Let’s say you had the option of owning one of the following vehicles, comparably equipped. Which would you prefer and why? Assume each is in excellent condition and stock only.
1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL
1964 Chevrolet Impala
1965 Ford LTD Brougham
1965 Chevrolet Impala/Caprice
I don’t own any of these but they catch my eye when I see one occasionally. My neighbor had a beautiful 65 Impala (yellow/white top/black leather). I was 5 then. He drove it home and I was fascinated with the three tail lights on each side of the trunk and the blue Chevrolet sticker on the black glass that read “Air Conditioning”. Lol. My other neighbor had the 65 LTD Brougham. The car was a turquoise blue green with a snow white vinyl roof and interior like satin. It was beautiful. I didn’t know anyone with the 64’s but they seem nice as well. Thanks for letting my reminisce. Don’t feel that same passion about cars today unfortunately. Maybe because I was a kid???
I would immediately reject the Chevy models because of their inherently-unsafe “X” frame. While no cars of that era were really safe in comparison with modern vehicles, Chevys of that era were particularly deadly in the event of a T-bone collision as a result of that frame.
And, if those Chevys have the 2-speed Powerglide transmission, that would be another reason to reject them, as far as I am concerned.
My choice would be the '65 LTD. We had a '66 Galaxie 500, which was essentially the same car, and it was a very good car–reliable, durable, smooth-riding, quiet, and… relatively… decent in terms of handling. And, it had a full-perimeter frame, rather than the Chevy’s “X” frame.
Both '64s look ‘old’ to me, both '65s look ‘neat’…to me, of course. Assuming you won’t be putting much miles on it, personal preference is the determining factor.
I was ready to buy a new car in 1965, or at least a newer car than the 1954 Buick I was driving that had 160,000 miles on the odometer. The Buick had been in our family since 1955. The heads and pan had never been off the engine and it still ran well and didn’t use oil. Those old “nailhead” V8 engines were great.
I really liked the full sized Fords of 1965. That squared off design really appealed to me. The problem was that I would have had to borrow money to buy a 1965 Ford Galaxy so I cheaped out. I went to the Rambler dealer. A really good salesman realized I was cheap. He steered me to a 1965 Rambler Classic 550 that had been repossessed. It had 7000 miles on the odometer and I got the balance of the factory 24000 mile warranty. I bought the Rambler for $1750. I drove that car eight years. It got me through graduate school and two more years.
Having driven all of those at some point in time, I would take the 1965 Caprice. Very quiet, good handling, and a nice base V8 engine. I would order it with the F41 handling package which has HD springs and shocks. The 2 door hardtop was the best looking; my father in law had one in red.
The Ford is also quiet but it had the “broken shaft” feel power steering and sloppy road holding, true of both Fords… The Brougham version is very tacky Lee Iacocca carnival styling.
I remember the Rambler! My father was a new car dealer, and on weekends I would accompany him to the dealership. I loved the used car lot where I could encounter all the models I didn’t see in the dealership. There were the Pontiacs, the push button Dodge/Chrysler models, and the occasional Rambler and AMC model. The trade ins were fascinating. Very few were wholesaled back then — only the very roughest models. As a child I was amazed by all the different makes/models. Each seemed to have some interesting quality. My love of cars started back then.
@AudiFlyGuy. Used car lots were really interesting back in those days. My regret about buying the 1965 Rambler for $1750 was that I should have waited four months. My parents bought a house from a couple that had retired and were moving to Florida. They offered to sell me a 1963 Ford Fairlane with only 10,000 miles for $1000. The Fairlane was an intermediate sized car like the Rambler, and was a strippo like the Rambler, but I would have had just as good a car and been $750 ahead.
$750 was a lot of money then. My Dodge Dart GT with 273V8 fully equipped came to just over $3000 and only because a classmate had a Dodge dealership and gave me a break.
@Docnick For me, $750 is a lot of money today, but I understand what you are saying. My salary for the 1965-66 school year was $6000. However, car prices were a lot cheaper. I think a new VW BEETLE could be purchased for under $1600. I believe about $4000 could put a person in a new Cadillac. Back then, a salary of $10,000 was considered good.
While I think each of these cars are nice, my first choice of the bunch would be the 1965 Ford LTD. I think it (and its sister the Galaxie 500) is one of the sharpest cars of the 1960’s and I’ve liked them ever since I was young. My father bought a new 1964 Galaxie 500 and 2 years later bought a 1966 Galaxie 500 and they were both good cars (both were big block 2 door fastbacks) so I would expect the same of the 1965. 2nd place would be the 1965 Chevrolet with the taillights mounted on the trunk. Unlike the 1964 Chevy, the 1965 Chevrolet had switched from the X frame back to a full frame which helped make it safer.
An aunt had a 1965 Galaxie 500. Beautiful car. I remember it having two rear view mirrors: A regular size one, which was removable, and a smaller one underneath. Never found out why, except for somebody telling me it was removable for use at drive in movies?
None of those would be on my list of cars I would like to have but if I had to choose one, I’d take the 64 Ford. Why? It’s what I used for Driver’s Training class. I’d just hope they would have taken the passenger extra brake pedal out. It was only used once by our instructor when the girl in the class was driving. The instructor was a former fighter pilot so not easily shaken.
My starting salary in 1965 selling then new “computers” was $8000 per year plus commission. If I had landed an office job I would have bought a VW Beetle for about $1800 or so.
Not stated is whether they’re 2 doors or 4 doors. My preference would be the '64 Galaxie. Back in the day my uncle bought a brand new one in bright red. A really pretty car.
Tweaking the choices a bit, I’d take the '63 1/2 Ford Galaxie in a 2 door HT with the 427 option. JMHO, but I think that’s the prettiest car Ford ever built.
