new. When my kid-friends from wealthy families having luxury cars would ride in the backseat they’d complain there were no arm rests on the door panels … lol … I’m not sure if the rear axle was an econobox compromise, but the third member failed at the 10 year mark, the reason I sold it.
Yeah I’m confused too. The galaxy was a full size from anything I remember and info I see. I know the 61 Fairlane was smaller but the Fairlane was full size at least to 57. Don’t remember when galaxy was first used but think 1960.
@George_San_Jose1 The 6 cylinder engine in a 1962 Ford Galaxy had a displacement of 223 cubic inches. It first appeared in 1952 in the Ford as a 216 cubic inch engine. This was the first overhead valve engine offered in a Ford. Up until 1952, Ford only had flathead engines-- a 6 and a V8.
Ok, maybe econobox isn’t the correct term. Remember I consider Camry’s and Accord’s econoboxes these days, but many posters here vehemently disagree … lol … This Galaxy seemed to me like about the most basic new car configuration possible at the time. I seem to recall what happened at purchase time, my dad tried to buy the car without the radio option, but the dealer decided to throw it in to finalize the deal. The radio was probably already installed at the factory, and the dealer didn’t want to pay his employees to remove it.
Did it at least have a heater?
The younger forum members might not realize that even a heater was optional, up through at least the '70s.
Back in “the good old days”, classified ads for used cars frequently included the info that the car had a radio and a heater–both of which were options. Back in those days, other things that we now take for granted–such as backup lights and multi-speed wipers–were also extra-cost options.
Yes, it had a heater. Worked pretty good too, only complaint was the warm up time. This was Colorado, so no heater wouldn’t be a viable option. I don’t think it had backup lights. It had single speed wipers, but I changed them to variable speed using a circuit design I found in a a hobby-electronics magazine. The variable speed wipers were definitely an improvement in Colorado weather, where the snowfall rate varied quite a bit, even during a drive. Folks riding w/me always seemed intensely interested in my wiper control panel I had jury rigged onto the dashboard … lol … oh, another thing, my dad added seatbelt, but the mounting point was the floor behind the seats. This meant if anybody riding in the back seat inadvertently placed their feet on the belt the belt wearer in the front would feel the belt snug up to a rather uncomfortable tightness.
The improvements that shade tree mechanics could do in those days were sometimes pretty impressive. The best that I can claim is that I was able to speed-up the very slow directional signals of my brother’s '64 VW Beetle by swapping-in the flasher from a '48 Chrysler, in place of the original flasher.
The guy in the parts store had to really scour his storeroom when I asked for a '48 Chrysler flasher but he was able to find one, and my brother was very impressed that I had been able to improve-upon the work of the German engineers who had designed his car’s primitive electrical system.
One of the many post-warranty failures on my POS '74 Volvo was the failure of the backup light switch inside the trans case. I asked my mechanic if he could install a toggle switch for the backup lights, and he was able to do so. The best part about my “at will” backup lights was that I was able to switch them on if someone was tailgating me.
I can recall a few instances of brake lock-up from the car that HAD been tailgating me.
We had a 58 and a 61 Biscayne. I don’t think they had arm rests in the back either and certainly not back up lights. Single tail light for Biscayne, double light for Bel Aire, and triple for Impala with the center light the back up light. No side chrome, a little side chrome, and lots of chrome. Easy to tell the trim package.
In the late 60s guys were buying Biscayne 2-door sedans four speed 427s when GM limited the midsize cars to 400 CI.
A car I had a test ride in but did not purchase because it was too plain, an ex-Highway Patrol 66 Ford 2-door sedan with the 428.
